Global Adjustments Blog
To and From India
Career Path
May 4th
An engineer who had come to work in India from the US was floored by how many Indians had an engineering background. As he started to work with his Indian colleagues though, he noticed a difference between them and his co-workers back home. He said “Where I’m from, we are engineers because we have to be. There isn’t any other option. We were born to figure out how things work and build things and there’s nothing else that we can do.”
Many Indians also become engineers because they “have to”, but for other reasons, either economic or because that was the career path chosen for them by their parents.
This brings up a classic issue of culture when it comes to what your job is in life. On one end of the spectrum you find a system where the elders in a family use their life experience and wisdom to choose a path for their children since they are not aware of the challenges that will come in life. Elders are also wiser to know which jobs provide a steady income and which ones are pipe dreams.
On the other end is a system where young people are invited to choose their own career in something that interests them and they would enjoy doing for the rest of their life. Study what you love and you’ll find a way to make it pay for your life.
Both are present in most cultures, and both have advantages, but which is better, becoming an engineer because your personality demands it, or your parents?
If you listen only to Hollywood and Bollywood, the answer seems a bit one-sided. On a recent episode of “The Voice”, an American singing competition, they did a feature on a young Indian girl who was auditioning. Her whole family was in the medical field and she was also expected to do the same, but she had a passion for singing and was bucking the family trend. After a fabulous performance, the American host was all too eager to go to her father and say “What do you think now?”, as if to jab him for making such a foolish decision as to waste her on medicine.
But the other side of the argument gets less press. In a world where not every dream comes true, parents are faced with the difficult task of trying their best to shield children from not being prepared for the changing world. Left to their own devices, most teenagers are not really equipped to make such big decisions. In a recent study, high school girls were asked to choose which job they would most like to have such as a U.S. Senator or the CEO of a large organization. The #1 answer by far (43%) was to be a personal assistant to someone famous. Perhaps not the best career planning.
Hopefully this is one area where we can learn from each other and help our children be passionate, and also wise.
Ever looking for new ways to understand each other,
The Training Team
Global Adjustments launches Japanese Website
Apr 25th
Chennai, April 20th,2012: At present, there are 1,422 Japanese companies carrying out operations in India. To support this increased FDI into India, Global Adjustments is pleased to announce the launch of its Japanese website on the 20th of April 2012 to support its dedicated Japan desk activities which are headed up by Ms. Nemu Takahashi.
Mr. Shinya Fujii, Director General of Jetro, Chennai was our honourable Chief Guest for the launch of the website, as our guests from different nationalities also celebrated Tamil New Year and 60 Years of Indo –Japan bi-lateral trade at the event. Mr. Fujii said “Japan Desk at Global Adjustments will be a great support for the increasing Japanese FDI’s in Chennai.” Fujii san himself is fond of Indian culture. He gave a special speech in Tamil at the event, a language he has been learning at Global Adjustments since his move to Chennai.
Our well wishers from other Diplomatic missions have been very supportive of our new venture. Jennifer McIntyre – American Consul General, Chennai says: “The U.S. Consulate sends our heartiest congratulations to Global Adjustments on broadening its cultural reach in opening a Japan desk during this 60th year of Indo-Japanese relations and we wish you the greatest success in your continued outreach to the international community in South India”
David and Monica Holly- Australian Consul General, who Global Adjustments settled into Chennai, wrote: “On the occasion of the official opening of its Japan Desk, we extend warm congratulations to Global Adjustments for its continued endeavours in welcoming and embracing the international community in Chennai.”
The Japan Desk will support Relocation, Realty, Cross Cultural Training and Cultural Immersion for the Japanese community in India. For further details, please contact Nemu Takahashi at japandesk@globaladjustments.com or visit www.globaladjustments.com/japan.
