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GLOBAL RURAL CONNECT

A REPORT
Karthik ram

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CONTENTS Introduction Globalization Cross cultural communication Rural connect initiatives by globalized corporations -Hindustan unilever limited -ICICI -ITC Conclusion

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Globalization Globalization is a process of ever-growing interconnectedness and interdependence that began thousands of years ago and continues to this day with increasing speed and ease.(Nay an Chandra).FLAT WORLD is the term used to denote Globalization, named by Thomas Friedman. The word market in this contemporary world is no longer limited by boundaries. Globalization can be explained in a simple way by the example of Corporations like Nike and Reebok.These Pioneers of sports shoes came up with a brilliant idea and made a tremendous success. The model Taiwan and southkorea-- cost efficient ,quality and productive labour USA and Europe G-7 countries -Designers

-- Brand ambassadors and Brand Experts.

Though the idea looks simple,the execution of this idea would have been a difficult task.Pankaj Ghemavat,proffesor of strategy at the harvard bussiness school argues that a domestic focus is still the focus in most sectors of the economy even after a century of attempts at globalization .he shows that international telephone calls are still just 3 percent of the total call volume,foreign direct investment is less than 3 percent of total direct investment.he concludes that we are still a long way from being a borderless world(Narayana Murthy,A Better india:a better world 2009)Thus there is a need to understand the importance of cultural sensitivity and cross cultural communication.

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Cross cultural communication

Culture is often compared to an iceberg which has both visible (on the surface) and invisible (below the surface) parts. Elements of culture which we can plainly see, such as food or clothes, are represented by the upper portion of the iceberg. Those elements which are not as obvious such as why someone eats or dresses the way they do are represented by the much larger portion of the iceberg underwater. Failure to understand and recognise these parts of culture and the layers that compose them, as well as how they influence each other is the main reason misunderstandings occur when doing business internationally. Without this understanding, doing business internationally could result in misunderstanding and lost time and money.

Examples of Cultural Components

Architectural and other concrete elements Buildings, dress Recognized behaviors Rituals, taboos Explicit beliefs Religion, marriage, social duties Deeply embedded beliefs

RURAL INITIATIVES ITC

ITC is one of India's foremost private sector companies with a market capitalisation of over US $ 33 billion and a turnover of US $ 7 billion. ITC is rated among the World's Best Big Companies, Asia's 'Fab 50' and the World's Most Reputable Companies by Forbes magazine, among India's Most Respected Companies by BusinessWorld and among India's Most Valuable Companies by Business Today. ITC has a diversified presence in Cigarettes, Hotels, Paperboards & Specialty Papers, Packaging, Agri-Business, Packaged Foods & Confectionery, Information Technology, Branded Apparel, Personal Care, Stationery, Safety Matches and other FMCG products.

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Rural initiatives In a bid to extend its rural push, ITC has tied up with major companies Maruti Suzuki, Nokia and State Bank India (SBI) to connect with rural consumers. As part of its strategy, ITC is planning to add more products to its rural distribution channels, which include e-Choupals. At present, ITC has 6.500 e-Choupals covering 50,000 villages across the country. ITCs current rural focus is to add more products on its distributions channels rather than adding outlets. The objective is to increase consumer engagement with new products and brands leveraging Choupal Haats. Choupal Haat is a unique platform that meets the objectives of the participating companies and organisations, besides ITCs FMCG, With ITCs new move, rural consumers now get a chance to interact with different companies and organisations under the ITC e-Choupal umbrella, at Choupal Haats, one can access information and awareness on various products, services, schemes available to them, trends and opportunities. They also get a chance to interact with specialists right at their doorstep. ICICI bank

ICICI Bank is India's second-largest bank with total assets of Rs. 4,062.34 billion (US$ 91 billion) at March 31, 2011 and profit after tax Rs. 51.51 billion (US$ 1,155 million) for the year ended March 31, 2011. The Bank has a network of 2,533 branches and 6,700 ATMs in India, and has a presence in 19 countries, including India. ICICI Bank offers a wide range of banking products and financial services to corporate and retail customers through a variety of delivery channels and through its specialised subsidiaries in the areas of investment banking, life and non-life insurance and venture capital. ICICI has established itself as Indias most Customer Responsive Insurance Company according to a survey conducted by AGC Networksad . ICICI Prudential has captured the untapped rural market of nearly 128 million households. The main objective is to increase its market potential or reach down to the rural customer.

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AD CAMPAIGN ICICI launched an ad campaign for the rural customer. The communication related objective is to impart knowledge to the rural customer and to induce trial or to entice him to buy Life Insurance for himself. The Slogan used for all the ad copies is JIYO SHAAN SE. A rural customer is generally risk averse and family oriented. His basic concern is the safety of himself and his family. Buying a life Insurance policy helps him to increase his self confidence. The ad execution format is essentially Humor in slice of life. A slice of life format focuses on a typical slice-of-life situation for the average rural individual in day-to-day life. Natures call is the most common phenomena with a typical rural Indian which he can easily connect with. ICICI Prudential Life Insurance policy boosts his self confidence to an extent that he feels no longer afraid to superstitions like ghosts etc. Apart from the positive emotional appeal, the ad has a humor appeal also. This humor appeal is primarily used to attract attention of the rural customer and to make the ad appealing. Also, it helps ICICI Prudential to differentiate itself from its competitors in rural context. HUL Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) is India's largest Fast Moving Consumer Goods Company with a heritage of over 75 years in India and touches the lives of two out of three Indians With over 35 brands spanning 20 distinct categories such as soaps, detergents, shampoos, skin care, toothpastes, deodorants, cosmetics, tea, coffee, packaged foods, ice cream, and water purifiers, the Company is a part of the everyday life of millions of consumers across India. In order to connect its employees to the rural population and bring them closer to the social and economic challenges India is facing, HUL follows a rural programme for managers as well as the HUL-Sankalp volunteering initiative. Hul Sankalp: This is a formal employee volunteering initiative. In 2008, our 75th year in India, HUL employees committed to volunteering one hour for each day HUL has been in India, which collectively meant 27,375 hours of community service. In 2008, HUL employees volunteered more than 48,000 hours against a target of 27,375 hours. In 2009, they clocked more than 1,15,000 hours of volunteer work.

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Rural Programmes for Managers: Business Leadership Trainees are required to go through a rural stint and spend time working on projects that address the concerns of the rural population. In 2009, 37 trainees were sent for such projects. They interacted with the rural consumer and understood their profile, psyche, and lifestyle. They also gained an understanding of the Shakti microenterprise model. CONCLUSION Drucker puts in Technology, Management and Society:In communicating, whatever the medium, the first question has to be, is this communication within the recipients range of perception? Can he receive it?(Drucker).it is clearly evident from the study that a cross cultural communication is the need of the hour in this era of globalisation.

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REFERENCES Narayana murthy(2009),A better India A Better World Drucker,2006,Harvard Management Communication Letter www.brandpotion.com www.technospot.in www.communicaid.com