DBA, Indonesia

There are several ways you can do business in Indonesia:

• You work for a large company and have to negotiate with local authorities, clients, personnel or suppliers.
• You set up your own smaller business.
• Something else.

No matter how the setup is there are a few fundamental rules (which differ a lot from the West) that you should be aware of:

• People here always ask themselves the question: “What is in it for me personally?” it does not matter if it is business people, personnel, authority personnel or any other person. Indonesians are taught to make income from base salary and whatever their job will allow them to make on the side. Westerners usually have a hard time understanding that philosophy.
• Time for Indonesians does not have a value – the initial point of view is that it does not matter whether they spent one hour or four hours doing a task. This does not mean that they cannot meet deadlines or work efficiently and hard – it just means that you have to be aware of the fact to supply them with constraints and consequences for not meeting deadlines and production results.
• Most Indonesians are Moslems and their nature before religion is sensitive – this means that setting people straight in public is not a good strategy – no matter how big the mistake is. Showing anger, performing gesticulation or yelling is directly seen as a weakness and people are not likely to forget these incidents.
• Most Indonesian (especially men) would never say that they did not understand a task or even ask additional questions to cover the task. They will say “yes, I know what to do” and then try to figure out what to do by themselves. Usually the results are not the expected results. If you want something done in Indonesia up to standards, do not take yes for an answer – explain what you want in details even details that should be obvious. If orders can be carried out in writing this is even better.