Sometime we wonder why we are the way we are? We are all too different, complex, and unique. There is no way to always predict how one person may turn out? Life could have been very simple otherwise, isn’t it? What we can be sure of is the following:
• Living in a family is a unique and distinctive experience.
• A person’s family exerts more influence on him or her than any other organization, institution, or experience.
Does it matter, whether you are firstborn or lastborn; only child or twin? Until I saw a video last week, I was firm believer that nature, family, culture, and education play an imperative role in defining individual’s demeanor. This video instigated me to do some research on this captivating topic. It was enlightening to see that Birth Order is equally important. I could able to connect the dots, and relate this to my own life and things around me. Birth order not only helps to understand the traits of your own children, friends, but also in some cases can help in planning your family, life partner, and career.
Birth order is defined as your rank in your sibling constellation: firstborn, middleborn, lastborn, only child, or twin. No matter what spot we occupy in the family, there are many forces that can intervene and turn things around for us. Age gap between siblings also plays a major role and typically, more than 5 years of age gap between two siblings fades out the effect.
This blog attempts to consolidate few key traits and the facts of Birth order.
Firstborns, by nature, are perfectionist, reliable, list-maker, well-organized, critical, serious, scholarly, achiever, self-sacrificing, people-pleaser, conservative, supporter of law and order, believer in authority and ritual, legalistic, loyal, and self-reliant. They are generally forced to follow in father’s or mother’s footsteps. They assume more responsibility for their age. For their future partner, following general rules can be applicable mostly:
• Older sister of sisters – Try to match up with younger brother or male only child.
• Older sister of brothers - Try to match up with younger brother of sisters.
• Older brother – Try to match up with younger sister
• When two firstborn date, they usually experience rank conflict.
Following are the facts germane to firstborns:
• According to CareerBuilder.com survey, earn six figure incomes and hold senior management level positions. They work in Jobs related to government, engineering, pharmacy and science.
• According to Ohio State University researchers, they pursue career in "intellectual" jobs.
• More than 1/2 of the U.S. Presidents were first born children.
• 21 of the 23 first astronauts were first born children.
• 2/3 of entrepreneurs are first born children.
• A few know examples of first born celebrities are: Oprah, Hillary and Bill Clinton, Winston Churchill.
Middleborns, by nature, are Mediator, have fewer pictures in the family photo album, avoid conflicts, independent, extreme loyal to their peer group, have many friends, close to friends than family. They feel "squeezed" if third child is born. They act as if in race, trying to catch up or overtake first child. If first child is "good," second may become "bad." The middleborns may develop abilities first child doesn't exhibit. If first child is successful, middle born may feel uncertain of self abilities. Their future partner depends on the gender of their older and younger siblings and to a lesser extent on the age gap between his or her and them. For example, Britney Spears has a brother who is 4 years older to her, and a sister who is 10 yrs younger to her. As mentioned above, more than 5 years of age gap can be relaxed. Considering that, the ideal match for Britney would be a guy with sisters. Kevin Federline, her ex husband, has two brothers. Her marriage failed after 2 years. From the example, it is clear that a better match for middleborn could be a guy who has sister(s).
Following are the facts germane to middleborns:
• According to Careerbuilder.com survey, earn a decent salary but somewhat lesser than firstborne children. They like to work in professional and technical staff level positions and mostly satisfied with their jobs. They work in jobs related to nursing, law enforcement, firefighting and machine operation.
• They have excellent negotiating and people skills.
• A few know examples of middle born celebrities are: David Letterman, Richard Nixon, Madonna, Princess Diana, Britney Spears, Donald Trump, Ted Kennedy, and Julia Robert.
Lastborns, by nature, are manipulative, charming, blame others, ostentatious, people person, good salesperson, precocious. Besides being charming, outgoing, affectionate, and uncomplicated, they can also be defiant, critical, temperamental, spoiled, impatient, and impetuous—the “dark side” of the last-born. Last-borns carry the curse of not being taken seriously, first by their families and then by the world. They tend to go against the norm. They make the biggest stirs in life. They know no boundaries. The best match for a lastborn boy would be a firstborn girl as firstborn can provide more direction, guidance to the lastborn who always assume to have a childish attitude.
Following are the facts germane to lastborns:
• According to Careerbuilder.com survey, least likely to report six figures earnings. They like to work in art, design, sales and information technology and mostly in administrative and clerical level positions and least satisfied with their jobs.
• According to OSU survey, they are inclined towards artistic and outdoor jobs.
• They are also successful in journalism, advertising, sales and athletics.
• A few know examples of middle born celebrities are: Howard Stern, Bill Gates,
Only Children, by nature, are tantamount to firstborn children. They are achievement-oriented, successful in school, have problems in delegating work, hate denunciation and tend to be perfectionists. The best match for only male child would be an older sister of sisters or an older sister of brothers. The best match for only female child would be an older brother of sisters. Mother of an only child also plays a role in deciding the match. If mother of an only child is first born, then best match would be lastborn guy.
Following are the facts germane to only children:
• A few know examples of middle born celebrities are: Nancy Reagan, Chelsea Clinton.
Twins of same sex, by nature, are mostly competitor whereas opposite sex are mostly companion. They tend to have different personalities and interests, but are closer to each other than other siblings and tend to have less conflict with each other than other siblings.
Following are the facts germane to twins:
• A few know examples of middle born celebrities are: Jenna and Barbara Bush.
Not only the birth order but also the spacing, the sex (Female helps mother and male helps father) and the physical makeup (look, body, and disability) matter. The functional birth order matters than the biological birth order.
In summary, one cannot ignore the birth order. Birth order can play a tie breaker role in many places as described in this blog. Birth order can be used to decide a life partner. One can look at the biography of known people and their birth order. Learn from the mistakes they have done. Refer to Britney’s example above.
References:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/worklife/10/22/cb.birth.order.career/index.html
http://www.childdevelopmentinfo.com/development/birth_order.htm
http://www.birthorderandpersonality.com/index.html
http://www.umext.maine.edu/onlinepubs/htmpubs/4359.htm
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Understanding Cultural Differences - Part II
Understanding of culture differences is incomplete without understanding the Hofstede’s five cultural dimensions, particularly for people who work in international business. This blog attempts to summarize those five cultural dimensions in context of eastern and western part of the world, focusing primarily on countries such as China, India, Japan, Canada, USA, Germany and France.
Let’s talk about leadership styles in brief before we discuss about cultural dimensions.
The most basic leadership styles are:
a) Autocratic (dictatorship) – I want you to …
b) Democratic (Consultive/participative) – Let’s work together to solve this …
c) Laissez-faire (Hands-off or consensus) – You take care of the problem while I go …
d) Bureaucratic – I want you to follow x, y, z while solving this problem …
Following sections uses leadership styles while describing the cultural dimension.
