Understanding Business Culture in Indonesia
Question:
Discuss About The Dispute Resolution International Business?
The people involved in business in Indonesia do not have much exposure to that of other cultures. This proves to be a hindrance in the path of their assimilation with that of other cultures. The people in Indonesia want things to be performed on the basis of their particular culture that creates a barrier in relation to negotiation with other countries. In the business culture of Indonesia, respect that a person gets is dependent on the status and age of the people. Patience along with good listening skill is appreciated within the culture of Indonesia.
The business people within Indonesia are shrewd negotiators and they do not want to be underestimated. The particular culture favours haggling and it has been seen that they do not want to go along with the opinion of the other party. They like to focus on the entire picture rather than on a single point. The business people in Indonesia do not want to give in easily so the process of bargaining can be very extensive and the price can move beyond that of 40 percent between the initial offer and the final offer. One has to stay open in relation to concessions if one has to negotiate with that of the Indonesian people (Steele & Beasor, 2017).
Businesspeople within Indonesia employ deceptive techniques like that of telling lies along with that of sending of fake non-verbal message. Initially they pretend as if they are not interested in the deal or about that of single concession. They are very deceptive and they misrepresent the value of an item (Wolff, 2015). They often involve themselves in the act of asking for false demands. The Indonesians view the information that is gathered from outside very cautiously. They often claim limited amount of authority and makes a pretence as if they have to ask for the approval of the manager. This kind of an attitude can be employees as a ploy or it can also be the truth.
Corruption is rampant in the culture of Indonesia. Lines can be drawn in a different management and small amount of payment can be viewed as reward. There is a fine line between that of giving the gifts and that of bribing (Lam & Liaw, 2017). A bribe can be conceived to be a gift by the people of Indonesia. The policies of the company can be explained to them in the beginning but one should not moralize when dealing with the Indonesian people.
The business culture of Indonesia is hierarchical in structure and the superiors enjoy enormous amount of respect. The process of decision making is extremely slow within Indonesia (Peleckis, 2016). The superiors have a tendency of behaving in paternalistic manner and hence the culture is very authoritative in nature. The primary decision makers are generally the senior executives who involve themselves in consultation with that of the others. The inputs are carefully considered by them before they carry out any decision.
Negotiating with Indonesian Businesspeople
There are certain actions that can be undertaken to establish proper relationship with the Indonesians. Communication can act as they key in establishing successful relationship with the business counterparts in Indonesia (Zhao & Nie, 2015). The Indonesian people cannot speak English properly and therefore speaking in simple sentence can prove to be crucial in carrying out negotiations. The key points should be summarized to them at the beginning of each deal so that they can understand them easily. Saving face is of great significance in the Indonesian culture and people do not admit easily if they are facing any difficult situation. The people involved in business within Indonesia are very conniving and they want things in their own particular way. With the help of strong communication skills it has to be conveyed to them that the business deal would profit them in the long run. The Indonesian people do not mix freely with that of other culture which makes them shy and apprehensive of the intentions of other people. Things have to be stated clearly to them at the outset so that any kind of conflict does not arise later on. This can pave the way for concessions but the people in the Indonesian side should be asked to reciprocate if one concession has been made from the other side. There are certain areas that have already been agreed upon and the Indonesian side can be asked to give in to concessions by making them believe that is a new proposition (Tomlinson et al., 2017). Such kind of techniques can be employed so that the Indonesians are ready for negotiation.
The business people in Indonesia are deceptive and it is essential that one should not take such kind of tactic personally and should be able to realize that bluffing the counterparts can result in backfire. It can damage the business relationship and one should be extremely cautious regarding not damaging the business relationship. Information should be verified that is got from that of the Indonesian side by taking recourse to other channels (Bülow & Boje, 2015). Focus should be kept on the commonalities and not on the differences when dealing with the business people of Indonesia. The ideas along with information should be exchanged in the proper manner in order to resolve differences between the parties. The options should be invented that can result in mutual gain for both the parties for successful negotiation.
The local representatives can handle the issues related to corruption as they would be able to deal with it in a better manner. It may prove to be difficult to resolve conflict as the Indonesians have a tendency of ignoring them. The mindset of the Indonesian people has to be clearly understood so that the problem can be easily averted in relation to corruption.
The people within Indonesia do not abide by rules or that of laws. Specific situation is considered by them instead of the applying of the universal principles. The business people in Indonesia have a tendency of viewing the contracts like that of general guides in order to conduct business (Ingerson, DeTienne & Liljenquist, 2015). The Indonesians expect that both the parties will change the terms in case the condition changes. Staying in constant contact and nurturing the relationship during that of the business engagement can be helpful while doing the contracts with the peope of Indonesia.
