Approaches to Conducting Business - Essay Example

For foreigners, Indian Contacts can play a vital role in keeping appointments. Indians appreciate punctuality but most of them are not very strict about time. Office hours are from 10 am-5 pm.  Tie and suit for men is preferred whereas more casual wears are acceptable in the fields of IT. Shalwar suits or long skirts or pants for women are considered agreeable. Politics, cricket, economic reforms, and movies are welcoming topics for conversation. Topics such as Religion, Political ties with Pakistan, and economic disparity within India should be avoided.

The Power distribution ranking of India is 77 compared to the world average of 55. This indicates that the lower-class citizens are satisfied with the unequal distribution of wealth. It is a male-dominated society and the country is more prone to unexpected situations.

The United States of America is an individualistic society with a greater will to work and be competitive. It is the strongest economy in the world and has an extremely high GDP of 20%. The U.S. economy also maintains a very high level of output per capita. It is also the largest trading nation in the world with major trades from Canada, China, and Mexico.

The power distance is 40. People in the United States usually work a lot in the industrial and services sector. Not much importance is given to traditional jobs like agriculture or forestry. Americans work on the principle that by working hard one can become more financially strong. The work culture is employee-centric. There are many laws governing the rights of employees. Work hours are from 9 am-5 pm. Many employees work overtime. While setting up appointments, time is considered to be of great value, and Punctuality is given due importance. The dressing is usually casual. Generally, English is spoken. Topics such as religion or racism should be avoided. Whereas, Sports, travel, food, and music are the welcoming topics.

China has the second-largest economy in the world after the United States. It has a very high growth rate and is the largest exporter of goods, but still, it receives foreign aid from richer countries. Chinese society is a collectivistic society. It has a high level of power distance i.e. 80, compared to the world average of 55. This means that inequality is endorsed by the followers as well as the leaders. Chinese are very serious about their time and being late for appointments is a serious insult. Working hours are from 8 am-5 pm and weekdays are from Monday to Saturday.  They are very celebrative of national festivals and business is not conducted during these days. Conservative dressing is preferred while doing business, bright colors are deemed as inappropriate. They like it if one talks about Chinese history, geography and culture. Negative answers should not be used. Small talks are appropriate and details are not considered necessary. Gifts are considered illegal or means of bribery.

From the above findings, it can be concluded that since the United States of America has a smaller power distance, the society values greater equality in power distribution, and hence the society as a whole shows a strong relationship between intrinsic job characteristics and job satisfaction. They want to prove themselves and their competitiveness to others and work in fields in which they are passionate. On the other hand, China shows a more collectivistic approach to conducting business, the power distance is one of the highest in the region, hence the extrinsic job characteristics such as job security and salary show a stronger relationship to job satisfaction.

India has a power distribution ranking of 77 which is closer to China and thus it can be concluded that Indians also exhibit greater importance to salary, job security, and extrinsic job characteristics rather than intrinsic job characteristics.