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"IMPACT OF CULTURE AND POLITICS ON DOING

BUSINESS IN NEPAL"

Nepalese businesses are developing nowadays, as they are operating and collaborating

internationally. But there are many environmental factors that affect or have impact on doing

business. There is a huge impact of culture and politics on doing business in Nepal and

ignorance of those factors can hamper the business activities.

Impact of culture on doing business in Nepal

Nepali society and cultures have flourished here over millions of years and this diversity set

in a small geophysical entity like Nepal is a typical example in the history of the whole of

South Asia (Khatry 2014).

(Himalayaban 2014) has shown that the socio-cultural environment of the country has

changed considerably over the past two decades or so with many changes in the economic,

cultural and gender mix of the working population. This emerging and distinctive change and

class structure of the Nepalese society has opened up new frontiers of economic and business

activities. Nowadays, the dominant farming culture is seen as disgrace these days, youth

prefer to go abroad and work 18 hours a day but seek little opportunities in their home land.

Similarly, people migrate from village to city in search of jobs in offices, factories and

industries. This has increased demand for apartment service in city areas, the plotting of land

business has boomed and people are inclined towards buying and trading shares due to

awareness.

(Evason 2017) has presented the impact of culture in the Nepalese business. Both the

traditional greeting and handshake are common in business settings. There can be much time

spent getting to know business associates over cups of tea (chiya). People are expected to be
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asked questions that may not relate solely to own work. People often enquire into each

other’s family and life experiences to build rapport. Negotiation accompanies almost any

business deal in Nepal and most decisions are made by senior managers without much input

from those in subordinate positions.

Impact of COVID-19 on cultural sector in Nepal

(Gyanwali 2020) in his article " Socio-Cultural Impacts of COVID-19 in Nepal" has

presented that the pandemic generated impacts mainly from lockdown, curfews, self-

isolation, social distancing, and quarantine have affected the overall physical, mental,

spiritual, cultural, economic, and social wellbeing of the people of Nepal. The pandemic has

generated big questions in the survivors of human life, life patterns of the people, internal,

and external connectivity or migration, health facilities and role of government in a

pandemic. Many cultures used to older and frailer people dying; only now, it’s happening

sooner and perhaps more tragically. This pandemic has also devastatingly affected cultural

life of people and an increase the rate of suicide, girl trafficking, child marriage, and death of

old age people.

Impact of politics on doing business in Nepal

(MarketingTutor.Net) has presented that the political factors are government regulations that

influence business operation positively and negatively. These factors may be current and

impending legislation, political stability and changes, freedom of speech, protection and

discrimination laws are factors affecting business operation and activities. Government

regulations rising and lowering the tax rate for businesses due to specific reasons has a great

impact in the business. And also employment law is an aspect that is very complex and

involves several pitfalls as well. Lack of political stability within a country can significantly

impact the operations of a business. Every business has a need to expand business operation
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to other countries. However, political background of a country can influence the desire for a

business to expand its operations.

(Shrestha 2019) There are some of the major impacts that Nepalese businesses may encounter

as a result of federalism. It might appear like a lot of challenges to deal with but with proper

information and strategy, businesses can reap benefits from the new policies. With a higher

level of power attributed to the local level, municipalities are seeking support from various

private players for local development in areas such as health, education, road construction,

and waste management among others. This serves as the perfect opportunity for businesses to

collaborate with municipalities in their development plan.

Impact of COVID-19 on political sector in Nepal

(Murarka 2021) Coronavirus cases in Nepal are skyrocketing and hospitals in the country are

overwhelmed with the huge influx of COVID-19 patients. Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli is

seeking help from other nations and also is under pressure because of the political crisis that

is looming over his government. Government has limited resources but is trying to provide

market to small industries as 'the country cannot be dependent on imports for

long’. Continued political instability and weak governance is hampering the development

initiatives in the country.

In conclusion, there is the impact of culture and politics on doing business in Nepal. Different

cultures that are followed by the people like going abroad, following western cultures, etc.

have a great impact in the Nepalese business. Not only that the impact of political sectors like

political instability, changing the tax rate, etc. can also be seen on Nepalese Business. At the

present time, somewhat COVID-19 has also affected the cultural and political sectors in

Nepal.

Total Words: 847

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References

Evason, N 2017, Nepalese Culture, Cultural Atlas,

< https://culturalatlas.sbs.com.au/nepalese-culture/nepalese-culture-references>.

Gyanwali, G.P 2020, 'Socio-Cultural Impacts of COVID-19 in Nepal', Molung Educational

Frontier, vol. 10, pp. 13-26, <file:///C:/Users/DELL/Downloads/99605.pdf>.

Khatry, P 2014, ' Nepali Society: Fading Norms and Dying Values', Gorkhapatra,

<http://www.gorkhapatra.org.np/rising.detail.php?article_id=64236&cat_id=7>.

Murarka, S 2021, 'Pandemic, political instability, economic crisis rattles Nepal', Wion,

viewed 8 May 2021, < https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/pandemic-political-

instability-economic-crisis-rattles-nepal-383631?fbclid>.

Marketingtutor.net, Political factors affect business environment, Marketingtutor.net,

<https://www.marketingtutor.net/political-factors-affect-business>.

Shrestha, Y 2019, Impact of federalism on Nepalese business, Biruwa.net, viewed 3 July

2019, <http://biruwa.net/2019/07/impact-of-federalism-on-nepalese-businesses>.

Himalayaban 2014, Socio cultural impact of business in Nepal, Himalayaban, viewed 25

August 2014, <https://himalayaban.blogspot.com/2014/08/trends-in-business-due-to-

socio.html >.