Implementing and maintaining new mobile technology based projects in health care is a huge potential business opportunity. It will also sustain a healthier population in Kenya, which is currently experiencing a huge growth in the emerging middle class segment, along with other African countries.

World Bank Grant

Mobile phones are omnipresent in Kenya, and internet usage is for the most part done through mobile devices. Within the decade, internet access is predicted to be done primarily accessed through mobile phones, exceeding the use of laptops and computers. The World Bank recognizes that Kenya can become the internet hub of Africa, which is why it awarded a $55 million grant to enhance accountability through web-based applications which can transform the economy.

The money will finance Kenya developers to create simple solutions to daily health and education problems and seek new ways to enhance government accountability while raising the economy through online job creation.

A World Bank statement noted that after Ghana, Kenya has the second-fastest broadband on the continent. This led to a 90% reduction in overall internet capacity prices, and raised internet penetration was from three to 37 percent. Even today, mobile phones are widely used for health enhancement – and that does not yet include the use of the internet.

AIDS, HIV and mobile phones

Consider Zuhura Hussein, 38, cited in MIT’s Technology Review article. Hussein is a community health worker in Kibera, a 170,000 population slum area. It reeks of poor sanitation and is a breeding ground for HIV, tuberculosis and other infectious diseases. Ironically, Kibera lies just one block away from Nairobi’s most posh mega shopping center.

Hussein is a community health worker. She urges Kibera residents to get medical check-ups and vaccinations. Through her Nokia 6070 mobile phone, she can daily reach patients with HIV and tuberculosis to remind them that it is time for them to take their medication.

The idea of using mobile phones for better health service in Kenya started five years ago. Richard Lester, a Canadian infectious-disesase specialist, saw that mobile phones were plentiful in Kenya. He also saw that there was on average one doctor per 6,000 citizens.

Lester’s group collaborated with three health centers to link up with HIV positive patients. Every week, they texted patients to ask if they needed antiretroviral (ARV) drugs or medical assistance. The results of Lester’s trial (published in the MIT 2010 report) revealed a higher percentage of regular drug intake among those who received reminders versus those who did not. Also, 57% of those reminded experienced suppression of drug loads versus 48% in the control group.

Lester believes that if all 410,000 Kenyans on ARVs use this system, HIV can suppressed the viral load of some 36,000, incurring a $17.4 million savings in healthcare costs that would otherwise go to the need for more expensive drugs, because AIDS onset was not forestalled.

A second clinical trial, Academic Model for Providing Access to Healthcare (AMPATH) was a collaboration of Indiana University School of Medicine and Kenya’s Moi University. By using mobile phones AMPATH maintained the medical records of 130,000 HIV-positive patients. This allowed them to run automated reminders to patients through Android phones. Also, some 55 clinics now have quick and easy access to the patients’ records to determine the medicines and tests they need.

A third clinical trial, called OpenMRS. was operated by Paul Biondich, research scientist of Indiana’s Regenstrief Institute. Through text message reminders, the incidence of the passage of the HIV-positive infection from pregnant mothers to their babies fell below 3%, compared to 15% in other areas where the reminder system was not applied.

Beyond Aids A Long Way to Go

With appropriate apps, other trials showed successes in other areas. In a country with an average one doctor per 6,000 people, an app like MedAfrica made a huge difference. People now had links to doctors an dentists, and could access advice for first aid care. Currently some 43,000 phones have this app. If a doctor is inaccessible, they can always be linked to storefront clinics that can also dispense of medical advice by phone.

Even more distressing is the quick spread of infectious diseases not only of AIDS but tuberculosis and others. The government of Kenya needed to have a quick and efficient tracking system to be immediately informed of disease outbreaks so that they could respond immediately and in a way that responded to specific immediate needs.

A cost friendly and efficient solution was delivered by a 21-year-old senior IT student at Strathmore, Erick Njenga and three of his classmates. Upon the instructions of their professor, they developed a program by which thousands of health workers can report and track spreads of diseases in real time throubh mobile phones. The program developed by these students is pivotal to Kenya where the HIV rate is 10 times that of the US, and other leading killer diseases like malaria and tuberculosis can now be addressed and lives saved.

Even more amazing, Njenga and his classmates developed the program at a slice of what the government would have paid if it has pushed through with an initial plan to hire a multinational contractor from Netherlands, at a contract that totaled $1.9 million. The project did not proceed because it relied on only one type of phone. Under the far less expensive program developed by Njenga and his classmates, the same can be achieved with any type of mobile phone.

Just as well, because Njenga and his classmates achieved all of this in the spring of 2011 and only received internship pay of some $150 per month. Their app permits disease reports to come in from any mobile. It went into operation last summer, and is called the Integrated Disease Surveillance Response system. Currently, they are also working on an new app that will enable the health ministry to track pharmaceuticals distribution to government hospitals and clinics to prevent waste and shortages.

Room for Improvement

While the success of these clinical trials are impressive, there are downsides. First, the sheer size of the problems of Kenya and second, the lack of financial commitment to successful clinical trials which inhibit their continuance and propagation.

Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest incidence of HIV, and the greatest need. But programs such as those mentioned above end as soon as funding dries up. Only a fraction of those in need benefit from the trials. There is still so much more to do, in the short term and long term. Lester, who started the use of mobile phones for improved health service in Kenya, ran out of funds in 2009.

The challenge is continuance, and this has to be accomplished by people who are committed to this because they themselves are the beneficiaries of it. With the World Bank grant, it is hoped that the finances will be geared towards a long term maintenance direction.

The Startup Culture is strong in Kenya. A number of homegrown technology cultures have come up, such as iHub, which in December 2007 enabled Kenyans to give first hand reports of ethnic violence, including the presidential election violence that ensued that year. iHub is also used in other countries — South Africa, Russia, Haiti and the USA where it was used to map flood problems in the Missouri River.

Kenya’s first mass-market Android, Safari.com, went on sale in 2010 with up to 600,000 phones of various types on their network. They expect to corner 80 percent of the market within two years. Another example is Shimba Technologies, led by University of Nairobi graduates Steven Kyalo and Kezia Mumo. They created MedAfrica, the software that lists government doctors and dentists, and first-aid menus and diagnostic information.

Local entrepreneurship is strong in Kenya. The World Bank grant can focus on these, have multiple achievements in health and economy at a fraction of the cost in the long term, if carefully handled.

Bruce Gilley begins his book by identifying the basics of what democracy is. First and foremost, Gilley says, democracy is a system where the leaders are selected through free and fair elections. In pointing this out, Gilley also addresses common issues: Tolerance, liberalism and judicial impartiality. That being said, Gilley says democracy is definitely in China’s future.

He then addresses what consequences democracy may have for a country. There are two sides here. Inasmuch as democracy lends government legitimacy and freedom, it may also lead to violence, criminal acts and possibly, civil war. In the short run, there is the risk of stagnation and economic shrinkage. But in the long run, Gilley foresees steady economic growth taking over.

How will China’s culture respond to democracy? Noting its core Confucian roots, Gilley admits this cultural core is fundamentally antidemocratic. However, he also points out that all countries that are democratic today did not start out that way. They were once nondemocratic, too. This has happened to countries in the West and other parts of the world. Certainly, it can happen to any country, including China, Gilley says.

The author then considers the wishes of China’s people. He notes that all fields of people, including the intellectuals, say they want democracy and the reign of a popular voice. Gilley adds that the Chinese Communist Party and the influential military are also advocating liberalism. China is presently in a pro democracy stage.

Previous studies have suggested that utilitarian regimes tend to crumble when GDP per capita swells to between 3,000 and 10,000 dollars. A World Bank estimate indicated that in 2002, the GDP swelled to $4,000 in terms of purchasing power in China.

How Will China Democratize?

Gilley outlines several developments in China that point towards democracy. These include a growing kind of rule of law, an emergent civil society, ongoing debates on democracy within the CPP, political structural changes, continuous international communication, efforts towards globalization and even de-politicization of the military, among others. Gilley predicts that China will undergo three stages in its path to democratization:

The Crisis: This will occur when differences emerge between authoritarian rule and the normal crisis. He outlines two aspects of the same: it could be national and then be blamed on the very regime itself, or a political-economic crisis that first appears remote and unimportant — before suddenly landing at center stage. Gilley believes that China as a country may not face an economic slowdown. However, he does admit that it is still a possibility, going by the model of other countries when they were new democracies. One of the economic problems that China currently faces is a 7 percent GDP deficit, that can only be solved by printing more money- a phenomenon that may easily lead to inflation if not properly checked.

The Mobilization: The tendency of people and societies is to respond to crisis by reorganizing themselves. Mobilizing becomes intense if the crisis stands on the political arena and various activist groups band together with some elite reformist groups to mobilize and demand change.

Defection of the Elite and a Democratic Breakthrough: Once mobilization has been accomplished and the elite gains majority support, they finally announce that the only way to deal with the present crisis is to reform the existing political system. They then establish an interim government, which will announce a date when the elections will be held, and once they are held, democracy is achieved. Gilley asserts that the defection of the elite society from the rest of the people is the key to the onset of a democratic society.

Consolidation of Democracy

Gilley observes that during democracy’s third wave, a total of 29 democratic governments have managed to survive. These include the democratic governments of Albania, Bulgaria and Romania. However, some of them seem to have reached a point of stagnation. The next issue, then, is to ensure that democracy will last. In the case of China, there are mixed views on this. However, with proper management, then it is highly likely that China will have the opportunity to become a consolidated democracy.

Why is this so? For several reasons — China has a significant middle class with a lot of determination, a market economy, a de facto decentralized government, a democratic legacy, an emerging rule of law, a functioning state apparatus and a de-politicized military. The factors that work against a prosperous democracy in China, however, are numerous ethnic divisions, income inequalities, corruption, fiscal weaknesses, a disorganized opposition and a general antidemocratic cultural mindset.

It is also unknown what choices will be made by China’s political elites. However, great success can be attained if the decisions the elite makes are intended for the nation’s prosperity — and not to satisfy the selfish goals of some leaders who present themselves as a gateway to the cake. The decisions of the political elite will affect the whole face of democratic China in a massive way.

