64. WORK- CULTURE OR CULTURES?
IT IS the fashion in some circles to blame India and Indians for anything , even while foreign companies are setting shop here. What is baffling is that while many foreigners appreciate India and Indians for many points, it is some of our own people who have been abroad for some time who feel they are superior, they know all, they are always right, they alone are right, etc who criticise Indians. The latest are some lady entrepreneurs who joined this brigade .
India through Yankee glasses!
India through Yankee glasses!
According to a report in the press today, these worthies uttered such wisdom as:
- India is a very emotional country.There is no such thing like work-life balance in India.
- There is a tremendous amount of training needed to be given on managing skills to Indians.
- Employees' emotions dominating over their logic
- It takes longer to build a company with "open culture and global values" in India. etc. [See the account in Bangalore Mirror, 21 April, 2016.]
It is very clear from the start that these persons are not dealing with India as it is, but would like to impose their foreign notions here. If you want open culture and global values, why not go to a place where you find them? Is it not much simpler? You come to India because you perceive some advantages here ; yet you complain that India is not like say, America because 'migration from other countries is lesser'. Yes Sir, India is different. You address everyone by first name in the US. Even the boss is not called 'sir'. But here, we do it differently. You have no business making the US practice the standard here. If you like American values, it is simpler and more honest to go where they are practised.
As for training in managing skills, do Indians alone need such training? Then what are Harvard Business School , Kellogg, Stanford, Wharton, etc doing in the US? Teaching ballroom dancing?
Values differ among national cultures
Values differ among national cultures
Every country has its own national traits. We talk of Europe. Yet England, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands are so different from each other. Will these people go there and talk of open culture and global values? These people imbibe some ideas from the US and think they are all. Let them go to Europe and talk of US values there, and see! A paper in www.chathamhouse.org 7 May 2014 states:
Asians value America’s hard power; Europeans focus on America’s soft power. Values are all-important in Europe and, unfortunately, in the eyes of most of its elites, the United States has appeared increasingly willing to forgo the values it has long promoted. Foreign observers no longer give the US government the benefit of the doubt, believing that America is at least trying to do ‘the right thing’. Unless the United States is able to reverse this slide, it might find that when it wants to lead, Europeans will be reluctant to follow.
Cultural differences among nations are significant.
American Work culture- some aspects
American Work culture- some aspects
It has taken many generations for countries to come to adopt a culture suitable for industrial life and organization. Early management literature is full of instances of how the workforce had to be trained- how long it took, and how difficult and painful it was. And yet we know it has never been perfect.
Arthur Hailey was a delightful writer of fiction. Before writing, which would usually focus on an industry, he would research the subject for a year, and review his notes for another 6 months , so that what he wrote was considered "Faction" ( largely based on fact) and not just fiction. This strain we see in his books Airport, Overload, Hotel,Moneychangers, Final Diagnosis, Wrong Medicine, Wheels, etc. In Airport, he wrote of the 'culture' of the airline staff- including how they detested the uniform they had to wear- derogatorily called "regulation shirt".
Front cover of Rupa edition, 2014.
In Wheels, he said that workers in the automobile plants were eager to go on their week ends; so they would not concentrate on their jobs on Fridays.When they returned on Monday mornings, they had the hangover and could hardly concentrate on their work. So the cars assembled on Fridays and Mondays tended to have more than average faults. After the book was released, people booking cars actually insisted that they did not want a car assembled on Friday and Monday. These are part of the work culture in a country supposedly with open culture and global values. As usual, critics did not regard him highly, considering his plots to be 'formulaic'. Readers liked him: 270 million copies of his books have been sold, translated into 40 languages!
Ignorance about India
Ignorance about India
Such authorities and experts who pontificate on work culture are so pathetically ignorant of India. Indian workmanship/craftsmanship and dedication were phenomenal. Their skill was unparalleled. It is the so called modern education- English education that has broken it. Barbara Ward and Rene Dubos noted in 1972:
In India and China, in particular, the technical skills needed for the production of textiles, pottery, porcelain and metal goods were so far ahead of Europe's that the first aim of European merchants since the fourteenth century has been to break the monopoly of the Arab merchants and middlemen and trade directly with the fabled Indies and far Cathay.
Only One Earth. Unofficial report on Human Environment, commissioned by the UN.
Pelican Book 1972. p.48
Front cover of the 1972 edition.
Work in traditional societies- modern alienation
The so called work culture is a comparatively recent affair. The worker in the traditional societies was also an owner- of his small capital and tools. He did not work as an employee, for wages. He was his own master. And he followed his own schedule. The handloom weaver even today works in his own place, at his own pace, usually assisted by family members. The carpenter even today works to his own schedule.The Industrial revolution and the factory culture changed this- making him a paid employee, working for wages , to make someone else rich, working to a tight time schedule fixed by others, away from his dwelling. In the process he become alienated from his own self- a phenomenon so brilliantly explained by Karl Marx and Erich Fromm. The writings of Charles Dickens deal with how that work culture evolved- how dehumanising and painful it was.The so called work-life balance touted by the American-returned elements is but a weak echo of the old ideal that prevailed before the industrial culture took over.
