Kenya Market Culture Report Paper Example

Kenya is one of the fifty-four countries in Africa that is located in the Eastern region of the continent. Uganda borders the nation in the east, Sudan and Ethiopia to the north, Tanzania to the south, and Somalia and the Indian Ocean to the south. The country is divided into eight provinces and forty-seven counties ruled by governors. Nairobi city is the nation's capital city however the country has other two major cities namely Mombasa and Kisumu, and numerous developed towns. Kenya is a democratic state that attained its independence from the colonization of British in the year 1963 (Hornsby 2013). The country is headed by a president and his deputy. The nation's current president is called Uhuru Kenyatta, and his vice is called William Samoei Ruto.

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The country is known for its wild life and the scenic Indian Ocean beaches that make great tourist destinations. In the nation's wild life reserves such as the Maasai Mara, and Tsavo one can see the occurrence of the wild beast migration which is recorded as one of the Seven Wonders of the World. In the many reserves, one can also get to see animals such as lions, buffalos, rhinoceros, leopard, and the African elephant. According to Jarvie (2013), the nation is also known for its long distance runners who have set and broken numerous track world records. The Ford Motor Company which is an American automotive industry whose headquarters is located in Michigan, Detroit the company was initiated on the 16th of June in the year 1903 by Henry Ford (McShane 2014). The setting up of an automotive manufacturing firm in Kenya by Ford Company would be very beneficial to the company.

Some of the main reasons as to why setting the auto business in Kenya would be advantageous to the company are such as the nation is strategically located. The country is centrally located on the continent this position would thus make it easy for the company to venture into the markets of the other countries in Africa. The nation has a large population of citizens who have skills in relation to the different industries offered yet there are few job opportunities in the market. Ford as a company would be able to get many skilled workers at a low cost from the population. This would enable the company to save on its cost of operation since the expected payment for labor of the country is lower as compared to that of the western nations. The nation is one of the most developed countries in Africa. It has high standard resources such as functional financial institutions, electricity and transportation facilities which are necessary for the setting up of a company are available.

In the country, there are numerous locations with large sizes of lands where the company can set up their manufacturing firm. The areas are also reasonably priced, and thus the company would get a convenient location at a fair price. The country's population would also serve as the firm's primary market since there has been a growing demand for cars that has been caused by an increase in the nation's economy through time. The market would also serve as a test subject for the company. This would enable the company to know the types of cars suitable for the African market thus allowing them to custom make designs that would sell in the African market.

Kenya is a country that is composed of more than forty-two tribes. The many tribes have thus made the country to possess different cultural trends. The country's nationally spoken languages are Swahili and English (Hornsby 2013). However, in the recent years, most of the youths have formed their slang language called Sheng. The language is made up of English, Swahili, and some of the words from their different tribal languages. The tribes in Kenya are subdivided into three main language groups the Bantus, Nilotic, and the Cushitic people. The Bantu people are from communities such as the Kikuyus, Luhyas, Meru, Akamba, and Giriama. People of these communities are majorly located in the central, eastern, western, and coastal regions of the nation. The groups trace their origins to the central region of continent Africa the area around the Congo forest. They mainly migrated into the country while in search of land for farming.

The Nilotic group is subdivided into three other groups. The Plain Nilotic group made up of communities such as the Maasai and Samburu. The Highland Nilotic group is composed of communities such as the Kalenjins, and the Pokot and the River Lake Nilotic group that is made up of the Luo community. The Nilotic groups trace their origin to the Northern part of Africa composed of countries such as Egypt and Tunisia. The group migrated into Kenya while they were on a quest to find the source of River Nile (Eastman 2014). The group is currently located in the basin of the Rift Valley, on the shores of Lake Victoria, and the Southern and Northern part of Kenya. The Cushitic people of Kenya are mainly located in the North Eastern and the Coastal region of Kenya. The group is composed of communities such as the Oromo, Rendile, and the Borana. The communities migrated into Kenya from the Ethiopia and traced the origin to areas such as the Middle East. The conflict in their motherland is what caused to the group to migrate into the country.

