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City Guide - Melbourne - Business | ||
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Business Business Profile Much economic activity is centred round Melbourne as it is home to eight of the nation's ten largest corporations and three of the top five multinationals. Melbourne has excellent multi-lingual capabilities, as over 30% of the population speak another language at home, which makes it attractive to foreign companies. The state government has a policy of privatising public services and this is currently being implemented. Australia is one of the leading users of information and communication technologies and this is exemplified by the fact that many international organisations have manufacturing or research activities in and around Melbourne, including IBM, Hewlett Packard, Nokia, Philips, Fujitsu and Siemens. Companies operating large call centres have also been drawn to Melbourne as a base for their Asia Pacific facilities, such as Lufthansa, Hertz and Diners Club and the state government is specifically targeting this industry as a potential growth area for the state as a whole. The manufacturing industry is another success story for Melbourne and companies such as Bosch, Kodak, Olivetti and Siemens have seen dramatically increased export figures during the 1990s. Thousands of people throughout Melbourne have also found employment with car companies and component suppliers. Business Etiquette Suits are a must when conducting business in Melbourne and all appointments must be arranged in advance. Much business is conducted over breakfast or drinks although long business lunches are a thing of the past. Australian businesspeople are very approachable, quite informal and quick to use first names. Academic or professional titles do not impress them nor do over-zealous sales presentations. Normal business hours are 0900-1700 Monday to Friday but many executives work longer hours. |