Dimension 1 - Power Distance Index (PDI)
This dimension measures how much the less powerful members of institutions and organizations expect and accept that power is distributed unequally. In culture with low PDI, people relate to one another more as equals regardless of formal positions. The leadership style is inclined towards democratic. Whereas in culture with high PDI, people with low power accept the fact and follow the orders blindly of their superiors. The leadership style is inclined towards autocratic. The Austria has the lowest PDI whereas the Malaysia has the highest PDI as described below.
• Austria – 11 (Lowest) – Less power difference between rich (have) and poor (have not)
• Germany – 35
• UK - 35
• Canada – 40
• USA – 45
• Japan - 55
• Pakistan – 57
• France – 69
• India – 78
• China – 80
• Middle East countries such as UAE, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Iraq, Egypt – Approx 80
• Malaysia – 104 (Highest) – More power difference between rich (have ) and poor (have not)
Dimension 2 – Individualism/Collectivism (IDV)
This dimension measures how much people are individualistic as oppose to collectivist. The individualists are more self-centered whereas collectivists are more focused on their family, extended family including people at work. The Guatemala has the lowest IDV whereas the USA has the highest IDV as described below.
• Guatemala – 6 (Lowest) – More collectivists, less individualists
• Pakistan – 14
• China – 20
• Malaysia – 26
• Middle East countries – Approx 38
• Japan – 46
• India – 48
• Germany – 67
• France – 71
• UK - 89
• USA – 91 (Highest) – More individualists, less collectivists
Dimension 3 – Masculinity/Femininity (MAS)
This dimension measures the distribution of roles between male and female. In the “masculine” culture, the differences between gender roles are more dramatic and less fluid than in “feminine” culture. The Sweden has the lowest MAS whereas the Japan has the highest MAS as described below.
• Sweden – 5 (Lowest) – Less masculine, more feminine
• France – 43
• Pakistan – 50
• Middle East countries – Approx 52
• India – 56
• USA – 62
• UK – 66
• Germany – 66
• China – 66
• Japan – 95 (Highest) – More masculine, less feminine
Dimension 4 – Uncertainty Avoidance (UAI)
This dimension measures how much members of a society attempt to cope with anxiety by minimizing/avoiding uncertainty. In cultures with high UAI, people prefer explicit rules and formally structured activities, and employees tend to remain longer with their present employer. In cultures with low UAI, people prefer implicit or flexible rules or guidelines and informal activities. Employees tend to change employers more frequently. The Singapore has the lowest UAI whereas the Greece has the highest UAI as described below.
• Singapore – 8 (Lowest) – People prefer implicit/flexible rules
• UK – 35
• India – 40
• China – 40
• USA - 46
• Middle East countries – Approx 52
• Germany - 65
• Pakistan - 70
• France - 86
• Japan - 92
• Greece - 112 (Highest) – People prefer strict rules
Dimension 5 – Long-Term Orientation (LTO)
This dimension measures society’s importance to the future v/s the past and present. In cultures with high LTO, people value actions and attitudes that affect the future, whereas in cultures with low LTO, people value actions and attitudes that are affected by the past or the present. The Ghana has the lowest LTO whereas the China has the highest LTO as described below.
• Ghana – 16 (Lowest) – People give importance to past and present
• UK – 25
• US – 29
• Germany – 31
• India – 61
• Japan – 80
• China – 118 (Highest) – People give importance to future
References:
http://www.clearlycultural.com/geert-hofstede-cultural-dimensions/power-distance-index/
Let’s talk about leadership styles in brief before we discuss about cultural dimensions.
The most basic leadership styles are:
a) Autocratic (dictatorship) – I want you to …
b) Democratic (Consultive/participative) – Let’s work together to solve this …
c) Laissez-faire (Hands-off or consensus) – You take care of the problem while I go …
d) Bureaucratic – I want you to follow x, y, z while solving this problem …
Following sections uses leadership styles while describing the cultural dimension.
Dimension 1 - Power Distance Index (PDI)
This dimension measures how much the less powerful members of institutions and organizations expect and accept that power is distributed unequally. In culture with low PDI, people relate to one another more as equals regardless of formal positions. The leadership style is inclined towards democratic. Whereas in culture with high PDI, people with low power accept the fact and follow the orders blindly of their superiors. The leadership style is inclined towards autocratic. The Austria has the lowest PDI whereas the Malaysia has the highest PDI as described below.
• Austria – 11 (Lowest) – Less power difference between rich (have) and poor (have not)
• Germany – 35
• UK - 35
• Canada – 40
• USA – 45
• Japan - 55
• Pakistan – 57
• France – 69
• India – 78
• China – 80
• Middle East countries such as UAE, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Iraq, Egypt – Approx 80
• Malaysia – 104 (Highest) – More power difference between rich (have ) and poor (have not)
Dimension 2 – Individualism/Collectivism (IDV)
This dimension measures how much people are individualistic as oppose to collectivist. The individualists are more self-centered whereas collectivists are more focused on their family, extended family including people at work. The Guatemala has the lowest IDV whereas the USA has the highest IDV as described below.
• Guatemala – 6 (Lowest) – More collectivists, less individualists
• Pakistan – 14
• China – 20
• Malaysia – 26
• Middle East countries – Approx 38
• Japan – 46
• India – 48
• Germany – 67
• France – 71
• UK - 89
• USA – 91 (Highest) – More individualists, less collectivists
Dimension 3 – Masculinity/Femininity (MAS)
This dimension measures the distribution of roles between male and female. In the “masculine” culture, the differences between gender roles are more dramatic and less fluid than in “feminine” culture. The Sweden has the lowest MAS whereas the Japan has the highest MAS as described below.
• Sweden – 5 (Lowest) – Less masculine, more feminine
• France – 43
• Pakistan – 50
• Middle East countries – Approx 52
• India – 56
• USA – 62
• UK – 66
• Germany – 66
• China – 66
• Japan – 95 (Highest) – More masculine, less feminine
Dimension 4 – Uncertainty Avoidance (UAI)
This dimension measures how much members of a society attempt to cope with anxiety by minimizing/avoiding uncertainty. In cultures with high UAI, people prefer explicit rules and formally structured activities, and employees tend to remain longer with their present employer. In cultures with low UAI, people prefer implicit or flexible rules or guidelines and informal activities. Employees tend to change employers more frequently. The Singapore has the lowest UAI whereas the Greece has the highest UAI as described below.
• Singapore – 8 (Lowest) – People prefer implicit/flexible rules
• UK – 35
• India – 40
• China – 40
• USA - 46
• Middle East countries – Approx 52
• Germany - 65
• Pakistan - 70
• France - 86
• Japan - 92
• Greece - 112 (Highest) – People prefer strict rules
Dimension 5 – Long-Term Orientation (LTO)
This dimension measures society’s importance to the future v/s the past and present. In cultures with high LTO, people value actions and attitudes that affect the future, whereas in cultures with low LTO, people value actions and attitudes that are affected by the past or the present. The Ghana has the lowest LTO whereas the China has the highest LTO as described below.
