As we all know, India is generating computer scientists and engineers in huge numbers. Without question, India is already a technology powerhouse. Just look around the city and you’ll see that any player of consequence has facilities here or nearby. Many of these companies spend time on training and cultural integration because India’s education system, while turning out terrific engineers and computer programmers, stills leaves them with a cultural gap that presents a challenge to Western managers. And, nowhere is this more pronounced than in the way hierarchy manifests itself in the workplace.

This isn’t surprising because Indians are raised to have profound respect for parents, teachers and authority in general. When we teach culture, we often talk about the impact of religion and cultural heroes on cultural values of a country. There’s an illuminating Hindu tale about two brothers—Lord Ganesha and Lord Subramanya (Kartikya) who went to Lord Shiva to settle a dispute. The elder, wise lord gave them each a vessel filled with oil and asked them to travel around the universe without spilling a drop and that would settle the argument. Kartikya set about on his journey around the world and proudly returned showing how he had, indeed, not spilled a drop of oil. His brother, Ganesha, took the vessel and carefully walked around his parents and said, “My parents are the entire universe.”

Lord Ganesha

This devout honoring of parents transfers to teachers, leaders and the overall hierarchical structure of business. Of course, the Indian business leaders we work with realize that egalitarianism and being able to question business leaders is an important part of the business scene, and in general, they master the ability to function in an egalitarian environment. However, the deeply seated cultural values imbued in childhood are still present.

We saw this in an interesting way. While in Bangalore, we met with several clients. One of them described different brainstorming sessions, telling us an Indian leader will come to a brainstorming meeting with PowerPoint slides and charts because the leader is expected to have an underlying wisdom and expertise, so it would be inappropriate for him to walk in and “shoot from the hip.” While he will ask his subordinates for their ideas, he comes prepared with well thought-out concepts himself.

Charlene