Case answer, 1. One way that Australia and New Zealand differ from the other Asian countries is how they develop relationships, in Indonesia and the other Asian countries, they value building long term relationships that produce profit rather than short term relationships that makes quick dollar. Another difference that Australia and New Zealand share from other Asian countries is that the Asian countries believe that western countries should respect their culture, taboos, ands language. Most of the time, it is believed that westerners style of living is more superior to that of others and not being able to understand or care to understand their cultural beliefs and customs really affects how they look at western countries. (Stigler 2013)

Australia and New Zealand being western countries, sensitivity to the needs of employees is a management area that is rarely stressed in most western business cultures (such as in Australia and New Zealand) where efficiency, productivity and effectiveness take priority. For example, the Javanese usually advise the need to “eling” which means “not to allow oneself to be overwhelmed by feelings and mix-up thoughts but to regain self-control” (page 122) in a situation where somebody loses their self-control through anger, distress or confusion. This is a rule shared by several countries Africa, Asia, Caribbean, South America and North America.

Thus “eling” gives rise to a situation where by “making and wearing mask” to hide emotions, thereby giving the outward appearance that there is nothing wrong solely to maintain the harmony of the office. This behavior is not a part of Australia and New Zealand culture.

Australia and New Zealand should avoid bad language that might set bad example for the workers and they should give instruction slowly and clearly in Standard English. They should be willing to consider individual cases and cultural needs, (e.g. prayer times or other religious obligations, time off for cemetery visits before Ramadan, weddings, funeral…). This is because it is a general believe that westerners should make an effort to adjust to the culture, taboos and language of their Indonesian colleagues.

2. The Indonesian archipelago is unique not just because of the many clusters of 13,466 (Wikipedia) islands that have come together as nation state but also in terms of extent and diversity. Java and Bali for instance “have fertile volcanic soils, while elsewhere the land is rich in mineral resources such as oil, natural gas and coal. Climate conditions as some regions experience annual heavy rains and floods, while others suffer regularly from droughts that often lead to famines”.

3. One of the characteristics of Indonesian workplaces referred to in this profile is that of manual labour/minimum wage jobs that do not include much education or little training if any. The articule refers to reasons why most businesses have not succeeded in Indonesia and includes lost orders or down time on production lines, labour problems between foreign management and local management. Another indication is that the business opportunity listed in the article is those businesses that are looking for a cheaper, outsourcing type of employee. (Stiger 2013)

Indonesian business relationships are paternal or maternal. Employees expect their supervisors to look after their interest as parents do for their children and the supervisors accept this responsibility.

4. The population is said to be socially stratified because with a population of over 238 million people, making it the world’s fourth most populous country, there is great imbalance in population distribution with the archipelago as 60% of Indonesians live in Java. However, Indonesia has a high level of social economic disparities as at the top of the social structure are the wealthy elites followed by an increasingly demanding middles class and at the bottom an impoverished majority.

5. Business opportunities in Indonesia for foreign direct investment include agribusiness, the automotive industry, business and financial services, construction and infrastructure, information and communication technology, e-commerce, education and training: environmental products and services, food and beverages, fresh produce, health and medical provisions, mining and mineral services, oil and petroleum drilling, transport and storage, science and technology.

REFERENCE
Stigler: Australia and New Zealand (31/01/2013)