INTRODUCTION

Nigerian culture is as multi-ethnic as the people in Nigeria. The people of Nigeria still cherish their traditional languages, music, dance and literature. Nigeria comprises of three large ethnic groups, which are Yoruba, Hausa-Fulani and Igbo. However there are other ethnic groups as well. Thus culture in Nigeria is most positively multi-ethnic. Culture of Nigeria gives a lot of value to different types of arts, which primarily include ivory carving, grass weaving, wood carving, leather and calabash. Pottery, painting, cloth weaving and glass and metal works. Every tribe has got its own language, which they prefer following as the standard mode of communication among themselves. Nigeria culture includes varieties in types of clothing as there are different groups of people living in the country. What is common in their dressing style is the conservativeness. Nigerian culture gives a lot of importance in treating the guests with utmost care and warmth. The hospitality of people represents this tradition. That is why people are not supposed to say thank you, when they are offered food. Among the games, the Nigerians enjoy soccer the most.

LITERATURE REVIEW
WHAT IS CULTURE
Hawkins et al. (1983) defined culture as that complex whole which includes knowledge, beliefs, arts, law, morals, customs and any other capabilities and habits

acquired by man as a member of society. To Hawkins et al., term, acquired by man means that culture is socially learnt. The researcher therefore looks at culture as a total way of life of people living together. Every individual is subject to his or her culture, that is, the way people live, eat, dance, believe, dress, sing, etc. The general patterns of behaviour by people accepted by them are influenced by their culture. Every form of culture is identified in term of language (Umoren, 1996). Language is a vehicle of culture. In short every language serves as a vehicle of the culture of the people who speak that language. In Nigeria there are 374 ethnic languages and groups. Some languages are found in more than one state. For example Yoruba is in six states, Igbos in four states, and Annang, Efik and Ibibio in two states. Hausa cuts across all the states in the North. These languages effects consumer behaviour. To make consumer accept a product, language is used to promote the product. Advertising, personal selling, sales promotion and publicity cannot be effectively used without language.
Adopting the symbolic theoretical approach, Umoren (1996) treated religion as a cultural system and defined culture as systems of symbols and meaning. There are

three main religions in Africa: Traditional religion, Christianity and Islam. The development of man cannot be completed without one type of religion or another. In Nigeria, Christianity dominates the

South, while Islam dominates the North and the traditional exists in both areas. Religions affect consumption behaviours and the purchase pattern of the individual. For instance, Islam in the North does not allow beer parlours and imbibement of alcohol, whereas in the South beer are sold everywhere. Because of religion some married women cannot move publicly as they like. According to Busch & Houston (1985), values are enduring beliefs that guide behaviour in specific situations. A value exists mainly at the individual level, but when it is substantially shared throughout a society, it becomes a cultural value. Knowledge of the socio-cultural sector in terms of cultural values is crucial, because cultural values influence the behaviours of most individuals in consumption situations. Cultural values are widely held beliefs that affirm what is desirable and have an impact on activities (Hawkins et al., 1983). These values affect norms, which specify an acceptable range of responses to specific situations. The beliefs, cultural values and norm in different countries show great variation. For instance, most Americans still believe in work, in getting married at appropriate age, in giving charity and in being honest. Some Nigeria people in the North can marry from the age of twelve. When products are introduced into one country from another, acceptance is far more likely if there are similarities between the two cultures.
Terpstran (1987) has defined culture as follows: "The integrated sum total of learned behavioral traits that are manifest and shared by members of society" Culture,

therefore,

according

to

this

definition,

is

not

transmitted

genealogically. It is not, also innate, but learned. Facets of culture are interrelated and it is shared by members of a group who

define the boundaries. Often different cultures exist side by side within countries, especially in Africa. It is not uncommon to have a European culture, alongside an indigenous culture, say, for example, Shona, in Zimbabwe. Culture also reveals itself in many ways and in preferences for colours, styles, religion, family ties and so on. The colour red is very popular in the west, but not popular in Islamic countries, where sober colours like black are preferred. Much argument in the study of culture has revolved around the "standardisation" versus "adaption" question. In the search for standardisation certain "universals" can be identified. Murdock (1954) suggested a list, including age grading, religious rituals and athletic sport. Levitt5 (1982) suggested that traditional differences in task and doing business were breaking down and this meant that standardisation rather than adaption is becoming increasingly prevalent. Culture, alongside economic factors, is probably one of the most important environmental variables to consider in global village. Culture is very often hidden from view and can be easily overlooked. Similarly, the need to overcome cultural myopia is paramount. Culture is a universal phenomenon as there is no society in history without a culture. But culture varies from one society to another. Studies of formal organizations in both Western and non-Western societies have shown the implications of varying cultures for organizational operations and performance. Multinational organizations operating in different cultural contexts have become increasingly sensitive to the potential impact of the

