Doing Business in Columbia - Assignment Example

While opening a business there because in business activities we would come across people belonging to various ethnical groups and will be a part of our workforce. Along with this factor, Columbia is a country that is rich in natural resources but at the same time, the country has class differences that have been running throughout history, illegal drug cartels, and differences between the political parties remain there making it a tough country to operate in. Maintaining focus on these we should be prepared with strategies to tackle such issues which can arise in the context of fore mentioned points.

 For preparing a strategy that is to successfully deal and cope with the population, culture & class differences, political instabilities, etc. in Columbia we need to understand in depth the heritage; develop a thorough understanding of its culture since our workforce will be consisting of mostly local population whose mentality and thinking process will be influenced or at least affected by these factors. Managing this local workforce will be a tedious task for the managers involved and for this experience such managers should be opted who have had firsthand experience working with diverse workforces and at the same time possess counseling qualities through which they could motivate them. A diversity strategy should be formulated.

In Columbia, some peculiar trends are followed while conducting business. Business meetings are rather prolonged and sticking to the point of business can be taken as a sign of rushing things hence giving a disrespectful gesture. A pleasant meeting should involve a family discussion, along with business and other interests which maintains a smooth flow throughout the meeting. Also using a person’s name directly should be avoided and A Mr. Mrs. or Miss should be inserted before using the name. While even in a formal business meeting Columbians like to engage in physical contact which is usual for them so a person should not feel uncomfortable and back off if they have their hand on the person’s shoulder instead it should be taken as a positive sign that the members in the meeting are happy with the person.

In dealing with business activities, to make the meeting successful or pleasant, a local guarantor or a contractor who is a native language speaker should be appointed as he’ll be thorough with the business on the ground and at the same time be well aware of gestures and terms for negotiations. He can arrange for businesses or people who might be interested in our proposal. Also, the appointment for the business meeting should be taken days in advance preferably a week. Before getting into negotiations more focus should be maintained on building trust as Columbians will prefer personal relationships. At any point, the initial business process should not be rushed unless it is necessary. Once terms and conditions have been worked upon and a trust relationship is established then the personnel involved in the entire process should be retained as changing them can lead to coming back to square one.

The final decision does not solely depend upon the proposal presented because although the proposal might look appealing the final decision rests upon what the decision makers’ intuition tells them to and the decision makers rely upon their gut feelings.