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Mango Tango: Top 10 Similarities between India and Argentina

December 23rd, 2009 Posted in Uncategorized

These are generalizations I think that would help to give some business context. As they say, for everything you say about India the opposite is also true.

1. Resiliency / Resistencia. Both India and Argentina have enough citizens who are resilient, having collective memory of crises from – wars, foreign occupation, inflation, going from riches to rags, social unrest, political mismanagement of the economy – and have the experience and strength to manage ambiguous situations.
2. Family. Both cultures place an emphasis on family bonds. Immediate family and extended family are usually geographically close. In Argentina, the asado (or barbeque) is sacrosanct; every Sunday the extended family comes together to enjoy a long, leisurely meal and time with family. In both India and Argentina, sons and daughters typically live with parents till before marriage. The number of family controlled businesses are high in both countries, especially in small and mid-size businesses.
3. Colonial Legacy. Spanish empire in the case of Argentina and the British empire in the case of India. Remnants include institutions that are extractive/exploitative in nature and give ordinary citizens the run around for doing simple things. Powerful bureaucracy. Restrictive economic freedom. Transaction-slowing paperwork.
4. Corruption, cronyism. Licenses and permits are required for starting, operating businesses. Rent-seeking behavior by businesses to compete for the market instead of in the market.
5. Sporting Heroes. Crickets stars in India and football stars in Argentina are divinity. Tendulkar and Maradona head up the pantheon.
6. Socialism. Over the last 60 years, government has run many businesses that would be better left to the private sector like telecom, airlines. Politicians talk of helping the poor, but implement policies that wallop them instead. For politicians, business is a dirty word, except when they or their cronies are involved in it. Idea that State is supreme, and knows best. Manufactured scarcity – ‘waiting in long lines/queues’ is considered normal.
7. Agriculture sector’s importance. Occupies a strong place in national imagination. Agriculture as a source of previous national wealth and economic success/could be again. Government interference distorts incentives and gives farmers a hard time and has resulted in a sub-par peformance for the sector.
8. Hierarchy. Both societies are class-conscious, respecting high status and privilege. In business, knowing the right people, especially at senior levels is important. Also, decisions are made at the top and trickle down.
9. A lot of talk accompanied by little action. High GDT (Gross Domestic Talkativeness) per capita. Truly, there is a love of talk, discussing philosophy, sharing opinions, badmouthing politicians and engaging in lively debate. Follow-up and execution is often lacking.
10. Patriarchal. India and Argentina are patriarchal cultures. Pater familias typically wielded considerable influence, though weakening in recent times. At the same time, especially in political and business settings, women are in key positions of power.

Popularity: 4% [?]

Argentina, business culture, India, Society and Culture

Cultural similarities: India and Latin America – Polychronism

September 20th, 2008 Posted in Arts, Culture and Society, India, Latin America

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Continuing on the theme of cultural similarities, one other cultural trait that is shared in these 2 regions is polychronism (From the Greek – “poly” – many, “chronos” – time), as coined by the anthropologist Edward Hall.

In polychronic cultures, time exists to serve people – and not the other way around. No trains show up at 1402 hrs and no meeting lasts for exactly 25 minutes. Time is seen as a renewable resource and people can always ‘make more time’ for you. One of the outcomes is people tend to over commit – e.g. senior government officials can have 5 or 6 people show up outside their office between 11hrs and 11:30hrs. Wait times for appointments are to be expected – 10 to 30 minutes is routine, even longer if meeting a someone at a senior level in an organization.

People tend to do many things simultaneously. It is not necessary to finish one task before starting on the next one. One of the places to see this in action is during a hotel check-in – usually at a locally owned establishment, not typically at a foreign-owned star hotel. A receptionist will process 3 or 4 check-ins at once. Also, it is not necessary to finish an appointment with one person before taking on other comers. 1-on-1 business meetings can be interrupted to take/make personal phone calls; 5 or 10 minutes (or more!) can pass before the meeting is resumed. Meeting agendas are not typical – even if prepared, meetings can deviate wildly from them and “go all over the place”.

If 2 people are having a conversation, other persons overhearing or passing by can jump right in. It is not seen as an interruption.

Popularity: 22% [?]

business culture, India, Latin America

Why India’s companies will stay the course and prosper

June 12th, 2008 Posted in Uncategorized

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Traders at the Mumbai Stock Exchange

India’s economic growth, unlike China’s top-down state-sector driven model, is bottom-up and entrepreneur driven.

via FT.com

While India produces little in the way of commodities and has lagged China in attracting foreign investment, it is not a disaster. Rather, its companies embrace a variety of sectors, from IT, pharmaceuticals and general manufacturing to banks and property. No other emerging market has such breadth. Many of these companies are engaged primarily in selling to the large domestic market, where rising spending has enabled reinvestment.

Throughout the boom, companies consistently reported results ahead of consensus expectations. This was not a case of downplaying prospects so much as being sensible with costs. Most Indian enterprises have been around longer than recent economic achievements, and have learnt to confront and navigate a full business cycle. The best ones are naturally conservative. Maintaining cash flow and keeping debts low is second nature.

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Popularity: 2% [?]

business culture, India

Behind the rise of India’s billionaires

April 16th, 2008 Posted in Uncategorized

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Based on its population, that India has the more billionaires than Japan should not a surprise. By furthering economic freedom, it needs to have the most billionaires per capita!

reportonbusiness.com:
In the title bout of 21st century business – India versus China – China is way ahead on points. With vastly higher exports, energy production, foreign investment and infrastructure spending, it has a weight advantage India cannot hope to match. But India has one thing in its favour: the genius of its business leaders. Smart, ambitious, forward-looking, eager to learn, they are India’s potential knockout punch.

Forbes reported recently that, for the first time, India has more billionaires than Japan, the usual Asian leader in the magazine’s annual list. India has 53, up from 34 the year before. Four Indian billionaires are on the Top 10 list of the world’s richest people, more than any other country can claim.

That’s an extraordinary fact all on its own. India was an economic washout just a generation ago, its industries and businesses stifled by decades of government overregulation.

What’s most impressive about India’s new tycoons isn’t their sudden wealth, though. It’s the way they are taking their companies, and in the process their country, forward. The companies they are building are not just big, bold and brawny in the Chinese model, but smart, nimble and surprisingly modern.

Popularity: 2% [?]