Inside Knowledge by Michael Backman

Streetwise in Asia 
Business information is one thing which should not be economized on.

While doing business in Asian markets it is very essential to understand that the scope of what constitutes business information is much wider. 
Asian business community  does not draw a solid line between the  business and non-business activities. 
Many apparently non-business aspects like family, personal connections, leisure pursuits like Golf, art collection etc. have a business component.

This book by bestselling author Michael Backman provides crucial insights into such Asian business themes. 
Through numerous examples, case studies and anecdotes it provides a  valuable guide for anybody who wants to business takes in Asia by enabling them get to grips with Asian business and understand how Asia really works.

The book begins with a chapter on people's names in Asia which shows how important it is to understand Asian naming structures for doing business in Asia.

Thereafter the book is divided into two parts: "Places" and "Markets".

"Places" includes  chapters which describe the business scenarios of  China,  Central Asian States, Malaysia and Nepal. It also has a chapter on Australian expatriates which analyzes their prominent role in the Asian offices of accounting, law and other professional services firm.

The second part of the book "Markets" deals with various commodities, products and crazes that are either unique to Asia, have come to be dominated by Asian countries, or have a particular Asian flavor.
The markets addressed  include business process outsourcing in non-Indian Asian countries like China and Philippines; Asian art and antiques; birds' nests; rare fish; diamonds; casinos; sandalwood; arms and ammunition; bad loans and distressed debts.
This part also has chapters on the secrets of Asia's five-star hotels and their guests; Thailand's sex industry; Asia's Coffee Shop revolution; India's wealthy Parsi community.

A very interesting and informative book that provides the much needed nuances to successfully do business in Asia or with Asian communities. 
Almost a decade has passed since this book was published. So some  facts and figures mentioned in this book would have become outdated. It would be great if the author comes out with a revised and updated edition of this book.

A highly recommended read !


Goodreads Rating - 4.67 out of 5 ( 3 Ratings)
 
 

Indianomix - Making Sense of Modern India

Authors:       Vivek Dehejia and Rupa Subramanya

Published:   2012

Publisher:    Random House India

Hardcover:  228 Pages

Economics is not one of my favorite subjects. But this book was  pressed into my hands by a book lover who was sure that I will enjoy it. And she was absolutely right. 
I had never expected that such a dry subject like economics could be applied to understand the behavioral patterns of Indians in various situations. 
In the introductory chapter the authors who are well qualified economists, explain how in India the everyday scenarios like - people not turning up on time for an appointment; an auto driver not willing to go where you want him to go; politicians or bureaucrats  making you wait without rhyme or reason - are actually manifestations of several economic theories in action.

In the remaining six chapters of the book they explore issues like :

• Why the public is indifferent to the plight of an accident victim ?
• Why did Nehru ignore the Chinese threat in the lead-up to the 1962 war ?
• Why people take life-threatening risks while crossing a busy road or a railway track ?
• Do seatbelt laws really save lives in India ?
• Will India be better off under an autocratic rule as compared to a democratic setup ?
• What  was the reason for BJP's defeat in 2004 General Elections ?
• What role does myths and superstitions play in influencing the economics and politics of a country like India ?

This book is not a conventional economics book since it borrows liberally from other disciplines like history, political science, psychology, sociology, anthropology, evolutionary biology, religion etc.to explain these issues. This is because the authors firmly believe that the "richness of India - which to some people may appear as mere messiness - deserves, indeed demands, such an interdisciplinary approach. When you dig below the apparent chaos of India, and get to the deeper mechanisms hidden below the confusing patterns on top, India makes sense after all".

A very entertaining  and enlightening read ! I am glad that I read this book.

Links: 
Goodreads Rating - 3.50  ·  rating details  ·  16 ratings  ·  4 reviews 

•  Excerpts from the following chapters of the book
• What if...?
• Heads or Tails ? 
• Mythical or Modern
   

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Markets

Authors:             Colin G. Bamford and

                          Stephen Munday

Published:           2002

Publisher:            Heinemann 

Paperback:         128 pages

Buy from:            Amazon.com

Readers in India:

Contact raintreepublishing@vsnl.net  

This concise undergraduate level textbook intends to  provide introduction to markets for the first-time students of economics. It has seven chapters.

Chapter One looks at the nature of markets and clearly brings out  the fact that operation of markets is at the core of economics and all type of markets are just a meeting place of  buyers and sellers, consumers and producers to trade and exchange goods and services.

Chapter Two explains the concept of demand and its relationship with price in any type of market.

Chapter Three discusses the elasticities of demand.

Chapters Four introduces the concept of supply, and discusses the relationship between supply and prices, the other influences on supply, and the factors affecting the elasticity of supply.

Chapter Five analyses price determination and market equilibrium.

Chapter Six presents several examples drawn from labor, money, foreign exchange, housing and agricultural markets to demonstrate how they operate.

Chapter Seven discusses how the markets are organized and stresses the difference between market theory and the reality on account of concentration of control in the hands of a small number of producers.

A very lucidly written text supported by lots of real world examples. Packs in a lot of stuff in a slim volume of just over 120 pages.

If you want to know the basics of  market ecomonics, this is the first book you should read.