18 Mar 2020

2020, CrossCulture 2 Comments
united states through the culture lens
United States. Through the culture lens. US. And them. If you see United States through the culture lens you find many strange revelations. Cross culture communications often take a tumble because we view ‘other people’ or those outside our country as them. It’s they, it’s the other, it’s the stranger among us. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic however we are all the same: a specie...
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07 Apr 2018

2018, CrossCulture
Transition time? The RFP is done successfully. You are now sitting plum on a huge deal and all you have to do for the next promotion is to see that it goes smoothly. Are you the transition manager for the big deal everyone in the office is talking about? Are you the one who's taking over the reins for that winning logo? Easy, right? Or...wait a minute... is it keeping you up at nigh...
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26 Mar 2018

2018, CrossCulture
Conflicts in Cross Culture Here's another conflict in cross culture. Heard of gender stereotyping? The blue-for-boys and pink-for-girls kind? It's not just us. It's cultures all over the world. Not exactly that way but yes, well-defined gender roles are yet another dimension of culture. And conflicts in cross culture can arise from here. Masculinity vs Femininity - A Cultural Dimension I...
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25 Mar 2018

2018, CrossCulture
Cross Cultural Conflict based on Hofstede Scores Conflicts in cross culture often occur in societies which differ in degrees of individualism. We spoke of cultural differences based on hierarchy. There is another overarching difference - that of individualistic societies and collectivistic societies. Individualism vs Collectivism is one of the dimensions propounded by Dutch culturologis...
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24 Mar 2018

2018
Cross culture and language pitfalls When an Englishman goes to China, he knows that he is on alien territory. The obvious part being that the people speak a different language and he is unlikely to understand a single word. But unfortunately for cultures like UK and US, when people come and interact with Indians, this is not so. With largely decent English-speaking skills, it is so...
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18 Mar 2018

2018
Much of cross-cultural communication rests on understanding of the culture. India is often knows as the culture of celebrations. And what better than today to talk about it. It's day for celebration! And a new year celebration at that. Today marks the new year for many communities in different parts of India. Gudi Padwa for some, Ugadi for others, Cheti Chand for still others. Gove...
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18 Mar 2018

2016
Cross culture is the unspoken issue in many a  global collaboration. When global conglomerates seek out Indian talent to work with them, a lot of attention is focused on quality of work and cost arbitrage. But there is one important aspect that gets left out. Here's an example. A large Dutch financial organisation is seeking to outsource its IT business to a large multinational ...
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16 Mar 2018

2017, 2018, CrossCulture, Training
Cross-cultural communication or the lack of it could well be the missing ingredient in a ‘dream team’ you set up.   The truth is – the world is not as flat as it seems. And while a President somewhere is busy trying to build a wall, what he does not realise is that there is really no need to do so. A wall already exists. Everywhere in fact. Especially when two cultures come together. Wha...
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13 Mar 2018

2018, CrossCulture
I walk into a room that is seems to be partitioned.  Not in the real sense of the word, but you-can-cut-the-air-with-a-knife kind of feeling. There are two factions here, although neither will ever mention that. That would be ‘politically incorrect’, wouldn't it. It’s always Us vs Them. It’s the In-group vs Out-group. It’s your country vs mine (and guess which one is better!) And...
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