Building a rapport with the western world
Apr 24th
Getting over the unease when we step out of our comfort zone
RANJINI MANIAN
Overseas projects, out-of-country kickoff meetings, responsibilities that transcend national boundaries — the new Indian manager is going places. Professionally, we Indians can be confident about being able to hold our own against any other nationality with our language skills and technical expertise. But many of us, when we step outside our comfort zones, experience a sense of unease. We find that things we take for granted in our own environments are simply not present in the new one. We discover that there’s a whole new set of rules for the game, but there’s no one to give us the rule book.
Over the years, numerous Indian managers, exposed to a Western work-cum-social milieu have, at our workshops, asked questions on ‘Being Upworldly Mobile’ — on topics that most business establishments and B-schools don’t seem to spend time on. I share here a list of FAQs and the responses we have to offer. I have mentioned the US as a case study, but most advice works for other Western nations too:
In India, relationship building at work and socially is very important — I know Americans are transaction-oriented and not people-oriented — what are some tips for good relationship building?
Take interest in their interests. Learn a sport they all rave about, a holiday that is coming up and how they celebrate it. Read their newspapers and watch their TV shows. Talk about what they’re currently talking about. An interesting conversationalist helps build relationships.
Also, it helps if you can run errands together or share tasks in and out of work. Car-pooling is a good relationship-builder, sharing the chore of grocery shopping could also lead to bonding.
Most of all cultivate a sense of humour and be able to laugh at yourself. Americans like light banter and humour.
Finally, make the effort to be knowledgeable about India to explain via facts and figures in bite sized pieces. Americans like to learn from those who are succinct.
Three things that I can do in the US that will make me a success:
Don’t promise or say “yes” for something unless you are absolutely sure you can do it!
Be proactive about raising questions or issues if you see likely challenges or delays at work
Observe how they behave and communicate and adapt to succeed.
What is the etiquette to be followed at the coffee station or in the use of the microwave?
Queuing is sacrosanct.
Leaving the microwave as clean as you found it is good etiquette.
Not eating pungent Indian food would be wise in a common microwave area
Water cooler conversations are usually light and non-substantial but are important to build rapport and to participate is good etiquette. Examples would be your plan for the weekend, or a film you ‘caught’ recently. Unlike the frequent extended breaks we seem to take in India, in the West breaks are infrequent, short bursts and filled with small talk for rapport building.
What happens if I spill coffee and the house staff are not available to clean up the mess? What is the right thing to do then?
People in the US do it themselves. Take paper towels and mop it up yourself.
If you can’t find a cleaning aid, apologise to people close by and ask how you should clean up.
I had a Bulgarian intern who replaced a saucer for a guest when she noticed a bit of a coffee spilt on it. The guest greatly appreciated her attentiveness though it was not her job. Whatever you do, don’t just hope no one saw you or that someone else will deal with it. It might be considered callous, and brand “all Indians” as messy!
When invited to someone’s house in India, we never go empty handed. Is it the same in the US? What would be appropriate gifts?
This courtesy works in most countries. Wine, chocolates, flowers, something small from India — maybe silk scarves or ties. Or, even the ubiquitous carved Indian elephant would be a nice touch. Arrive on time, give the neatly wrapped gift after you enter the home, to the hostess.
When making small talk is it correct to ask about family? What can I talk about and what should I avoid?
Be friendly but don’t attempt to talk intimately about family. For small talk, it is better to stick to the subjects of food, sport, weather, vacation travel. Family can be a topic only if they bring it up first, although you can offer a little bit of information about your family to start of. If they reciprocate with information about theirs, then show interest in their family too.
Avoid talking about wars and sensitive subjects between India and their country, like outsourcing bans by President Obama or race issues.
How come they leave work at 5:30 sharp? We never do that.
They work hard and play hard. They make a clear distinction between efficiency and time spent. Unlike us, they don’t let personal time interfere with professional time. So they come to work and leave exactly on time. Theirs is a culture that works to live. We in India, on the contrary, might be veering towards living to work; we take several breaks, are relaxed about finishing, have no problem mixing the professional and personal. So we are ready to stretch our time too. But do we stretch efficiency, is the question to ask ourselves. In India, a good employee is often one who is willing to work late, while in the West it would be the person who meets deadlines.