What Will a Democratic China Mean to the World?

The democratization of China will mean a fundamental change to global politics at every level, basically. It will come in terms of “soft power”, that is, the ability to influence the nations of the world at large. This is a legitimate claim. Representing 1.3b people, China will basically become the world’s largest democracy.

Gilley is also of the view that a democratized China will lead to questions such as equitable allocation of national resources and issues about the fair distribution of resources globally, among others. There is an argument today that globalization is producing characteristically rich countries that are getting richer while the poor countries get poorer. There are feelings that a democratic China will provide clear answers to these concerns.

That being said, other questions remain, and rather large ones at that: Is the world prepared to deal with a democratic China? And if that is so, what will (and should) the global response be? Gilley’s next book may have to tackle these questions.

So far, multinationals have made gains in particular niches. However, none had achieved market leadership on a large scale in India. The report cited examples of companies that failed by clinging to old global business paradigms. When they shifted tracks, they experienced a turnaround.

In the article in The Economist, ‘Less is more‘, (Nov 17th, 2011) supports the contention that old global business models are no longer effective in today’s market. In the past, developing countries were perceived to be sources of lower labor costs. Today these countries are creative and are building low-cost technology and machinery that are being sold in developed markets.

One of the cited examples is the Fetal Heart Monitor, developed by Siemens. The idea for it came from India. In the past, ultrasounds were used to monitor the heart of the fetus. But these machines are expensive, complicated and one must be trained on how to use it. In India they simply used off-the-shelf microphones. German engineers improved the product without changing its simplicity. Anyone can operate a Fetal Heart Monitor without any training. It is also much cheaper than an ultrasound.

New business paradigms needed in India

A new global business paradigm must utilize the capacity of large corporations to grasp the expertise of developed countries and combine it with innovative creations from developing countries like India. To do this successfully will mean letting go of old global business market mindsets and paradigms that didn’t succeed in India. These include:

• The concept that one model fits all: This is not true in India. The country’s market is largely fragmented. In essence, there are many “Indias” within India. There is a plethora of cultures, geography, different languages, literacy levels and financial levels per culture group. There is a need to understand each of these cultures’ ways, needs and circumstances, so that products can be adjusted to meet each cultural market’s requirements to enhance sales
• Hierarchy, bureaucratic roadblocks: A foreign multinational head who holds all decision making power poses a disadvantage, especially if he is based outside the country. He is unfamiliar with India’s unique business culture. Plus, India regularly experiences changing market conditions. The multinational head fails to respond to these changes adequately

Some multinationals recognized the flaws of centralized autonomy. They responded by delegating a high degree of autonomy to Indian operations. In one case, a company that did this experienced a 30% revenue growth yearly from 2001 – 2005, the McKinsey report said.

Delegate autonomy to India

Transferring autonomy to Indian operations is the crux of needed change by multinationals. It implies that only India’s top talent is tapped to handle the delegated autonomy competently. The Indian leader has knowledge of, and experience with the Indian market. He decides on capital expenditure, head-counts, product development, product customization and pricing. He also oversees empowerment of lower management levels to enhance innovation and free enterprise.

Strong middle management is critical to successfully implementing business growth strategy. Ironically, India lacks good local middle management talent. The McKinsey report cited three ways that some multinationals have responded to the situation. First, through the institution of a fair and transparent reward system based on performance. This included incentives including career advancement to encourage self starters with high performance levels. Secondly, through the creation of prestigious job positions. These jobs included membership on executive committees and global visibility. Other incentives were higher salaries and more authority. The position was usually granted to those with strengths on entrepreneurship.

The final way is through the provision of certified leadership development courses. This became an incentive to recruit new talent and was a way to retain good performers. Leadership programs were also introduced that provided mobility and structured global rotation for top performers.

Commitment raises bottom line

It is necessary that multinational companies shift their vision when they do business in India. It is not efficient nor profitable to always focus on the bottom line. A shift in vision will call for more commitment on the part of the multinational in many ways. One means of doing this would be to expand commitment cycles. Ideally, top leadership should aim for five-year target cycles in India, and aim high. Commitment would also require global CEOs and senior executives to visit the country an average of four times yearly. This will give them the opportunity to dialogue with local clients, and get a keener understanding of shifting business cycles so that they would have an eye on which local investments deserve continued support amid business cycles.

It goes without saying that when a multinational delegates authority to its Indian CEO, there is sufficient funding to back him up. This implies, too, that the multinational has aimed high and hired only the best man for the job. At the same time, understanding the capability of your Indian CEO, it is mutually beneficial that he also has a place in global executive committees.

Quality products, lower cost

Success in India requires understanding the spending power and the demands of the Indian market. Indians like good quality products, but these should be available at prices they can afford. To make these products affordable without sacrificing quality, one can remove frills that can cut production cost from 50-70%. Sometimes, there is a side benefit to the above. An example that McKinsey cited involved a low cost, no-frills tractor that a multinational firm created for Indian farmers. The product also, surprisingly, became marketable in the US, where a number of farmers wanted a sophisticated yet affordable tractor. What yinned, in essence, also yanged.

