Hello, I’m Dr. Kumar
INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS CONSULTANT
Interactive training programs and workshops in international business.
Over the last four or five decades as the world has become more globalized, cross-cultural interactions have increased as businesses and managers seek opportunities in overseas markets.
Culture shapes the nature of business practices and how business is done in different countries. Working with an international business consultant with a knowledge and understanding of different cultures in which you are doing business is a strategic imperative.
Available Workshops
Strategic Alliances
As the pace of global competition has intensified so has the need to forge collaborative partnerships. Strategic partnerships are potentially beneficial but need to be nurtured and nourished effectively to create a sustained competitive advantage for the firms concerned. In this two-day workshop we look at the challenges of collaboration and how the potential in these partnerships can be realized. We draw upon case studies, participants’ experiences, and best practice frameworks that have been developed to understand alliance development.
Negotiating Across Cultural Boundaries: A Two-Day Workshop
The ability to negotiate across cultures requires a set of skills that might test your imagination, patience, and adaptability. Different cultures have a different set of operating procedures for how to negotiate. This workshop introduces you to a set of cultural barriers that might make the negotiating process challenging. We also discuss the different cultural barriers and the skills needed to manage the cross cultural interface effectively.
Doing Business in India
India is now the world’s largest democracy and the fifth largest economy in the world. It has long been an outsourcing destination for foreign investors, but India is also gaining traction for its large domestic market. The objective of this one-day workshop is to introduce you to India. We will discuss the economic, political, and the cultural environment in India and its implications for foreign investors. The workshop will highlight strategies for operating in India that will ensure success.
Although effective management of cultural differences is not necessarily a guarantee of business success, understanding and deepening one’s knowledge of the other culture is absolutely vital to the success of the venture.
Culture influences communication, decision making, negotiation, resolution of conflicts, and/or the management of cross-national alliances. When a manager doing business overseas encounters difficulties in completing a business transaction it may not be immediately obvious to him/her as to why this has occurred.
Cultural forces may be at play but in the absence of a knowledge of the other culture it may be difficult to pinpoint what specific aspect of culture might be causing the problem.
“Cultural differences should be managed through the prism of similarity. While cultural differences exist and will not go away, one has to recognize that amidst the differences, there is a similarity that emerges from the fact that we are all human. The recognition of this is essential if one is to manage these differences productively.”
– Dr. Rajesh Kumar
RECENTLY FEATURED IN
“Fortunately, Global Strategic Advisory and Dr. Rajesh Kumar are here to elevate entrepreneurs towards capturing a worldwide audience.”
“Proving that people can transcend limitations, break barriers, and defy odds, Dr. Rajesh Kumar has emerged at the helm of his brainchild, Global Strategic Advisory.“
“The growth in globalization…has indeed made it more profitable for countries and firms to cross borders, but it also requires the right mindset. It is also important… to choose managers with the right mindset…”
Cultural conflicts often get embedded in the context of specific business ventures such as:
- managing alliances/joint ventures
- buyer/seller transactions
- licensing arrangements
- mergers and acquisitions
Alliances have become increasingly widespread over the past few decades and yet they exhibit a high degree of instability. Alliances are difficult to manage because partners may have hidden agendas and/or find it difficult to share control. National cultural differences exacerbate the problem as partners may differ in how they communicate, make decisions, and/or resolve conflicts. I have written extensively in this area and in my view the ability to manage ambiguity is crucial to a successful alliance management.
Rajesh and I collaborated on the design of a leadership development program to help globalizing Indian companies built business and leadership capabilities. Core elements included Understanding Global Markets, Developing Global Strategy, Building Global Capability and Implementing Global Strategy. Rajesh is globally-knowledgeable and culturally astute and has a keen sense for how leaders learn and organizations globalize. He is highly credentialed and applies his academic base in very practical ways. I enjoy working with him.
Let’s Start a Conversation