Effective Communication Strategies
Integrative bargaining approach can be taken recourse to while carrying out business negotiations with the people of Indonesia. Integrative bargaining can occur in a situation in which the parties can produce greater outcome by coming together (Baarveld, Smit & Dewulf, 2015). It can be effective when the parties want to build a relationship. It occurs in the particular case when co-operation can be of benefit for the parties involved. In the culture of Indonesia people want to maintain harmony between the different members and building lasting relationships is an integral part of their culture (Peng, Dunn & Conlon, 2015). It can be maintained that indulging in serious business discussion can clear a lot of doubts and pave the way for greater understanding between the parties. They do not easily trust other people hence it is important to build a strong bond before getting into any kind of negotiation. Saving face is crucial in the Indonesian culture and the reputation of a person depends on this particular concept. Embarrassment to one person can cause losing reputation of all the parties involved. Ability of controlling emotions and remaining friendly can help in building a strong relationship and an integrative approach can help in benefitting both the parties involved. The Indonesians are polite and their friendly demeanour can help in adopting an integrative approach that can aid in negotiation within a business (Morley & Stephenson, 2015). Their respect towards other people is conveyed by the fact that they are shy by nature and this can facilitate in achieving integrative bargaining approach. Boisterous behaviour is perceived by the Indonesians as rude and they allow other people to proceed even if they go in the wrong direction out of respect. The Indonesians focus on the aspect of long-term benefit and they expect commitment from that of the business partners. The Indonesians have a tendency of respecting hard bargainers and this can help in building a strong relationship with the other business partners (Yao, Zhang & Brett, 2017). The integrative bargaining approach can hence work well when doing business with the Indonesians.
Ethics are indicative of the social standards in relation to what is right or wrong in the case of a particular situation. Ethical dilemma refers to a decision-making problem that can arise when one is stuck in between two moral imperatives. Situational conflict can give rise to complexity and one becomes confused as to which course to adopt (Beers, Mierlo & Hoes, 2016). Bribery is common in the public along with private sector in Indonesia. The Indonesians sometimes accept minor payments and they think of it in terms of a reward. They do not consider it to be like a bribe. This can pave the ground for some kind of ethical dilemma when carrying out negotiations with the business people of Indonesia.
Lapse in relation to corruption is one of the most concerns of business ethics in the present age. The line between reward and bribery is not always clear in Indonesia. The Indonesians can pay a large sum of money in order to hide important information that may prove to be fatal for the business of the other country (Murphy, 2016). The Indonesians are ready to accept bribe so in the same strain they can offer money to the other party to conceal about a matter that can prove to be fatal for the other party. A software programme that is manufactured by a company in Indonesia contains virus and accidently someone from the other country came to know about it. The effect of the malware will slowly destroy the programs and computers of the foreign company. The effect of the malware will not be noticed on immediate basis and at the present it would continue to function very smoothly. The disturbances can be discerned after many years and the Indonesians have paid the bribe to an employee of the foreign country so that he would not disclose the fact at the present moment. They would continue to sell the software program and they may have promised that they would inform the other company and withdraw from the business in case the situation deteriorates. The officials in Indonesia are reserved in nature and do not disclose things clearly at the beginning (Dal-Ré et al., 2016). The cheaper price of the software program can compel the employee of the other country to conceal the matter in the present. It would continue to deliver good performance at the present that may have compelled the employee to go forward with the pact.
Dealing with Corruption in Indonesia
Virtue approach in relation to ethics states that there exist certain ideals to attain which every one strives. They can help in the complete development of humanity and thoughtful reflection can help an individual in staying in the right path. Virtues refer to the character trait that helps an individual in developing the highest amount of potential. The virtues emerge to become characteristics of an individual. A virtuous person evolves to become an ethical person. An ethical problem can be analysed by making use of virtue approach. Honesty, courage and faithfulness are the traits integral to the virtue approach and they help an individual in staying in the right track. Virtue ethics deemphasizes the rules and lays stress on the type of a person (Harris, 2016). In relation to the particular ethical problem of bribery, one should have been more loyal to the company instead of hiding the fact that the software program contains malware. It shows negative aspect of character on the part of the individual. Taking of bribery goes against the moral principles and this kind of ethical approach can help an individual in steering the course of one’s life in the proper direction.
