download details
20080821
Indonesian Business Law
By Dr. Benny S Tabalujan
The Indonesian legal system is complex because it is a confluence of three distinct legal system.
Download Indonesian Business Law Details
The Indonesian legal system is complex because it is a confluence of three distinct legal system.
Download Indonesian Business Law Details
Doing Business in Indonesia From a Western perspective
Gary Dean
[Note: This is a modified version of an report commissioned by the East Asia Analytical Unit of the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in July 2000, as part of a book entitled Indonesia: Facing the Challenge published in December, 2000. Views contained within this report are entirely my own and do not necessarily reflect views of EAAU, DFAT or any of its officers, past or present.]
Indonesia is not the easiest place in the world in which to do business. The 'World Competitiveness Scoreboard' currently ranks Indonesia at 45, only two places ahead of Russia (47), and in stark contrast to countries such as Australia (13), Singapore (2) and the US (1). Clearly, in terms of the measures used by the producers of this scoreboard, Indonesia at the moment is found severely wanting, with its potent brew of traditional cultures, bureaucracy, legal uncertainty and social instability combining to give it the appearance of being a rather hostile place for trade and business. Indonesia is currently undergoing a radical transition towards becoming a more modern and efficient economy, and the road ahead remains uncertain.
Nonetheless, given a proper understanding of cultural, social and legal-regulatory environments, business and investment in most parts of Indonesia is relatively safe and profitable. Many promising changes are underway in Indonesia - notwithstanding the pain being experienced by many sections of Indonesian society - and there is good reason to be hopeful Indonesia shall emerge from its present trial-by-fire to become both an attractive investment destination, and a profitable market for Western products.
This essay seeks to give an overview of those elements that are important when undertaking business in Indonesia, including the social and cultural landscape, recent developments regards 'governance', law and legal certainty, business structures, and labour issues. Much emphasis is given to the issue of culture, more specifically, the perceptions, outlooks and/or beliefs that affect human interaction. In the past, perhaps, Western business peoples understanding of 'culture' has been relegated to the realm of manners or etiquette, of simplistic 'do's and don'ts'. However, cultural misunderstanding or miscommunication is generally far more likely to occur at the level of perception and outlook, rather than etiquette. This is not to suggest that etiquette is unimportant, but merely to attempt to shift emphasis from those external or visible cultural expressions to those expressions that are not immediately obvious, in particular as this affects communication.
Nonetheless, given a proper understanding of cultural, social and legal-regulatory environments, business and investment in most parts of Indonesia is relatively safe and profitable. Many promising changes are underway in Indonesia - notwithstanding the pain being experienced by many sections of Indonesian society - and there is good reason to be hopeful Indonesia shall emerge from its present trial-by-fire to become both an attractive investment destination, and a profitable market for Western products.
This essay seeks to give an overview of those elements that are important when undertaking business in Indonesia, including the social and cultural landscape, recent developments regards 'governance', law and legal certainty, business structures, and labour issues. Much emphasis is given to the issue of culture, more specifically, the perceptions, outlooks and/or beliefs that affect human interaction. In the past, perhaps, Western business peoples understanding of 'culture' has been relegated to the realm of manners or etiquette, of simplistic 'do's and don'ts'. However, cultural misunderstanding or miscommunication is generally far more likely to occur at the level of perception and outlook, rather than etiquette. This is not to suggest that etiquette is unimportant, but merely to attempt to shift emphasis from those external or visible cultural expressions to those expressions that are not immediately obvious, in particular as this affects communication.
Falling home prices: The silver lining
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Home prices continue to tumble across the country, making homes more affordable in most U.S. cities, according to a new report released Tuesday.
Nationally, 55% of homes sold from April through June were affordable to families earning the U.S. median income of $61,500, according to a quarterly report released Tuesday by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).
That's up from 53.8% in the first quarter of 2008, and the most affordable home prices have been since the second quarter of 2004.
"Homes became more affordable because median income and interest rates remained about the same throughout the country, as home prices continued to fall," said Gopal Ahluwalia, an NAHB economist.
Median home prices dropped to $215,000 in the quarter, which are about 10% below year-ago levels of $240,000, according to NAHB.
"This is definitely positive news, because more people can afford to buy a home," said Ahluwalia. "Still, actual sales haven't picked up, because people are waiting on the sidelines as they fear home prices will continue to decline."
Falling home sales have battered the homebuilding industry. The NAHB study followed a Census Bureau report also released Tuesday that showed home building fell sharply in July to a 17-year low. Monday, a monthly NAHB report showed homebuilders' confidence in the housing market remained at record low levels.
Tale of two cities: Indianapolis and New York
Indianapolis led the the nation's major metro areas in home affordability for the 12th straight quarter. The median price of homes sold during the second quarter was $108,000, down from $122,000 last year. And 91.6% of the households there earning the median income of $65,100 could afford to buy a median priced home. That's up from 86.8% last year.