Perceptions of time differ
In all societies which are trying to adjust to a new industrial ( and now the more dubious IT) culture, we find the people having a different perception of time. Indians used to be laughed at for their lack of sense of punctuality. Yet it is a feature in much of Asia. I was born and brought up in a small place. Initially I worked in rather modest cities like Nagpur and Ahmedabad. I could cycle down to my office in under 15 minutes. Even Delhi in the 60s was no more than a big village,barring the New Delhi area. We could reach the work place in 15 minutes by public transport [Route 27A]. So, my time sense was different. I came to Bombay when I was 38, I was overwhelmed by the huge crowds. the constant movement, and the fast pace. It took 2.5 hours to reach the work place (one way) - 5 hours spent in commuting daily! I could not adjust- well, it seemed absolutely silly to adjust to this looney situation! Everyday I reported for work late, and my superior, a sympathetic man, lost his patience and told me if I persisted , disciplinary action would be taken. I responded by saying that it was their fault that they brought me to Bombay without adequate preparation, that I was unable to adjust, that I would be like this till they gave me official accommodation near the place of work. I then proceeded on leave for more than 3 months. They recalled me, after providing accommodation! How do you apply work-life balance here? Work itself is life for the middle class!
Life and leisure: different approaches
When I was to visit Thailand from Japan, friends from Bangkok told me to arrive in Bangkok airport early, as it would be difficult to find taxis late in the evening. Reason? The Thai taxi drivers were supposed to be lazy; each one had an idea of the day's earning and once he reached the figure, he would go park the taxi and be on his own! To me it appeared to be a splendid idea. Do we live to work or work to live?
I remember a story I read long ago. A fisherman is lying on the beach enjoying the setting sun, having set up his fishing pole.A rich man passes that way and lectures him on how he should be working harder.
What for? That he may earn more, become wealthy, and that he need not have to work hard again!
Then what?
He may go to all the nice places, go to the beach and lie down, enjoying the sun.
The fisherman then asks him: "Don't you see that is what I am doing already- lying here and enjoying the sun!" Well, we do not have to adopt the Yankee notion of work-life balance!
Social background is relevant
Social background is relevant
Those who complain of the lack of work culture of Indians are immature.. We have our work culture but it is our own- different. We are not accountable to any Western standards. When Jamsetji Tata started his textile mill in Nagpur in 1874, he found the absentee level was very high: 10 to 20% daily! He did not complain. He met it by taking workers on daily wages! This is still a widely adopted practice in India- I found it in the ITC factory in Bangalore as late as 2005!
Many industrial workers come from rural agricultural families and they go to their villages at harvest time and for festivities. In Ahmedabad, the domestic help would be Rajasthanis. They would return to their villages for Diwali (around November) and return only after Makar Sankranti (mid-January) ie when the harvest was over. They would take three months wages in advance,but come back and work. Do we say they lack work culture? Those who say so lack any sense![ Now, many technicians like electricians, plumbers moonlight; they absent from regular work if they earn more outside ] We have to adopt measures to suit the habits and circumstances of the people. As a Tamil saying goes, you have to sing to some cows to milk ! You have to dance, to milk some cows! It is a bad dancer who complains that the stage is inadequate!
Marcello Bedoni, Italian Tenor, actually singing to cows in Lancashire in the hope they would yield creamier milk!
www.telegraph.co.uk 15 May, 2009! The song can be watched on Youtube.
Japan's work culture is so different from that of the Americans. Yet Japan is also thriving! What they do fits them.Is there sense in comparing them with Americans?
How dignified compared to the brutal handshake where the other person is trying to assess you!
Work cultures: realities and theories
The work culture in India has several strands. The bureaucratic culture involves observing formal, if not exactly punctual timings, but with zero productivity, and even less accountability. Teachers have their own methods. Professionals like doctors, lawyers, accountants have no fixed work-life demarcation. Businessmen have business for both life and work- earning and pleasure. They do enjoy what they do! The Public sector is a law unto itself- neither work, nor any culture! The private sector struggles.It is only those in the IT sector who are in the doldrums- they have no life at all, outside the work, unless it is shopping! They keep working even at home, which is like extension of office! All work, no play makes the IT workers jackasses! Yet these experts and authorities speak of work-life balance!
John Wilmot said that he had six theories about bringing up children when he was not married; now he had six children, but no theories!
Those who have no labour unions to worry about may invent theories!
