Recently a 20 strong group of senior American Executives
visited Indonesia for their first time to expand upon their education. They came
from an array of industries such as car manufacturing, hospital management, realtors,
and a plethora of IT businesses. I believe their first experience of Indonesia
was not so different to that of many Australian executives.
On the first night at a five star hotel in Jakarta, the overwhelming
topic of conversation was in regards their safety. One Indian – American was concerned
that her forehead mark should be removed because it would make her a target for
attack. All agreed they would not go out after dark and only as a group.
They had spent hours and many dollars being culturally and
inter-faith educated prior to departing for Indonesia. Without exception the
training was total rubbish; but dangerous rubbish in that the perception given
by those highly reputable instructors and the USA Authorities was that Indonesia
was akin to a war zone inhabited by fiercely radical Islamists. Not a place to
visit and for sure a highly risky place to do business in.
The women had been told they must wear long dresses, flat
shoes, and head coverings at all times. Similarly the males had been told to
also wear appropriately conservative clothing. They had been indoctrinated in a
myriad of exhortations to do this, do that, and definitely don’t do that! Pity
the three left-handed participants who struggled to work out how they would
manage even mundane challenges such as eating!
The overarching message embedded by the training was that it
was better to keep a low profile and not interact with Indonesians unless
essential. What a difference a day can make.
“Why are those woman wearing shorts and tight jeans?”
“Why are so few woman wearing head coverings?”
“Why is everyone smiling at us as we go by or pass them?”
A high level tour of PT Bintang (a beer brewery) had been
arranged and many questions and comments revolved around just how the business
managed success in an apparently beer hostile environment.
“How did Heineken set-up its first overseas brewery in
Indonesia?”
“Why it has been successful for so long and how secure did
they feel?”
On the university visits the execs were constantly taken
aback by the number of senior female lecturers and the vibrant, enthusiastic,
“happy” student population. They had been led to believe the stereotypes that all
woman were subordinates- mere slaves to men’s whims. My wife was certainly surprised
to hear this!
Within three days their initial paranoia had been deposed by
a nocturnal excursion to the Stadium discotheque in Jakarta. Many consider it
to be the largest, busiest, noisiest place, on the most inhabited island in the
world. They fortunately returned relatively undamaged except for the ravages of
PT Bintang’s illustrious tonic.
Although traffic and pollution were of concern, the newly
converted were astonished by the mass distribution of mobiles, smartphones, IPads,
not to mention biblical amounts of motorbikes. Jakarta’s gleaming hotels and
malls were generally rated well above anything they had previously experienced,
both in style, substance, and service.
At the end of the course one lady summed it up for all, saying
all of their pre-conceptions had been “shattered”. She also vehemently complained
that their baggage had proved to be 80% useless as they did not need long dresses
etc. They had in fact purchased so many items they would probably have to pay
excess baggage charges.
One student wrote, “I had a different perception of the
country and how business was done in Indonesia. Our trip to Indonesia changed a
lot of it and now I can understand why Indonesia is perceived to be among the
top five best countries to do business. Indonesian people are very friendly and
welcoming.”
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