Are there any cultural tips for building a team in the US?
Competition is healthy and inter-team rivalry is considered good. So playing one group against the other builds motivation. Incentive schemes work well too, so plan some, and watch your team perform!
Ranjini Manian is Founder CEO of Global Adjustments, a relocation and cross-cultural services company. She can be contacted at globalindian@globaladjustments.com
This article was published in the Business Line print edition dated April 21, 2012 - Link to online text
Does Cross Cultural Training really make a difference?
Mar 20th
Trimble thinks so.
Many people and companies still consider Cross Cultural Training as a “soft skill”, which means it’s only icing on the cake. Nice to have, but not essential to business.
However, some forward-thinking companies like Trimble see it as so essential that not only do they have each expat in India walk through our beautiful office after they get off the plane, they also give us awards when we do a great job.
Recently, our chief trainer, Shanti Puducheri, received the “I Make a Difference” award at Trimble’s annual Family Day Celebration. This award goes to individuals who significantly impacted the direct business of the company over the last year. And it’s worth noting that Shanti was the only non-employee to receive this award.
At Global Adjustments, we do more than just make people feel good about culture; we actually equip people with the hard skills they need to succeed in and out of India. Skills like giving performance reviews, leading a business meeting in India, picking up on Indian body language, and making change initiatives work.
So does Cross Cultural Training make a difference? We’ll let one of our favourite clients speak to that:
“Best half-day anyone can spend in India”
“The time went by so quickly. The content moves along at the right pace and the lessons can be fully absorbed.”
“While coming in with some experience of Indians, this course definitely gave me a deeper appreciation for the roots of Indian culture.”
“Shanti was great in making sure I understood the content. We discussed a lot of practical experiences and situations. I got a lot out of this course.”
“This was a great learning experience and will greatly benefit my day to day interactions with Indian employees.”
“I’m not just being nice- it couldn’t have been better”
Let our Cross Cultural Training make a big difference for your company too! Contact courses@globaladjustments.com for more information
Creating empowered global women
Mar 9th
Creating empowered global women
RANJINI MANIAN
It is the woman who carries the baton of culture, and she can leverage technology today to do so.
It is important for male colleagues to be supportive of women if they are to be productive.
I am writing this piece from the Art of Living ashram, Bangalore, where I’m at an international women’s conference. I had the pleasure of speaking on a panel with Tessy Thomas, Director, Agni Missile Project, Natasha Gangaramani, Director, Al Fara’a Properties, and Anuradha Prasad, media personality and MD, BAG Films.
As we debated the topic of women and technology, the four of us talked of how technology has changed and impacted women’s lives across generations and social strata. One of the takeaways was the realisation that the ability to harness technology to better our lives, while staying clear of enslavement and total dependence on it, depends on of how the woman perceives herself.
SUBTLE BIAS
As I thought of that, it became clear that we all are, men and women alike, guilty of a subtle bias. It starts at the home, where there’s at least a small difference in expectations from a daughter and a son. Today, we give our daughters the best education along with our sons, but we view the responsibility of a daughter’s marriage and subsequent family life as a more significant milestone than that of a son. This is communicated to girls right from the beginning.
At co-educational institutions, our daughters are exposed to this unstated bias, though maybe in a different format. One young girl confided to me that in her mixed class in a professional college, many women lecturers tended to let the boys get away with things like inattention and submitting poorly prepared assignments, but came down heavily on the girls for even small misdemeanours. On the other hand, most male teachers adopted a condescending attitude to the girl students, and managed to convey the impression that they were wondering what they (the girls) were doing in a professional college!
I would have been tempted to dismiss this as an extreme example if I hadn’t come across a research paper by Dr Bernice R Sandler, a pioneer in gender equality in education, who listed instances of gender bias in Western educational institutions. She found that faculty members made eye contact with male students more often than they did with female ones. They were also more likely to know and use the names of men students. Besides, the women got asked fewer questions in class, and when they were questioned, they got the easier ones, the paper said — the implication being that their brains aren’t up to being taxed too much!
