‘Western vs Indian’ in management

Our (Indian) assumptions about life and work are shaped by deep and unmanifest influences of culture, for example, deference to power, authority, and age, as seen in Indian business leaders.

Indian spirituality, illustratively, teaches that what is important is not how long we live or how much money we make, or whether we are famous, rather whether we “multiply positive vibrations” (impact on people) during our lifetime. Is that uniquely Indian?

All thinkers proposed that individual life should focus on community well being, and self-awareness, the essence of human wisdom and philosophy does not recognise nationalities or religions. But there are difference in their manifestations.

The installation of a god (picture or statue) in offices, the performance of a puja for a new factory, and a disguised belief in astrology-manifestations and rituals positively impact audiences, which is culture. This forms the basis for accepting ideas (or not) like fate, luck, astrology, and so on.

There are observably different behavioural tendencies in the “West versus India” debate.

• Western management abhors ambiguity; Indians tolerate and thrive in ambiguity.
• Western management tends towards efficiency and centralisation; Indians tend towards effectiveness and decentralisation. (Efficiency and effectiveness are not synonymous.)
• Western management tends towards perfection whereas Indians accept imperfection (jugaad is lauded).
• Last, the West tends towards technology-centricity whereas Indians tend towards human-centricity.

These are not virtues or vices, they are what they are!

Younger generations in families, after a foreign education, are seen to integrate West and Indian ideas intelligently.

Do there is some merit in the “West versue Indian” way in the matter of running companies?

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