New York was the least affordable major housing market in the country, according to the report. It was the first time that a major metropolitan area outside of California was the least affordable home market in the 17-year history of the report. Los Angeles was the least affordable housing market at this point last year.
"Prices went down a lot in both areas, but they fell a lot more in Los Angeles," said Ahluwalia. "Prices are declining very rapidly in California because of a large supply and low demand."
In New York, the median home price fell slightly year over year to $481,000 from $510,00. That led to an increase in affordability; 11.4% of households earning the median income of $63,000 could afford to buy a median priced home, up from 6.3% in the second quarter of 2007.
Despite that change, New York still fell to the least affordable area from second-least affordable last year, according to this survey. 
Become An Author Have you written articles that would be of value to entrepreneurs? Become an expert on our site by publishing them! Expose yourself
When it comes to conflict, it’s pretty easy to take a bad situation and make it even worse. We say the wrong thing, in the wrong way, at the wrong time. Our emotions get the best of us and pretty soon things have spiraled out of control. It is possible, however, to take a strategic approach to conflict resolution. With a little thought and planning, you can effectively work out problems with coworkers, clients, family, and friends. The next time you’re engaged in a quarrel or dispute, try the following two-step approach:
Step one: Assess the situation. Ask yourself three key questions:
1. Is there a real issue here? Or am I making a big deal over nothing? Could I be misinterpreting or overreacting to the situation?
2. What’s the issue? Sometimes the overt disagreement is not the same as the underlying problem. Dig deep enough to discover the true issue.
3. Is it worth pursuing? Is this a one-time situation or a chronic problem? Is it disruptive to my work or merely annoying? Maybe I should simply let it go.
Let’s use a real-world example to bring this concept to life. Several years ago, I was sitting in my parked car in the lot of a local shopping mall. I happened to have a sleeping child in the back seat. (For those of you with children or grandchildren, you know the sage advice: Never wake a sleeping baby!) As I waited for my daughter to finish her nap, I suddenly heard and felt a scraping across the passenger side of my car. A station wagon had pulled into the spot next to mine - and taken a line of paint off the entire side of my car in the process. For some undisclosed reason, the driver of the car refused my request to write down her insurance information. When I walked to the front of her vehicle to see her license plate, she stretched her arms across front of the car in order to block my view. Strange, I know, but true.
So, let’s assess the situation.
1. Is there a real issue here? Yes, without a doubt. This is not a case of me overreacting or making something out of nothing.
2. What’s the issue? Someone has damaged my property and refused to take responsibility for it.
3. Is it worth pursuing? Yes, absolutely. I need the other driver’s information so that she or her insurance company can cover the cost of repairing my vehicle.
Step two: Make a choice. How can you best handle the problem? Possibilities include:
1. Let it go. Maybe it’s not a big deal after all. Perhaps it’s minor in the context of your overall relationship with the other party. Or hey, maybe the other guy was right after all.
2. Work it out. Talk to the other person. Get her side of the story. Be receptive and respectful. Look for areas of agreement and seek out a reasonable compromise.
3. Enlist the help of a third party. This is the right approach when you’ve been unsuccessful in your efforts to work it out with the other party and you aren’t willing to simply let it go. In this circumstance, you may need to involve someone with the authority to mandate a solution.
In the incident described above, I ultimately chose to enlist the help of my local police department. I wasn’t willing to let it go, couldn’t work it out directly with the other driver and needed the assistance of someone with the authority to mandate a solution. A report was filed, my car got repaired and the damages were paid by the other driver’s insurance company. Conflict resolved.
http://www.work911.com/articles/
Step one: Assess the situation. Ask yourself three key questions:
1. Is there a real issue here? Or am I making a big deal over nothing? Could I be misinterpreting or overreacting to the situation?
2. What’s the issue? Sometimes the overt disagreement is not the same as the underlying problem. Dig deep enough to discover the true issue.
3. Is it worth pursuing? Is this a one-time situation or a chronic problem? Is it disruptive to my work or merely annoying? Maybe I should simply let it go.
Let’s use a real-world example to bring this concept to life. Several years ago, I was sitting in my parked car in the lot of a local shopping mall. I happened to have a sleeping child in the back seat. (For those of you with children or grandchildren, you know the sage advice: Never wake a sleeping baby!) As I waited for my daughter to finish her nap, I suddenly heard and felt a scraping across the passenger side of my car. A station wagon had pulled into the spot next to mine - and taken a line of paint off the entire side of my car in the process. For some undisclosed reason, the driver of the car refused my request to write down her insurance information. When I walked to the front of her vehicle to see her license plate, she stretched her arms across front of the car in order to block my view. Strange, I know, but true.
So, let’s assess the situation.
1. Is there a real issue here? Yes, without a doubt. This is not a case of me overreacting or making something out of nothing.
2. What’s the issue? Someone has damaged my property and refused to take responsibility for it.
3. Is it worth pursuing? Yes, absolutely. I need the other driver’s information so that she or her insurance company can cover the cost of repairing my vehicle.