The Kenyan coast is also made up of the Swahili community which does not fall under the three main ethno linguistic groups. The community was made up from a mixture of Bantus and the Arabs who intermarried. The Arabs regularly visited the coast from the Middle East mainly for trade purpose (Eastman 2014). People in Kenya still practice and believe in some of their ancient ways of life. However, industrialization of the nation that has been majorly fostered by globalization and education has led many to adopt most of the western cultures. The youth, for example, love the west genre of music such as Hip Hop, R n B, Rock, Jazz, and Country Music and are very familiar with most of the musicians such as Drake, Lil Wayne, Taylor Swift, and Maroon five. The influence from the western music has led them to form their genre of music called Kapuka and Genge which has similar concepts such as tune and flow to that of the west (Eisenberg & Dhabi 2015). Like the youths from the United States, they are usually hooked to social media avenues such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Most of them are also familiar with major designer brands such as Gucci, Versace, Nike, and Armani. Some of them participate in westernized traditions such as the celebration of Halloween and the Thanksgiving festivals. Most of the Kenyans have also embraced the Western forms of religion such as Christianity which is currently the nation's main religion.

The business culture of Kenya has many differences as compared to that of the United States. Some of these differences are such as the country's market is flooded with foreign products while the market in the United States has many products that are made in the country. The automotive retailers in Kenya for example, only sell vehicle of companies such as Toyota, BMW, Mercedes, and Mazda that are shipped from Europe and Asia. The lack of finance and required skills to make products locally is what has discouraged most investors in Kenya from making most of the products locally. Retailers in the United States, on the other hand, sell cars such as Cadillac, Chevrolet, and Ford which are made in the United States. However, the retailers also sell vehicles from firms such as Toyota, BMW, and Mercedes, that have their manufacturing branches in the nation. The production companies usually make vehicles that are customized to the taste and preference of citizens of the United States. According Leberrgott (2014), the support of the formation of local industries by the government is what has promoted the local production of most of the products in the United States' market.

The consumers in Kenya prefer buying products manufactured by foreign countries as compared to those made in Kenya. The customers in the United States, on the other hand, prefer buying products made by United States firms. The Mobius and Nyayo, for example, are vehicles that are locally manufactured in Kenya. The sales of the cars have been very low. This even led to the closing down of the Nyayo automotive factory. The consumers view Kenyan products as products that are of inferior quality as compared to those from other countries, yet they are highly priced. The customers in the United States, for example, prefer the Apple phones to the Samsung phone since they are very proud of the products manufactured in their country.

Entrepreneurs in Kenya prefer setting sole proprietorship businesses while entrepreneurs in the United States prefer partnering with each other. Kenyans prefer sole proprietorship since they see them as the more profitable business since the profit is not shared among the partners. Businesspeople from the United States prefer partnership since it facilitates the division of labor and makes the process of raising startup capital easy. Kenya mainly exports products raw materials (Findley 2016). Some of the nation's main exports are such as coffee, tea, flowers, vegetables, and fruits. The United States, on the other hand mainly exports finished products such as computers, vehicles, aircraft, and pharmaceuticals. However, both countries import more products as compared to their exports. The countries leading imports are machinery from China and crude oil from the Middle East.

According to Samaha et al. (2014), the Hofstede's cultural dimension was developed by Professor Geert Hofstede, Gert Jan Hofstede, and Michael Minkov. It demonstrates how cultural influence the values held by individuals in relation to their work. It is composed of six main dimensions that assist in the analysis of individuals cultural views. The six dimensions are individualism and collectivism, long and short term orientation, indulgence and restraint, masculinity, avoidance of uncertainty, and the distance of power. The individualism and collectivism dimension analyzes the views held by people in relation to group settings. Individualistic cultures usually value personal goals while collective societies value the growth of the community. Citizens in Kenya are individualistic thus foreign investors for example need to focus on presenting goals and incentives that promote personal goals to motivate their workers to work harder.

The distance of power analysis enables the determination of the view held by the less powerful individuals in the community in relation to the dispensation of power. Communities with a low power distance score believe that everyone is equal despite of their position. Those with a high power distance score believe that power is hierarchical. These kinds of people usually find comfort in their positions through accepting their place (Ferraro & Brody 2015). The Kenyan culture has a low power distance score, and thus companies are required to set systems that offer individuals an opportunity to rise through ranks. Uncertainty highlights on the ability of the society to tolerate sudden changes. Communities that can easily tolerate change usually set fewer regulations governing them. The once that cannot tolerate change, on the other hand, often sets many rules that help them avoid any possible adverse implications that may be caused by the sudden changes. Kenyan's are cautious people which mean they avoid uncertainty. Foreigners investing in the company should thus aim at showing how the business will make their future better to gain the confidence of the citizens.

Masculinity highlights on the society view of gender roles and equality. The measure of masculinity usually analyzes how individuals see women ability to lead a population. Kenya is a country that promotes equality thus for a fore...