Informing Across Cultures

Cross-cultural differences are a result of one's thoughts and interactions being influenced by the places of upbringing and education. It has been proven by research that a cross-cultural workplace ensures greater productivity, since varied thought processes make way for greater creativity and innovation within the organisation. Managing such a workforce, however, presents issues of its own, since diverse cultures come in the way of resolving conflicts and inducing harmony.

- Dr. Nina Jacob

Chandiramathi stoodawkwardly in the lounge ofIndira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi, holding her eight month old baby. Her husband, Arun Reddy was talking on his smartphone, gesticulating wildly as he did so. Mr. and Mrs. Reddy were on their way to Berlin. It was September 24th and a warm day even by Delhi’s standards. A German woman, who was seated, beckoned to Chandiramathi and pointed to the empty seat next to her. “You must be tired holding that baby,” she said. “Why don’t you sit down?”. Chandiramathi sat down, murmuring that she was not used to standing up. Her father, a wealthy landowner, had arranged her marriage to Arun, a bright young software engineer working with a reputed IT company in Bangalore. Chandiramathi, a smalltown girl, had been awe-struck by Bangalore when she had first gone there with her husband. And now, just a year and a half after her marriage, her husband had been deputed to work on a live project with CH, an automobile company in Germany. “You are going to feel cold when you land in Germany,” said the German woman, pointing to the gold-tasselled chappals that Chandiramathi was wearing. “Everybody wears shoes in Germany at this time of the year.” Chandiramathi looked helplessly at her husband who was dressed in western attire, his feet ensconced in leather shoes.

As soon as they boarded the plane and took their seats, Arun opened his laptop and started working. “The project will be a breeze,” he had commented. “I know exactly what I have to do.” When Chandiramathi looked across the aisle, she found the same German woman she had met at the airport lounge, watching her every move. The German woman even suggested that Chandiramathi have wine with her dinner. Arun had quickly demurred stating,