Step two: Make a choice. How can you best handle the problem? Possibilities include:
1. Let it go. Maybe it’s not a big deal after all. Perhaps it’s minor in the context of your overall relationship with the other party. Or hey, maybe the other guy was right after all.
2. Work it out. Talk to the other person. Get her side of the story. Be receptive and respectful. Look for areas of agreement and seek out a reasonable compromise.
3. Enlist the help of a third party. This is the right approach when you’ve been unsuccessful in your efforts to work it out with the other party and you aren’t willing to simply let it go. In this circumstance, you may need to involve someone with the authority to mandate a solution.
In the incident described above, I ultimately chose to enlist the help of my local police department. I wasn’t willing to let it go, couldn’t work it out directly with the other driver and needed the assistance of someone with the authority to mandate a solution. A report was filed, my car got repaired and the damages were paid by the other driver’s insurance company. Conflict resolved.
http://www.work911.com/articles/
Front and Center - Leadership Critical To Managing Change
When change is imposed (as in downsizing scenarios), clearly the most important determinant of "getting through the swamp", is the ability of leadership to...well, lead. The literature on the subject indicates that the nature of the change is secondary to the perceptions that employees have regarding the ability, competence, and credibility of senior and middle management.
If you are to manage change effectively, you need to be aware that there are three distinct times zones where leadership is important. We can call these Preparing For the Journey, Slogging Through The Swamp, and After Arrival. We will look more carefully at each of these.
The Role of Leadership
In an organization where there is faith in the abilities of formal leaders, employees will look towards the leaders for a number of things. During drastic change times, employees will expect effective and sensible planning, confident and effective decision-making, and regular, complete communication that is timely. Also during these times of change, employees will perceive leadership as supportive, concerned and committed to their welfare, while at the same time recognizing that tough decisions need to be made. The best way to summarize is that there is a climate of trust between leader and the rest of the team. The existence of this trust, brings hope for better times in the future, and that makes coping with drastic change much easier.
In organizations characterized by poor leadership, employees expect nothing positive. In a climate of distrust, employees learn that leaders will act in indecipherable ways and in ways that do not seem to be in anyone's best interests. Poor leadership means an absence of hope, which, if allowed to go on for too long, results in an organization becoming completely nonfunctioning. The organization must deal with the practical impact of unpleasant change, but more importantly, must labor under the weight of employees who have given up, have no faith in the system or in the ability of leaders to turn the organization around.
Leadership before, during and after change implementation is THE key to getting through the swamp. Unfortunately, if haven't established a track record of effective leadership, by the time you have to deal with difficult changes, it may be too late.
Preparing For The Journey
It would be a mistake to assume that preparing for the journey takes place only after the destination has been defined or chosen. When we talk about preparing for the change journey, we are talking about leading in a way that lays the foundation or groundwork for ANY changes that may occur in the future. Preparing is about building resources, by building healthy organizations in the first place. Much like healthy people, who are better able to cope with infection or disease than unhealthy people, organization that are healthy in the first place are better able to deal with change.
As a leader you need to establish credibility and a track record of effective decision making, so that there is trust in your ability to figure out what is necessary to bring the organization through.
Slogging Through The Swamp
Leaders play a critical role during change implementation, the period from the announcement of change through the installation of the change. During this middle period the organization is the most unstable, characterized by confusion, fear, loss of direction, reduced productivity, and lack of clarity about direction and mandate. It can be a period of emotionalism, with employees grieving for what is lost, and initially unable to look to the future.
During this period, effective leaders need to focus on two things. First, the feelings and confusion of employees must be acknowledged and validated. Second, the leader must work with employees to begin creating a new vision of the altered workplace, and helping employees to understand the direction of the future. Focusing only on feelings, may result in wallowing. That is why it is necessary to begin the movement into the new ways or situations. Focusing only on the new vision may result in the perception that the leader is out of touch, cold and uncaring. A key part of leadership in this phase is knowing when to focus on the pain, and when to focus on building and moving into the future.
After Arrival
In a sense you never completely arrive, but here we are talking about the period where the initial instability of massive change has been reduced. People have become less emotional, and more stable, and with effective leadership during the previous phases, are now more open to locking in to the new directions, mandate and ways of doing things.
This is an ideal time for leaders to introduce positive new change, such as examination of unwieldy procedures or Total Quality Management. The critical thing here is that leaders must now offer hope that the organization is working towards being better, by solving problems and improving the quality of work life. While the new vision of the organization may have begun while people were slogging through the swamp, this is the time to complete the process, and make sure that people buy into it, and understand their roles in this new organization.
Conclusion
Playing a leadership role in the three phases is not easy. Not only do you have a responsibility to lead, but as an employee yourself, you have to deal with your own reactions to the change, and your role in it. However, if you are ineffective in leading change, you will bear a very heavy personal load. Since you are accountable for the performance of your unit, you will have to deal with the ongoing loss of productivity that can result from poorly managed change, not to mention the potential impact on your own enjoyment of your job.
(http://www.work911.com/articles/leadchange.htm)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
