Canada Goose: The South Korean Opportunity
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Question 1:
The six important factors to consider about South Korea’s culture is their values, norms, religion, education, social mobility, and American influences. South Korea was built up by many core values, however the most important being Confucianism. Confucianism was founded over 2000 years ago in the fifth century BC and was the official ethical system of China (Hill, Rihcardson, & McKaig, 2009). The value of Confucianism was profound in the Korean culture and it still continues to pervade amongst South Korean’s consciousness today. Confucianism shapes the Korean moral system, national laws, and business culture by placing an obligation towards relationships with others. The basic theories are based upon five different relationships: ruler and subject, husband and wife, parents and children, brothers and sisters, and friend and friend. This is important to consider when making decisions due to their high regards for respect amongst others. In addition, norms are also another component that shapes ones culture. Norms are the social rules and guidelines that define the behaviours of individuals (Hill, Richardson, & McKaig, 2009). South Korea possesses many norms, however, the most dominant is kibun, which has no literal translation that describes the pride, mood, or state of mind of an individual (Key Values and Norms, 2011). In business context, it is vital for one to show respect for others, especially those of your elders. Also, to determine one’s kibun by eye is called nunchi. Managers must be able to identify their subordinate’s nunchi to make sure they do not cross over the line of disrespect. Kibun is the facet of every Korean’s life, so it is vital to understand this norm when considering marketing Canada Goose in South Korea’s economy, specifically the distributers. The third factor to consider is South Korea’s ethical system and religion. Many scholars have argued
References: Climate of Iceland. (n.d.). Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved March 27, 2012, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_of_Iceland Deconstructing Canada Goose 's "Fur Policy" H-Net Reviews. (n.d.). H-Net: Humanities and Social Sciences Online. Retrieved March 27, 2012, from http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=7678 Hill, C Irwin, J. (2010). Doing business in South Korea: an overview of ethical aspects. Occasional Paper, 1, 18. Religions statistics - countries compared worldwide - NationMaster. (n.d.). NationMaster - World Statistics, Country Comparisons. Retrieved March 27, 2012, from http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/rel_rel-religion-religions Seoul, B South Korea: Lan Silvertown, J. (2011). Canada Goose: The South Korean Opportunity. . N.p.: Richard Ivey School of Business Foundation.