How to Greet People
Indians greet one another with the Namaste (palms together with a slight bow). Its good manners to return it.
In business, handshakes are now more common.
Indian women may not shake hands with men; Western women should also wait for Indian men to extend their hands.
Embracing is common between friends/colleagues but is only done with someone of the same gender.
How to Address People
You may find differences across India but most people will use their first name followed by surname.
Titles are important to if you’re meeting someone important make sure you initially use it.
Many Indians in business will quickly tell you how to address them or make it obvious in some other way.
If you have an official title, don’t be shy to use it. Status is important.
What to Wear
Most foreigners wear their normal business attire, which is perfectly fine.
In some places, a jacket and tie aren’t expected.
Women should dress modestly, covering knees and shoulders.
Pay attention to the season you are visiting in as the weather changes dramatically.
Eating Tips
Indians build relationships with food.
Wash your hands before you eat.
Do not touch food with your left hand.
Be Careful with Feet
The feet are considered unclean.
Don’t point your feet towards people or show the soles of your feet.
Don’t touch your feet or play with them in front of others.
Be prepared to take your shoes off in some places.
In general, time-keeping is significant for rural Indian in business arrangements. If you have a meeting at one o’clock, your counterparts may arrive on time or little early. But mostly late.
Etiquette, or acceptable social behavior also known as “good manners”, has evolved from a strict set of rules and advice on everything from good breeding and hygiene into what some might say are a “relaxed” set of norms.
And, with the advent of social media, these norms have stretched good manners in many cases to their breaking point.
Service appointments calls are thing of the past.
It is very disrespectful if you arrive late for a business meeting without any reason.
Moreover, you should give suggestion to postpone the meeting to a new time or day in case of a long delay.
Keeping appointments are non-existent by most of the rural Indian businesses. Although all carry mobiles for appointments it is rarely used if you are running late for your meetings,
The best time to schedule meetings is late morning around 11 am or early afternoon.
Reconfirm your meeting the week before and call again that morning.
It is common in rural India for meetings to be cancelled at the last minute.
Keep your schedule flexible so that it can be adjusted for the last minute rescheduling of meetings.
You should arrive at meetings on time since Indians are impressed with punctuality.
To plan effective meeting in India, you must first plan what will be discussed.
What is the objective of the meeting?
What are you seeking to accomplish?
Don’t waste people’s time by inviting them to a meeting that they do not need to attend. If a colleague or supervisor needs to be informed of what was discussed at a meeting, you don’t need to invite them to the actual meeting.
Prepare a meeting agenda that includes the list of items that participants hope to accomplish at a meeting. The agenda should be distributed to participants several days in advance of a meeting, minimally 24 hours in advance so that participants have the opportunity to prepare for the meeting.
When you first send out notification of the meeting, be clear about its purpose and your expectations.
An agenda alone will not run your meeting effectively. Stick to the agenda and keep discussions from wandering off on tangents.
Plan to use technology to keep attendees engaged. In today’s digital world, most people are used to seeing graphics or videos to support the words they hear.
Finally summarize all covered issues and ask for comments and suggestions about possible topics for the next meeting.
It is advisable to circulate meeting agendas before the meeting, so that everyone can be fully prepared.
Important things such as list of attendance, meeting location and required equipment should be available in advance.
Meeting agendas and presentations should be organized wisely so that every point should be covered efficiently in the meeting.
Rural Gujarat India, organizations follow a hierarchical structure so all the major decisions are taken by top management.
Make sure you consider various reasons to be late including India’s scowling traffic jams, because sometimes it can leave cars crawling at under 5 kilometers an hour.
Meanwhile, attending social gatherings or non-business events is totally different. For social events, guest may arrive about twenty to thirty minutes after the specified time.
While travelling in metro cities you need to be careful, as road traffic will cost you much more than the expected time.
Public transport such as buses and trains may also get late due to bad weather conditions. It is recommended therefore to allow some extra time, especially travelling in metro cities like Delhi or Mumbai.
Disclaimer: The information on this POST is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional advice. The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. All content, including text, graphics, images and information, contained on or available through this article is for general information purposes / educational purposes only, and to ensure discussion or debate.
Thank you …Business Dress Code
Traditional clothing varies massively in different parts of India. Shirt and trousers are common for man and a sari is common for women. Meanwhile, it is common to see wrapped, graceful and modern outfits for everyone nowadays.
Formal shirt, suit, tie and trouser are common business outfit for males. Many corporations have their own uniform with company style to look corporate. It reflects the certain image of the company for Indian business etiquette.
New generation start-ups are adopting a smart dress code, which are comfortable to wear and also gives an expert image for the company. For females formal yet covering outfits are acceptable all over the country.
Jeans or denims for men and tank tops or revealing clothes for women are not acceptable in business meetings.
Make sure your clothes are neat, clean and do not have any stains or wrinkles as it may create bad impression.
Employees wear formal clothes whereas senior manager wears a suit.
Branded, designer suits and tuxedos are quite popular amongst high ranking officers. Overall, a well-dressed man always catches the eyes of people.
Do you want to add a word or two?….
Corruption is one of the prime issues that badly affect many parts of India’s economy. Flourishing corruption in the country has inhibited the country’s progress. It has held the economy from reaching new heights.
Some of those of rural India is suffering from a high level of political, social and managerial corruption. There is a huge list of participating entities in the corruption.
List includes schools, universities, hospitals, politicians, police and many more…the list also includes various type of service centres.
Corruption is a result from the lack of transparent laws from government, less public involvement and poor public administration. Another causes for corruption includes complicated tax system, government monopoly on some sectors and excessive regulations.
Your comments ….
However, people understand the dangers of bribery and the number of people, NGO’s and businesses that are ready to participate in anti-corruption activities is growing.
Corruption is huge concern in public sector, these people may ask for extra money to get the work done.
Visitors should be well aware of corruption that prevails in under developed India. In the first business meeting, Indians will try to be polite and courteous, and they will listen to every single thing.
They may even ask some questions to be sure that they understand what you are saying.
Follow up on that meeting is another story.
If you are unsure about any of the things related to meeting, it is advisable to contact your Indian counterpart via call or email.
Meanwhile, explicit anti-corruption policies are in circulation especially in the government sector. It is the prime cause for corruption.
Stricter rules are imposed which is reducing the participation level in illicit activities and corruption. Face to face
Wait to warm up: Indians takes some time to get to know each other before face to face real contact.
Yes doesn’t necessarily mean ‘yes’: If rural Indian business person agrees to meet, but says they are very busy, it may mean it will cancel at the last moment. Those Indians will cancel a meeting on later date rather than say no from the start
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