IndiaCultural Awareness & Business Communication

Contents

1. Demographics2. People and culture3. Indian English4. Working with India

Area:3,287,590 sq km Language:Hindi is the national language and spoken by 30% of the people; there are 17 official languages + English Regional States and administrations 28 states and 7 union territoriesPopulation: 1.06 billionMajor cities & population

•Mumbai (Bombay) 18,042,000 •Kolkata (Calcutta) 12,900,000 •Delhi 11,680,000 •Hyderabad 6,833,000•Chennai (Madras) 6,639,000 •Bangalore 5,544,000

The Country

Religious Composition• Hindu – 80%• Muslims – 13.4%• Christians – 2.33%• Sikhs – 1.84%• Buddhists – 0.76%• Jains – 0.4 % • Others – 1.27%

India Facts…• World’s largest • 100% Electronic Voting

Democracy

• 2nd Fastest Growing• 4th Largest (in terms of PPP)

Economy

• 2nd Largest Army• 4th Largest Air Force

Military

• Over 30 Satellites Launched• Moon mission planned - 2007

Space

India Firsts• First study of medicine - Ayurveda• Sanskrit – Closest living language to “proto-Indo-European”, the great-great-grandmother of English• First Martial Art form – 200 BC• concept of “Zero” – Aryabhatta, 499 AD• Chess – 500 AD• First university – Takshila, 700 BC

People and Culture

National Pastimes

Bollywood• World’s largest film industry..over 1,000 films produced annually• Not a typical western movie…

Cricket• Came to India with the British..played in stadiums as well as street corners.. • Cricket stars in India – Sachin Tendulkar....compare to Babe RuthPolitics• Average Indian very aware of politics• Everyone has an opinion and likes to share…

Culture• Land of Diversity..changes at every State border.. Food, dress varies by region• Rich heritage, especially in the arts (dance, music)• Cultural differences celebrated and increasingly accepted across regions / religions• Strong western influence in the cities..Bombay, Delhi, Chennai, Calcutta

Family Structure

• Women making increasing strides in business, politics and the arts. Education a key driver for change

• Traditional joint family structure; changing to single families• Elders accorded a great deal of respect; close knit families

Marriage• Diverse - different between states and regions• 85-90% are arranged marriages

• typically same caste / region / social status• Marriage is considered between families• Marriage in bride’s town, reception in groom’s• Eldest sibling marries first. Girls before boys• Community affair

• 70-100 people considered small gathering• Colleagues at work are always invited.

don’t be surprised if your whole team goes for a reception or wedding

Holidays & FestivalsMost Holidays have religious backgroundNational Holidays

•New Year’s Day - Jan 1•Republic Day - Jan 26•Labor Day - May 1 •Independence Day - Aug 15•Mahatma Gandhi’s Birthday - Oct 2

Sankranti

Hindu •Sankranthi - around Jan 14 - South•Holi - in March - North•Ganesh Chathurthi in Sep - South & West•Dushera - in Oct / Nov - preDushera in East•Diwali - 20 days after Dushera

Holi

Ganesh Chaturthi

Dushera

Diwali

Onam

Muslim•Idu’l Fitr - in Oct / Nov

Sikh•Guru Nanak’s Birthday - North

Christian•Good Friday•Christmas

Jain•Mahavir Jayanti - West

Id

Guru Nanak’s Birthday

Mahavir Jayanti

Individual significance varies by religion, region

Cultural pointer to consider…• Be careful of your shoes • Left (bad) hand right (good) hand• Staring is okay…not common in the US• Getting personal..direct question such as age, salary, etc are

common• Generally, Indian women prefer not to shake hands..wait for

indication• Giving seats / preference to ladies is courteous• Gestures don't always translate…head nodding does not always

mean “No”• Respectful mistrust..contrary to the US..given that milkman will

add water• Can openly discuss politics..keep religion out• Many Hindus are vegetarian and many, especially women, do

not drink alcohol or smoke• Taxis do not expect to be tipped, however, hotel/airport porters

and restaurant servers should be tipped

Indian English

Indian English or Hinglish • Indian spellings follow British conventions to the point at which American English variations are considered untenable. - colour, lessons learnt (vs. learned)• Indian English took on a divergent evolution and many phrases that the British may consider antiquated are still popular in India. E.g: “Please do the needful” or “You will be intimated shortly” - official language• ”Grammar of Indian English" must be taken with a grain of salt. Passive voice considered polite.• Indian accents vary greatly leaning more towards “vernacular' (Indian language)-tinted speech. Words such as “Yaar” (Buddy), “Han Han” (Yes), “Achaa (OK)” are used frequently

