The impact of culture on consumer behavior Research Paper

The impact of culture on consumer behavior - Research Paper Example People from different cultures, customs, traditions, and religions find equal respect in this country and can stay with complete harmony. Religion and Spirituality are very important in India. Worship of various deities is a salient feature. India is said to be the birthplace of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism; 80% of the population follow Hinduism which is at least 4000years old. However people from various religions stay in this nation (Ganeri, 2013, pp. 6-7). India is the land where the Vedas and Upanishads originated (Vyas, 1992, pp.13-14). All the scriptures have been written in Sanskrit which is considered to be the mother of many languages. At present, Hindi is the national language which is again derived from Sanskrit. Indian languages, customs, rituals, dance, music, architecture, food, clothing etc differ greatly from place to place within the country. Naturally it is bountiful with seas, mountains, agricultural lands, forests, rivers, deserts, etc. India is the origin of various classical dance forms and music. However, each form represents the heritage of a particular group of people. ... Though, now - a- days, boys and girls mix up more freely, yet in general the society is conservative and arranged marriages are still a norm. Business meetings in large cities are organized as in western countries. It is rich in its cultural heritage; however, it is a third world developing country. There is a stark difference between the cultures of rural and urban India. For Indians, the concept of time is generally relaxing. Weekends comprise Saturdays and Sundays (Soundar, 2005, pp. 119-122). Culture of UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is made up of the seven small emirates of Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ras Al-Khaimah, Ajman, Umm Al-Qaiwain, and Fujairah. Four-fifths of the UAE is desert. However, UAE is a rich country, due to its oil reserves. Originally, the local population was little and didn’t have the technical skills needed for a developed society. The discovery of and commercial production of oil triggered rapid economic growth and also resulted in the immigratio n of male foreign laborers, on a large scale. So, in just four decades, it has become a cosmopolitan and multicultural country. About two-thirds of the immigrants are Asians, mainly from India, Pakistan, Iran, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh etc. (Embassy of the United Arab Emirates in Washington DC, 2012) Islam is the main religion in the UAE but they are well known for religious tolerance. Temples, Gurdwaras, Churches are found along with Mosques. The official language is Arabic. English is the language of commerce. They generally greet by saying â€Å"Salaamu aleikum†. They pray five times a day, religiously. Muslims observe an entire month of fasting, in the fall, called Ramadan, during which they do not eat, drink or smoke between sunrise and sunset.