‘’ Is doing business in India easier than in the Netherlands for me as a foreigner? ‘’ Index 1. Introduction ......................................................................................................................................... 3 2. GDP ...................................................................................................................................................... 4 2.1 India ............................................................................................................................................... 4 2.2 The Netherlands ............................................................................................................................ 4 2.3 My perspective .............................................................................................................................. 4 3. Business in general .............................................................................................................................. 5 3.1 India ............................................................................................................................................... 5 3.2 The Netherlands ............................................................................................................................ 5 3.3 My perspective .............................................................................................................................. 5 4. Business structure ............................................................................................................................... 6 4.1 India ............................................................................................................................................... 6 4.2 The Netherlands ............................................................................................................................ 6 4.3 My perspective .............................................................................................................................. 6 5. Communication style ........................................................................................................................... 7 5.1 India ............................................................................................................................................... 7 5.2 The Netherlands ............................................................................................................................ 7 5.3 My perspective .............................................................................................................................. 7 6. Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................... 8 Bibliography............................................................................................................................................. 8 1. Introduction This present paper is written for the course ‘’India in the world economy’’ part of the Business Administration bachelor degree at LIUC university in Castellanza, Italy. I was free to choice my own subject. However, it had to do something with India. In addition, I chose to make a paper about doing business in India an Holland to see which country is easier to do business in for me as a foreigner. Different sources will be used and they will be stated between brackets under the sections, but can also be found under the bibliography heading at the end of this report in APA style. This paper will discuss the following, inclusive my personal perspective under each section: GDP Business in general Business structures Communication styles 2. GDP 2.1 India GDP is the total market value of all final goods and services that have been produced within a country in a given period of time, usually a year. India’s GDP used to be not high in the beginning of 2000. However, their GDP grew slightly every year and has now the potential to become even better according to data from the World Bank (India, 2018). Asia’s third-largest economy, is set to bounce back to rates exceeding 7% for the couple of years. This means that it will be a few notches better than China, and far ahead of other major economies such as Russia etc. Higher GDP will mean that the country is growing and people will earn better and spend more which will also improve the circular flow of the country. 2.2 The Netherlands As indicated on the graph, the GDP of the Netherlands is not growing according to analysts (statista, 2018). However, for a small country with just 17 million people it will remain quite steady and gives security for long term investments as well. The Netherlands is also a country that has not much resources as India does which means they have to import a lot and produce less in own country. 2.3 My perspective By looking at the GDP numbers it is obvious that India’s GDP is having a positive growth line while the Netherlands doesn’t have rising numbers for the upcoming years. When focusing on only GDP I will invest in India instead of the Netherlands since it gives me the opportunity to have a higher return on investment. In addition, India is also becoming one of the world’s leaders when it comes to economic stability and growth, that is something that an investor want to hear. 3. Business in general 3.1 India When it comes to a great market opportunity, India is one of the countries for companies that want to expand their markets internationally in a short period of time. With a population of more than 1.2billion, many millions of whom are reasonably wealthy and own large disposable incomes, the sub-continent is widely tipped to be the second or third largest economy in the world within the next 20 years. In addition, it is already the 3rd largest economy by GDP Purchasing Power Parity. One thing that most people don’t know is that business in India, growing at about 8% per annum GDP in 2017, is powered by a strong domestic market which has seen strong performances in all three sectors such as agriculture, industry and services. In addition, these sectors are coupled with high savings rates and a favorable demographic trend, make India much more than ‘’just’’ a low-cost option. Any business organization that wishes to profit from India’s rise, would do well to spend a little time studying the cultural norms which drive the thinking of the Indian people (Warburton, background to business in India, 2018). 3.2 The Netherlands The Netherlands has a great history one of the greatest trading nations of the world and also accounts for the fact that the Netherlands has more global, world-class companies than people might expect from a country with such a small population and geographic range. The Netherlands is international in its position, it always has been. Countries with small domestic markets need to look abroad almost as a matter of national survival and the Netherlands is a prime example of this. The Dutch want to trade with everyone. Given the Netherlands’ central position in European business life, it probably follows that you should consider doing business there and that doing business in the Netherlands might also help you to spur into other European Union countries (Warburton, worldbusinessculture, 2018). 