19 Mar 2020

2020, CrossCulture
The Crosscultural aspect of COVID-19
The Crosscultural Aspect of COVID-19 The alarm bells have rung. And countries and governments have sat up and taken notice. They have rung and they have wrung the best out of people. Spreading panic and fear initially, slowly settling into a reality check and now ensuring that compliance comes not from fear but from a place of understanding. As the information dam bursts open and the ...
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01 Jul 2019

2019, CrossCulture, Training
Cross-culture sensitization
Unaware of cross-culture sensitization During my summer internship about two decades ago, I was having a discussion with my project guide on the Indian Consumer Durables market and the psyche of a typical Indian buyer. He said, “Nishant, you are a Mumbaiker, are you not?” “Of course!” I said. “Then you don’t know anything about India”, he replied smugly. I was left gobsma...
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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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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, CrossCulture
Cross Culture and its challengesOne of the most important differences across cultures is that of hierarchy. Cross culture understanding or misunderstanding can stem simply from this one dimension* of culture. Hierarchical societies have a clear ranking of authority in the society. It's the ascribing of power to the higher authorities by the lower. This hierarchy exists in the society - a...
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16 Mar 2018

2018, CrossCulture
Cross-cultural communication can make friends. And it can make... well...enemies. Or not friends. Here's one memorable conversation I've had with someone. This young man was an Indian working in Germany. He had been there for almost 8 years when I met him to do a cross culture workshop. In an informal dinner he talked about his challenges studying, living and working there. While h...
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