Such discriminatory input imperceptibly impacts a woman’s perception of herself. As Sandler writes, “Singly, these behaviours probably have little effect. But when they occur again and again, they give a powerful message to women: they aren’t as worthwhile as men nor are they expected to participate fully in class, in college, or in life at large.”
WOMEN AT WORK
Today, the talent gap means women have got to be included. But even at the workplace, women, no matter on which rung of the career ladder they stand, often ask themselves, “What can I do to please my parents/spouse/in-laws/children?” No harm in that question. In fact, I think it’s one we should all ask ourselves, regardless of being male or female. But it would be good if the woman balanced that question with another: “What can I do for myself, in order to contribute on a global scale?”
My co-panelists had all broken the pattern. Making Agni missiles together with a home was only possible with family support, explained Tessy Thomas, who told of her son being a responsible youngster, and how it had contributed to her success at work and at home. Being treated as the heir apparent, with marriage never being portrayed as an end in itself by her entrepreneur family, allowed Natasha to truly uphold the building business. Anupama has gifted an iPad to her cook, who is largely responsible for her family’s meals while she herself pursues her 16-hour-schedule. “He has used it to upgrade his skills and make himself a better cook” said Anupama, showcasing how she has harnessed technology to balance her professional and personal lives.
Family support and encouragement are imperative for a woman to achieve her full potential. But it is equally important for male colleagues to be supportive of women if they are to be productive both at home and globally. As a woman entrepreneur of 17 years handling an 80-per-cent-woman team at Global Adjustments, I have a wish list on how men could treat women in the workplace(See table). At the end of the day, as one woman participant in our recent programme on cross-cultural customer engagement wrote: “It is the woman who carries the baton of culture, and she can leverage technology today to do so.” On the 101st anniversary of International Women’s Day, let’s promise to believe in ourselves, and give each other the space to grow. The truth is men and women are like two feet, we need both to advance in the business realm, as in life.
Ranjini Manian is Founder CEO of Global Adjustments, a relocation and cross-cultural services company. She can be contacted at globalindian@globaladjustments.com
This article was published in the Business Line print edition dated March 7, 2012 - Link to online text
Oops…Don’t make this mistake
Mar 8th
Recently, President Obama was speaking with the President of Georgia about the economic development that has been going on. However, at one point, he mistakenly referred to the former part of the Soviet Union as “Russia”. For an American who comes from a country where only 30% of people have a passport, this is an understandable mistake. But for the people of Georgia, it could have been a catastrophic blunder.
In general, most nations are sensitive about their identity and there is always that one group of people that you don’t want to be mistaken for. Kiwis and Aussies, Finns and Russians, Brits and Irish, all over the world you find certain areas of heightened sensitivities if you confuse them. Never assume that a Canadian is an American, and don’t tell someone from Saudi Arabia they are from the “Persian” Gulf. As the second-most populous continent with 56 independent countries, it’s a good idea to refer to Africa not as a country, but mention the specific nation you are speaking about. In our part of the world, probably the single biggest mistake you could make is to confuse an Indian for a Pakistani and vice versa.
Recently in our magazine, Culturama, we ran an interview of a man who we claimed was from Denmark, when he was actually from the Netherlands. While these countries are on cordial terms, we thought we would clear up any confusion that exists about that part of the world.
People from the country of Denmark are called Danish or Danes and speak Danish. In general, they don’t have many negative feelings toward their neighbors, but are probably most proud of their defeat of Germany in football in the 1992 European Championship. They are known as a very peaceful country, and often work toward international reconciliation.
People from The Netherlands are called Dutch, and their language is also Dutch (commonly mistaken for ‘Deutsch’, the language of Germany). Sometimes the word “Holland” is used informally to speak of the entire country, but technically, it is only a region within the Netherlands. There is a slight sensitivity with Germany, a combination of previous wars and their ongoing football woes against the Germans in major games. However, the deceased husband of the current Queen was a German aristocrat who became a much-loved figure.
