Human Factors International | apala@humanfactors.com
Human Factors International | gorney@california.com
Consider the cell phone. For us it’s essential, and what’s more, it’s everywhere. It is, in fact, hard for people in developed markets to remember what it was like not to be available 24/7. The ability to reach anyone, anytime, from absolutely anywhere has become a given. Blue Toothed or iPhoned, the connected yet very private (or at least self-absorbed) world of the cell phone could very well be the quintessential expression of Western culture.
Yet in much of the rest of the world, where even clear, accessible landlines are more of a plan than a reality, mobile telephony is starting to have an impact. Clearly, it’s a huge economic opportunity for the industry. But there’s more to entering these markets than throwing up a network of towers. Before you get the product in people’s hands, it’s essential to understand the culture.
Cultures are complex and dynamic systems, moved by often contradictory forces. Looking only at the dominant
characteristics of a culture—as more than a few companies have done in failed attempts at cross-cultural marketing—is a bit like the Indian story of several blind men describing an elephant (“It’s a wall!” “It’s a tree!” “No, it’s a snake!”).
So when going from a cell-phone-rich environment to one that is cell-phone poor, mobile phone designers need to throw out everything they thought they knew about their product— and about culture. Instead, they have to look carefully at how people actually use cell phones in a particular emerging market. What they will find—as will designers of every type of product and service—are rich opportunities for value-added solutions that lie in the gaps between cultural ideal and cultural practice.
To get a better idea of how this sort of research works in the cross-cultural design process, let’s look at three scenarios from an emerging market. In each of these stories from India, a Western product creates tension
and exposes tensions within Indian culture itself.
I. Amar nudges his front door open as quietly as he can—only to find his parents sitting in the living room, pretending to watch television. They’d told him to be home from the party by 10 p.m., and it’s midnight. He’s in trouble, all right, but missing his curfew is the least of the 17-year- old’s worries right now.
Amar is his parents’ pride and joy. They’ve already arranged a “suitable” marriage for him. He was allowed to go to the party only on the condition that he bring his father’s cell phone and make himself available at all times. In his rush to get home, he forgot to erase the 12 calls and nine text messages he placed that evening—all of them to one person, his secret girlfriend, Leena.
The late hour may actually work in Amar’s favor. His father might just forget about the phone and ask for it in the morning. It’s his only hope. He can’t let his father find out about their relationship...
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