As a class, you will analyze the web design, textual, and graphical communication produced by the Swedish IKEA company from your three countries' perspectives. Your general goal is to engage in comparative analysis of cross-cultural communication in order to begin to understand how the filters of your different cultures affect perceptions of information. More specifically, you will determine the effectiveness of IKEA's communications for each of your countries' cultures and understand why or why not its communications meet their goals.
You will engage in pointed collaborative group work with international partners representing all three countries, focused on only one of the three topics for analysis noted above: web design, graphic communication, or textual communication. The class as a whole will then have a basis of comparison for each of the three communication genres that you study.
You should use the following questions to help guide your research. The first set of general questions may be used by all collaborative groups and the more specific questions following these will be useful in more specific group research.
The result of your collaborative work will be a formal analytical report on your topic, which will follow your international group project proposal (described in detail ).
General Questions
Note that we provide the questions here to help you begin your research. Answering these questions does not exhaust the extent of research required to study your topics adequately. Instead, these questions are to be used as an aid for initiating the work in your projects. Analytical Questions
Does IKEA take consideration of cultural difference in communicating their materials? In what ways does cultural difference affect perception of IKEA's materials? Does IKEA consider culture consciously and do we perceive that they do?
Is this material representative of your culture? Why or why not? What would make it representative?
Does the material represent or intend to represent a certain social group, economic level, gender, age, or set of cultural characteristics in your country? Which? In what way? Are they same social groups in Sweden, Russia, and America?
What might be the social/cultural consequences of IKEA's interactions with your culture? Might they differ from country to country? In what ways?
Does the material here describe a lifestyle choice? If so, how would you characterize it? Does this lifestyle choice represent a social group within your country? If so, which and if so, how is it representative?
How would you buy items from IKEA in your country? Do these ways differ from country to country? What are the differences and can you explain them? Would methods in other countries work in yours?
Does IKEA provide a credit program for customers in your country? Do credit programs differ from country to country? If so, in what ways and why?
How does IKEA provide information about its activities and goods in your country? Are IKEA catalogues available in your country? How can you obtain one? Is the process effective? What are the differences from country to country? Why and to what effect?
What is your perception of company/goods quality based on the materials you have available? Do perceptions differ from country to country? In what ways? Are there cultural explanations for these perceptions? If so, what are they?
Specific Web Design Analysis Group Questions
Compare the web design of the Swedish, Russian, and American IKEA websites based in part on the following questions:
Is the site accessible? Why or why not?
Easily navigable? Why or why not?
Is your country's technology adequate to use the site fully? Why or why not? (How or how not?)
How would people in your country use the website?
Do the links operate effectively?
Specific Graphic Analysis Group Questions
Compare the graphic representations of the Swedish, Russian, and American IKEA websites/catalogues based in part on the following questions:
What goals do you think IKEA wishes to meet by creating its materials as it has (other than to sell products)? In other words, how would you expect that IKEA would like to be perceived?
Do the actors in the photos represent typical faces in your country? Are there differences in clothing styles, architectural features or other non-product related visual elements? What effect does this have on perception of the material in your country?
Are the colors in the material appropriate for IKEA's goals? How would they be perceived in your country?
Are the drawn graphics in the material appropriate for IKEA's goals? How would they be perceived in your country?
Are the photographic representations in the material appropriate for IKEA's goals? How would they be perceived in your country?
Are there differences in the multiple perceptions noted above, from country to country? If so, how can you explain them?
Specific Text Analysis Group Questions
Compare the textual representations of the Swedish, Russian, and American IKEA websites/catalogues based in part on the following questions:
What are your perceptions of IKEA's purposes in using the text and style provided in its materials (other than to sell products)? In other words, how would you expect that IKEA would like to be perceived?
To which societal group (class, economic level, age, gender, etc) would you expect the text to be appropriate? For what reasons?
Is the text effective for meeting expectations of desired perceptions? Why or why not?
Is the text appropriate in style and tone for its purpose? Why or why not?
Is the text sufficient or is it superfluous? Why or why not? Does perception of this quality differ from country to country? Why or why not?