These are some of the points that Corporations and individual should understand when doing business with the Indigenous Community:

1. Does your Corporation just use Western Management frameworks in a cross cultural business environment? Taking this approach increases the risk of failure dramatically.;
2. Take a Holistic Community Development approach to the business strategy. The Community takes a holistic approach – for example making a business decision as an individual, family or community; what will be the impact on our culture, social well being, the environment and future business development opportunities if we accept this business proposal being presented. Will it create tensions or divisions within the family and/ or community?
3. Developing a business presentation that focuses on Money may not get the result your company wanted? Showing very little consideration or concern for cultural, social and environmental issues.
4. Holding the initial meeting without having all major family groups represented will create tensions. Take advice.
5. Negotiating with the Right People. Traditional Land Owners, Family Leaders, relevant non Government organisations (e.g. Land Councils, Native Title Management Committees; etc). Individual community leaders in some cases could fit the above categories and carry out one or more of those roles. It has been Gongan Consultancy’s experience that the most important person to speak to was someone who spoke three Aboriginal languages and his English was comprehendible but not clear. The negotiators misinterpreted poor English communications with lack of authority. Take advice.
6. Just focusing on the financial risk and not the cultural/ political risk analysis is not a true measurement of project risk; and
7. It is important to allow for the three levels of wealth creation when building Community Development or Business Development Models because the final decision will be made by Individuals, Family and Community member considering what are the benefits to making change? In some Communities the Leadership has been supportive of building community wealth and corporate wealth and blocked individual wealth by not allowing Aboriginal individuals owned businesses to access contacting opportunities. There are numerous businesses that are suited for family or individual owned business operations such as trades people, small retail store, artists etc. It is important that these businesses are included in the community development/ business development plan. IBN Wealth Creation Model.

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Is your Company Strategic Plan catering to a culturally diverse and changing market?

The new century has arrived and the world community has been asking for change in the way Banks, Corporations and Governments undertake and measure business success for the shareholders and the wider community. Corporations and Governments in Australia are being confronted with issues such as native title; environmental and social impacts; ethical investments; renewable resource management; etc; which is a cultural shift from management theories purely based on making corporate profits and associated measurable outcome.

Making change can be difficult and confronting. The easy option for management is to concentrate on the financial viability of the business project and hope that any cultural differences or community action does not have an impact on the businesses profit.

Gongan Solutions has the ability to undertake a cultural/ political risk analysis utilising cultural/ economic management tools to assess the organisations corporate culture in the management of cultural diversity (workplace) and whether the organisations current strategic goals (external) are orientated to capturing a culturally diverse client base/ market.

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