|Doing business in Indonesia (part 2)|
|Society and Culture|
|Indonesia is the fourth largest country in
the world with approximately 200 million people, most of whom live on
Jave where the capital Jakarta (
|Doing business in Indonesia (part 2)|
|Society and Culture|
|Indonesia is the fourth largest country in
the world with approximately 200 million people, most of whom live on
Jave where the capital Jakarta (population 8 million) is located.
Despite having a number of very large cities, most people still live in
rural areas. In Irian Jaya (western end of Papua) and remote parts of
Kalimantan (Borneo), the local tribespeople have barely moved into the
Indonesians are primarily Malay, except in Irian Jaya where they are mainly Papuan. The Chinese form about 3% of the population. Despite the Malay predominance, there are around 300 different ethnic groups with a wide variety of different subcultures,social structures and languages, because of the geographical spread of the populations across many islands. The national language," Bahasa Indonesia", a variant of Malay, is compulsory in primary school. Ethnic identity is usually as important as national identity and used as the primary basis for building and maintaining relationships. Geographic and economic distinctions among the rural, coastal, tribal, and urban Indonesians further the country's heterogeneity.
|Indonesia is one of the most populous Islamic nations with around 90% being Sunni muslim. The rest are mainly Christian (6% mainly tribal Iban), and Buddhist (2%, mainly in Bali). Due to the Hindu influence, the Balinese have a very fatalistic attitude. Religious freedom is guaranteed and tolerance is highly valued by Indonesians. Nevertheless, as elsewhere in the Islamic world, there has been pressure to move toward Islamic fundamentalism, and there have been a few clashes between ethnic and religious groups as some people feel threatened and ambivalent about modernization. There is a requirement for all offices and building to have a prayer room. However, few Indonesians have embraced fundamentalism.|
|Like Malaysia, Indonesia is a high power
distance collectivist culture with a traditional hierarchical and honor
oriented society. There is strong ingroup loyalty encompassing family,
friends, and members of the same ethnic group. This provides a basis for
the favoritism so rampant within the economic structure. Traditionally
Indonesians have valued large families with extended families living
together, supporting and helping one another. However, the increasing urbanization
and the need to move to where jobs can be obtained is breaking up this
interdependence and extended family living.
Harmony and respect prescribe the relations between
people. Conflict is avoided while values and behavior in all aspects of
life are directed towards smooth relations with others. Indonesia
society is characterized by concepts such as consultation, agreement and
solidarity, follow my leader or "Bapakism" (bapak = father) is
a well known expression for this behavior, as people find it necessary
to honor older people, and those of higher status have the role of
fathers in an organization. Suharto has survived on the basis of this
value. Bapakism is based on astrictive considerations such as age,
seniority, wisdom and class. Within organization, loyalty is more
important than wisdom and class. Within organization, loyalty is more
important than efficiency. It is