• Ghana – 16 (Lowest) – People give importance to past and present
• UK – 25
• US – 29
• Germany – 31
• India – 61
• Japan – 80
• China – 118 (Highest) – People give importance to future
References:
http://www.clearlycultural.com/geert-hofstede-cultural-dimensions/power-distance-index/
Monday, October 5, 2009
Understanding Cultural Differences - Part I
As promised, here I am with blog on culture. Do you know what a culture is? Looks simple – isn’t it, but after reading this you will be amazed how convoluted this topic is? Culture is an understanding of acceptable actions and beliefs. We may not be aware this until we come across people who think differently, do things differently and sometime we may not feel comfortable and that is what we call culture shock. Culture varies obviously from country to country, coast to coast, continent to continent. Some of us are originally from one culture but live-in a different culture and hence, it is important to be aware of the cultural differences and peculiarities. This article tries to cover culture differences between East and West, focusing primarily on countries such as China, India, Japan, Canada, USA, Germany and France. This article helps people to be aware with culture differences, and respect the cultural differences.
Cultures can be categorized as High-context or Low-context. In high-context culture, more emphasis is on context and very little is explicitly spelled out in a document or in an agreement. The oral agreements are more binding than written. People are treated differently according to their social position, their seniority, and their age; relationship of one individual to another has more weight in communication than anything else. The communication is more indirect, polite but ambiguous. Chinese, Japanese, Korean, French and to some extent Indian cultures are of high-context. In contrast, low-context culture has little emphasis on context and more on explicit written statements in a document, or an agreement. The written agreements have more bindings than oral. The communication is more direct, confronting but clear. Canadian, American, German, and Australian cultures are of low-context. When dealing with different people from high- and low-context cultures you always have to be aware of your interlocutor's cultural origin. This helps to avoid misunderstandings and creates a better basis for further discussions. For example, the Indian-speakers often greet each other by saying, “Have you had dinner?”, “Where are you going?”, and so on. But in the low-context culture, people generally say, “Good morning (afternoon, evening)!” or “Hello!, Hi!”, “How is it going”, or “How are you”. If you say “Have you had dinner？” to a low-context culture person, he or she may think that you want to invite him or her for a dinner. Person of low-context may not like questions such as “Where are you going” and consider this as attack on privacy. But in the high-context cultures, these are appropriate greetings which do not invade the other person's privacy. Understanding the context helps in communication with people from other cultures. People of low-context typically talk about weather, traffic, sports, health, matches, and hobbies and so on when they meet unlike to people of high-context who typically talk about personal life, marriage, job, business etc.
Another dimension to culture is Specific v/s Diffuse. The specific culture has a very high degree of privacy than the diffuse culture. People from diffuse culture do not feel comfortable in sharing private information in public. These people need to have some personal relationship before they are open to share information. It is sometimes as important if not more important to built up a close relationship with such people than the business deal itself. Chinese culture falls into diffuse category. In contrast, American normally goes straight to the point and if opponent still shows interest then they start looking towards closing the business deal. In diffuse culture, if a person is not able to perform a certain task, then supervisor tries to motivate the employee or move him to some different task to show him ways out of his or her bad performance. In contrast, specific culture believes in “hire and fire” tenet. Indian culture is on the fence between specific and diffuse but more towards specific. German and French cultures fall into diffuse category.
Another angle to the culture difference is the Space that people maintain whether it is personal space while talking or the location of the office space. It has been observed that Americans, Germans, Chinese and Indians maintain certain personal space while talking whereas French are not very particular about space. The size and location of offices are also both considered as very important because they express some kind of status and power. Unlike a corner, closed door office in USA, India, Germany and China, the executives of a company in France prefer to be placed in the middle of the building – communicating that “everything” has to be centralized. The central position is a key position in France. Japanese homes have much smaller rooms than most US homes. The Japanese use less furniture and place them towards the middle of the room.
The discussion on culture cannot be considered complete if Time is not discussed. In Germany, USA and China, Time is considered as resource and any delay should be apologized. Whereas most of the time, Indians are known for Indian standard time . Sometime host considers themselves in an embarrassing situation when guests reach to the function while host is getting ready for the party. In France, punctuality depends on the importance of the person.
Cultures can be differentiated based on Universalism and Particularism. Universalistic culture focuses more or rules and regulations than on relationships. Strong universalist cultures use the court to mediate conflicts. Therefore Americans have many more lawyers per citizen than any other country. The more universal a country is the greater is the need to protect the truth. In universalist culture, employees compete hard for better job positions and to climb up in the hierarchy and earn more money. They do this without caring for colleagues and the relationship with them. American, German and Australian culture is more towards universalism. In contrast, particularistic culture focuses more on heart and relationships than legal contract which is just meant to be a starting point. Particularly, Chinese try to keep the contracts vague and not too tied down. It might happen that Chinese business people will still try to negotiate afterwards even the contract was already signed/closed and agreed from all sides. In negotiations Chinese will spend a lot of time in building up a relationship with their business partners so the actual negotiation will be at the end of the meeting time. For example, while Americans deal with Chinese; Americans often try to close deals as fast as possible. But as a result of the Chinese way to make deals, the Americans might commit more advantages than first thought just to rush forward and close a deal. This can be an advantage for particularistic cultures. Indian culture somewhere falls between universalistic and particularistic but more towards particularistic. French culture is more towards particularistic whereas Japanese culture is more towards universalistic.
People of different cultures have different emotions. Based on emotions, culture can be divided into two categories, i.e. Affective and Neutral. In affective cultures like in China people express their emotions more naturally, often smile a great deal, talk loudly when excited, and greet each other with enthusiasm, whereas in neutral cultures like in Japan people hold back their emotions. When individuals from affective cultures do business in neutral cultures, they should realize that lack of emotion does not mean disinterest or boredom, but rather that people from neutral cultures do not like to show their hand. Conversely, when those from neutral cultures do business in affective cultures, they should not be put off when the other side grows animated, and they should try to respond to the affections of the other group. China believes in Affective culture whereas Japan believes in Neutral culture. Countries such as USA, Germany, Australia, France and India are between Neutral and Affective culture.
Cultures can also be categorized based on individuals’ status in society/business. The status can be either because of Achievement or Ascription. Countries such as USA, Germany encourage Achievement based status where a person is recognized based on his or her individual achievements, skills, knowledge and talent. In contrast, countries like China, Korea, and Russia encourage Ascription based status where a person is recognized based on his or her seniority, family background and qualifications. India seems to maintain hybrid status.
Some cultures live in harmony with Nature and rest tries to take advantage of natural resources. Countries such as USA, China, Germany (to some extent) protect the natural resources whereas countries such as France exploit the natural resources. In my opinion, people in India are aware with the importance of nature but still it is a dream so far.
