Customer Reviews

Doing Business in India

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This short book first explores India's history and cultural background, and then provides guidelines for doing business in India. The historical background may seem remote from day-to-day business considerations, but, in fact, it is essential to understanding the apparent anomalies of Indian negotiating styles, management behavior, government policies and so forth. getAbstract urges readers to be patient with the book's small type and sometimes convoluted sentence structure, for if you are, you will discover much to reward you. The authors examine business challenges in India, including strategic planning, personnel management, government relations, negotiations and conflict resolution. Any manager investing in, working in or outsourcing to India will find this book very useful.

This is an excellent book with lots of real life examples of failures and successes from the corporate world.

The small print demands patience as does the academic styles of writing with long sentences and references. If the reader can put up with these hurdles, there is a wealth of information. Many readers looking for quick-fixes might get put off with the history sections, but understanding the background and history is very important. In general Indians are very eager to discuss history and appreciate managers who are able to do so.

The authors also tackle the impact of religion and fundamentalism on Indian managerial behaviour. Most similar books don't do this.

The chapter on 'Communicating with Indians' has many suggestions. There are no bullet-point lists to help memorize the insights and tips, so the reader has to use pen and paper and make own notes. The chapter 'Managing Relationships with the Indian Government:The Critical Challenges for Multinational Firms' is a politically correct version of the tips and skills managers in multinationals would need.

The chapter on Negotiating and Resolving Conflicts in India would have been of more value if there would have been case examples and scenarios.

This book is not an easy to read "How-to-do-list" book for the impatient 5-minute manager. One thing missing in this book is personal behaviour aspects, which would help foreign managers manage better in India. Maybe we shall see these in the next edition.

Well written, interesting and easy to read. Of particular interest to me was the section on working with the government. Also the book was consistent with what I learned at a business course at Cal Tech on the same topic. Good choice for anyone interested in both the business and cultural aspects of doing business in India.

This book covers all the major issues that Americans (and "Westerners" in general) will confront when doing business in India. I liked the thoroughness of the authors and their understanding of both perspectives. I am sure it will help me in my travels there as my company seeks to increase our presence in this market.