However, producing a good product is not enough, especially in India. It is necessary to have a distribution network and chain supply that works efficiently among the various “Indias within India.” This means that the multinationals must retain strong relationships with their leading stakeholders, such as external agencies, the government and regulators.

When making a five-cycle business plan, part of the plan should be to aim high. This would mean regularly seeking new business development options. A specific team must be formed for the purpose of developing local partnerships that enhance revenue. McKinsey cited the example of a large beverage firm that was hindered, among other things, by labor laws that made distribution expensive. The firm solved its problem and circumvented these laws by contracting local distribution entrepreneurs. In the end, market penetration was enhanced, at significantly lower costs.

Finally, it is time for multinationals to outsource Indian products and talent globally. India’s products are cheaper, and the country has a vast talent pool to produce these products on a much larger scale. This can be done with an R & D team from India that is tasked to discover new innovations in the country that are relevant to markets overseas.

Sources:

https://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Strategy/Globalization/How_multinationals_can_win_in_India_2938#

http://www.economist.com/node/21537984

An ethnographer can also deduce the mechanics of various events in a society by studying or researching about the local laws, Government and statutory policies along with historical trends and records. By understanding each and every aspect of a community, it is possible for an ethnographer or a researcher to fine tune their findings and create a precise report on the distinctive differences in opinions and decision making processes that happens within the society.

Most of the time during ethnographical research, an ethnographer is expected to live within the society and co-exist with the subjects or population who are being researched. Hence, contrary to Cultural Anthropology, a lot of field work is involved, and actual personal interaction with people is vital in creating an effective model of the society and its culture. The social status of an ethnographer is irrelevant, as they are required to live among the general populace like an ordinary individual to keep the research real and objective.

Having a good rapport with informants and knowledgeable people within the society is imperative from the researcher’s perspective, as this can ensure a constant stream of good quality information and data throughout the duration of the research. It is customary for ethnographers to be involved in the field work for an extended duration, and at times, spending more than a year or two for comprehensive research is quite possible and essential.

An ethnographer arrives at a conclusive data only after analyzing and researching through several different resources. An ethnographer can choose to use existing data to build up their facts, but their current research materials will function as a base for creating a cultural frame of analysis.

The field work in ethnography is the most important aspect of the research. There is usually a collection of information gathering techniques that can help the researcher understand and record the meaning and intention of social activities and their decisions in the community that naturally occur from the people of the community. This collection of techniques is usually known as the ‘Field’ in ethnography. The ultimate aim of such kind of a research is to present an unbiased opinion of the society without any input from the researcher on their personal point of view.

An ethnographer should be willing to use several information gathering techniques and strategies to nurture successful relationships with the people of a community to achieve detailed characterization of the society and its people. The methods of data collection vary from interviews, surveys, in-depth informant observation and experiencing the culture through first-hand experience. The interview process is supposed to be seamless, and is often taped to be transcribed at a later date. By taping an interview, it is usually easier for the researcher to keep the flow of information exchange intact without having to break the conversation to take down notes. Interview tapes can also be used for further analysis, reference as well as future research purposes. As part of the overall research process, an ethnographer can also go through various documents and other research materials to validate their research and to gain valuable insights into topics that were left out during their current studies.

Participant observation is the process of settling down at the locality of research on a long term basis for finding out about the society. In ethnographical research, participant observation relates to observing and analyzing the different aspects of a society for a considerable amount of time, and this data forms the basis for further studies and research. Participant observation is a highly imperative aspect for an ethnographer. To be able to successfully understand the lifestyle or culture of a society, an ethnographer should be able to understand what it is like to live in the setting without any personal attachments. In brief, an ethnographer should experience the life within a society without contributing to it and should be detached from any personal feelings to offer unbiased information on the experience.

An ethnographer is just an observer of life, and will not, under any circumstances, try to change the outcome of the research through personal involvement. However, during the course of research, it is commonplace for ethnographers to form emotional attachment with their subjects, and can be an advocate to the citizens of the community. This is often the result of spending large amounts of time by living amongst the subjects and going through different experiences. But ethnographers are bound to (and should) keep such emotional bonds private and out of the scope of ethnography.

Due to the historical significance and disciplinary aspects of cultures, ethnographers from the early days used to concentrate on different regions outside their nations to practice ethnography. This resulted in ethnographers relatively ignoring the huge possibilities of ethnographical research and studies within their home and locality. The end result is that the ethnographical research data and information currently available for United States is done by different nationalities. But these days, numerous Cultural Anthropologists and ethnographers are increasingly getting immersed in researching their own society and there are more people are inclined to do fieldwork at their own places of residence or work.

Conducting interviews in person is one of the most basic and effective ways of receiving clear-cut and targeted information by asking flexible questions. As with all other avenues, ethnography also possesses a range of varying interview concepts. But it is up to the ethnographer to choose the interview style that best suits the circumstances. Qualitative research is entirely different to quantitative research. Quantitative research deals in getting answers from a set of predetermined choices from the most amounts of people in a demographic. This often tends to be representative of the instantaneous choice of the subjects, rather than thoughtful and qualitative information. In a qualitative research, however, the importance is given to the quality of the information, rather than the quantity. This allows subjects to respond freely and voice their opinion on questions, rather than limiting them to pre-defined choices. ethnographic interviews tend to be largely similar to a normal everyday conversation, but there are differences that one can spot quite easily. Interviews can be impulsive, casual and instantaneous, as the questions are targeted, and no one can prepare a set of pre-determined questions to understand the specific details of a society.