Another important approach pertaining to ethical decision making is that of the utilitarian approach. According to Bentham, ethical actions can help in providing balance between good and that of evil (Steele & Beasor, 2017). In order to make use of the utilitarian approach the different actions that can act as options should be analyzed. Those who will be affected by a particular course of action and the benefits along with harms are analyzed thoroughly so that one can choose the noble path. The act of bribery and hiding of nursing information may jeopardize the work of other people and may inflict severe damage on the reputation of the company. The company may lose essential information in the long run and the organisation may not be able to win the favour of consumers in the long run. Being just to all the parties is key to the utilitarian approach and it takes into consideration the welfare of all kinds of people (Wolff, 2015).
An unethical tactic can cause the company to face great amount of trouble. A company may lose the credibility of the consumers and may incur financial trouble. It may lead to loss of revenue on the part of the company and the consumers may start preferring some other competitor (Zhao & Nie, 2015). Customers should be able to trust the companies and know that the representatives are ethical. Trust is a strong pillar in relation to business relationship and the customers like to do business with the companies that are transparent in relation to the dealings. One particular incident can contradict the belief of the customer and destroy the element of trust that requires many years to be built. There are some ‘malefactors’ in each company who indulge in dishonest behaviour. Using the property of the company in order to serve personal gains can lead to grave consequences (Morley & Stephenson, 2015). The effects of that of unethical behaviour start to surface with the passage of time and line between that of right and the wrong starts to fade. The people in the organization tend to feel helpless and they become angry with dishonest behaviour of that of their co-workers. The frustration increases if the company does not take any action to punish the wrong-doer.
References:
Baarveld, M., Smit, M., & Dewulf, G. (2015). Negotiation processes in urban redevelopment projects: Dealing with conflicts by balancing integrative and distributive approaches. Planning Theory & Practice, 16(3), 363-384.
Beers, P. J., Mierlo, B., & Hoes, A. C. (2016). Toward an integrative perspective on social learning in system innovation initiatives. Ecology and Society, 21(1).
Bülow, A. M., & Boje, D. M. (2015). The antenarrative of negotiation: On the embeddedness of negotiation in organizations. Journal of Strategic Contracting and Negotiation, 1(3), 200-213.
Dal-Ré, R., Jha, V., Lv, J., Chaudhury, R. R., Wang, Y., & Perkovic, V. (2016). International trials in middle-income countries: different local scenarios require different ethical approaches. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 109(2), 47-51.
Harris, H. (2016). Sustainability, Justice, and Virtue. In Understanding Ethics and Responsibilities in a Globalizing World (pp. 247-255). Springer, Cham.
Ingerson, M. C., DeTienne, K. B., & Liljenquist, K. A. (2015). Beyond instrumentalism: A relational approach to negotiation. Negotiation Journal, 31(1), 31-46.
Lam, N. T. H., & Liaw, S. Y. (2017). Comparing Mediation Role of Cultural Intelligence and Self-Efficacy on the Performance of International Business Negotiation. International Business Research, 10(7), 22.
Morley, I., & Stephenson, G. (2015). The social psychology of bargaining (Vol. 17). Psychology Press.
Murphy, S. P. (2016). Contemporary Ethical Approaches to the Practice of Assistance and Foundational Accounts of Moral Duty. In Responsibility in an Interconnected World (pp. 35-59). Springer, Cham.
Peleckis, K. (2016). International business management negotiation strategies based on bargaining power assessment: the case of attracting investments. Journal of Business Economics and Management, 17(6), 882-900.
Peng, A. C., Dunn, J., & Conlon, D. E. (2015). When vigilance prevails: The effect of regulatory focus and accountability on integrative negotiation outcomes. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 126, 77-87.
Steele, P. T., & Beasor, T. (2017). Business negotiation: A practical workbook. Routledge.
Tomlinson, E. C., Polin, B., Gray, B., & Barry, B. (2017). Lessons learned from working with Roy J. Lewicki. Negotiation and Conflict Management Research, 10(2), 126-140.
Wolff, R. (2015). Book Review: Private Dispute Resolution in International Business: Negotiation, Mediation, Arbitration, 3rd edn, by Klaus Peter Berger.(Wolters Kluwer, 2015). Journal of International Arbitration, 32(6), 711-713.
Yao, J., Zhang, Z. X., & Brett, J. M. (2017). Understanding trust development in negotiations: An interdependent approach. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 38(5), 712-729.
Zhao, D., & Nie, J. (2015). Vague Language in Business Negotiation-From a Pragmatics Perspective. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 5(6), 1257.
Order an Essay Now & Get These Features For Free:
Turnitin Report
Formatting
Title Page
Citation
Outline