Some cultures treat Genders differently. For example, In USA and France, women are treated equally well to their male counterpart; however, in China and to some extent in India and Germany, women’s are mainly responsible for caring for family and house. However, the situation in eastern countries is rapidly changing.
Another important aspect of culture difference is Body Language. This includes eye contacts, gestures, touch etc. In western countries such as USA, Canada, eye contact is a sign of honesty, but in other cultures the lower-ranking person is expected to look down first. For example, in Japanese culture, people are taught to look at the neck, in India prolonged eye contact is considered rude. In Muslim countries, men and women are not supposed to have eye contacts. This difference can lead to miscommunication in the multicultural work-place. Superiors may feel that subordinates are being disrespectful when the subordinate is being fully respectful – according to the norms of his or her culture. Gesture can also vary culture to culture. For example, the “Thumbs up” sign that means “good work” or “go ahead” in the USA is vulgar insult in Greece. The circle formed with thumb and first finger that means OK in the USA is obscene in India, France and many other countries. Similarly, in some cultures people nod their head up and down to say “yes” and left and right to say “no”. Also, Muslim cultures consider showing the sole of foot is an insult. People in west interpret touch as power: More powerful people touch less powerful people. Cultures such as USA allow opposite-sex couples to hold hands or walk arm-in-arm in public but scowl on the same behavior in same-sex couples. Whereas, people in India, China and other eastern and middle east countries have the opposite expectation. In Iran, even handshake between men and women are seen as improper.
Oral communication also plays a significant role in communicating across multiple-cultures. I found that people in USA expect you to wait for a pause or for your turn before you speak. Interruption is considered rude. Also, some cultures prefer direct requests but rest prefer indirect requests. For example, can you finish this task by Monday (Indirect request) or I want this task to be finish by Monday (Direct request). Some cultures understate the situation whereas other cultures overstate the situation. Americans are known for overstatement; for example, American may say “I know it’s impossible, but can we do it?”, but on the other side, a German or an Indian may find it conflicting: By definition, something that is impossible cannot be done at all. In this example, the American has just used “impossible” to say “difficult” and assumed that with enough resources and commitment, the job could in fact be done. On the other side, some cultures like Indian, British have a reputation for understatement. For example, someone who has received the award may say, “No big deal.” Culture also varies in terms of how they respond to compliments. For example, in Japanese or an Indian culture, the compliment “good job” can be responded by “Thank you, I just tried.” However, an American would probably say “Thank you.” In some cultures such as Indian, women in business may usually feel uncomfortable if male colleagues or superiors compliment them on their appearance, but it is perfectly fine on other cultures such as American. Silence also has different meanings in different cultures. Japanese use silence for thinking whereas Americans may think that Japanese did not like the Americans’ idea. Americans’ are less tolerable to silence and feel restless if silence is not broken quickly. Different understandings of silence can prolong problems. For example, during a period of military tension, Greek air traffic controllers responded with silence when Egyptian planes requested permission to land. The Greeks intended silence as a refusal; the Egyptians interpreted silence as consent. Several people were killed when the Greeks fired on the planes as they approached the runway.
Signal Directions can also be different in different cultures. For example, in some culture people write right to left, bottom to top, people drive on left side of the road, electric switch becomes on when at bottom position etc. Toilet system in Europe is much different than in USA. The heating and cooling in Europe is much different than in USA.
The other cultural difference would be Eating Habits. I have seen in USA, everyone has their own plate of food, but in India and China the dishes are placed on the table and everybody shares. In offices in USA, people typically bring lunch, Tea-coffee at their desk and enjoy individually whereas in India, people enjoy such things in a group at a common place.
I will continue with some more differences in my next blog. Stay tuned and happy reading.
Reference: http://www.via-web.de/home.html, Business Communication by Locker
Cultures can be categorized as High-context or Low-context. In high-context culture, more emphasis is on context and very little is explicitly spelled out in a document or in an agreement. The oral agreements are more binding than written. People are treated differently according to their social position, their seniority, and their age; relationship of one individual to another has more weight in communication than anything else. The communication is more indirect, polite but ambiguous. Chinese, Japanese, Korean, French and to some extent Indian cultures are of high-context. In contrast, low-context culture has little emphasis on context and more on explicit written statements in a document, or an agreement. The written agreements have more bindings than oral. The communication is more direct, confronting but clear. Canadian, American, German, and Australian cultures are of low-context. When dealing with different people from high- and low-context cultures you always have to be aware of your interlocutor's cultural origin. This helps to avoid misunderstandings and creates a better basis for further discussions. For example, the Indian-speakers often greet each other by saying, “Have you had dinner?”, “Where are you going?”, and so on. But in the low-context culture, people generally say, “Good morning (afternoon, evening)!” or “Hello!, Hi!”, “How is it going”, or “How are you”. If you say “Have you had dinner？” to a low-context culture person, he or she may think that you want to invite him or her for a dinner. Person of low-context may not like questions such as “Where are you going” and consider this as attack on privacy. But in the high-context cultures, these are appropriate greetings which do not invade the other person's privacy. Understanding the context helps in communication with people from other cultures. People of low-context typically talk about weather, traffic, sports, health, matches, and hobbies and so on when they meet unlike to people of high-context who typically talk about personal life, marriage, job, business etc.
Another dimension to culture is Specific v/s Diffuse. The specific culture has a very high degree of privacy than the diffuse culture. People from diffuse culture do not feel comfortable in sharing private information in public. These people need to have some personal relationship before they are open to share information. It is sometimes as important if not more important to built up a close relationship with such people than the business deal itself. Chinese culture falls into diffuse category. In contrast, American normally goes straight to the point and if opponent still shows interest then they start looking towards closing the business deal. In diffuse culture, if a person is not able to perform a certain task, then supervisor tries to motivate the employee or move him to some different task to show him ways out of his or her bad performance. In contrast, specific culture believes in “hire and fire” tenet. Indian culture is on the fence between specific and diffuse but more towards specific. German and French cultures fall into diffuse category.
Another angle to the culture difference is the Space that people maintain whether it is personal space while talking or the location of the office space. It has been observed that Americans, Germans, Chinese and Indians maintain certain personal space while talking whereas French are not very particular about space. The size and location of offices are also both considered as very important because they express some kind of status and power. Unlike a corner, closed door office in USA, India, Germany and China, the executives of a company in France prefer to be placed in the middle of the building – communicating that “everything” has to be centralized. The central position is a key position in France. Japanese homes have much smaller rooms than most US homes. The Japanese use less furniture and place them towards the middle of the room.
The discussion on culture cannot be considered complete if Time is not discussed. In Germany, USA and China, Time is considered as resource and any delay should be apologized. Whereas most of the time, Indians are known for Indian standard time . Sometime host considers themselves in an embarrassing situation when guests reach to the function while host is getting ready for the party. In France, punctuality depends on the importance of the person.
