Doing Business In India | Communicaid Blog | Cross Cultural Training and International Communication Skills 2

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Mar 05

Benefits of Doing Business in India

India is well endowed with mineral and agricultural resources and it has seen a significant increase in offshore outsourcing and manufacturing over the last couple of decades, which have helped India’s economy grow at a tremendous rate.

India’s Ministry of External Affairs reports that its higher disposable incomes, rising middle class, investment friendly policies and forward-thinking reforms all make India an extremely attractive place for foreign investors. There are several key benefits for doing business in India:

Engaged and career focused – On a social level, India is predominantly a collective society which places a huge emphasis on the group. However, in business culture individualism is becoming more common as employees are increasingly recognised, paid and promoted on an individual basis. Many Indians, especially those working in westernised offices or companies, are now turning their focus to their own career advancement and performance. Through training initiatives or certificate programmes Indians are constantly taking steps towards obtaining more knowledge and qualifications, which in turn helps international organisations doing business in India by providing a constant flow of highly engaged and career focused individuals.

Globe India i 200x300 Benefits of Doing Business in India

High levels of English – The historical relationship between the UK and India means that Indians have a high level of English. Although the accent and vocabulary of Indian English is slightly different from that of British or American English, international organisations will benefit immensely from graduates’ ability to speak English fluently, as well as their command of the many local Indian languages. It is in fact estimated that there are 14 major and over 1000 minor languages and dialects spoken in India. The relatively few language barriers make doing business in India quite attractive for international organisations.

Large amount of experienced specialists – India has an extensive pool of experienced people from which they can recruit employees. There is a high value placed on education in Indian culture. Combined with India’s drive to become a successfully modernised and competitive country, this is helping to produce a population of candidates with good qualifications and specialised experience and knowledge.

Openness to new ideas and opportunities – Indians have a relatively high tolerance for ambiguity and uncertainty and can therefore be quite open to new ideas and opportunities. This entrepreneurial and creative spirit is evident in the recent influx of new businesses in India. International organisations doing business with Indians in urban centres such as Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad will particularly benefit as many younger Indians are taking on more western habits and working preferences. As they increasingly adapt to keep pace with the demands and expectations of new dynamic industries, international organisations doing business in India will face fewer cultural challenges when pushing new business ideas and endeavours.

Dedicated employees – Indians have a strong work ethic and take pride in their jobs. They tend to work long hours in the hopes of showing their dedication and increasing their status in the company. Most Indians will work eight hour shifts six days a week. When working for organisations which require communication on a regular basis with people in countries such as the US or the UK, employees will willingly work shifts around the clock to compensate for the time difference. This group of highly dedicated employees, willing to work long shifts over unusual hours, is a huge benefit for international organisations doing business in India.

Business meeting track5 i 300x199 Benefits of Doing Business in India

All the above benefits are good reasons for global organisations to do business in India. Harnessing these benefits comes with the need to navigate the geographic, linguistic, religious and cultural diversity of Indian society. This requires a comprehensive understanding of Indian business and social culture on all levels.

International organisations employing people in India or working with Indians on a regular basis should therefore have a series of cross-cultural training programmes on Doing Business in India to ensure they develop the skills to successfully deal with the many cultural differences.

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2010

Tagged with: Courses - Cultural Training • Cross-cultural training for business • doing business in India • Employing Indian nationals • Indian business communication styles • Inter-cultural training for business and management • intercultural training • international business • Managing business in India • Negotiating with Indians

Mar 05

Cross Cultural Preferences: Individual or Group?

Cross Cultural Training, Cultural training for Relocation, Culture, Culture training for Business & Management, Culture training for Human Resources, Culture training for the Public sector No Comments »

Have you ever considered why in some cultures it’s best to praise a team for their efforts rather than an individual? Or why connections and networks are more important when doing business than individual achievement? Or in education, have you noticed that in some cultures children are encouraged to participate and show individual creativity while in others the expectation is for children to recite lessons as a group? There are many differences like these that can often be explained by a predominant tendency in a culture to place more importance on individuals or groups.

This distinction is often referred to as individualism and collectivism, the degree to which a society reinforces individual or group achievement and interpersonal relationships. This concept, one of Geert Hofstede’s five cultural dimensions, helps explain many cross-cultural attitudes, behaviours and communication styles.

Societies which emphasise collectivism are those where people’s main concern is their in-group or community rather than their individuality. Extended families and networks where everyone takes responsibility for fellow members of their group are typical of collective cultures such as China, Mexico and Greece.

Individualism refers to describe societies that are characterised by the importance of individuality and individual rights. In individualistic cultures such as the US or Germany, the self and immediate family come first while social bonds tend to be loosely tied.

Below is a table which summarises the key differences between the cross-cultural preference for individual or group.

Collectivism	Individualism
‘We’ conscious	‘I’ conscious
Group comes first	Self and immediate family come first
Focus on tradition and precedent	Focus on growth and progress
Collaborative	Competitive
Success and position are ascribed	Individual achievement earned and rewarded

Understanding whether a culture places more emphasis on the individual or the group will help you maximise doing business in that country. These concepts are covered on cross-cultural training programmes such as Communicating Effectively across Cultures as well as cross cultural training for business and management programmes such as Doing Business in India.

