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Study Abroad India

An Introduction to India (July 21st 2014)

One of our first lectures on Monday, July 21st was a presentation by Mr. Nishith Mohanty, Head of Human resources for Manipal Education & Hospital Group. This lecture was focused on cross cultural management aspects of doing business in India. In Mr. Mohanty’s presentation, we were given several key points that offered a strong foundation to understanding India. First, he mentioned that between 40-45% of the the population is under the age of 35. Among those people, English is considered the unifying language. The economy of India is interesting by offering what he called “Socialist sympathetic polices”. In a surprising and intriguing point, Mr. Mohanty mentioned that by Indian law, corporations must spend at least 2% of their profits on Corporate Social Responsibility projects, such as community focused activities. In a helpful clarification, Mr. Mohanty stated that the mannerisms of people in India are rooted in the idea that politeness is preferred to directness. He said that for many foreigners doing business in India, this represents a challenge as people in India may not understand a task or assignment and often, out of social norms, will not delve deeper to clarify confusion. This may lead to a tendency to over promise and not deliver what was expected. This is not a reason to avoid working with India, but is a point to remember. In order to remedy this, he recommended correcting with feelings, not just facts. Overall, Mr. Nishith Mohanty’s presentation severed as a good primary for the people and experiences we were about to have in India.

 

(Standing) Mr. Nishith Mohanty (Seated Left to Right) Daniel Wyrock, Suzanne Gradisher, Meghann Geiger, Jennifer Kundrat
(Standing) Mr. Nishith Mohanty (Seated Left to Right) Daniel Wyrock, Suzanne Gradisher, Meghann Geiger, Jennifer Kundrat

 

By: Daniel Wyrock