The Blog for Culture Vultures

Want to learn more about negotiations in India?

Then this is the blog for you! We'll be giving you some fantastic insights into the Indian negotiation style and how you might need to adapt your approach.

Are you interested in Indian culture? Want to learn more?

Watching Indian TV shows is a fantastic way of learning about the culture, so we’ve found the best 3 on Netflix for you!

Google Search Engine data provides a fantastic window into the cultures of different countries by giving us insights into popular online searches.

By understanding what people within that country or culture are searching for, we can start to appreciate the topics and concerns that bind them together.

Do you work with or do business with Indians? Do you sometimes find it confusing?

Well, believe us you're not the first or the last.

Did you know that Indians form the second largest group of immigrants in America, with Mexicans taking the top spot?

Although Indian expats may enter the US with a typically high level of education under their belts and a strong work ethic, they often find cultural differences between the US and India quite a challenge.

India, despite years of efforts by PM Narendra Modi to implement changes to the contrary, remains one of the toughest places on the planet to do business.

A highly-advanced nation in many respects, with an educated English-speaking population, a wealthy middle-class, advances in technology and an international business outlook, many from the outside approach India as easy pickings.

For those that follow The Apprentice, you can’t have missed the recent outburst by contestant Dillon St Paul in Episode 6, entitled ‘Discount Buying’.

Sticking to the traditional programme format, contestants were required to spend the night identifying the whereabouts of 9 items in and around London and then negotiate the best possible price for their purchase.

As a cross cultural training consultancy, we have a great insight into the countries which rate highly as expat destinations and it seems that India is certainly viewed highly as a popular ‘go to’ country at the moment....especially with Americans. The numbers now moving to India for work is phenomenal.

Why is India so popular for American Expatriates?

Trade deals are a key reason.  The US is India’s key second biggest trading partner after China whilst India is the US’s eleventh largest trading partner.  The strength of mutual trading makes for a pretty strong relationship between the two countries and clearly generates considerable relocation opportunities for both parties. India is also one of the fastest growing global economies which makes it more likely that investments in this part of the world are likely to do well.

Maps are a great source of information – but they can also become points of contention as maps, by their very nature, draw political, cultural and historical boundaries. When these boundaries are incorrect it can lead to negative consequences.

Global Real Estate advisor Jones Lang LaSalle have carried out some research into the difficulties that can be encountered by western companies when they enter the Indian market. The result? Cultural differences are a major obstacle.

Do you question how important culture is to our daily lives? Well many do. In reality however culture is at play moulding the world around us every minute of every day; sometimes in ways we don't understand. New research by Romain Wacziarg suggests country’s income per capita is actually closely related to the its culture.

Even though modern-day society seems to become more intercultural every year, the opposite is true for the Anglo-Indian community where Western traditions and appearances meet those of the Indian subcontinent. The BBC recently looked at the fate of the Ango-Indian culture which offers a fascinating insight into this little known group.

Expatriate executives, who were the flavour of the season when India was riding high on a 9%-plus growth rate, are now becoming the first ones to get the pink slip as Indian industry, hit by the slowdown, starts looking within the country for inexpensive hires.

“Many of the expatriate executives, who have been asked to leave, are subject experts. Their value diminishes in a downturn as companies are no more expanding, and thus don’t need people to guide in a new venture,” says K Sudarshan, MD of executive search firm EMA Partners’ India unit.

Since October 2008, there has been a spate of replacements of expat executives with Indian professionals at the senior level.

Read more > India

“When you're looking at skills and technical professions there's a good body there of commonality,” said Tom Ryan, who's in charge of Communitech's recruitment strategy. “What we also find is culture shock. We find culture shock and language as a two-part killer.”

Not always, according to Herbert Hess, president of Hess Associates, which provides a placement service for people looking for work in the IT sector. Hess said that while language and culture shock can be a problem for some immigrants looking for work, people from countries such as India are used to working 10 to 14 hours a day - the kind of work ethic employers are looking for. “They've got language skills, communication skills and are very well educated. They don't seem to have a problem in terms of fitting in.”

Hess said he's seeing more Middle Eastern people looking for work nowadays compared to previous years, when Russian and Asian workers dominated the field.

Read more: Hess