Lifestyles

As the twenty-first century advances, consumers are
demanding better servicing in business operations to help
simplify their harried lifestyles. The progression of lifestyle
changes, in combination with technological and global
evolution, will influence the way business and marketing
operations function. This article focuses on how family,
job, cultural background, social class, social activities, and
employment have revolutionized business and marketing
operations.
FAMILY INFLUENCES ON BUSINESS
OPERATIONS
Family life continues to evolve. In the 1950s in America,
it was common to see larger families with several siblings.
It was also common at that time for the mother to stay
home to take care of the household and children while the
father worked to support the family.
In American culture in the twenty-first century, one
is more likely to see smaller families. It is also common for
both parents to work outside the home to support the
family and household. The role of the “traditional”
mother has changed whereby she is out in the workforce
pursuing a career and helping to support the family. In
addition, there are many more single-parent homes.
Because of both of these trends, many preschool children
stay with day-care providers and many older children are
at home alone for two or three hours after school until a
parent gets home from work, making today’s children
more self-reliant than children in the recent past. The cultural
shift in America directly correlates with U.S. Department
of Labor statistics that estimated that employment
of child-care workers would increase 36 percent or more
for all occupations through 2012.
The amount of time that families spend together thus
has changed significantly from previous generations.
Working couples have lost an average of twenty-two hours
a week of family and personal time between 1969 and
1999. This trend has opened up a market known as ecommerce
as parents do not have the time to do the tasks
necessary that were once part of their everyday life and
still have time to spend with their children. Because of
technological advances, however, businesses are providing
time-saving services. For example, retail shopping from
purchasing clothes to groceries may all be accomplished
online, with those purchases being delivered right to one’s
door. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, in
the first quarter of 2005 e-commerce estimates increased
23.8 percent over the numbers from the first quarter of
2004, while total sales increased 7.8 percent during the
same period.
JOB INFLUENCES ON BUSINESS
OPERATIONS
In the past, businesses were managed very differently than
they are today. Technology and its rate of advancement
have revolutionized the way job objectives are met in business
operations. For example, higher education has
changed drastically because of technology. Online education,
by providing flexible class schedules, reducing the
time-taking courses, and making educational opportunities
more affordable, is one response to the needs of adult
learners. Because students can attend classes from their
homes, the jobs of faculty and the business operations of
higher education have changed notably.
The advancement in technology has taken over a
large share of the e-commerce business in the everyday
homes across America and global society. According to a
survey conducted in July 2005 by AC Nielsen, a leading
research firm, an amazing 724,000 Americans responded
that they relied on eBay for their main support for
income. Furthermore, the study identified another 1.5
million eBay users who stated that additional income was
generated from selling consumer goods. Reported in
2004, 150 million eBay users bought and/or sold consumer
goods valued at over $34 billion.
With this growing trend, the U.S. Postal Service and
eBay launched a national tour to support small business
and entrepreneurs since many eBay sellers use the U.S.
mail for shipping. As the global job structure continues
with the paradigm shifts that influence the way business

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Lifestyles
operations function, such partnerships will continue to be
forged.
CULTURAL INFLUENCES ON
BUSINESS OPERATIONS
Business operations in the twenty-first century need to be
especially conscious of the cultural differences and/or similarities
of all countries. Advances in technology have
made the world a global business operation. With one
click of the mouse one can immerse oneself in a culture
very different from one’s own. Business conducted on the
Internet and e-commerce is the melting pot of ideas,
culture, and people that is not just limited to American
society.
Language and Communication. According to Stefan Lovgren,
a writer for the National Geography News, “The next
four major languages—English, Spanish, Hindi/Urdu,
and Arabic—are likely to be equally ranked by 2050, with
Arabic rising as English declines.” Corporations need to
act on this trend, as this will surely influence business
operations in the global marketplace.
The overall culture of an organization is reflected in
behaviors that are considered the “norm” in both verbal
and nonverbal communication. Americans tend to speak
directly to one another, maintaining eye contact with the
person to whom they are talking. Hand gestures are commonly
used while making presentations or in one-on-one
conversation to better explain a point.
Corporate Culture and Clothing. Generally, corporations
determine any organization’s corporate culture by defining
a corporate mission statement and following this statement
in their day-to-day practices. Proper business attire
was once considered suits and ties for men and business
suits for women. That is no longer the case in many
organizations, especially in the high-tech industry where
the business environment is more casual and jeans and
slacks are now considered acceptable.
Gender. Jobs are no longer gender-specific in the American
culture. Women, once relegated to administrative and
support-staff roles, are now in upper-level management
positions alongside or above men. According to the
Bureau of Labor Statistics, between 1983 and 2002, the
Online sites, like eBay, have affected how people work, play, and shop in the 21st century © LANCE IVERSEN/SAN FRANCISCO
CHRONICLE/CORBIS