culture of a host country on organizational performance. (Brown 1973, and Hofstede 1991). In recognition of the fact that culture varies from one society to another, George and Jones (1996) came up with the concept of National Culture. According to them, a national culture is the particular set of economic, political and social values that exist in a particular nation. And that invariably the national culture of a nation characterize the way people therein live and work. Based on his research, Hofstede (1984, 1991) identified five dimensions along which national cultures can be placed. They are listed and defined as follows:

Power Distance: The extent to which people in a society accept the often unequal distribution of power. It refers to the degree to which a nation accepts the fact that differences in its citizens physical and intellectual capabilities give rise to inequalities in their well-being.

Individualism Versus Collectivism: Individualism is a national culture attribute describing a loose-knit social framework in which people emphasize only the care of themselves and their immediate family. Collectivism: A national culture attribute that describes a tight social framework in which people expect others in groups of which they are a part to look after them and protect them.

Quantity of Life Versus Quality of Life: Quantity of Life: A national culture attribute describing the extent to which societal values are characterized by assertiveness and materialism. Quality of Life: A national culture

attribute that emphasizes relationships and concern for others.

Uncertainty Avoidance: A national culture attribute describing the extent to which a society feels threatened by uncertain and ambiguous situations and tries to avoid them.

Long-term Versus Short-term Orientation: Longterm term Orientation: Orientation: A A national national culture culture attribute attribute that that emphasizes the future, thrift, and persistence. Shortemphasizes the past and present, respect for tradition, and fulfilling social obligation. There is now the inevitable need to examine Nigerian

culture. Sociologically speaking, Nigeria does not have a national culture similar to what obtains in the Western world. This is because Nigeria is made up of over three hundred ethnic group (Nnoli, 1980). From all indications, one cannot expect a multicultural, multiethnic, multi-religious and pluralistic nation like Nigeria to have a homogeneous culture. In recognition of this diversity, the three dominant ethnic groups, Ibo, Hausa and Yoruba, are often used in most social science research.

COMPONENTS OF CULTURE
Components of culture - are simply parts (ingredients, items, pieces, features) that make up a culture. These components look different in each culture. Cultures varies from one another and it shares four major components, these are the communication, cognitive, material and behavioral aspects.

Communication components include language and symbols. Through having a language, a group of people interact with one another, socially sharing their thoughts, feelings or ideas to the people with same language. Language forms the core of all cultures throughout society. The symbols are considered as the backbone of symbolic interactions. A symbol might be considered as anything that holds a particular meaning and are recognized by the people that shares the same culture. Different cultures have different symbols, it is cross-culturally and it might be change over a period of time. The second major component of culture is the cognitive component. It includes Ideas, Knowledge and Belief, Values and Accounts. Ideas, Knowledge and Belief are basic units of knowledge construction. Ideas are considered as mental representation and are used to organize stimulus. When Ideas are link together it will organize into larger systems of information which will become knowledge. Knowledge now is considered as a storage of information fact or assumption, and these knowledge can be passed down from one generation to another. Belief on the other hand assumes that a proposition, statement, description of fact are true in nature. These acceptance were influenced by the external authorities such as government, religion, or science rather than proven true from the individuals direct experiences. Values serve as guidelines for social living. Culturally, it can be defined as the standards of desirability, goodness and beauty. Accounts are considered to be a way on how people use the language for their explanation,