Various research projects require different sources and types of data, which initiates researchers to find alternate sources for information. In most cases, this information is found through existing research reports, Government documents, magazines and even newspaper articles. These commodities are often representative of the actual happenings and news within a society. It is not essential to consider these artifacts and literature as a primary source for data, but they can be used as a secondary reference when specific research and studies require extensive and relevant information.

The main aspect of ethnography is field work. Gathering data is done through personal interaction, which necessitates the ethnographer to obtain information through various direct approaches. An ethnographer will have to relocate to different localities, and might be required to shift their base to a different country or a community to interact with their research subjects. Such an interaction and keen observation can help ethnographers gain valuable information on the effects of Government policies and local laws on people’s lives. An ethnographer should obtain data from different sources, and must consider the larger picture, instead of focusing on a single individual. By adopting a holistic approach, the conclusive report can be representative of the entire community, rather than focusing attention on singular examples.

The final report is created after the fieldwork is completed. This is an opportunity for the ethnographer to convey their studies and experiences in a pre-defined format. These reports usually contain a journal of their daily life experiences, lifestyles, social rituals, cultural phenomenon, and details of other activities that form the basis of the society under research. Researchers using ethnography as a basis for their study can use a wide variety of disciplines. For instance, an ethnographer will resort to biology to study the different aspects of food and consumption, whereas, geology is used to understand more about the environmental and geographical conditions.

The roots of ethnography can be traced back to socio-cultural anthropology. Sociocultural anthropology is a blend of social and cultural anthropology that deals in finding out the core differences in human behavior under varying social circumstances and in different cultures. ethnography is being largely used in social studies to understand the various aspects of different cultures across the world, and is also used to better comprehend the values of historians. History does tend to make use of ethnographical studies to understand the evolution of humans and their culture across generations. Ethnography is also used in the present day context to improve communications so as to enhance trade ideas between different ethnic groups and cultures.

What is an Ethnographer

An ethnographer is a person who deals in ethnography. In essence, an ethnographer is responsible for collecting and recording data using social references to analyze and arrive at conclusions on human culture and behavior. The research techniques adopted by an ethnographer varies according to the specific study or research that is specific to a society or culture. Ethnography is a broad subject, and there are sub-topics such as Field, Visual and Design Ethnography.

The choice of ethnographical study group is up to the ethnographer, and they decide to adopt a category depending on the specific requirements for studying different models to arrive at a logical reasoning. It is the duty of an ethnographer to clearly understand the problems experienced by a large group of people from varied cultures and living under different backgrounds using ethnography as a basis to find recognizable patterns.

The data represented by ethnographers will depict the point of view of a person within a culture or society that is being based for the ethnographical study. This will help researchers understand the occurrences and cultural phenomenon that happens within a society from an insider’s perspective. The advantage of these studies is that all amounts of research available to the researcher will help them gain valuable information from ethnographical representation through a “first-hand experience’, rather than deriving them out of existing data and assumptions from outdated socio-cultural models. On other accounts, an ethic perspective can only provide data and information from an analytical and distant point of view, thereby separating the researcher from the actual experience.

Ethnography vs Cultural Anthropology

Ethnography is in broader terms; a field related to and branched from cultural anthropology. Cultural anthropology deals with the study on human culture and behavioral aspects of humans in societies.

It is characteristic for people to get confused between ethnography and cultural anthropology. There are even instances where both are used conversely. The matter of the fact is that ethnography is far simpler in terms of research and approach when compared to cultural anthropology. The research techniques associated with cultural anthropology deals in grouping together data and hypothesis on various occurrences and phenomenon related to the society. On the other hand, ethnography deals in furthering research through building up from the already available empirical data of existing models on societies and human culture.

Ethnography encompasses most of the aspects of cultural anthropology. Ethnography is actually related to finding out about the society or culture through direct interaction with the subjects, while cultural anthropology adopts studying about society and culture as a part of science. Therefore, cultural anthropology is considered as an academic discipline, while ethnography may be considered as a research oriented approach to cultural anthropology.

The fields of expertise for an ethnographer range from education, geography, education, economics, linguistics and social work that forms the basis of a society. While choosing their area of specialty, ethnographers should accumulate data that can be used for the overall welfare of the society, or can in turn be used to aid business ventures or economic ideas. In most cases, the information gathered by ethnographers will be used to improve the living standards of people within the society by understanding their basic needs.

Ethnography finds quite a lot of significance in cultural anthropology, and the information that is accumulated through ethnographical research is often used by various anthropologists to help them better understand and build up on the various aspects of a society. Ethnography can provide great insights into the basic human behavior, and helps keep track of the changing trends in lifestyle and culture. This is why various advertisement and marketing agencies make use of ethnographical research data to target their advertisements so as to cater to the latest consumer trends and market demands.