Cultures can be differentiated based on Universalism and Particularism. Universalistic culture focuses more or rules and regulations than on relationships. Strong universalist cultures use the court to mediate conflicts. Therefore Americans have many more lawyers per citizen than any other country. The more universal a country is the greater is the need to protect the truth. In universalist culture, employees compete hard for better job positions and to climb up in the hierarchy and earn more money. They do this without caring for colleagues and the relationship with them. American, German and Australian culture is more towards universalism. In contrast, particularistic culture focuses more on heart and relationships than legal contract which is just meant to be a starting point. Particularly, Chinese try to keep the contracts vague and not too tied down. It might happen that Chinese business people will still try to negotiate afterwards even the contract was already signed/closed and agreed from all sides. In negotiations Chinese will spend a lot of time in building up a relationship with their business partners so the actual negotiation will be at the end of the meeting time. For example, while Americans deal with Chinese; Americans often try to close deals as fast as possible. But as a result of the Chinese way to make deals, the Americans might commit more advantages than first thought just to rush forward and close a deal. This can be an advantage for particularistic cultures. Indian culture somewhere falls between universalistic and particularistic but more towards particularistic. French culture is more towards particularistic whereas Japanese culture is more towards universalistic.
People of different cultures have different emotions. Based on emotions, culture can be divided into two categories, i.e. Affective and Neutral. In affective cultures like in China people express their emotions more naturally, often smile a great deal, talk loudly when excited, and greet each other with enthusiasm, whereas in neutral cultures like in Japan people hold back their emotions. When individuals from affective cultures do business in neutral cultures, they should realize that lack of emotion does not mean disinterest or boredom, but rather that people from neutral cultures do not like to show their hand. Conversely, when those from neutral cultures do business in affective cultures, they should not be put off when the other side grows animated, and they should try to respond to the affections of the other group. China believes in Affective culture whereas Japan believes in Neutral culture. Countries such as USA, Germany, Australia, France and India are between Neutral and Affective culture.
Cultures can also be categorized based on individuals’ status in society/business. The status can be either because of Achievement or Ascription. Countries such as USA, Germany encourage Achievement based status where a person is recognized based on his or her individual achievements, skills, knowledge and talent. In contrast, countries like China, Korea, and Russia encourage Ascription based status where a person is recognized based on his or her seniority, family background and qualifications. India seems to maintain hybrid status.
Some cultures live in harmony with Nature and rest tries to take advantage of natural resources. Countries such as USA, China, Germany (to some extent) protect the natural resources whereas countries such as France exploit the natural resources. In my opinion, people in India are aware with the importance of nature but still it is a dream so far.
Some cultures treat Genders differently. For example, In USA and France, women are treated equally well to their male counterpart; however, in China and to some extent in India and Germany, women’s are mainly responsible for caring for family and house. However, the situation in eastern countries is rapidly changing.
Another important aspect of culture difference is Body Language. This includes eye contacts, gestures, touch etc. In western countries such as USA, Canada, eye contact is a sign of honesty, but in other cultures the lower-ranking person is expected to look down first. For example, in Japanese culture, people are taught to look at the neck, in India prolonged eye contact is considered rude. In Muslim countries, men and women are not supposed to have eye contacts. This difference can lead to miscommunication in the multicultural work-place. Superiors may feel that subordinates are being disrespectful when the subordinate is being fully respectful – according to the norms of his or her culture. Gesture can also vary culture to culture. For example, the “Thumbs up” sign that means “good work” or “go ahead” in the USA is vulgar insult in Greece. The circle formed with thumb and first finger that means OK in the USA is obscene in India, France and many other countries. Similarly, in some cultures people nod their head up and down to say “yes” and left and right to say “no”. Also, Muslim cultures consider showing the sole of foot is an insult. People in west interpret touch as power: More powerful people touch less powerful people. Cultures such as USA allow opposite-sex couples to hold hands or walk arm-in-arm in public but scowl on the same behavior in same-sex couples. Whereas, people in India, China and other eastern and middle east countries have the opposite expectation. In Iran, even handshake between men and women are seen as improper.
Oral communication also plays a significant role in communicating across multiple-cultures. I found that people in USA expect you to wait for a pause or for your turn before you speak. Interruption is considered rude. Also, some cultures prefer direct requests but rest prefer indirect requests. For example, can you finish this task by Monday (Indirect request) or I want this task to be finish by Monday (Direct request). Some cultures understate the situation whereas other cultures overstate the situation. Americans are known for overstatement; for example, American may say “I know it’s impossible, but can we do it?”, but on the other side, a German or an Indian may find it conflicting: By definition, something that is impossible cannot be done at all. In this example, the American has just used “impossible” to say “difficult” and assumed that with enough resources and commitment, the job could in fact be done. On the other side, some cultures like Indian, British have a reputation for understatement. For example, someone who has received the award may say, “No big deal.” Culture also varies in terms of how they respond to compliments. For example, in Japanese or an Indian culture, the compliment “good job” can be responded by “Thank you, I just tried.” However, an American would probably say “Thank you.” In some cultures such as Indian, women in business may usually feel uncomfortable if male colleagues or superiors compliment them on their appearance, but it is perfectly fine on other cultures such as American. Silence also has different meanings in different cultures. Japanese use silence for thinking whereas Americans may think that Japanese did not like the Americans’ idea. Americans’ are less tolerable to silence and feel restless if silence is not broken quickly. Different understandings of silence can prolong problems. For example, during a period of military tension, Greek air traffic controllers responded with silence when Egyptian planes requested permission to land. The Greeks intended silence as a refusal; the Egyptians interpreted silence as consent. Several people were killed when the Greeks fired on the planes as they approached the runway.
Signal Directions can also be different in different cultures. For example, in some culture people write right to left, bottom to top, people drive on left side of the road, electric switch becomes on when at bottom position etc. Toilet system in Europe is much different than in USA. The heating and cooling in Europe is much different than in USA.
The other cultural difference would be Eating Habits. I have seen in USA, everyone has their own plate of food, but in India and China the dishes are placed on the table and everybody shares. In offices in USA, people typically bring lunch, Tea-coffee at their desk and enjoy individually whereas in India, people enjoy such things in a group at a common place.
I will continue with some more differences in my next blog. Stay tuned and happy reading.
Reference: http://www.via-web.de/home.html, Business Communication by Locker
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Three Kinds of Discipline
You have gone through almost all the disciplines illustrated in this blog, yet you may not be aware that these disciplines can be categorized in few broad areas.
