India as a country is ripe for foreign investment. In 2009 it ranked as 12th in the world in gross output (De Vita, 2009). India contains approximately a billion potential and affluent consumers. Within the country there are 1.17 billion people, of which about 13.7 million expected to enter the workforce. This is something that should not be ignored by businesses that are ready to expand into the global marketplace. There are many attractions to the Indian market. However, there are factors that should be considered when considering entering into this market. This paper will analyze various components of India and evaluate both positive and negative factors.
Culture plays a significant role in how business is conducted in countries. It will define the practices and organization practices of businesses investing in India. India is a complex melting pot. The large countries religious beliefs need to be considered. In the opening case study found in chapter 2 it discusses what happened when McDonald’s failed to disclose that there was a minuscule amount of beef extract in its vegetable oil. The Indian population consists of both Hindu’s and Muslim’s. The small amount of beef oil went against Hindu dietary practices. In the Hindu religion cows are sacred and are not consumed. McDonald’s suffered some backlash for this failed disclosure. Food service industries need to consider the nations religious practices before franchising into this area. A vegetarian style menu will need to be introduced and foods cannot be prepared with either beef or pork products in order to show respect for religious preferences.
Another cultural influence that will influence expansion into this market is India’s caste system. Though the caste syste...
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Though the world economy as a whole has grown in recent years, a factor that is not taken into account is that the number “of the poor in the world has increased by 100 million” (Roy 3). In other words, the gap between rich and poor is widening. For India, this has startling implications. Though it is a nation that is developing in many ways, it also is a nation blessed with over one billion citizens, a population tally that continues to grow at a rapid rate. This population increase will greatly tax resources, which can create a setback in the development process. The tragedy, of course, is that the world is full of resources and wealth. In fact, Roy quotes a statistic showing that corporations, and not even just countries, represent 51 of the 100 largest economies in the world (Roy 3). For a country struggling to develop, such information is disheartening. However, there is also a more nefarious consequence of the growing disparity between rich and poor, and power and money being concentrated in the hands of multinational corporations: war is propagated in the name of resource acquisition, and corruption can reign as multinationals seek confederates in developing countries that will help companies drive through their plans, resulting in not only environmental destruction but also the subversion of democracy (Roy 3).
Indian society was patriarchal, centered on villages and extended families dominated by males (Connections, Pg. 4). The villages, in which most people lived, were admini...
In the year 2007, China and India ranked first and second respectively in the list of ideal foreign direct investment (FDI) destinations, according to A T Kearney, a global strategic management consulting firm (The Press Trust of India Limited, 2007a). The two nations, because of their similarities in geopolitical, economic and demographic aspects, are often compared with each other. To determine which one is more attractive for businesses to expand to, this essay will examine the business environment of both countries from the following perspectives: political/legal, economic, socio-cultural and technological.
Introduction India is the world’s second most populated country with over 1.2 billion people. Since its independence from British rule in 1947, the country has been more or less a stable democracy. Until 1991, Indian governments imposed economic austerity and its markets were comparatively closed to the world. Economic reforms in 1991 brought about a change which made India an attractive and huge market for multinational corporations from all over the world (Joshi 8). Retail industry within a globalized world is one of the most thriving and profitable sectors.
Our economic development will forever be defined as our ability to succeed internationally. PwC forecasts India’s real annual GDP growth until 2050 at 8.9 percent, Vietnam’s at 8.8 percent, and China’s at 5.9 percent. The list of fast-growing emerging markets goes on and on. The U.S. forecast is a meager 2.4 percent, comparable with most Western economies. The domestic companies that are likely to see incremental growth in the coming decades are those that are not only doing business internationally, but that are developing the strategic skill set to master doing business across cultures. Cross-cultural core competence is at the crux of today’s sustainable competitive advantage. For example, political environment will tell us, as to how and why political leaders control, whether and how of international business. Legal environment, both national and international will tell us about many kinds of laws by which business firms must work. The cultural environment will tell us about attitudes, beliefs and opinions important to business people. Economic environment will tell us about the economic system being followed by the host country, which may or may not be different from home country. It will also explain the variables such as level of development, human resources, Gross Domestic Per Capita and consumption patterns that determine a firm’s ability to do business. Geography will tell us about location, quantity, and quality of the world’s resources.