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BUSINESS AND FINANCE, SECOND EDITION 461
Lifestyles
share of women working in the automobile body and
repair industry tripled. Furthermore, the share of men
participating in the field of dressmaking also increased
dramatically during the same period. Gender is no longer
a predetermination of a person’s role in business and as the
twenty-first century continues, more and more occupations
should become gender-neutral.
THE INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL CLASS
ON BUSINESS OPERATIONS
What comprises social class? Is it the neighborhood in
which one lives? The occupation one has? The income one
earns? The wealth one has acquired? There is no generally
agreed-upon definition of social class, but most people
agree that social class does exist. Grouping people together
and assigning them a status in society is as old as society
itself.
The social class of a particular group of people influences
the role of business and marketing operations. The
key to success in business and in marketing operations is
twofold. First, identify the market for the product. Second,
identify the social class one is dealing with in that
market. Businesses must become familiar with the customs
and culture of the particular social class with which
they are trying to do business.
THE INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL
ACTIVITIES ON BUSINESS
OPERATIONS
Marketing to a particular group often incorporates depictions
of social activities as a part of the advertising campaign.
For example, Mountain Dew commercials once
portrayed young teenagers riding mountain bikes and
engaging in extreme sports. A commercial for Grey
Poupon mustard portrayed upper-class adults using the
product while being chauffeured in a luxury car. In both
examples, the companies needed to verify who constituted
the market for their product first. Second, they had to
learn the characteristics of those people.
Playing golf is reinforced in the corporate culture in
many organizations as an important social activity. Instead
of remaining inside on a beautiful afternoon, the executives
get to conduct business while on the greens. The
social activity is an advantage for executives looking to
“close a deal,” or make a connection in other business circles.
EMPLOYMENT INFLUENCE ON
BUSINESS OPERATIONS
Jobs have changed significantly because of technological
advances and global influences. Many corporations do
business at an international level, which requires travel
abroad for many of their employees. With virtual conferencing
becoming more widespread, business travel as it is
known today will evolve and change. The technological
development of the Internet will have major implications
and influences on global business and marketing procedures.
Business operations must integrate new and different
marketing procedures to keep current with the changing
job market. The trend of online education has opened up
the market for the consumer and the employee to teach
and learn at home. The consumer of the twenty-first century
has less time to dedicate to a brick-and-mortar postsecondary
educational institution; schools that
understand this trend will benefit. Changes in the corporate
and postsecondary educational marketplace require
lifelong learning by both employees and employers in
order to service the consumer.
Marketing operations must embrace e-commerce,
internal links via Intranets, and Internet marketing and
retailing because these tools can extend business operations
and create new opportunities for growth. As technology,
lifestyle, and employment change, business and
marketing operations must also change in innovative ways
as a matter of survival.
CONCLUSION
Consumers today require businesses to provide them with
convenience to help simplify their harried lifestyles. This
requires business and marketing operations to be aware of
the impact of such demographic variables as family, job,
cultural background, social class, social activities, and
employment. All these demographic variables play an
essential role in business operations. Lifestyles and technology
have both changed radically, and the global marketplace
is a reality. The key to business success is to
understand the diversity that exists in the global marketplace
and to respond innovatively and swiftly to society’s
changing needs. Corporations that understand the
lifestyle changes of the twenty-first century global marketplace
will be able to thrive and continue to service their
consumers.