An ethnographer’s technique in research on social and cultural values varies greatly from an Anthropologist’s perspective. However, the fundamentals behind the collection of information are embedded in the overall academic discipline of Anthropology. In many ways, one can consider ethnography to be a qualitative research process that describes the outcome in the form of interpretation of the social behavior and culture of a specific ethnicity or demographic. An ethnographer’s job is not to observe the aspects of a civilization from a distance, but to understand and analyze various events that occur within a civilization or society through first-hand experience.

Ethnography for Business

Presently, large multi-national companies and business organizations are increasingly spending a large amount of money and effort on ethnography to understand the demands of the market and to tailor their products or services according to the existing demand. The concept of demand and supply with respect to consumers in the market can be clearly understood using ethnographical research strategies. Ethnography is the basis for all new product or service ideas development.

Businesses require ethnographers to be true to their research standards by being systematic and complete in their ethnographic methods. All the first-hand and real life experience gained by an ethnographer will be put to good use while designing and developing products. The research data will also help companies understand or tap into any unknown aspirations for products or services that are relatively non-existent in the market. Unlike normal quantitative research methods, where the data is being generated through word of mouth or controlled opinions from a small set of individuals or focus groups, ethnography deals in qualitative data acquisition, which is the actual real life experiences and scenarios associated with a community. Hence, by avoiding focus groups and surveys, ethnography can cater to the exact requirements of the public demands, and can help companies with better marketing and advertising to actually sell their products and services to the customers. There might be various cultural and social stigmas associated with several products, and by opting for ethnography, rather than focus groups, it is possible to avoid the perils of ordinary focus group oriented research and data.

Design ethnography is one of the key disciplines that work well with businesses and companies. Design ethnography deals with the study of requirements, desires, impulses and overall demand of people in a community. Design ethnography is highly targeted and oriented towards offering key research data for companies to build products and services to cater to the demands or requirements of the consumers in a demographic. The key aspect of Design Ethnography is that the research done by design ethnographers can be used by all industries, and there isn’t any need for different types of research or data acquisition. As an example for this kind of ethnographical research, the lack of consistent electrical or power supply in a majority of developing nations has led various companies to design consumer electronic products such as mobile phones to work on alternate sources of energy. This was made possible by directly experiencing the issues faced by the people within that community through ethnography.

Online Ethnography, Virtual Ethnography

Online ethnography is the latest addition to the field of ethnographical research, and its presence or requirement was fueled by the increase in online presence of various social communities and businesses. Online ethnography, or also known as virtual ethnography, is entirely similar to normal ethnography, the difference being that the entire research is based out of online experiences. The virtual world doesn’t allow actual physical interaction between people, but virtual ethnographers tend to work around the concept of experiencing the social behavior of people and communities through online avenues. Unlike normal communities and societies, social networks bring together a group of people on the basis of their passion, ideas and beliefs, rather than being based out of an actual geographical location.

The basic idea behind virtual social communities is to share ideas and views on different subjects that are of interest to a particular group of people. There are different strategies adopted by online or virtual ethnographers to research and understand such groups. One way to research these communities is to actually join the group as a participant and share ideas to get involved in the group, which will eventually help the ethnographer to gain useful insights about the people involved and the community as a whole. On the other hand, virtual ethnographers can remain in the background and analyze the community from a distance. This is usually done by being anonymous and invisible to the community that is being researched. While this may prove to be a great way for the ethnographer to remain hidden, the process of researching an online community from a distance is also called “Lurking”. Lurking involves studying or monitoring the actions of a part or all of the components of the community, from a distance, to gain a better understanding of the fundamentals and ideas that contribute to the events that happen within the online community or society.

This development makes it possible for a huge number of people from low-income households to get access to the Internet for the first time. Unlike their counterparts in the developed world, their first encounter with the Internet will not be on a desktop computer, but rather through a mobile device. Today, lower income groups from developing countries are purchasing mobile phones in incredible numbers.

One example is Ranvir Singh of Uttar Pradesh, India. In a recent issue of The Economist, Singh’s described how his milk delivery business rose by 25% after acquiring a mobile phone. His clients can now call him to place orders. In the past, he personally had to visit clients to schedule deliveries.

In the Philippines the mobile technology development was born out of necessity. As a consequence, the country has become a leading player in mobile technology development over the past decade, according to an article in Yahoo Philippines.

Because of the country’s geography, people traditionally had to wait 10 to 20 years to get a regular land line (compared to 3 weeks in the U.S.). In the distant villages the situation was even worse. Filipinos would have to line up to use a public land line in the city center. Today, almost every maid, driver and family in the province own their own mobile phone.

BRICI countries are leading the way

In a report titled The Internet’s New Billion, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) found that sales of mobile internet phones in the BRICI countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and Indonesia) will reach 1.2 billion internet users by 2015, compared to 610 million internet users in 2009. The BRICI countries comprise of 45 percent of global GDP.

