Tata, India’s top automaker is the winning bidder for Ford Motor’s luxury brands Jaguar and Land Rover. Read More…

From time to time we get a reminder of how culture affects people’s behavior and motivation, but few come across as starkly as what happened last week with The Société Générale renegade trader Jérôme Kerviel and the way it shook the world’s financial markets, and served to remind how interconnected the global economy is.

I recently read a WSJ story that reflects upon his motivation. Clearly there is no justification for his actions but its interesting to note how traditionally and culturally French his explanation of his actions is.

He says that he was motivated not by money but rather by the search for status and respect. In his mind he couldn’t have in a French business because he hadn’t gone to the “right schools” and come from the right background to ever rise through the ranks to senior management and respect.

For most of us the lesson here is that in spite of commonly accepted and articulated positions all organizations do not promote people based on accomplishment and merit, and many traditional underlying cultural factors still apply. In order to be successful in this global economy, it’s important to aware of these subtle and unspoken values because they can profoundly impact business outcomes.

-Mike

This past week world leaders–both political, corporate, and intellectual–came together in Davos, Switzerland to discuss the eco-socio-economic state of the world and to present ideas for corporations, NGOs and other world organizations. In its Davos Special Report, BusinessWeek quotes Lenovo CEO, William J. Amelio and his “world-sourcing” philosophy. Says Amelio, “You operate as if there’s just one time zone….And you’re always on.”

As global leaders who manage the human resources in these organizations, you know the intricacies of world sourcing only too well. This series of articles offers fascinating insights into some of the cultural changes brought about by globalization:
Managing the Global Workforce
Case Study: For L’Oreal Recruiting is just a big game.
The Right Perks
People Movers
Young and Impatient

For example, the impact of the new-found opportunities and affluence in India is creating a younger generation that is questioning some of the very foundations of the society, such as arranged marriage and traditional gender roles. So, now not only do we need to become sensitive to the cultural differences we encounter as we move from culture to culture, but there are clearly generational differences that will have an impact on how we interact with our employees and colleagues from these countries.

-Mike

Lest you think that arranged marriages in India do not impact you as an HR manager in London or New York, I’d like to share a story one of our colleagues told us. He couldn’t quite understand when his young assignees from India would come to him with specific requests for unscheduled time-off. They were reluctant to provide details about why they needed the time. He recalled one incident when a programmer had a particularly urgent request and when he pressed him for a reason, the employee said that his mother had arranged an introduction to a bride for him. He had to get back to him hometown to meet her.

Another story where a young Indian employee suggested he might have to change jobs because he needed a position where he could get a green card. The reason? Read more…