Expats coming to work in India is a growing trend (+20% in 2011 compared with 2010) . It implies cultural differences, not only in the streets, but also at work.
No one says it is obvious to work in India. You definitely have to forget a bit your own western logic to adapt to another one. It may take some time, be difficult to some extent, but it teaches you a lot from a management point of view.
Be assertive and firm without being oppressive, take more initiatives, overcome cultural differences, adapt oneself to changes and sometimes to uncertainty are some of the key points to feel comfortable at work.
Below are some of the passages from an article from the Hindustan Times, in which the journalist Pankaj Mullick analyses some of the differences expats have to face when working in India.
"Loud, colourful, crowded, ripe with opportunities and full of struggles (and contradictions) is how many expats describe India. For some the experience can be quite frightening, while others adjust, adapt and thrive in an environment akin to none anywhere in the world."
"The toughest element, some say, is adjusting to Indians and our work ethic. “India in my experience is a mix of two extremes. On one hand — time seems not to exist and deadline means usually just a ‘tentative draft of a deadline’. On the other hand — people work harder here than in Europe."
" In India, business can’t be done without making friends. And any reservations have to be expressed in an extremely polite manner. The result — an Indian thinks that Europeans are impolite morons, Westerners (think) that Indians are not being serious. There are many more differences like this and it takes mutual understanding to avoid conflicts."
"It’s also the approach to human resources. In India they are the cheapest element of a process, in Europe, the most expensive. Hence in Europe all sorts of automatisation of process is welcome, all kinds of facilitators. In India, if you want to get more work done, you simply hire more people”
No one says it is obvious to work in India. You definitely have to forget a bit your own western logic to adapt to another one. It may take some time, be difficult to some extent, but it teaches you a lot from a management point of view.
Be assertive and firm without being oppressive, take more initiatives, overcome cultural differences, adapt oneself to changes and sometimes to uncertainty are some of the key points to feel comfortable at work.
Below are some of the passages from an article from the Hindustan Times, in which the journalist Pankaj Mullick analyses some of the differences expats have to face when working in India.
"Loud, colourful, crowded, ripe with opportunities and full of struggles (and contradictions) is how many expats describe India. For some the experience can be quite frightening, while others adjust, adapt and thrive in an environment akin to none anywhere in the world."
"The toughest element, some say, is adjusting to Indians and our work ethic. “India in my experience is a mix of two extremes. On one hand — time seems not to exist and deadline means usually just a ‘tentative draft of a deadline’. On the other hand — people work harder here than in Europe."
" In India, business can’t be done without making friends. And any reservations have to be expressed in an extremely polite manner. The result — an Indian thinks that Europeans are impolite morons, Westerners (think) that Indians are not being serious. There are many more differences like this and it takes mutual understanding to avoid conflicts."
"It’s also the approach to human resources. In India they are the cheapest element of a process, in Europe, the most expensive. Hence in Europe all sorts of automatisation of process is welcome, all kinds of facilitators. In India, if you want to get more work done, you simply hire more people”
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