Book Review

 Book Review

In MBA my specialisation was Marketing. Hence I liked to read books on marketing. Recently gone through this one. 

It is written by Gunjan Bagla, an Indian-American author and businessman and the managing director of Amritt Ventures Inc , a consultanting firm, based in Malibu, California, USA. 

The book is a guide for North American and European firms on doing business in the developing Indian market. 

The book carries endorsement of the Chairperson, American Chamber of Commerce in India, a professor of Marketing. 

The book is mainly targeted towards Western investors and entrepreneurs.

 It contains overviews and analyses of Indian industries that are currently experiencing growth, as well as information about the financial situation in different regions in India and the various religious beliefs and customs. 

It also gives a brief summary of India's recent history. Audiobook and Kindle versions of the book have reportedly sold well.

The book cover has a picture of a man with a laptop computer riding an elephant. Bagla narrates the story of the blind men and the elephant in the introduction to the book as a way to describe India to Western businesspeople.

One unusual thing is the book contains a glossary of 18 pages. The terms range from cathwords of regional languages of India which has a very good presence in our purely Indian style English conversation like - badmash , chamcha, baap re etc and lo and behold! The most unusual word is Mahatma Gandhi. 

The book is an easy read in conversational tone. The most interesting quotation Bagla has given from John Godfrey Saxe's poem about the elephant and six blind men , as I have mentioned earlier. 

In my opinion, by quoting this poem , Bagla has given the indication that India can not be understood  or explained away without experiencing it.

The book precisely contains the following:

An overview and analysis of India's most promising industries

The Six C's of Sales and Marketing in India

Essential tips on attracting and retaining top talent

An overview of finance in the region that every investor will want to read

Modern history 101--the essentials you need to know

Insider perspective from top veteran professionals in the region

Guidance on its often complex, laws, rules, and regulations.

The book currently holds five-star reviews from several of Amazon.com's top reviewers and Vine Voices (reviewers who are given access to advance copies of items such as books, movies, and electronics); top-ten reviewer Joanna Daneman described it as "a very readable, enjoyable book and one that anyone doing business in India ought to read as a starting point."

 A review of the book on the website ManageSmarter said it "opens the door for anyone seeking to expand or even begin business in India."

 Garima Sharma's review for the Hindustan Times comments on the book's accessibility, noting that "the only bummer" is Bagla's "surprising neutrality" to 'Indianness'.

Other reviewers based in India have similarly expressed views that Bagla should have praised the Indian systems and practices more vigorously.

The book was positively reviewed in the business publications India Today, Business Line, and Businessworld. Ron Somers, the president of the U.S.-India Business Council, called the book "required reading for anyone who wants or has business in India."

 Jagdish Sheth, the Charles H. Kellstadt Professor of Marketing at the Goizueta Business School of Emory University, called it "an excellent practical guide," and R. Gopalakrishnan of the Tata Group described it as "a refreshingly simple book on a very complex subject."

In my opinion the book is readable, and if anyone has interest in business world he or she will enjoy reading it. However there is not much to learn from this book about the present business scenario of India and its development because in India businessmen have to generally face much more adverse and diverse and unforseen environment situations and condition than the businessmen of USA which can only be solved by the help of previous experiences and circumstances. Hence I feel an USA based writer or business analyst , however knowledgeable and sincere he or she may be can not do full justice to the subject of doing business in India. 

I am giving it 3 and half star. It is also not a must read book for the students of marketing but businessmen , who wants to start business in India and only people who like subjects of business and marketing will enjoy it .

Name of the book : Doing Business in 21st Century India: How to Profit Today in Tomorrow's Most Exciting Market 

Writer : Gunjan Bagla

Publisher : Hatchette Book Group USA.

Price in India :  Rs. 495