3.3 My perspective Both countries have impressive ways of doing business and I think the Netherlands was always solid in comparison with India. On the other hand, India is growing every year which will trigger more business people to start their company their instead of thinking about an European trade relationship as Dutch usually have. I am someone who accepts a challenge and I would rather choice India’s business market since it has more potential to grow. 4. Business structure 4.1 India In many ways, business structures mirror Indian society. Both are extremely hierarchical in nature in comparison with western countries. It is essential to understand how deeply these hierarchical thoughts impact on Indian attitudes to business. If overlooked, this simple fact can make working into India much more costly and inefficient. When doing business in India it is necessary to communicate as near to the top as possible. A great deal of time can be wasted dealing with middle management who may have very little impact on the final decision (Warburton, 2018). 4.2 The Netherlands A deep-rooted system of industrial democracy has been developed in the Netherlands and has been in existence for more than thirty years. The Netherlands is becoming less hierarchical and implementing modern systems which makes the atmosphere within companies more informal and relaxed. Culture doesn’t plays such a big role since Dutch people don’t focus that much on religion which makes it easier for outsiders to do business in the Netherlands. When doing business in the Netherlands it is not needed to communicate as near to the top as possible. This is because of the fact that the person is communicating with you will directly inform the top about it before making any decisions (Warburton, Dutch business structure, 2018) 4.3 My perspective For an outsider is it way easier to fit into the business structure of the Netherlands since it is doesn’t requires a lot of preparation. On the other hand, as an outsider it is more difficult to do business in India because of their religion and hierarchical structure . In addition, the hierarchical structure makes the business process also less efficient since you might have to wait for a long period in order to be able to communicate with the top of a company whereas in the Netherlands that problem does not exist. Since I know a lot about different cultures I find it interesting to also do business in India and challenge myself, but doing business in the Netherlands is easier for me of course since I was born there. 5. Communication style 5.1 India Most Indian business people speak excellent English and it is almost unusual to meet someone form the business world engaged in international trade who is unable to communicate with you. Indians speak excellent, almost perfect English and it would be unusual to meet any business person engaged in international trade who was unable to converse in the language. Indians find it difficult to say no, feeling that to do so would be unpleasant and lead to problematic ongoing relationships. Thus, when faced with disagreement, you are likely to encounter vagueness and lack of commitment. Answers such as, ‘We’ll try’ or ‘Yes, but it may prove difficult’ should be viewed with great doubt and will probably mean ‘no’. The danger is that you will be told what people think you want to hear, rather than any foul-tasting truths. Do not attempt to force your Indian contacts to be more direct and forthright than they feel comfortable with otherwise you may terrify them away. As Indians are highly family-oriented, do not be surprised if many meetings begin with personal questions about your family. Such small talk is considered to be highly cultured behavior and a decent way to establish meaningful negotiation later in the proceedings. Do not be over-eager to move things onto an practical business basis too quickly (Warburton, Indian communication style, 2018). 5.2 The Netherlands English is the second language of Dutch citizens and is learned during elementary school already which means that most people speak proper English, especially business people. Respect is shown through speaking one’s mind and being direct. Little respect is given to those who appear tricky or dishonest in what they are saying. This directness of approach can sometimes be misinterpreted as aggression or even rudeness, but it is an useful tool for enabling the meeting to reach an agreed solution. It is important to appear usual. Whatever you are, do not think of yourself as something special. Therefore self-promotion of the type that might be found in the USA is seen as being distasteful and will probably be assumed as arrogant. Although humor is often used in business situations, it is not all-pervasive and discussions are often very serious with irony or sarcasm being interpreted as lack of commitment. Remember that even though the Dutch speak very good English, much humour is culturally-based and unintelligible to other cultures (Warburton, Dutch communication style, 2018). 5.3 My perspective Indian and Dutch people clash when it comes to communication style since Indian people are more relationship based with a lot of small talk while Dutch people are straight to the point. To be honest, I think that Dutch people do their business way more efficient and effective which fits well to me. However, I appreciate the Indian communication style of having small talks and be friends instead of only business partners. 6. Conclusion Business structures and communication styles of Indian people and Dutch people clash a lot and that might be hard to deal with someone like me who was born in the Netherlands. However, I have Iranian roots which is similar to Indian way of communication and doing business which gives me an advantage over others as a foreigner. Furthermore, considering India’s GDP and business growth opportunities I definitely chose to start my business in India than in the Netherlands. The question of this report was the following: ‘’ Is doing business in India easier than in the Netherlands for me as a foreigner? ‘’. My answer on that question is: no, it will definitely be not easy, but I think I have a high chance of succeeding because of my international study and Iranian roots. I rather accept a hard challenge than work all my life in the Netherlands where everything is stress-free for me, low growth opportunities and high taxes. I am glad that I took this course because it opened a new market for me. Bibliography India. (2018). Retrieved from the world bank: https://data.worldbank.org/country/india statista. (2018). Netherlands: Real gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate from 2012 to 2022 (compared to the previous year). Retrieved from statista: https://www.statista.com/statistics/263609/gross-domestic-product-gdp-growth-rate-inthe-netherlands/ Warburton, K. (2018). background to business in India. Retrieved from worldbusinessculture: https://www.worldbusinessculture.com/country-profiles/india/culture/business-style/ Warburton, K. (2018). Dutch business structure. Retrieved from worldbusinessculture: https://www.worldbusinessculture.com/country-profiles/the-netherlands/culture/businessstructures/ Warburton, K. (2018). Dutch communication style. Retrieved from worldbusinesscultur: https://www.worldbusinessculture.com/country-profiles/the-netherlands/culture/businesscommunication-style/ Warburton, K. (2018). Indian business structure. Retrieved from worldbusinessculture: https://www.worldbusinessculture.com/country-profiles/india/culture/business-structures/ Warburton, K. (2018). Indian communication style. Retrieved from worldbusinessculture: https://www.worldbusinessculture.com/country-profiles/india/culture/communicationstyles/ Warburton, K. (2018). worldbusinessculture. Retrieved from business culture in the Netherlands: https://www.worldbusinessculture.com/country-profiles/thenetherlands/culture/
