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American Manager Conducting Business in India

Conducting business in India is a great idea for an American manager, especially since

the economy in India is growing continuously, but there are also some challenges conducting

business. India has a large amount population that can speak English and many are very highly

educated which proves to be beneficial to an American manager. Also labor costs are very lowcompared to America and quality of work is high. On the other hand, India has a high power

distance compared to United States which could cause a conflict in management practices. India

is also more on the collectivist side, so collaboration is prominent in India compared to America

which is more individualistic. Also the American manager will have to be patient in negotiations

and building relationships with employees. Both of these are very important to succeed in the

workplace.

According to the article Foreign Multinationals in India, India scored 77 points on

power distance, compared to the United States which scored a 50. This shows that the American

manager has to cope and change their management practice to suit the power distance that

resides in India. India is known to have a caste system and that shows why there is a high score

in power distance. India scored a 48 on the individualistic score compared to America which

scored a 91. This means India is slightly collectivistic and the American manager will have to

allow collaboration in the work place so that tasks will be more efficiently completed.

Employees in India need clear instructions on what needs to be done and this requires more

patience for an American Manager. The article Foreign Multinationals in India states that, The

Indian negotiation practices reflect the cultural mindset and are guided by the Brahmanical

idealism and Individual anarchism. This often leads to slow negotiations and often demands

extra patience on the part of the outsiders (Arora).An American manager doing business in

India also has to build relationships with their employees. Managers will need to take the time tounderstand every employee and build a great relationship to succeed in their goals. An online

article called VC Caf says that,Onlygood relationships will get you to close deals, as the

Indians will deal only with people they know and trust. Building rapport is a key element in

doing business thereinvest time doing it.This shows that building relationships in India is a

very important trait and a manager will have to learn to accomplish that well. The article also

goes on saying that saying a direct no is offensive in Indian culture, so a manager will have to

very careful in choosing words, otherwise it might cause conflict in the workplace.

Doing business is a great idea and comes with many advantages, but there are also many

differences in India that an American manager doing business in India will need to address. A

manager will have to understand the high power distance in India and learn to clearly addressgoals, instructions of the task at hand. They will also have to comply with collectivistic work

unlike individualistic work in America. So if an American manager stays patient, is not

ambiguous, and stays down to earth they can conduct business in India with little problem.

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Sources

Arora, Dayanand.Foreign Multinationals in India: Adapting to Indias Work Culture and

Management Practices . N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Mar. 2013. .

Vidra, Eze. Working with Other Cultures: How to Do Business in India. VC Cafe, 6 Jan. 2011.

Web. 1 Mar. 2013. .

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