Aditya Birla Group is one of the first multinational corporations in India. Its headquarter is located in Mumbai with many others operations in different parts of the world such as in Asia (Thailand, Singapore, Myanmar, Laos, Indonesia, Philippines, China…), Europe (UK, Germany, Hungary, Italy, France, Luxembourg, Switzerland…), America (US, Brazil…). Throughout their growing, Aditya Birla have become well known in many sectors that they get involved in not only in India but also around the world. Back to the earlier day of the corporation, when it first founded, the group has focused on critical sector such as textiles and fibre, aluminum… and become one of the largest participant in those areas. Later on, in the 1960s, the company had expanded their business into cement and chemicals. Also, they expanded their business across the border of India into many other countries. This “revolution” has brought the name of the group into the international business map and become bigger than ever (Aditya Birla Group 2007). Today, ABG is a corporation with the consolidate revenue of 30bil with the affiliates in 45 countries and 60% of their revenue come from internationally and become one of the largest private company in the world (Aditya Birla Nuvo Limited, 2011).
In an article called Cultural Factor Highly Influences On Consumers & Their Buying Behavior – In Indian Context, the basic characteristics of culture are described:
It is a “pattern of beliefs, values and learned ways of coping with experience” (Brown 1994) that manifests itself into three layers: artefacts at the shallowest, values and beliefs in the middle and basic assumptions at the deepest. It is inseparable from the organisation that cannot be easily manipulated as it is fundamentally non-unitary and emergent. Finally, organisational culture is important as it is one of the main determinants as to whether a firm can enjoy superior financial and a comparative advantage over firms of differing cultures.
India is one of the countries that this report will cover. Power distance is rather high in India this is evident when observing the rather extreme levels of inequality amongst individuals. It is also apparent in the work place, managers expect their team members to be obedient. Employees also count on being clearly directed when it comes to their tasks and what is expected out of them. Top down communication is employed and negative feedback rarely moves up the ladder. In this society there is no need for justification of an individuals position in the social hierarchy. (Cultural tools, n.d.)
Siva, Manu. Difference in Cultural Values. India Today (20) 3. 45-48 Retrieved April 03, 2006
The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India. (2012). India’s Experience with fdI: Role of a Game Changer. Retrieved from http://www.assocham.org/arb/general/Indias_Experience_with_FDI_Role_of_a_Game_Changer.pdf
The Harvard Business School case study Silvio Napoli at Schindler India summarizes the various problems and issues facing Schindler India regarding its entrance into the new foreign market, India. Schindler Holdings Ltd. is a Swiss-based manufacturer of escalators and elevators which is looking for potentially entering into the Indian elevator market. Main executive committee members predicted that the Indian industry showed great promise in terms of future growth potential. The company’s objective was to manufacture standardized elevators at a cost lower than current customized elevator market. Silvio Napoli, who is vice president of Schindler in Asia, was chosen to lead the new entry into India. To successfully enter and penetrate the Indian market, Silvio and company needed to consider a variety of factors like but not limited to: mode of entry and type of strategy to implement, organizational structure, outsourcing and logistics approaches, marketing, and domestic and global hiring procedures.
Organisational culture is one of the most valuable assets of an organization. Many studies states that the culture is one of the key elements that benefits the performance and affects the success of the company (Kerr & Slocum 2005). This can be measured by income of the company, and market share. Also, an appropriate culture within the society can bring advantages to the company which helps to perform with the de...
The current manifestations of the caste system are now far more generalized across the Indian subcontinent than was the case in former times. Caste as we now recognize has been endangered, shaped and perpetuated by comparatively recent political and social developments. This is evident even i...
Stonehouse, G., Campbell, D., Hamill, J. & Purdie, T. (2004). Global and Transnational Business (2nd ed.). Chichester: John Wiley & Sons.