Indian Belief's & Buisness -1

In these short stories by Devdutt Pattanaik, let's find "Buisness Sutra".

Kindly share your opinions, questions and queries after reading this.

                      #1

"Every time Josephine concludes a conversation with Mukul, het counterpart in India, she sends an email summarizing the contents of her call. When Mukul does not do the same, Josephine finds at annoying. She reminds him of company policy, compelling him to comply"

                       #2

    Kshitiz always smiles when his partner from a very reputed global strategic firm meets him in the club. Kshitiz reveals, "He is always selling something or the other. Two years ago he told me about the importance of a matrix structure where no one is too powerful. Now he is selling the idea of creating a special talent pool of potential game changers. Then he kept talking about getting people aligned to a single goal. Now he talks about flexibility. They can never make up their mind. Each time they are convinced that whatever they are selling is the best idea, one thay will change the world forever. They claim to be global, but are so evangelical. But we have to indulge them; their way of thinking dominates the world. It comforts investors."

All this makes management science a secular expression of beliefs that have always existed in the West.

                      

                            #3

"When asked his views about the world, Saud who had worked in various branches of a multinational company made the following comment--- In China, roads are built before cities. In India, cities are built before roads. In China people submit to the wisdom of the state. In India, people do not believe the State has their interests at heart. I find China more organized but am unnerved by its ambitious and lack of transparency. I find Indians exasperating as they have an opinion for everything but decide on nothing. In China, the State controls everything, while in India there is much more freedom of expression.""

  

                        #4

"A European company that had made high- end cuisine accessible to the common man entered India, determined to provide the same service and product to customers in new market. But then they realised most Indians do not eat beef and pork. And what was a common man's budget in Europe was a rich man's budget in India, especially since the restaurants could be housed only in the more affluent quarters of major Indian cities. What was food for the commoner in Europe became food for the elite in India". 

                         #5

"Steve wanted to enter into a joint venture with an Indian company. So Rahul decided to take him out to lunch. They went to a very famous hotel in New York, which served a four- course meal: soup, salad, the main course, followed by desert. There was cutlery on the table, such as spoons, forks, knives to eat each dish. In the evening, Rahul took him to an Indian restaurant where a thali was served. All items were served simultaneously, the sweet, the sour, the rice, the roti, the crispy papad, the spicy pickles. Everyone had to eat by hand, though spoons were provided for those who were embrassed to do so or not too adventurous. Rahul then told Steve, "Lunch is like the west, organized and controlled by the chef. Dinner is like India, totally customized by the customer. You can mix and match and eat whatever you wish in any order you like. The joint venture will be a union of two very different cultures. They will never be equal. They will always be unique. Are you ready for it? Or do you want to wait till one changes his beliefs and customs for the benefit of the other?""

Western mind and order- seeking Chinese mind will naturally exasperate the goal- focused. They seek clarity. Indians are comfortable with ambiguity and contextual thinking. Which manifest most visibly in the bobbing Indian headshake.

                    #6

Between 2002 & 2012, international observer's noticed that when cases of fraud and corruption were raised in the UK & US, they were dealt with severely and a decision was arrived at in a short span of time. During the same period Indian legal system pulled up many Indian politicians, bureaucrats and industrialists for similar changes. Their cases are still pending, moving from one court to another. The Indian legal system is primarily equipped only to catch rule- breaking Ravans, not rule- upholding Duryodhans.

                     #7

The head of the people department, Murlidhar, suggested that they do personality tests to identify and nurture talent in the company. The owner of the company, Mr. Walia, did not like the idea, "The personality of people keeps changing depending on who they are dealing with, depending on what they are going through in life.!" Murlidhar believes there is only one objective truth outside human imagination. Mr. Walia believes that everyone believes in different things, and these beliefs forged in the imagination are true to the believer, hence must be respected, no matter what objective tests reveal. Mr. Walia values perspective and context; he is more aligned to the sanatan than Murlidhar.

                    #8

Sameer who works in the corporate communications division has to make a report on corporate social responsibility. The lady who heads the department, Rita, who majored in social service at a reputed university says, "Here it is not about helping people but about meeting a target so that the company can tell its shareholders and the media that they have changed the world and contributed to the well- being of society. They hope this will help improve their brand image. Nobody will say this as they are trained to be politically correct in public by their media team. There is no feeling, no empathy, just Excel sheets. But at least something is happening at the ground level where the situation is rather dismal, that is why i am sticking around." Sameer also participated in a meeting where there was a discussion as to what would be more impactful: providing latrines in villages or laptops? The majority voted in favour of laptops.