DOING BUSINESS IN ASIA Part 1: INDONESIA

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Here are five general tips for foreigners wanting to do business in Indonesia. Do you agree with this advice? What advice would you give to a foreigner?

Be punctual to all business appointments. As a foreign businessperson, you are expected to be on time. However, it would be unrealistic to expect punctuality from all Indonesians, because promptness has not traditionally been considered a virtue. Furthermore, making people wait can be an expression of Indonesia’s social structure. It is the prerogative of a person of higher standing to make a person of lower rank wait, and it is very poor manners for a person of lower rank to show anger or displeasure toward a person in a higher station.

Even foreigners are expected to be late to social events. As a general rule, arrive about a half-hour late. But be aware that there is complex social interplay at social events. Some Indonesians will attempt to arrive later than lesser personages but earlier than more important guests. (For this reason, invitations to some events may state a time, but will add “please arrive fifteen minutes early.” This is to ensure that no one arrives after the most important guest.)

Indonesians show great deference to a superior. Consequently, supervisors are often told what they want to hear. The truth is conveyed in private, “up the grapevine”—often by a friend of the superior. Indonesians honor their boss by shielding him from bad news in public. This Indonesian trait, called asal bapak senan’ (which translates as “keeping father happy”) is instilled in Indonesians from childhood. A foreign executive must establish a network through which he or she can be told the truth in private.

Because Indonesians believe it is impolite to openly disagree with someone, they rarely say “no.” The listener is expected to be perceptive enough to discern a polite “yes (but I really mean no)” from an actual “yes.” This is rarely a problem when speaking in Bahasa Indonesia, because the language has at least twelve ways to say “no” and many ways to say “I’m saying yes, but I mean no.” This subtlety is lost when translated into many foreign languages, including English.

Indonesians are comfortable with silence, in both business and social settings. A silent pause does not necessarily signal either acceptance or rejection. Westerners often find such pauses uncomfortable, but Indonesians do not “jump” on the end of someone else’s sentence. A respectful pause may last as long as ten to fifteen seconds. Westerners often assume they have agreement and resume talking before an Indonesian has the chance to respond.


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