Recently, I watched the "Winners" program on the Thai Cable channel, UBC. They had invited the Asia Pacific head of Northern Telecom (NORTEL), the major Telecommunication firm from Canada to appear. He made one comment about the difference in doing business in Asia compared to the West. I found that his comments quite valid and beneficial for other Westerners who are new to this region. Discussing the the sequence of establishing business in the East and the West, in the West, the generally accepted process moves from the "Legal" to "Logic" to "Relationship". Businessmen in the West begin by exploring legal matters, then they will logically consider the terms of business investment and feasibility in the market. And lastly, they consider the relationship with the contact. Typically in the East, said the executive, this sequence is reversed, starting from the "Relationship" and them moving to "Logic" and finally focussing on Legal matters. Business in Asia usually starts with building the relationship between both parties. Also mentioned was that Legal aspects in the East have a lot of grey areas and that may cause people to consider it last. I can confirm that his comment is very valid in Thailand. When you are entertained by a Thai business-person: If you are invited to lunch or dinner with a Thai host, here are some tips for you: Usually, Thai people will ask you what kind of food you lwould like to have with them. If you can take Thai cuisine, ask their recommendation for a good Thai dish at that establishment. When you are at the table, inform them about the degree of "spiciness" you can take. Normally, the Thai food at most restaurants in Bangkok serve the food at a level of spiciness that foreigners are able to take. Also, advise your host of food that you cannot take due to allegies or religion. If you are invited by Thai-Chinese host, the chance is they will entertain you at Chinese Restaurant. If you are not comfortable with chop sticks, ask for whatever tools you like. It is acceptable to use your knives and forks or spoons instead of chop sticks. Some points that we do differently from Westerners. We have a tendency to order many dishes when we entertain our guests. If we entertain only one guest, we may order about 4-5 dishes. But if the table has more than 2 people, the number of dishes might increase to 7 or 8 easily. Please do not make the comment that you don’t understand why Thai people eat so much but still keep the shape looking nice! It sounds like we are so hungry all the time. In fact, we don’t eat that much when we have our one meal. Since, we want to make sure that our guest is happy, we always order more than usual to account for all appetites. Furthermore, each Thai dish is usually a small amount. Thai business men always entertain guests by themselves. Unlike in the West, they do not prefer to take their wives with them. This may be because in the old days, wives were not career women. Even now, when some wives are career women, the traffic is the major barrier for them in travelling between 2 locations. Please don’t ask them whether their wives will join the table. Thai's and Planning One Westerner who has lived in Thailand for over 30 years, commented to my boss on why the Thais are not so adaptive on planing ( less plan, wait and see, easy living etc.). He analysed this based on the Sociological aspect of Thailand. If you take a close look at Thai history, as a rich and plentiful country with a good environment, in the old days, Thailand was rich with resources. We used to have the motto that “In the river has fish, in the farm has rice….” Which means that we foods were usually available right in front of your house. Why bother to do the inventory! Furthermore, natural disasters like earth-quakes or severe changes in seasons like snow in winter do not occur regularly in Thailand. So people just did not plan for anything. In the morning, we went out to the farm and river and got something to cook for the day. We did not have to plan ahead to fight with nature. When compared to the West, you have to fight with nature. So planning ahead is a must. Among Thais, we do have a joke for “Planning”. “Ning” when pronounced in the Thai language means “Unmoving”. When Thais say “Plan-ning” it sounds like Plan! - and do nothing (just plan and unmoving, so nothing happens!) It is interesting comment! What do you think? Kriengsak Niratpattanasai DBS Thai Danu Bank, Bangkok, Thailand

...from Kriengsak Niratappanasai's Thailand Tales

Kriengsak Niratpattanasai Thai Danu Bank Bangkok Thailand

Kriengsak was one of the Asian Business Strategy & Street Intelligence Ezine's earliest columnists and continues to provide some of the most savvy advice on the Net on working in Thailand. His down to earth advice from years of working with falang and locals mixed with local folkstories continues to delight and inform. Click on Kriengsak's picture to learn more about our great friend and colleague.

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