Words/phrases unique to Indian English

batchmate or batch-mate Not classmate, but of a schoolmate of the same gradecousin-brother - male first cousincousin-sister - female first cousin; one's own brother/sister (of one's parent, as opposed to uncle or aunt) co-brother – wife's sister's husbandwould-be - fiancé/fiancéeprepone - the opposite of 'postpone'upgradation - commonly used in business communication instead of 'upgrade'

crore - ten millionlakh - one hundred thousand

damn used to mean "very". "damn good" means "very good". terrific may be used to mean "awesome"

Idioms“Your good name please?": "What is your name?", carryover from Hindi expression (“aapka shubh naam?”)."Hello, What do you want?": used by some when answering a phone call, meant to be polite. "pindrop silence" literally means that such a silence should be maintained that even a pindrop can be heard. "back" replacing "ago" when talking about elapsed time, as in "I met him five years back" rather than "I met him five years ago." "freak out" is meant to have fun, as in "lets go to the party and freak out." The word "dress" is used to refer to clothes for men, women, and children alike: "She bought a new dress for her son." "I will give you a Missed Call" – I will call you (on mobile) and hang-up. You get the message…

Working with India

Greeting Use formal greeting, unless told otherwiseAttire Generally formal for business; dress

conservativelyLanguage English is all you need to know!Food International cuisine available in most cities.

Many Indians are vegetarian don’t eat beef / pork and

don’t drink alcohol.Weather Varies greatly by region; check before you

leavePeople Highly personal, warm culture … BUT, be wary

of swindlers. Request hotel staff / people you know for help in getting around, sightseeing, shopping etc.

What To Expect When In India

Business Tips• Traditional Indian organizations can be very hierarchical … limited number of people who make decisions

• Subsidiaries of foreign companies adapt to the parent company’s culture … very modern in outlook and operating style.

• Dealing with Government officials – can be a bureaucratic and slow process; plan accordingly• Negotiations … Indians aren’t direct about saying ‘no’; reluctance on an issue could be an indirect way of saying no• Meetings could start or end with personal questions (family, children etc) … considered a sign of building relationships• Punctuality … not a strong Indian trait in social settings And … leave enough time to enjoy the Indian experience!!

When you have new visitors from India

AVOID - dinner plans on first day of arrival – offer them shopping

instead - restaurants with limited vegetarian choices.OFFER HELP• one-on-one interaction• invite them to any activities, places outside of work• working lunch, ensure meal choices• advice them on selections of phone company, internet choice, car etc.• introduce them to APAF members

Communication tipsAVOID - understating negatives - overstating positives – “Awesome!”- speaker phones when possible- jokes, especially in phone meetings

MAXIMIZE• one-on-one phone interaction, even for short durations• the “buddy” system• global team building – Games (Chess, quizzes), “Your Perfect Day”• customer interaction with remote teams

Recognize Mannerisms . . .• Head nodding generally means I’m listening• Tend to speak fast – words rolling into one another• Smiling a lot for no reason in a conversation – generally means I appreciate what you are saying• May come across with humility / subservience. . .

Particularly if supervisor present

Some suggestions

Set clear expectatio

ns with metrics

Avoid calls after 7 pm

local time or on Friday evenings

Be aware of and

manage tendency to over promise

Build a relationship –

“who you know” is important

Use the dual time zone feature within

outlook calendar

Only invite if

participants have a

value add

Call on quieter

participants to speak up.

Recognize the time

differences and the lifestyle

differences.

Be inclusive (ensure

India feels part of team)

Stress urgency

and ensure it

is understoo

d

With visitors be mindful

of diet restrictions (vegetarian)

Do’s and Don’ts:Behavior:

• Don’t open gifts in presence of the giver.

• Don’t directly refuse an invitation, a vague "I’ll try" is an acceptable refusal.

• Do remove shoes at the door when visiting a home.

• Don’t point your feet at a person. Feet are considered unclean. Normal to apologize if your shoes or feet touch another person.

• Standing with your hands on your hips may be interpreted as an aggressive posture.

• Whistling is impolite and winking may be interpreted as either an insult or a sexual proposition.

Communication:• Be formal outside GE (e.g. visiting customers)

use Mr. / Mrs. / Ms.• Don’t talk about poverty, human rights, or

religious conflict.• Try not to use commanding / direct language.• Do be curious.• Do try to establish a personal connection.

Do’s and Don’ts:

Thank You