jihad vs. McWorld
In today’s world, two futures seem to be possible. One is McWorld, which is a concept of globalization. It is a process of International integration and interdependence in the economic, social, technological, political, etc. domains. (The Atlantic) McWorld is made up of four imperatives. The market imperative has strengthened harmony and stability; the resource imperative has led to interdependence and also shows the struggle to find out appropriate resources in the world; the information and technological imperative speeds up the globalization rate and create a homogeneity due to similar advances; and lastly the ecological imperative where we have to make sure of the environmental impact, as we use up the resources in order to make profit. (Apcomparative) On the other hand is Jihad, which is an opposing view of globalization. In this case, Jihad refers to “retribalization” in general and is not only used in reference to religion. (The Atlantic.) It is characterized by an “us” and “them” mentality, in contrast to viewing the world as more interconnected and borderless. (Apcomparative)
The marketing implications of the two opposing views are huge. In McWorld, the lack of meaningful national identity and an increase in homogeny would lead to a decrease in segmentation in marketing. This decrease in marketing segmentation implies that marketing techniques would not be targeted towards different countries or communities. In fact, there would be an increase in universal marketing campaigns for most products and if anything it would be segmented based on gender, age groups, etc. Whereas, in Jihad, marketing segmentation would increase exponentially, as each race, country and community would have its own differences and would be marketed differently and according to what attracts them or suits their needs.
Both McWorld and Jihad have several advantages and disadvantages, and somewhat based on that only one type of future would survive. Jihad, due to its “us” and
The marketing implications of the two opposing views are huge. In McWorld, the lack of meaningful national identity and an increase in homogeny would lead to a decrease in segmentation in marketing. This decrease in marketing segmentation implies that marketing techniques would not be targeted towards different countries or communities. In fact, there would be an increase in universal marketing campaigns for most products and if anything it would be segmented based on gender, age groups, etc. Whereas, in Jihad, marketing segmentation would increase exponentially, as each race, country and community would have its own differences and would be marketed differently and according to what attracts them or suits their needs.
Both McWorld and Jihad have several advantages and disadvantages, and somewhat based on that only one type of future would survive. Jihad, due to its “us” and
Cited: "Jihad vs. McWorld." Apcomparative. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Feb. 2014. . Barber, Benjamin R. "Jihad vs. McWorld." The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, 01 Mar. 1992. Web. 03 Feb. 2014. . Prahalad, C. K., and Allen Hammond. "Serving the World’s Poor, Profitably." Harvard Business Review. N.p., 01 Sept. 2002. Web. 6 Feb. 2014. . Campbell, Alexandra. “ Global Market Segmentation: Understanding the Geo-Political and Socio-Economic environments in World Markets.” Schulich School of Business, York University, North York. 23 Jan. 2014. Lecture 2.