Lesson 6: Do Business with Caste System of India?

The answer of the last post is
C) itadakiGochisuo-sama, if you got it wrong, let's revise the last post~

Quiz: A person's status is determined by...
a) "Personal contacts, number of children and size of house"
b) "Job title, salary and knowledge of languages"
c) "Family background, caste, age and job title"

(please leave your answer in the comment box below)

(Answer will be revealed in the following post! )

To recognize how much you know, let's begin with a small quiz! Highly encourage you to answer it to gain a small prize!

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Salaam!(Hindi : सलाम नमस्ते, English : Urdu)

India is regarded as the emerging wealthy country with 300 million population and rapidly growing IT and manufacturing industries. Investment opportunities are everywhere. India emphasizes the faithfulness towards the God and the traditional caste system. the caste system divides population of the people are classified into 4 hierarchical relationships according to age, university degree, and occupations. People in a upper caste would not do business with the lower caste, or vice versa. However, they would treat the foreigner as God and looking for a long term relationship before doing any business. It is adviced that business should be based upon the mutual trust and respect.

1) Dress Code

• Wear dark coloured and conservative business suits for both men and women
• Wear dress in a hot weather would be considered as informal for women.

2) Business Card

• Put the university degree qualifications on the business card
• Exchange the cards after proper handshake and greeting.
• Give and receive business cards by using the right hand

3) Business Meeting

• Make the appointment by letter at least one month in advance.
• Arrange the meeting in late morning or early afternoon and stay flexible as the appointment maybe rescheduled at the last minute
• Address the indians with their professional titles (e.g. Professor, Doctor and Engineer) before their name or surname. If they do not have a professional title, simply use "Sir" or "Madam".
• Get a chit-chat before coming to the topics so they have chances to get to know who you are.
• Note that the decision making process is made by those who have the most authority. It used to slow and likely to be delayed so do not lose temper.
• Offer concessions on price and terms so they would return the concessions on you too.7) Never be too legalistic as most Indians do not trust the legal system.
  
  
  Episode: Coming up will be the informal etiquettes in india so you may see what and how hinduism eat.