Doing Business in India

Cultural factors affecting business in India.

India is rich in culture and so it influences all activities that run in the country. Factors like caste, language the type of religion and the region one comes from are important. One needs to consider these factors while doing business in India. The way you approach people depend on who they are and the place they come from, or we may say in the context which you are addressing the person.When doing business in India, one should note that all Indian states have different languages. The official national language in India is Hindi.

The advantage is that the international commerce language is English. It will also be easier if one familiarizes himself or herself with the language of the Indians.Indians also do business based on relationships. One should establish cordial relationships with the Indian people. They do business depending on whom they know even to the expense of a lucrative offer by a stranger.

When planning for meetings, they should be arranged with cautious consideration of the major cultural events as is written in “Doing Business in India”, “This should be done in writing and confirmed by phone also avoid meetings near or on national holidays such as Independence Day, Diwali or either of the two Eids” (Kwintessential, (n.d)).Ethics is another factor one should consider seriously, as he ventures into business in India. In greetings, it is not a norm for them to use a handshake. They use a form of greeting called Namaste. This is where you raise your right hand to the chest level and bow slightly.

When considering ethics, hierarchy is a vital fact to keep in mind. Indian businesspersons are very keen on titles. One should therefore address each person correctly depending on who the business partner is and where he or she comes from. Their names are designed with these specific titles. “The suffix “-jee” (as in Banerjee) is a sign of a high caste, likewise, “Kar” (as in Chandraskar) denotes that person is of Maharashtan high caste” (Kwintessential, (n.

d)). In addition, while using business cards, one side should be written in Indian language. This is not all about language but as a sign of respect to the people of India. When giving out the card, make sure you are using your right hand. Also when receiving it you need to use your right hand.

Indian population is very large and gives a great opportunity for business growth. What will open up this population to business and commerce is technology. This opportunity is readily available. There is a large population of English speaking people. These are free to interact on international basis.

Their interaction with communities from al over the world will expose them to the technologies of different regions of the world and therefore advance the Indian technology. With them are young graduates who are qualified in various technological fields (The Financial Express, 2010). There are computer engineers, computer scientists, architects, industrial engineers, and skilled young people of all fields.Looking at this, one has a good opportunity of doing business in India. The growing technology will enhance business activities in various ways.

The technology will bring efficiency in business and result in saving a lot of time. The technology will also improve on the quality of production. This will make the different products and services be more appealing to the customers and therefore increase the customer base. The speed of production will also lead to producing enough products for the vast population of the Indian people. The threat that is in the Indian market is the emerging homegrown technology.

This poses a great threat to the exports of other countries to India. The Indian IT companies have moved at a considerable speed to become some of the largest software outsourcing companies (Menon, 2006). This is the major threat that is present in doing business in India.India has a big opportunity for all people who wish to do business in India. The market is highly influence by the Indian culture and their norms. The growing level of technology in India also enhances business.

The only threat that need not scare away investors is the fast homegrown Indian technology.