The majority of these projected new internet users will connect to the internet solely through mobile phones. Presently 1.8 billion mobile phone users are in BRICI countries. But by 2015, BCG predicts that SIM mobile phone penetration will rise by 84 percent in China, 75 percent in India, and 100 percent in Indonesia and Brazil.

With the concurrent rise of sophisticated handsets and dropping production prices, internet access through a mobile phone is becoming the most cost efficient and accessible way to connect online, compared to laptops, desktop computers and internet cafes.

Mobile internet to exceed PC and laptop internet by 2016

A separate study by Susan Huynh, published in Forrester Research World Mobile Adoption Forecast 2011 to 2016 (Global) confirms this development: By 2016, mobile internet users will exceed PC and laptop internet users. The emerging market will lead this change.

Huynh noted that mobile phone sales soared globally in the last five years. By 2016 she predicts the cost of accessing data through mobile internet will decline. This will cause mobile phone sales to exceed laptop and computer sales.

In the Philippines, Yahoo has been cognizant of this emerging market. Tommaso del Re, who heads Yahoo! Mobile in Southeast Asia, said in the Yahoo Philippines article, “In the Philippines and in the rest of Southeast Asia, there is a new wave of users who will be accessing the internet for the first time. Their experience will not be on a desktop but rather through a mobile.”

Del Re said that part of successfully tapping this market is knowing what is important to them and providing it. He said, “Yahoo! concentrates on creating digital content and experiences that connect people to what matters to them most. We’re doing this by re-imagining experiences across all devices that Filipino people choose to use, using science to create deeply personal experiences for them; and pushing for development scale and audience reach by harnessing industry standard technologies like HTML5, CSS3 and JavaScript.”

Cultural trends and relevance to sales

Part of keeping the product locally relevant involves locating in the target market and keeping abreast of culture and trends. Yahoo has an office in the Philippines and maintains an editorial team of Filipinos and has tapped on respected bloggers. It has also partnered with handset manufacturers including Nokia.

At the Global Mobile Internet Conference in Beijing last year, focus was laid on the need to keep the internet relevant to the emerging market. Online usage varies per country, economic class, culture and education level.

Rama Mamuaya of DailySocial.net in Indonesia cited its strong culture of connection, for example, the popularity of Facebook: “Through Facebook people in remote areas in Indonesia can now stay in contact with people in their village or even worldwide,” Rama said.

The same culture of connection prevails in Vietnam, panelist Daniel Morton, CFO, Skunkworks, said. “The government didn’t officially ban Facebook but they pressured telcos to (do so).” Even in countries where Facebook has been blocked by the government, people are still accessing it through a variety of online technologies, such as Virtual Private Networks.

Now, with the inclusion of internet applications in mobile phones, this emerging market will be entering the digital age for the first time, leveling the playing field in online information access. The business possibilities for the mobile phone industry are huge. By 2015 phone sales are expected to multiply, mostly from this emerging market.

With the rise of the mobile internet industry in this emerging market, a concurrent rise in educational level is foreseen. Governments must recognize that facilitated access to information can enhance educational possibilities. This huge, potential market, with an enhanced educational level, can help millions of people out of poverty and give way for even more business opportunities in the internet industry. As the emerging market gains literacy, they will go beyond connection, music and games in their internet usage.

Sources:
http://www.economist.com/node/16944020
http://www.techinasia.com/the-mobile-internet-in-emerging-markets/
http://blogs.forrester.com/susan_huynh/12-02-21-mobile_internet_users_will_soon_surpass_pc_internet_users_globally
http://ph.news.yahoo.com/blogs/the-protege-project/philippines-conquers-world-mobile-technology-023550557.html
http://www.bcg.com/expertise_impact/capabilities/globalization/publicationdetails.aspx?id=tcm:12-58652&mid=tcm:12-58659

An article posted recently in India Times revealed a big change on men’s approach to shopping. According to the management of one of the biggest shopping centers in India, the Damodar Mall, the number of men found shopping is increasing dramatically. In one study, it was found that 40% of the customers lining up in the cashier’s area were men. The increase in the number of Indian entrepreneurs who engaged into selling men’s stuff is also a good proof that market is booming.

Indian Men’s Attitude Towards Shopping is Changing

Today it is not only women who love to treat themselves with expensive clothes, flashy gadgets, and other less-than-essential, material things. Through the past years, men were able to unveil the feeling of contentment, excitement and thrill when one goes on shopping. They have realized how essential it is to at least please yourself after a hard day work.

This leap of change happened in the life of Satish Kumar, a 43-year old techie from Delhi. Kumar was once one of the millions of men who find shopping to be not a wise act from someone who’s working so hard for his every earned penny. He never had a quality shopping time with his mother and wife for he really find it boring and tiring.

When the Kumar family decided to divide the shopping chores at their home, Kumar was assigned to take full responsibility on lugging the groceries from a shop. Things went a bit uneasy for Kumar at first. But, a never-expected-to-happen event took place when the Kumar family went on an unplanned shopping.

At the end of that day, Kumar found out that he spent 50,000.00 rubies (USD 992.00) on shoes, a jacket for the upcoming winter, and three formal shirts. Those items were not needed by Kumar that much, he just felt that strange feeling of being attracted to expensive things.