The trade unions had a big role in enforcing better working conditions. Organizations like the Tatas have been enlightened on their own. The early leaders like B.P. Wadia were idealists and humanists. But once politicians and leftists took over, they spoiled the minds of the workers. They created indiscipline in the banking industry and the public sector. They made it difficult for industries to function in the hostile state-dictated environment. They prevented the closing down of losing units and prolonged their agony and public expenditure.They forced their unreasonable demands on industries which were struggling for existence- so called sunset industries like the composite textile mills, old foundry and small engineering units. Then a man like Datta Samant appeared and out did all the trade unions and our textile industry as a whole collapsed. What culture would you speak of when there is no work? The next generation textile mills are so modern- they are computerised and need few workmen! Why are industries even in the US always harping on job-cutting when they talk of revival?So far, the IT area is free of trade unions. They have the red carpet rolled before them everywhere. So, they can afford to talk anything! It is wrong to talk of work culture as if it is one uniform substance across industries and across countries and cultures. One who does not do in Rome as Romans do has no business to be in Rome, in the first place!
Our pioneers were great
Our pioneers were great
Our early industrial magnates were not heartless men. It is not a fault if they were not ahead of their times. I visited Arvind Mills in Ahmedabad in the 70s.
Their Chairman Kasturbhai Lalbhai might have been rich, but he was simple and personally he led a Spartan life. I found the workers taking their lunch out of their tiffin boxes sitting/squatting under the trees on the extensive compound. I remarked about the lack of a roofed hall with benches at least. The labour officer told me that these workers were from the rural areas and they felt at home in these conditions! Even the unions had not objected! Should we compare them with American workers' canteens? Today, the same arrangement would be marketed along the highways in fancy names at fancy prices!
On the other hand, I found modern canteens in the TVS establishment. But workers misbehaved there too! Once I saw a well-paid worker throw away something because it was not fried properly! It flew some distance and crash-landed. TVS was so noted for discipline that unruly conduct even in the dining area was taken to be indiscipline!
The IT industry leaders are hypocrites. They come to India because it is cheap and they can get govt help. They have not faced a downswing so far, and also opposition from trade unions - with which the Indian private and public sectors have lived for long.
Indian public sector- a shame, not just a problem
Indian public sector- a shame, not just a problem
But it is also generally true that there has been no idea of a work culture in our public sector, especially after the late 60s when militant trade unions took over. The old work discipline was shattered in the banking industry after nationalisation. Indira Gandhi courted the Left and they encouraged stark indiscipline, peaking in the Naxalite movement.There has been no eminent chairman among them as in the old days.
One exception was P.L Tandon, first Indian chairman of Hindustan Lever who was appointed Chairman of Punjab National Bank. But he did not reckon with the bureaucrats! Nor did the bank employees accept him wholeheartedly! He introduced systems in the bank and showed that the Chairman was not a glorified clerk!
Understand the upheavals
Those who criticise India and Indians for the absence of a so called work culture miss something vital. India is undergoing unbelievably rapid changes of tremendous magnitude in almost all spheres of life simultaneously. The work force is drawn from all strata of society; while the academic qualifications may be the same or at least comparable on paper, the individual personality of the workers is bound to differ significantly. The government may declare all equal by and before law; but they are not equal on many other parameters. The problem of a work ethic arises precisely because there is bound to be serious gap in perception between one who is the first person in his family to seek an industrial or IT job, and one who is third or second generation from a family of workers/bureaucrats/professionals. The private sector is yet lucky: they have no quota obligations and their recruiters may yet select a reasonably homogeneous team. But I have noticed that within any team , there is resentment on having to cover or make up for someone else's deficiency repeatedly in the name of team work. In this context, it is useful to ponder on the following:
No simple description of historical developments in the period can evoke the effect that the combination of intense urban unrest, rapid industrial development, and unprecedented labour violence had in transforming the United States from, in Mark Thomson Connelly's words, a predominantly rural-minded, decentralised, principally Anglo-Saxon , production-oriented, morally absolutist society to a predominantly urban, centralised, multi-ethnic, consumption-oriented, secular, and relativist society.
[ From: Lee Clark Mitchell: Introduction to 'Riders of the Purple Sage' by Zane Grey, OUP. 1998.]
Let things evolve: work with our strengths
The United States has already passed through that phase. We are facing it now. But we are not allowed time to adjust and settle to new realities. American society was production-oriented before it became consumption oriented; but we are getting consumption oriented even before we have become fully production oriented! And now, IT oriented! We want an elite office culture to reign, even before people have learned simple industrial discipline! And our American-trained friends wish to add one more facet or complication on their part: import and enforce ideas derived from an alien culture and environment! They do not want India to evolve on its own but are impatient for it to merely follow the Yankee line! For them, imitation is progress!
There are hardworking and lazy elements among Indians , as they are among people everywhere. It is not difficult to train Indians compared to others. We must build our organizations on our strengths. We cannot and need not create another Yankee land here. It is a bad workman who quarrels with his tools.
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