Kareena Kapoor

The concept of “face”, a central tenet of many Asian cultures, is illustrated in an a story from the Indo-Asian News Service concerning the relationship between a film director eager to work with an actress. When the reporter asks Madhur Bhandarkar, the director, why Kareena Kapoor, the actress, has not yet confirmed she’ll work with Madhur on a new film, he responds by giving face to Kareena, the most culturally appropriate response to a question framed to solicit information on a sensitive matter. Kareena’s payment to collaborate with Madhur was the sensitive detail concerned, and Madhur responded with the following:

It’s not because she was quoting a very high price. It was because our budget of the film was very less. The dates were also clashing.”

Instead of expressing the feeling that Kareena was asking for too much money, Madhur focused on his own budget, thus giving face to Kareena by acknowledging she deserved more than he could afford. Furthermore, Madhur alludes to the history of their strong relationship and mentions they need to take the right amount of time before anyone can make a decision.

We know each other for years. We both admire each other’s work. In Page3 we wanted to work together but there were some economic problems because of which we couldn’t. I met her and we have spoken on it, but we need to sit for couple of times. Once it’s decided we will make the announcement.”

The concept of time in most of India, and in other Asian countries, is far more fluid than in the West. Decision making is slower and relationship-building takes precedence over schedules and deadlines. How do film studios in Hollywood differ? What would a director in Hollywood do in this situation? It may appear that film culture in Los Angeles is not as far from Mumbai as we think.

Click here to jump to the article on the Hindustan Time’s website.

Sean

RW3 CultureWizard

In the New York Times, a conversation between columnists highlights the future of Western men through a very general comparison of Western and Asian thinking styles.

Before looking at that article, I’ll start by noting the various cultural dimensions CultureWizard teaches, e.g. relationship and communication. These dimensions encompass styles of thought, and the approach one takes to human interaction. In China, for example, we generalize that most people are relationship-oriented, which means that relationships are the underlying lens through which Chinese see all aspects of life, both business and personal. The general idea is that this is the opposite of a country like Switzerland, where people often look at a clock to organize their days. To understand others, simple lessons on very basic and commonly encountered cultural attributes is a necessity for global business succss. However, in reality, everyone is unique and should be treated according to their personal culture. Nevertheless, everyone is influenced by a national culture through religion, mythology, history, mass media, etc.

David Brooks’ conversation with Gail Collins is very general, but there is some truth to what Brooks observes on culture, even though it’s still far from being common knowledge.

“Different cultures and groups have different styles of thinking, or to be more precise, the average behavior is different from one group to another. So is it possible that Westerners, on average, have thinking styles that make them ill-suited for the problems of the future while Asians have styles that make them better suited?”

“Asians place emphasis on context while Westerners place more emphasis on individuals. This seems like a gross generalization but it is robustly supported by hundreds and hundreds of studies.”

“Basically, I’m saying that two groups I’m a member of — Westernized men — may have been well adapted to the agricultural and industrial societies, but our thinking styles are not well adapted to the networked age of social information flows. I’m not just saying the West is doomed. I think Western men, like me, are doomed unless we change and adapt quickly!”

The individualistic approach that is deeply ingrained in Western individuals’ minds is not the norm in Asia, although culture is gradually changing, so learning and recognizing situations where different approaches are popular interesting. Western men may not be doomed, but cultural awareness is a solution to the adaptability that global business demands today.

Click here to read the conversation. How would you react to these ideas?

RW-3.com