According to John Holt, the disciplines can be categorized in three broad areas. How many of you have learnt things hard way? I remember days when I rented a bicycle and went on to road. I fell down many times, in fact had injuries but a vigor and strive to learn kept me going. In other example, one day, I left my 1 year daughter on second floor at home and got busy in doing something. Few minutes later, oblivious to the fact that she has climbed down; I was looking for her on second floor and was astounded by finding her one level down. Since then I have seen her growing, climbing down the stairs on her tummy, then on her foot, and climbing up the stairs on her knees and legs and now by leaning on railing. This kind of discipline we call as the Discipline of Nature or of Reality. A child meets this kind of discipline every time he or she tries to do something. This discipline is very important in child’s growth. Parents should allow kids to take chances to do things, with caution, instead of just reading or listening to someone talk. This discipline is a vicarious teacher and the learner gets an instant answer. For example, if you do not hit the nail squarely on the head, it bends and you need to pull it out and start with another. You not only see what you have done wrong, but also realize why and what you need to do instead. Interestingly, you cannot blame anybody except the nature which is impersonal, impartial and indifferent. This discipline is the fact of life and remains unchanged culture to culture, country to country, rich to poor, and man to woman.
As time progresses, child crawls, figures out the obstacles in the path and how to overcome, stand on feet, walks, knowing where the obstacles are, and finally runs, knowing where to go and how to get there. The child slowly becomes part of society and learns the culture of the society in which he or she resides. This kind of discipline we call as the Discipline of Culture or of Society. Human being is a social, a cultural animal. Culture can't be defined specifically because it has different meaning for each individual. It is dependent on the circumstances in a society someone grows up. The definition of culture develops with the individual's experiences. This discipline varies obviously from country to country, rich to poor, man to woman. I plan to detail out culture in my next blog. Keep watching this space!
As time progresses, child grows up in a society, finish schooling, starts working for livelihood, gets married, becomes parent and cycle restarts but in a different role. Now he or she starts playing a parent role at home and a worker at the job. This discipline is the one most people mean when they speak of discipline – the Discipline of Superior Force. Parents cannot afford to allow small kids to play in a busy street, touch boiling hot water, or eat up the pills from the medicine cabinet. Parents teach kids to avoid doing such things otherwise punish them. The kid may not have any idea what it would be if hit by a car, but can sense what it would be if parents shout at them, or spank. We all know carrot and stick approach; A approach that gets followed many times at work where supervisor warns a subordinate to not to do certain things but then uses stick approach if warning is ignored. We ought to use this discipline only when it is necessary to protect the life, work environment, health, safety or well-being of people or other living creatures or to prevent destruction of things that people care about. The sooner the kid avoids the danger, not to escape our punishment, but as a matter of discretion, the better. In India, for example, I saw many children crossing the road oblivious to the fact that one race car can end their life. It is parents’ responsibility to guide kids and as a good citizen to watch out while driving on the road.
In summary, we can put disciplines in to three broad categories, i.e. Discipline of Nature, Discipline of Culture and Discipline of Force. We do not have much control over Discipline of Nature and Discipline of Culture but we have controller over Discipline of Force. We need to have cognitive judgment before applying this discipline.
According to John Holt, the disciplines can be categorized in three broad areas. How many of you have learnt things hard way? I remember days when I rented a bicycle and went on to road. I fell down many times, in fact had injuries but a vigor and strive to learn kept me going. In other example, one day, I left my 1 year daughter on second floor at home and got busy in doing something. Few minutes later, oblivious to the fact that she has climbed down; I was looking for her on second floor and was astounded by finding her one level down. Since then I have seen her growing, climbing down the stairs on her tummy, then on her foot, and climbing up the stairs on her knees and legs and now by leaning on railing. This kind of discipline we call as the Discipline of Nature or of Reality. A child meets this kind of discipline every time he or she tries to do something. This discipline is very important in child’s growth. Parents should allow kids to take chances to do things, with caution, instead of just reading or listening to someone talk. This discipline is a vicarious teacher and the learner gets an instant answer. For example, if you do not hit the nail squarely on the head, it bends and you need to pull it out and start with another. You not only see what you have done wrong, but also realize why and what you need to do instead. Interestingly, you cannot blame anybody except the nature which is impersonal, impartial and indifferent. This discipline is the fact of life and remains unchanged culture to culture, country to country, rich to poor, and man to woman.
As time progresses, child crawls, figures out the obstacles in the path and how to overcome, stand on feet, walks, knowing where the obstacles are, and finally runs, knowing where to go and how to get there. The child slowly becomes part of society and learns the culture of the society in which he or she resides. This kind of discipline we call as the Discipline of Culture or of Society. Human being is a social, a cultural animal. Culture can't be defined specifically because it has different meaning for each individual. It is dependent on the circumstances in a society someone grows up. The definition of culture develops with the individual's experiences. This discipline varies obviously from country to country, rich to poor, man to woman. I plan to detail out culture in my next blog. Keep watching this space!
As time progresses, child grows up in a society, finish schooling, starts working for livelihood, gets married, becomes parent and cycle restarts but in a different role. Now he or she starts playing a parent role at home and a worker at the job. This discipline is the one most people mean when they speak of discipline – the Discipline of Superior Force. Parents cannot afford to allow small kids to play in a busy street, touch boiling hot water, or eat up the pills from the medicine cabinet. Parents teach kids to avoid doing such things otherwise punish them. The kid may not have any idea what it would be if hit by a car, but can sense what it would be if parents shout at them, or spank. We all know carrot and stick approach; A approach that gets followed many times at work where supervisor warns a subordinate to not to do certain things but then uses stick approach if warning is ignored. We ought to use this discipline only when it is necessary to protect the life, work environment, health, safety or well-being of people or other living creatures or to prevent destruction of things that people care about. The sooner the kid avoids the danger, not to escape our punishment, but as a matter of discretion, the better. In India, for example, I saw many children crossing the road oblivious to the fact that one race car can end their life. It is parents’ responsibility to guide kids and as a good citizen to watch out while driving on the road.
In summary, we can put disciplines in to three broad categories, i.e. Discipline of Nature, Discipline of Culture and Discipline of Force. We do not have much control over Discipline of Nature and Discipline of Culture but we have controller over Discipline of Force. We need to have cognitive judgment before applying this discipline.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
You just need one opportunity
Recession can be so bad, particularly for fresh graduates from a Tier-2 or below business schools in India. I would like to share my experience and convey a message to people who become despondent and lose hope. There is always a light at the end of the tunnel.
My brother completed engineering in computer science program back in June 2006 from a private institute in Jaipur, India. At that time, we knew that in spite of conducive market condition, getting a job from a campus that is not well-known, was going to be an arduous task. My brother accepted this fact.
Towards the end of his engineering program he started exploring opportunities locally. He placed his resume on many job sites, contacted companies directly, and moved to Bangalore, but nothing seemed to be going his way. I was very inquisitive to find out what may be the problem, since he is such a sharp person, but maybe sharpness isn’t enough?,
For the next four months, he could not get job. He came back to Jaipur when he saw a job advertisement in a local newspaper for a software engineering position in a very small company of 10 people. He got through the interview and started working, but had management/business aspirations, and consequently started preparing for business school entrance examination while he was employed there.