As part of creating empowered Global Citizens, we at Global Adjustments know that one of the most important things you can do is to get someone’s national identity right. We’re sorry when we make a mistake, and we invite you to learn along with us as we interact with the world!
For more information about training courses where we equip people for sensitivities around the world, contact courses@globaladjustments.com
Outstanding Culture Award presented by H H Maharaj Gaj Singhji II of Jodhpur
Mar 2nd
Chennai – Feb 27, 2012 – This year on the 101st anniversary of International Women’s day, Global Adjustments presents ‘The Outstanding Woman Award 2012’ and hereafter every year to honour women who go the extra mile for the betterment for their communities’ culture and heritage. The award has been instituted by Global Adjustments Pvt. Ltd. to mark the International Women’s Day by honouring a lady who has made an outstanding contribution in upholding values and ethics and preserving India’s culture, heritage and traditions.
Global Adjustments, an eighty percent women’s company is very conscious of its corporate social responsibility and works especially towards women’s empowerment and promoting cultural understanding. The Outstanding Woman Defending Culture Award – 2012 was conferred on Ms. N. Priya Ravichandran, Divisional Fire Officer, Chennai, Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue Services by H H Maharaj Gaj Singhji II of Jodhpur in recognition of her extraordinary courage and leadership qualities in preserving culture and heritage of the 224 year old Kalas Mahal of Chepauk Palace, erstwhile home of the Nawabs of Arcot.
Ms. Priya Ravichandran had once said: “This is not a job where you can sit in a corner while a tragedy takes place and draw a plan and debate. It calls for a lot of spur-of-the-moment intelligence”. On the night of January 16th, 2012, she demonstrated what she meant. Ms. Ravichandran led from the front and, along with some of her colleagues, entered a burning Government office building in the city, disregarding the danger to her own life, in a bid to douse the flames. In the process, she suffered fifty percent burns.
Forty days later we gathered on the 27th of February 2012 to honour her action, while she recovered in a hospital. Ms. Priya Ravichandran was represented by her mother Mrs. Soundaram Nalliappan and her two daughters, Saathvika 5 years and Samhita 8 years, representing the high potential of a girl child.
The awards committee comprimised Mr. Steve Borgia, who promotes the preservation of heritage, through his INDeco Hotels, His Royal Highness, Maharaja Gaj Singh II of Jodhpur, Dr. M Rajaram, IAS, Secretary, Department of Tamil Development, Religious Endowments and Information, Government of Tamil Nadu, and Ranjini Manian, CEO, Global Adjustments.
Mr. Borgia nominated Ms. Ravichandran as the most deserving candidate for this award, H H Maharaja Gaj Singh II congratulated her act of bravery while saving a national treasure, Dr.M Rajaram conferred his blessings on a woman from his home state for her selfless act, and Ms. Manian saluted her for being a role model for all women by showing that the baton of culture has to be passed on from one generation to another at all costs, even at the risk of one’s life.
Upworldly Mobile in Bangalore
Feb 12th
Bangalore, Jan. 28, The Park Hotel, M.G. Road
Ranjini Manian’s new book “Upworldly Mobile” was released by Mr. N. R. Narayana Murthy, Founder of Infosys, in partnership with The Park Hotel Bangalore, on a lovely Saturday evening.
A turnout of about 120 business, diplomatic and society leaders of Bangalore listened enthralled as Ranjini shared real-life anecdotes of her 16 years experience running Global Adjustments and interacting with clients from 75 different nationalities. In a humorous and lively way, Ranjini stressed the importance of Cultural Intelligence and adjustments in business life, using her business story with the visiting delegation from a major German automotive company as an example. Years back, she played a role in convincing the Chairman of the Board Dr. Norbert Reithofer about Chennai as the preferred location for their factory, by impressing him with small – but powerful – adjustments to the German culture, e.g. being punctual to the minute. From the same encounter she learned several lessons:
- As you advance in hierarchy ladder, people are simple at the top: For instance, Dr. Reithofer, instead of using the provided fleet of cars, asked for a bus for himself and his colleagues to see India first hand.