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2010

Tagged with: Add new tag • Collectivism • Courses - Cultural Training • Cross Cultural Training • cross-cultural theory • cultural training for business and management • Culture • Developing intercultural Competence • Doing Business in China • doing business in India • Doing business in the U.S. • Geert Hofstede • Individualism

Feb 15

Cross-Cultural Concept of Time: Chronemics

Cross Cultural Training, Cultural training for Relocation, Culture, Culture training for Business & Management, Culture training for Human Resources, Culture training for the Public sector 2 Comments »

The terms polychronic and monochronic are used to describe how we understand and use time as well as how time affects our attitudes, behaviours and communication. In The Silent Language (1959), Edward T. Hall used the term polychronic to describe the preference for doing several things at once. Conversely, monochronic refers to an individual’s preference to do their activities one by one.

People in monochronic cultures such as the U.S. or Germany prefer promptness, careful planning and rigid commitment to plans. They also tend to be task-oriented whereas people from polychronic cultures are people-oriented. Cultures such as Italy or Brazil are considered to be polychronic since they prefer to have multiple things happening at once. Polychronic cultures tend to prioritise relationships over tasks and do not consider time commitments to be binding.

The table below highlights some of the key differences between monochronic and polychronic preferences.

Monochronic	Polychronic
One thing at a time	Multiple activities at once
Rigid approach to time	Flexible approach to time
Strict agenda	No strict agenda
Focus on task	Focus on relationship
Completion of job most important	Relationships more important than the job
Emphasise promptness	Promptness based on relationships

Cross-cultural training will provide you with a more comprehensive understanding of different approaches to time, including your own, and the impact this can have on doing business internationally. Whether intercultural training focuses on one specific culture such as Doing Business in India, or how to be more effective in any global context such as Communicating across Cultures, the concepts monochronic and polychronic are key to improving your ability to build strong relationships with your international colleagues.

While doing business in other countries, you should consider the different perceptions of time people might have. Everyday global business activities such as scheduling meetings, participating in conference calls or planning a project can be affected by attitudes to time.

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2010

Tagged with: chronemics • Cross Cultural Training • doing business in • Doing business in Brazil • Doing business in Germany • doing business in India • Doing business in Italy • Doing business in the U.S. • Edward T. Hall • monochronic • polychronic

Feb 12

Cross-Cultural Communication Styles: High and Low Context

Cross Cultural Training, Cultural training for Relocation, Culture, Culture training for Business & Management, Culture training for Human Resources, Culture training for the Public sector No Comments »

The concepts of high context and low context refer to how people communicate in different cultures. Differences can be derived from the extent to which meaning is transmitted through actual words used or implied by the context.

High context implies that a lot of unspoken information is implicitly transferred during communication. People in a high context culture such as Saudi Arabia tend to place a larger importance on long-term relationships and loyalty and have fewer rules and structure implemented.

Low context implies that a lot of information is exchanged explicitly through the message itself and rarely is anything implicit or hidden. People in low context cultures such as the UK tend to have short-term relationships, follow rules and standards closely and are generally very task-oriented.

Understanding whether your international colleagues are high context or low context will help you to adapt your communication style and build stronger relationships with them. These concepts are covered during cross-cultural training programmes such as Communicating across Cultures and Managing International Teams. Cultural awareness training which focuses on one or more specific cultures like Doing Business in India or Living and Working in China will also address these concepts.

When doing business in a high context culture such as Mexico, Japan or the Middle East, you might encounter the following:

Misunderstanding when exchanging information
Impression of a lack of information
Large amount of information is provided in a non-verbal manner, e.g. gestures, pauses, facial expressions
Emphasis on long term relationships and loyalty
‘Unwritten’ rules that are taken for granted but can easily be missed by strangers
Shorter contracts since less information is required

When doing business in a low context culture such as Germany, Switzerland or the US, on the other hand, you might find the following:

All meaning is explicitly provided in the message itself
Extensive background information and explanations are provided verbally to avoid misunderstandings
People tend to have short-term relationships
People follow rules and standards closely
Contracts tend to be longer and very detailed

High and low context cultures usually correspond with polychronic and monochronic cultures respectively. The table below shows some general preferences of people from high context and low context cultures.

High Context	Low Context
Indirect and implicit messages	Direct, simple and clear messages
Polycrhonic	Monochronic
High use of non-verbal communication	Low use of non-verbal communication
Low reliance on written communication	High reliance on written communication
Use intuition and feelings to make decisions	Rely on facts and evidence for decisions
Long-term relationships	Short-term relationships
Relationships are more important than schedules	Schedules are more important than relationships
Strong distinction between in-group and out-group	Flexible and open

Participating in a cross-cultural training programme such as Doing Business with India and Doing Business in the UK, you will gain a comprehensive understanding of the high or low context preferences in the country or countries where you are working and the impact these preferences have on doing business with them.