He succeeded in the business school entrance examination, CAT, but his score was not competitive enough to get him into a Tier-1 business school in India. My father and I wanted him to continue his engineering job before thinking of joining business school; however, he and my mom were in favor of him getting into business school. It was clearly, a quagmire. Of course, I knew that the situation could only be exacerbated if we enforced our decision and as a result, we left the decision to my brother. Of course, he decided to pursue his MBA and enrolled in one of the business school in Jaipur for 2007-09 MBA program, starting in July 2007.
Time progressed, everything was going well, he was continuing with his MBA and then suddenly a recession started lingering in September 2008. During start of second year, July 2008, many companies planned to visit school throughout the year for the recruitment. Placement from the school seems to be 100% in past few years. However, this became a dream and as year progressed, job scenario started fading out. There were more rumors about companies visiting campus than actual visits. Still, a few companies visited campus in September-November 2008, but their job descriptions did not appeal to my brother. He continue to dream of an improved economy but from my viewpoint in the USA, I knew that things can only go south for at least the next 1.5-2 year, well past the completion of his MBA. As time progressed, companies started pulling out from the original plan and did not visit campus for recruitment. By January 2009, it was pretty clear that it will be a dream comes true if he gets his dream job from campus. Things went exactly like that. He came out of school without a job and that’s where his struggle started.
We had sporadic hot discussions where I advised him to pursue whatever opportunities he finds. He somehow got an offer, in August 2009, from India’s # 2 bank for a sales job, but he was more interested in a Finance/Accounting job. This time, we all pressed him to join but my brother, a zealot about his career, was still thinking about a utopia where everyone will get a dream job. He declined the offer and continued hunting during the time where financial institutes were collapsing, the economy was tanking, recession was widening, and people were losing jobs. But, it seems that something else was waiting for him.
On August 27, 2009, in the morning, he saw a job advertisement in a local newspaper. On that day, he was at my parents’ place, a town 55 miles from Jaipur. He generally sleeps late, gets up late, skims through the newspaper once in a while and continues his job hunting over the internet. On that day, he got up early, browsed the newspaper written in a non-English language, and found a job posting from India’s # 1 software company. He discussed this opportunity with my mom and told her that tomorrow he will call the number mentioned in the advertisement, but my mom advised him to call the number right away. He followed the advice, and called the company to discuss the position.. The next hour, there was a scheduled train from my parents’ location to the interview location, 45 miles away. It seems that things were lining up for my brother. He picked up that train, visited the interview location, and had written test as well as three rounds of interview spread across two days. My parents, along with my brother, already had a plan, irrespective of this fortuitous interview, to visit a religious place (Khatu Shyam Temple) on August 29, 2009.
Unaware of the interview results, he visited a religious place as planned. The next day, he received a call about his selection for the job and a request to undergo training starting September 7, 2009 in Mysore, India. As of the time I am writing this blog, he is currently undergoing 4 weeks training. I wish him all the best for his future endeavors, and salute him for his temperament and exceptional finesse.
People who are looking for jobs need to think that they need only one opportunity. Don’t limit your options, think of the example of my brother who found a job advertisement for India’s #1 software company in a local non-English newspaper. Act fast, think out of the box, stay focused, don’t lose patience and leave the rest to time. One day and one opportunity can change your life. Think that there are jobs out there and you only need one.
My brother completed engineering in computer science program back in June 2006 from a private institute in Jaipur, India. At that time, we knew that in spite of conducive market condition, getting a job from a campus that is not well-known, was going to be an arduous task. My brother accepted this fact.
Towards the end of his engineering program he started exploring opportunities locally. He placed his resume on many job sites, contacted companies directly, and moved to Bangalore, but nothing seemed to be going his way. I was very inquisitive to find out what may be the problem, since he is such a sharp person, but maybe sharpness isn’t enough?,
For the next four months, he could not get job. He came back to Jaipur when he saw a job advertisement in a local newspaper for a software engineering position in a very small company of 10 people. He got through the interview and started working, but had management/business aspirations, and consequently started preparing for business school entrance examination while he was employed there.
He succeeded in the business school entrance examination, CAT, but his score was not competitive enough to get him into a Tier-1 business school in India. My father and I wanted him to continue his engineering job before thinking of joining business school; however, he and my mom were in favor of him getting into business school. It was clearly, a quagmire. Of course, I knew that the situation could only be exacerbated if we enforced our decision and as a result, we left the decision to my brother. Of course, he decided to pursue his MBA and enrolled in one of the business school in Jaipur for 2007-09 MBA program, starting in July 2007.
Time progressed, everything was going well, he was continuing with his MBA and then suddenly a recession started lingering in September 2008. During start of second year, July 2008, many companies planned to visit school throughout the year for the recruitment. Placement from the school seems to be 100% in past few years. However, this became a dream and as year progressed, job scenario started fading out. There were more rumors about companies visiting campus than actual visits. Still, a few companies visited campus in September-November 2008, but their job descriptions did not appeal to my brother. He continue to dream of an improved economy but from my viewpoint in the USA, I knew that things can only go south for at least the next 1.5-2 year, well past the completion of his MBA. As time progressed, companies started pulling out from the original plan and did not visit campus for recruitment. By January 2009, it was pretty clear that it will be a dream comes true if he gets his dream job from campus. Things went exactly like that. He came out of school without a job and that’s where his struggle started.
We had sporadic hot discussions where I advised him to pursue whatever opportunities he finds. He somehow got an offer, in August 2009, from India’s # 2 bank for a sales job, but he was more interested in a Finance/Accounting job. This time, we all pressed him to join but my brother, a zealot about his career, was still thinking about a utopia where everyone will get a dream job. He declined the offer and continued hunting during the time where financial institutes were collapsing, the economy was tanking, recession was widening, and people were losing jobs. But, it seems that something else was waiting for him.
On August 27, 2009, in the morning, he saw a job advertisement in a local newspaper. On that day, he was at my parents’ place, a town 55 miles from Jaipur. He generally sleeps late, gets up late, skims through the newspaper once in a while and continues his job hunting over the internet. On that day, he got up early, browsed the newspaper written in a non-English language, and found a job posting from India’s # 1 software company. He discussed this opportunity with my mom and told her that tomorrow he will call the number mentioned in the advertisement, but my mom advised him to call the number right away. He followed the advice, and called the company to discuss the position.. The next hour, there was a scheduled train from my parents’ location to the interview location, 45 miles away. It seems that things were lining up for my brother. He picked up that train, visited the interview location, and had written test as well as three rounds of interview spread across two days. My parents, along with my brother, already had a plan, irrespective of this fortuitous interview, to visit a religious place (Khatu Shyam Temple) on August 29, 2009.
Unaware of the interview results, he visited a religious place as planned. The next day, he received a call about his selection for the job and a request to undergo training starting September 7, 2009 in Mysore, India. As of the time I am writing this blog, he is currently undergoing 4 weeks training. I wish him all the best for his future endeavors, and salute him for his temperament and exceptional finesse.
