India arriving: how this economic powerhouse is redefining global business
By Rafiq Dossani
Amacom, $39.95
For decades, India drifted on the edge of the world's consciousness, notable only for disasters and assassinations. But in the past decade, after slipping dangerously close to the economic precipice, a series of reforms have unleashed its trading and technology sectors, and India has become a key market and supplier of back-office services.
Dossani, an Indian-born academic and technology consultant who splits his life and work between his home country and the US, admits that the country still has huge problems. Its physical infrastructure is in a perpetual state of collapse, there are millions of people in dire poverty, and divisions of religion and caste simmer just below the surface. Vast swathes of the bureaucracy are determined to retain the theory and practice of detailed central planning, despite the massive evidence of abject failure.
Dossani devotes considerable time to the blight of over-regulation, tracing it back to the quasi-socialism of Nehru and Indira Gandhi. One reason that reform has been able to continue, he says, is the emergence of strong state-based parties operating at the national level.
He also notes that the first wave of change gave rise to a generation of entrepreneurs who chose to stay in India rather than go overseas, and this points to the real significance of the reforms. There is, for the first time, a positive view of the future, a sense that the obstacles might be overcome. After a decade of growth, says Dossani, Indians are finally starting to think like a single people rather than a collection of sharp-edged fragments.
The book covers a lot of ground, yet there are some glaring omissions. For example, there is no mention of Narasimha Rao, the leader who had the courage to strike out in a new direction 15 years ago. Dossani notes the prevalence of corruption but offers no real solutions.
These points aside, India Arriving has a great deal to offer, especially for those who are interested in the dynamics of the Asian region. The Indian story is a long way from finished, but this is a good account of the events so far.
Senior leadership teams: what it takes to make them great
By Ruth Wageman, Debra Nunes, James A Burruss, and J Richard Hackman
Harvard Business School Press, $50.00
There are times when the whole can be greater than the parts, and times when it can be much less. The message of this book is that a dysfunctional senior team can break an organisation into quarrelling fiefdoms, chewing up executive time and resources. But a good team, by its weight of talent and authority, can break through longstanding problems and drive change across the company. The keys are a compelling team purpose, clear roles, and agreed methods of measurement. As for the CEO, the rule is: if you can't do it properly, don't do it at all.
On the smell of an oily rag: speaking English, thinking Chinese and living Australian
By Ouyang Yu
Wakefield Press, $27.95
If two countries can be separated by a common tongue, then perhaps two that have markedly different ways to express themselves can find common ground. Ouyang, Chinese-born but with a PhD in Australian literature, takes a lighthearted look at how the Australian language, in all its colour and inside-out irony, sounds to Chinese ears.
He readily admits that vernacular Chinese, with its strange emphases on eating and seasons, has it own peculiarities. But beyond the fun there is a deeper meaning, indications of the thinking that under-pins each culture. On the Smell of an Oily Rag might not be the last word on East-West understanding but it offers an interesting, and entertaining, part of the puzzle.
Reference: May 2008, volume 78:04, p. 77