Kumar is now one of the thousands of men whose view about shopping is changed. One obvious proof of the increasing rate of the number of men who just recently indulged into the addictive world of shopping is the increasing number of businesses and clothing line who specializes on men’s garments, accessories and stuff.

What Changed In Their Way of Thinking?

Just like any other things in this world, the change on men’s point of view about shopping has surely reasons behind. Experts consider the following facts as few of the factors that are believed to be the cause why men started to love shopping: a good shopping environment which includes the structural design of the establishment, wide variety of products displayed, the convenience of being able to find all the needed things in just one roof, unending sales and discounts from their favourite brands and an increasing number of metrosexual men.

Another thing that obviously convinced men to spend part of their earnings on shopping is on how they prioritize their look now more than ever. Men became more conscious on their physical appearance making them patronize beauty products created for them. Some considered this as something very gay, but others take it as a man’s way of showing they care about how they look too.

Shimmering Blings

Another unexpected thing that men started to love is the gleam of luxurious jewelries. Although up to this time women are still as addicted to diamonds and gold as before, some men have started to collect jewelries just like some elite women of the society. It was actually recorded that India has the third largest men’s luxury jewelry market according to the Euromonitor 2011’s report. Their findings undeniably show how India’s retail market is changing. Because all things about shopping became so easy since the time that all-in-one malls were created, shopping has become more fun than ever. Good thing that men were able to appreciate it now.

Source:
India Times, ‘Men, Why even they shop till they drop?‘, March 11, 2012

If a brand builds its consumer insight on data derived from an endless list of questions, it will help little more than to re-affirm pre-conceived notions. Fortunately today, smart brand executives are becoming increasingly aware of the potential value in a more thorough use of ethnographic research. A meaningful market research today is build on immersive studies combining participant-observations with social behavior analyses to build a holistic understanding of the consumer based on patterns of behavior.

What is Business Ethnography

Ethnography is a social science discipline with roots in anthropology. Literally, ethnography is the study of mankind. Also known as participant-observation, ethnographic methods include entering a subject’s own environment: in the modern world, this includes their living room, school, the supermarket, the beauty parlor, or the streets – settings of their daily existence. Ethnographers observe what people actually do and how they explain their actions. By documenting actual behavior, this research approach offers valuable insight into the meaning people attach to each action and activity. After a period of fieldwork and data-collection, findings are interpreted and analyzed in the context of people’s actual lives – including relations to family, community, local subculture, and the larger society.

When ethnographic research is taken into a business context, it can be used to gain insights into patterns of behavior that help businesses thrive. Unlike a traditional market researcher, who asks specific, highly practical questions, anthropological researchers visit consumers in their own environments to observe and listen, and interview in a non-directed way. Qualitative methods, including focus groups and open-ended survey questionnaires, have proven to be valuable strategies to delve deeper into the relationship between the brand and those who buy or use their products. By listening, observing, and interpreting, we can access many meaningful layers that help clients better understand the true aspirations of their customers.

This observational method may appear inefficient and time consuming; however, it provides a valuable insight about the context in which customers would use a new product and the meaning that product might hold in their lives. These techniques also allow potential customers to express their opinions about a brand using their own words, rather than those of a brand executive. In an increasingly competitive economic landscape, a more hands-on approach involving face-to-face dialogues with consumers is essential for a brand to differentiate itself and succeed in new markets, not least in growth markets such as Brazil, India, and China.

Corporate Ethnography for International Brands

Corporate ethnography is central to gaining a full understanding of customers and the appropriate business strategies. Over the past years, I have been helping international brands to delve deeper into the mindset of their customers, particularly in emerging markets. Each project has been different in terms of respondent’s location, age, income level, but one thing encompass my findings in all these projects: With an open-ended, ethnographic research approach, the client gained valuable insights about their brand that surpassed the expectations of their traditional approach to market research. The best research has been those that were initiated with as few assumptions as possible; it is an approach that allows the consumer to shape the brand.

As noted in previous articles, to sustain and accelerate growth in new markets, companies have to tailor their response to fragmented regional cultures and sub-cultures by constantly launching customized product and service offerings. They also need to understand perhaps, subtlety, the dreams and aspirations of its consumers as these influence their behavior to invest in the product or service. In many ways, success in emerging markets will depend in large part on how quickly companies can understand and respond to differences in attitudes, spending behavior, and preferences among the increasingly affluent consumers.

Within the context of a business partnership, a trained ethnographer will contribute a deep understanding of cultural and social theory to the analysis process of entering new markets. This goes beyond casual observation and rather, will pull together a web of intimate field research and best practices that make visible underlying structures of why people do what they do. For this reason, any analysis should always work within a framework grounded in social sciences. Analysis takes time, but the results will include models of behavior and practice, experience frameworks, design principles, and cultural patterns that enables those involved to build long lasting relationships. Once the data has been analyzed and crafted into something meaningful, the research team will be able to provide a rich story with a clear set of genuine discoveries. In the end, the goal of getting closer to the consumers is to better understand their cultures and behaviors, and in the process develop aspiring and meaningful products and services relevant to their lives.