justification, or to rationalize, excuse, or legitimize a behavior towards themselves or to the others. The third major component of culture is the behavioral components. Behavioral component is the major component of culture that is concerned about on how we act. It includes norms which further categorizes into Mores, Laws, Folkway, and Rituals. Norms are considered as rules and expectations eventually set by a particular society that serve as guides to the behavior of its members. It varies in the terms of the degrees of importance and might be change over a period of time. It is reinforced by sanctions in the forms or rewards and punishments. These are standards accepted by society culturally and serves as obligatory and expected behaviors of the people in different situations in life. Mores are kinds of norms that are considered to be as a customary behavior patterns which have taken from a moralistic value. Laws serve as the formal and important norms that translated into legal formalizations. Folkways are considered as behavioral patterns of a particular society that is repetitive and organize. Rituals on the other hand are those highly scripted ceremonies of interactions which follows a sequence of actions. Examples are baptism, holidays and more. The fourth major component of culture is the Material component. This includes materials or objects created by humans for practical use or for artistic reasons. These objects are called as material culture. Material components serves as an expression of an individual culture. MATERIAL CULTURE

Material culture refers to tools, artifacts and technology. Before marketing in a foreign culture it is important to assess the material culture like transportation, power, communications and so on. Input-output tables may be useful in assessing this. All aspects of marketing are affected by material culture like sources of power for products, media availability and distribution. For example, refrigerated transport does not exist in many African countries. Material culture introductions into a country may bring about cultural changes which may or may not be desirable.

LANGUAGE
Language reflects the nature and values of society. There may be many sub-cultural languages like dialects which may have to be accounted for. Some countries have two or three languages. In Zimbabwe there are three languages - English, Shona and Ndebele with numerous dialects. In Nigeria, some linguistic groups have engaged in hostile activities. Language can cause communication problems - especially in the use of media or written material. It is best to learn the language or engage someone who understands it well.

AESTHETICS
Aesthetics refer to the ideas in a culture concerning beauty and good taste as expressed in the arts -music, art, drama and dancing and the particular appreciation of colour and form. African music is different in form to Western music. Aesthetic differences affect design, colours, packaging, brand names and media messages. For example, unless explained, the brand name FAVCO would mean nothing to Western importers, in Zimbabwe

most people would instantly recognise FAVCO as the brand of horticultural produce.

EDUCATION
Education refers to the transmission of skills, ideas and attitudes as well as training in particular disciplines. Education can transmit cultural ideas or be used for change, for example the local university can build up an economy's performance.

RELIGION
Religion provides the best insight into a society's behaviour and helps answer the question why people behave rather than how they behave.

ATTITUDES AND VALUES

Values often have a religious foundation, and attitudes relate to economic activities. It is essential to ascertain attitudes towards marketing activities which lead to wealth or material gain, for example, in Buddhist society these may not be relevant. Also "change" may not be needed, or even wanted, and it may be better to relate products to traditional values rather than just new ones. Many African societies are risk averse, therefore, entrepreneurialism may not always be relevant. Attitudes are always precursors of human behaviour and so it is essential that research is done carefully on these.

SOCIAL ORGANISATION
Refers to the way people relate to each other, for example, extended families, units, kinship. In some countries kinship may be a tribe and so segmentation may have to be based on this. Other forms of groups may be religious or political, age, caste and so on. All these groups may affect the marketer in his
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planning. There are other aspects of culture, but the above covers the main ingredients. In one form or another these have to be taken account of when marketing internationally.

CONCLUSION
The paper just considered culture, its components and subcomponents. The study of culture has taken many forms including the anthropological approach, Maslow's hierarchy of needs, the self reference criterion, diffusion theory, high and low context culture, and perception approaches. "Culture" itself is made up of a number of learned components including communication, behavioural, cognitive, aesthetics, education, religion and material components. Globalization has affected culture in Nigeria to a great extent that our norms, values and beliefs are being eroded.

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HAWKINS D.I., R.J. BEST & K.A. CONEY (1983): Consumer Behavior: Implications for Marketing Strategy. Business Publications, Plano, Texas. HOFSTEDE,G. (1984): Cultures' edition. Consequences: Beverly Hills, International CA: Sage

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MURDOCK, G.P. (1945): "The Common Denominator of Culture in the Science of Man in the World Crisis". Ed. R. Linton, Columbia University Press, 1945, p 145. NNOLI O. (1980): Ethnic Politics in Nigerian. Enugu, Nigeria: Fourth Dimension. NORD, W. E. (ed.) (1976): Concepts and Controversy in

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