Global StudiesI am a part of the Global Studies Diploma Program, which provides an outlet for students interested in global issues, politics, world culture and art to explore their interest, produce work and make change.
The specific themes of the Global Studies are as follows
Consumer Values
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My CapstoneWatkinson Global Studies requires seniors to take on a year-long capstone project relating to the Global Studies Themes. My project is centered around the essential question, "How do consumers' choices differ between cultures and why?" I first became interested in consumer behavior through my related senior project, which focuses on irrational decision making. My capstone studies different countries' values, cultures and history, and how it effects economic decisions in their societies. I am interested in the psychology and sociology behind global marketing techniques, and why an advertisement for the same product looks different in, for example, the United States, than in China.
ResourcesChew On This by Charles Wilson and Eric Schlosser
Consumer Behavior and Culture by Marieke K. de Mooij Freakonomics by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner 
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Research Paper
One of my three products for my Capstone Project is a research paper focused on the cultural differences in consumer behavior and marketing. Through my research, I explored factors behind consumer behavior, the universal behavioral trends present (if any), cultural differences in consumer behavior, and how companies have adapted their brand to market internationally. My overall conclusion was that despite a growing push to "Americanize" marketing and an assumption of Convergence Theory (a claim that cultures are Westernizing and abandoning their differentiating features), in reality the cultural differences present are too strong to be uprooted.
Main Ideas:
-Cultural values (practicality, efficiency and materialism, to name a few) drive material desires and display themselves in consumers' choices when shopping.
-"Americanization" of the universal consumer is an exaggerated and unrealistic theory.
-In order to market a brand and a product internationally, the company must adapt and model their values to the intended audience. Matching prices to the average local income, incorporating cultural staples into the brand, and showing concern for the local community are all ways a brand can appeal to several different marketplaces.
Main Ideas:
-Cultural values (practicality, efficiency and materialism, to name a few) drive material desires and display themselves in consumers' choices when shopping.
-"Americanization" of the universal consumer is an exaggerated and unrealistic theory.
-In order to market a brand and a product internationally, the company must adapt and model their values to the intended audience. Matching prices to the average local income, incorporating cultural staples into the brand, and showing concern for the local community are all ways a brand can appeal to several different marketplaces.
Brands Successfully Marketed Internationally
Below is a list of brands that have adapted their marketing strategies effectively and achieved global success. I developed this list through my Capstone research, choosing companies that were mentioned several times in various sources as culturally compatible.
Below is a list of brands that have adapted their marketing strategies effectively and achieved global success. I developed this list through my Capstone research, choosing companies that were mentioned several times in various sources as culturally compatible.
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Read my full paper below!
Data Privacy Workshop
I ran a social justice workshop alongside my peers Youssef and Dawit called “Redefining ‘Privacy’ In The Information Age”. This workshop focused on the current U.S. legislature regarding the protection of individual information and data from large corporations. One of our central points was the issue of failure to modernize these laws; The Fourth Amendment is largely outdated and does not cover the various new ways to collect and distribute data, and therefore does not protect U.S. citizens.
My segment of the presentation was inspired by my Capstone, “Cultural Differences in Consumer Behavior and Marketing”. Through my Capstone research, I explored how different cultures advertise products and brands to their consumers, based on norms and values. One specific country I focused on was China, where they are heavily reliant on media platforms to increase brand exposure. Consequently, the data protection laws in China are far more flexible than those in the United States. Consumers’ bank information, browsing history, relationships and affiliations are easily accessible to any company with enough money. However, our society’s reliance on technology has reached such an extent that it is virtually impossible to “disconnect. In the workshop, I discussed the dilemma of protecting individual information while still maintaining an online presence.
I also brought to light the Daryl Morey-Hong Kong Scandal, in which Morey (General Manager of the NBA team The Houston Rockets) published a tweet in support of the 2019 Hong Kong protests against the Chinese Communist party. The NBA has major ties to the Chinese media platform Tencent, which controls more than half of the content Chinese online consumers view. Tencent is the platform that streams NBA games all over China, proving extremely profitable and valuable to the NBA. Tencent is also largely controlled by the Chinese government, and therefore expects its sponsored companies to share the Communist Party views. The NBA forced Morey to issue an apology to Tencent in order to keep their business relationship. In the workshop, we discussed the importance of freedom of speech and individual rights versus profit and financial gain. This scandal surfaces the implications of international data practices that do not match those of the United States.
View our slideshow from the workshop below.
I've also included a link to a video of my portion of the workshop. Watch below!
