Bridging India-US business cultures - will the twain meet?
Jan 21, 2007 - 8:22:01 AM
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In an increasingly interconnected world, cross-cultural training can, not only brings individual enrichment, but also favourably impact the corporate bottom line. For today's multinational executive, the adage 'While in Rome, do as the Romans do' might spell propriety, but also profitability.
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By Ashok Easwaran, IANS,
[RxPG] Chicago, Jan 21 - A group of senior vice presidents from the Indian affiliate of an American company were in the United States for a conference. As they entered the conference room, an American vice president noticed that the room was in disarray. She hurriedly started rearranging the chairs and asked an Indian executive with her to help. To her dismay, the Indian did not offer assistance, but watched her impassively.
Later, before a 'culture trainer' the American remonstrated to the Indian, 'I cannot believe that you just looked on while I was moving the chairs. You knew we were short on time.' And the Indian retorted, 'And I could not believe that you were actually moving chairs. Is that what the company pays you for as vice president? Could you not have delegated the work to the office staff?'
These two attitudes exemplify what many American executives in India, and Indian executives in the US, face in terms of a cultural gap, said Monica Francois Marcel, partner of Language And Culture Worldwide, a Chicago-based company which works to narrow the gap. As business collaborations and joint ventures among Indian and American enterprises increase at a steady pace, trainers like Marcel are finding their services in great demand.
'We are big on India,' said Marcel, whose company also works with businesses in Europe and Africa. Language And Culture Worldwide has trained a number of American executives working in India from companies like Hewitt Associates and Northern Trust. They have also held training sessions for students of the Graduate School of Business, University of Chicago.
Asian countries, said Marcel, tend to be enigmatic, not the least for a culture where making a hard direct statement can often give offense and lead to lost business. 'In the US, we value direct communication and people are rewarded for being straight talkers. We believe in egalitarianism and we have come to believe that this is true of everybody -,' said Marcel.
'Theoretically,' said Marcel, 'a janitor should be able to talk to the chief executive officer. But in many cultures, there is a much greater emphasis on status.'
A common language does not account for an easier assimilation into another culture, as many Americans have learnt to their grief. 'We assume that just because people in other countries speak English, everything will be easy,' said Marcel.
For westerners especially, cultural nuances are only one hurdle. 'For Americans, going to India can be among their toughest transitions, ' said Marcel. 'Most Americans are more or less insulated from poverty. But in India, you cannot really be insulated from poverty.'
India's population too can be quite a shock, first hitting the western visitor besieged by a mob of taxi drivers or 'coolies' grabbing at his or her suitcases, minutes after landing at an Indian airport. 'The sheer number of people can get to you,' said Marcel, adding that 'baggage handling' is very different at an Indian airport, compared to say, Chicago's O'Hare airport.
'Even if you work in this air-conditioned bubble inside your workplace, you cannot really miss the poverty on the streets,' said Padma Rangaswamy, a historian and author, who also works as a trainer for the company, 'Other challenges emerge- as you go along.'
'The indirect language of the Indians is a language that Americans have not yet learnt to grasp,' said Rangaswamy. 'Americans feel that Indians need a lot of handholding, while Indians feel that Americans do not give adequate inputs first.'
To American executives who complain that Indians have not lived up to expectations, Marcel's answer is 'They do not have the context in which you want them to operate. Once you give them that, they will probably surpass you -'.
At training sessions, the opening remarks are often quite complimentary. The Americans find Indians 'very eager, very polite and very respectful.' The Indians find Americans 'very friendly and very open.' Which inevitably leads Marcel to pose her next question, 'Then, why are you here ?' What follows is a litany of complaints. The Americans say 'Indians over promise. They lie.' The Indians say they find the Americans 'high handed and rude.'
'Interestingly, Americans do not see themselves as rude,' said Marcel.
'Indians feel that Americans are withholding information. Americans say that this is because they are not sure what Indians can do. There is no mal-intent,' said Marcel.
While these impediments of communication and culture can be formidable enough in personal interaction, they become more complex in the virtual world of information technology companies, where the colleague at the other end of the phone or modem, is a disembodied voice. 'In the virtual world, you have the disadvantage of not having even face to face contact,' said Rangaswamy.
Culture training today, said Marcel, has gone beyond 'accent neutralization' and polite conversation about the weather and baseball. 'People will learn to look through your accent. It is your attitude that counts,' said Rangaswamy.
A lot of miscommunication stems out of ignorance, said Marcel. 'Many American executives ask me how a Robert Stephen can possibly be an Indian. I have to explain that he could be a Christian from Goa. They have this belief that only Hindus live in India.'
What may be the right thing to do in the US, may invite censure in other countries. Attitudes differ widely in cultures, said Marcel, referring to a survey in Venezuela and America. The respondents were asked if they were with a friend who was driving well above the speed limit, what they would do if they were stopped by a police officer. Would they admit to the officer that their friend was speeding? 'Over 97 percent of Americans said yes they would, while only 33 percent of Venezuelans said, 'yes'. The Venezuelans asked 'How can you betray a friend?' while to Americans the question was 'How can you lie to the law ?'
Ideally, culture training leads not just to better corporate performance but also to a personal transformation, said Rangaswamy. 'You learn the value of another culture and that makes you a better human being,' she said.
In an increasingly interconnected world, cross-cultural training can, not only brings individual enrichment, but also favourably impact the corporate bottom line. For today's multinational executive, the adage 'While in Rome, do as the Romans do' might spell propriety, but also profitability.
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