- You need to be careful with stereotypical assumptions: When Ranjini asked Dr. Reithofer why he didn’t bother about hierarchy, he said “Well, what is hierarchy, after you have read the book “Who am I” of Ramana Maharshi?” – the German understands Indian philosophy and it’s time for the Indian to speak up for himself.
- If you do something that resonates with someone’s culture, do not hesitate to point that out: When Ranjini dropped Dr. Reithofer back perfectly on “German” time – he noted this and Global Adjustments was soon chosen as the preferred vendor for moving their employees to India.
Mr. Murthy, Founder of Infosys – India’s first company listed on the NASDAQ, New York – and currently independent director of several corporate boards (e.g. HSBC, Unilever, NDTV), stressed the need for Cultural Intelligence in today’s India. In his opinion, there could have been no better time to release a book like “Upworldly Mobile”, as Indians have a lot to learn from other cultures and consequently have to make many adjustments. Ranjini’s book would therefore be very useful in getting to understand the nuances of other cultures, without losing our own cultural roots, he pointed out. Becoming Upworldly Mobile would bring more prosperity to all sections of society – including the less privileged ones, he added.
Mr. Murthy ended by sharing four cross-cultural tips for Indians with his audience, drawing from his experience in leading a 130,000 employee multinational company – Infosys:
- Become “thick skinned”
- Increase integrity
- Say “yes” only after considering consequences
- Stay friendly but don’t get intimate
Find out what he meant by watching the video below:
Follow Ranjini on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter!
Watch out! An expat speaks out
Feb 7th
Watch out! An expat speaks out
by Ranjini Manian
The expat co-worker is often taken aback by the Indian twist to business communication.
James is the first Westerner to work in the Indian arm of the company. He manages a team of 10 Indians aged 25 to 40, and reports to the Managing Director of the India operations. James had heard good things about India and the MD. He had come expecting to find his new assignment interesting and challenging.
Well, he found it challenging all right, James told me ruefully. But not in the way he had hoped. Curious, I asked him what his concerns were, and got an exhaustive laundry list of problems, most of them ‘small’ in the sense of being not directly business-related, but ‘big’ for someone raised in a totally different work culture.
I divided James’ concerns into various categories. Let’s deal with them, one by one.
Communication gap: Although the Indian workforce is conversant with the English language, expatriates often find that communicating with their Indian colleagues is not so straightforward after all. — Mohammed Yousuf
TALKING THE TALK
James had been assured that Indians were well versed in English and communication would not be a problem. This was true for the most part. Yet, there were some hurdles which he found very difficult to cross — telephones, for instance. What about telephones? I asked. “Well”, replied James, “when I call someone on his phone, he picks it up and says ‘Tell me’ instead of the ‘Hello’ that I’m expecting to hear. That throws me off track completely! When I finally get going, and ask him for information, he gives it to me, but keeps interrupting himself to say ‘Hello’ every now and then, or else repeats what he has said. I find that terribly distracting.”
“While your team member is talking, what do you do?” I asked James. “I listen in polite silence of course,” he replied, puzzled that I needed to ask.
“That’s why he keeps saying ‘hello’ or repeating himself,” I explained with a smile. “During conversations, telephonic or face-to-face, we Indians expect our listeners to acknowledge that they have heard and understood by making typical sounds such as ‘hmmm’, ‘ah’ and so on. When we don’t hear those sounds, we wonder whether the other person is still there, or if she has grasped what we are saying.”
“Oh, now I get it,” said James. “And I also have this problem that people keep breaking into the local language when they’re talking to me in English.” “Yes, that can be quite distracting,” I agreed. “But we Indians are at least bi-lingual if not tri-lingual, and we’re used to interspersing our conversation in one language with words from another.”
FOLLOWING THE TRAIL
James found communication via e-mail quite a problem too. He kept getting long e-mail chains from his team, with terse messages in the latest mail asking him to read through the trail and respond to some point or the other. He had to go through reams of material and pick out the point that needed his attention.
