Cultural Differences Between India and Usa

Cultural Differences Between India and Usa

  • Submitted By: jigardoshi91
  • Date Submitted: 04/15/2013 3:27 PM
  • Category: English
  • Words: 654
  • Page: 3
  • Views: 354

It is generally acknowledged that people from different countries tend to communicate in slightly different ways. The customs and culture of a nation are bound to seep in and influence the culture of organizations within its borders. There are numerous cultural differences between United States and India, and in this discussion I have divided cultural differences at a workplace into three different categories.
The first one is the difference in work ethic. Indian workforce is generally viewed as a hardworking workforce, and employers tend to exploit it by having longer working hours. On average, an Indian employee works for more than 60 hours a week, and working on Saturdays is also considered to a normal. Another important difference in work ethic is time management. Timelines are not always strictly followed to in Indian companies. Call for a meeting at 10 AM and there will still be those trickling in 15 or 20 minutes after 10. ISD which means ‘Indian Standard Time’ is often jokingly referred as ‘Indian Stretchable time’ (Mukherjee). So it is a good idea right at the beginning to set clear deadlines and emphasize the importance of completing work on time.
The second category is the difference in culture and religion. India, being a multi-cultural and multi-religious society, celebrates holidays and festivals of various religions. Keeping this aspect in mind is that people are from different religious backgrounds and hence leave will be taken at different times in the year depending upon the community they belong. In addition, most Indian organizations vacation or annual leave is 4 weeks, apart from sick leave and national holidays. Another difference is in the business attire; because of multi-religious society often men and women are restricted from wearing proper business attire. The Indian laws restrict businesses in India to enforce formal business attires (Kar, Khicha). Especially seen in the women workforce, women often come to work in causal of...

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