Today, business has crossed the international boundaries and we are ought to feel some respect and prestige for the foreign culture, practices and heritage. What seems to be quite depressing is the latest trend of Indian businesses which is getting very insensitive to the foreign languages and cultures. You are ought to see Salman Khan wearing the vests in place of Shaolin robes in the temple. It really presents a different view of the Shaolin masters following the Salman’s dancing portfolio rather than our industry going ahead with their cultures.

There are plenty of businesspersons that are indulged in such insensitive practices of foreign culture and rituals. You must have heard about the acquiring of Blackburn Rovers in English Premier League by Pune business Venkateshwara Hatcheries. The Venky has been responsible for the collisions inside the league, and is still unknown to the history and glory of the EPL. The articles were thrown out in the Times of India and The Telegraph which quickly displayed how Venky was so canny to ignore the truth that his club considered the football as its religion. Many a times, the national dailies also published articles for ouster of Steve Kean, the team manager. On the other hand, The Economic Times came up with an article which was titled ‘Maybe chicken don’t play ball’, which interestingly tried to establish a relation between the hatchery business and the football game.

The business including the IT firms and technical giants are also not far behind this insensitivity towards the foreign customs and cultures. Much recently, an IT company was unable to get hold of the Latin American language although they have got the company rooted in the same place. It is just more than ridiculous business strategy where you are required to behave responsibly. This was enough for the confrontation between the local employees and Indian management team. You can also look around for different such racial cases in US, France and Argentina.

Which business has achieved success in this department? Of course, the TATA franchise has much to do with this issue when it decided to acquire Jaguar, Land Rover and Tetley. They were just capable of winning the souls and hearts of the local employees. Their management was just awesome and they respected the local culture, their practices and traditions. Indian corporate world has seen a devastating turn despite numerous efforts of business giants like TATA.

You must have to keep certain things in mind while managing the different cultural issues in foreign lands. First, you should know about the local sensitivities where football is considered more as a religion rather than just a game. Secondly, Indian business models have to take the cultural challenges in time. You will have to sort it out soon. Building ties with the local community while foreign acquisitions are on will further improve your productivity. The international business demands both type of tastes from your business. It seeks for sour taste including increase in efficiency, managing & optimizing; and sweet taste which includes building, acquiring and the growth.