People who are looking for jobs need to think that they need only one opportunity. Don’t limit your options, think of the example of my brother who found a job advertisement for India’s #1 software company in a local non-English newspaper. Act fast, think out of the box, stay focused, don’t lose patience and leave the rest to time. One day and one opportunity can change your life. Think that there are jobs out there and you only need one.
Watch out – You may be paying more
Watch out – You may be paying more
You probably just assume that the amount a grocery store item is priced is the amount you pay, right? Wrong.” I assumed the same until I discovered otherwise.
We are oblivious to the fact that the person at the cash register might not be doing the right thing, deliberately or inadvertently. However, my friends, this may be incorrect, keep a tab on your hard-earned money. A few months ago, I decided to take note on what I get charged item-by-item and was surprised to see incorrect charges appear from a local grocery store, on my receipt. Since then, I decided to keep an eye out and ensure that I am paying for what I am getting. The person at cash register always has some or other excuses, giving some or other unconvincing reasons. Keep a close eye; particularly when there is no description about items in your receipt, this is mostly the case when you buy groceries from small shops (deliberately avoiding specific names). Here are some sample instances from a local small shop that I remember:
• One item appeared twice as “Misc” in the receipt. This happened three times in past 3 months.
• The price of one item was charged differently than what was displayed. When detected, the cashier blamed the computer. This happened once since I started monitoring, 3 months ago.
• One item that I did not even buy made into my receipt. This happened twice in past 3 months.
• You also need to watch-out for an expired item.
Unfortunately, I had almost 50% error-rate from a particular store, in past 3 months.
Though such things are unusual in a branded store, can you 100% rule out the possibility? I happened to see inconsistencies between the computer price and the display price. Such inconsistencies are more frequent particularly when the item is on sale – Watch out.
My friends, it is your money. You can use this money for charity, for helping people who are in need. Do not fritter away your hard-earned money.
You probably just assume that the amount a grocery store item is priced is the amount you pay, right? Wrong.” I assumed the same until I discovered otherwise.
We are oblivious to the fact that the person at the cash register might not be doing the right thing, deliberately or inadvertently. However, my friends, this may be incorrect, keep a tab on your hard-earned money. A few months ago, I decided to take note on what I get charged item-by-item and was surprised to see incorrect charges appear from a local grocery store, on my receipt. Since then, I decided to keep an eye out and ensure that I am paying for what I am getting. The person at cash register always has some or other excuses, giving some or other unconvincing reasons. Keep a close eye; particularly when there is no description about items in your receipt, this is mostly the case when you buy groceries from small shops (deliberately avoiding specific names). Here are some sample instances from a local small shop that I remember:
• One item appeared twice as “Misc” in the receipt. This happened three times in past 3 months.
• The price of one item was charged differently than what was displayed. When detected, the cashier blamed the computer. This happened once since I started monitoring, 3 months ago.
• One item that I did not even buy made into my receipt. This happened twice in past 3 months.
• You also need to watch-out for an expired item.
Unfortunately, I had almost 50% error-rate from a particular store, in past 3 months.
Though such things are unusual in a branded store, can you 100% rule out the possibility? I happened to see inconsistencies between the computer price and the display price. Such inconsistencies are more frequent particularly when the item is on sale – Watch out.
My friends, it is your money. You can use this money for charity, for helping people who are in need. Do not fritter away your hard-earned money.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
LG Incite, Bestbuy and finally new iPhone
I got sick of having blackberry pearl since last 2 years, but was not having any alternate unless I buy an unlocked phone. I wanted to buy a smartphone and after visiting Bestbuy store and browsing through their phone buyer's guide, I decided to go for LG Incite as I did not want to spend 200$ for iPhone and on top of that $30 for the data plan mandated for iPhone, but wanted to have the iPhone like features.
I had the phone for 1 week, I don't know why but I was not really motivated to use this phone. Somehow, look and feel was not very attractive, user interface was not so exciting, screen was pathetic and it was looking like an old phone since day one. No wonder why everybody at home was not so excited by seeing this phone? Later I figured out that everybody wanted to play games on phone, daughter seemed to have peer pressure - another twist. I was also not very enthusiastic about this phone.
Somehow I waited for the weekend to visit to bestbuy store and return this phone. It was Sunday evening 4 PM. I was sitting with in-store customer service professional to exchange this with iPhone. She mentioned that there is an exclusive Reward Zone members event tonight between 7:30 to 9:30 PM and I will get some bonus points and discounts if I come at that time. I decided to come back at that time for the exchange. Holy cow, Bestbuy system had a glitch in the system and it seems they don't allow exchange of other phones with iPhone and for every such exchange, they need to contact their customer service center which was closed at 8 PM on Sunday. They asked me to come the next day. Ouch, I not only need to spend an extra hour but loose the bonus because customer service is closed. Later, they told me that bouns is only for new customers and I don't qualify for that. Bullshit. People were having different kind of opinions there and it seems that nobody had any clue. I decided to leave without wasting even an extra minute and visit the next day. Finally, I got the iPhone next day.
I am amazed to see the features it has. Everybody at home seems to be very happy except me as now I hardly have the phone with me :-).
Somehow bestbuy customer service experience was not very encouraging, but at the end I feel happy because I not only have better phone but also the happy family :-)
I had the phone for 1 week, I don't know why but I was not really motivated to use this phone. Somehow, look and feel was not very attractive, user interface was not so exciting, screen was pathetic and it was looking like an old phone since day one. No wonder why everybody at home was not so excited by seeing this phone? Later I figured out that everybody wanted to play games on phone, daughter seemed to have peer pressure - another twist. I was also not very enthusiastic about this phone.
Somehow I waited for the weekend to visit to bestbuy store and return this phone. It was Sunday evening 4 PM. I was sitting with in-store customer service professional to exchange this with iPhone. She mentioned that there is an exclusive Reward Zone members event tonight between 7:30 to 9:30 PM and I will get some bonus points and discounts if I come at that time. I decided to come back at that time for the exchange. Holy cow, Bestbuy system had a glitch in the system and it seems they don't allow exchange of other phones with iPhone and for every such exchange, they need to contact their customer service center which was closed at 8 PM on Sunday. They asked me to come the next day. Ouch, I not only need to spend an extra hour but loose the bonus because customer service is closed. Later, they told me that bouns is only for new customers and I don't qualify for that. Bullshit. People were having different kind of opinions there and it seems that nobody had any clue. I decided to leave without wasting even an extra minute and visit the next day. Finally, I got the iPhone next day.
I am amazed to see the features it has. Everybody at home seems to be very happy except me as now I hardly have the phone with me :-).
Somehow bestbuy customer service experience was not very encouraging, but at the end I feel happy because I not only have better phone but also the happy family :-)
Is US most favorable place for IT Professionals
I tend to disagree with the argument that US is a most favorable place for IT professionals, particularly the way things are happening in US. I would like to discuss this in context of Indian IT professionals. First of all,
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