And then there was the issue of copying people on e-mails. James’ mailbox was clogged with e-mails from one team member to another which had no relevance to him, but which he had been copied on. He found this quite annoying.
After listening to James, I wished that I had the power to ensure that basic telephone and e-mail etiquette is made a compulsory subject at the school and college level!
WHO’S THE BOSS?
Protocol was another issue which James found difficult to understand in India. For one, his team addressed him as Mr James, which he found odd. They called him by his first name, but prefixed Mr to it. “Why do Indians do that?” James asked. I explained that we use Mr as a term of respect, and we don’t give the same importance to the first and last names as the West. But I understood his irritation, and thought it was a Watch Out! point to share with readers.
Though there seemed to be a fixed pecking order, James found that people often jumped the line. When someone felt that a matter needed quick attention, they would simply contact a senior person, even in another country, by-passing direct superiors. He found this habit hard to tolerate.
“In India, decision-making is hierarchical, we are conditioned to think that if we go to the top, we’ll get the job done, and fast,” I told James.
CLOCK WORK
Finally, the problem of time management: James found his colleagues an intelligent, hard-working lot. Perhaps too hard working! They worked long at the office, much beyond office hours. When he asked for reports of work done, he got it in minute detail — down to the last nano-second. While he expected brevity and quality, they gave him quantity, eager to please him or prove to him that they were working hard.
“Why don’t they realise I don’t want a minute-by-minute account, I just want to know how they’re progressing in their task? By giving me such reports, they’re wasting their own time and mine,” said James. “Put it down to our education system which focuses on writing copious pages rather than distilling knowledge in bullets,” I said, flagging it as another Watch Out! point.
James’ laundry list made me realise that although our people have come a long way on the road to doing business in a globally acceptable style, there are still many kinks we need to be aware of and iron out. So, new Indian managers, let’s get our act together.
PS: James was smart enough to realise he couldn’t change the work ethics much, because the problem started at the higher levels. He figured out that the best way of handling the situation was to get himself some training in Indian work culture!
The writer is Founder CEO of Global Adjustments, a relocation and cross-cultural services company, and can be contacted at globalindian@globaladjustments.com
This article was published in the Business Line print edition dated 6th of February 2012 – Online Text
Humo(u)r
Feb 3rd
What is funny in one culture doesn’t always translate well.
My parents were visiting India from the US and I took them to meet my neighbor Uncle and Auntie. My wife and I had spent a long time developing a good relationship with this family through careful attention to respecting their culture and watching a lot of cricket. As soon as I introduced him, my father (not the poster-child for cultural awareness) says “Hey, you guys don’t seem half as bad as my son said you were!”, which in American translates as “It’s nice to meet you”. However, the joke was lost and we spent the rest of the evening trying to reassure our neighbors that we really don’t say bad things about them and my father rarely travels out of the state.
Humor is a tough thing to get a hold of in a new culture. It is often cited as the last phase of enculturating into a new life. If you can make a joke in a new language, and other people laugh, it’s a sure sign you’ve arrived.
Indians love to laugh, but the epitome of hilarity (at least in South India) is the bumbling sidekick who must look and sound as ridiculous as possible which makes the hero of the movie seem even more strong, intelligent, and anti-bumbling. If nothing else, this has provided good job security for those less-attractive actors.
At Global Adjustments, we had the opportunity to work with some Australian businessmen who were coming in to do business in India. On one visit, the Managing Director and another Director of the company had come to meet with some people in India. The Managing Director introduced himself and then turned to his partner and said, “And this here is old big-nose who doesn’t know anything.” To which, the other man replied, “Well, sir, you didn’t have to be so kind!”
Of course the young Indian audience was floored that two men of such standing would say that kind of thing to each other in public! However, in Australia this is called “taking the piss” and is an affectionate way for people to talk with each other.
Whether in Australia, India, or the US, if you can’t figure out why everyone else is laughing, either the joke is on you, or like so many other things – it’s just cultural.
We love to laugh in our trainings! For more information about our cross-cultural training programs, contact courses@globaladjustments.com.
