Changing Perceptions about India

It is very rare that two seemingly separate occurrences shape the perception

and destiny of a nation. But, thats what has happened in this decade,

repositioning India in the eyes of the world. First was the maturing of the IT

and BPO industry from its early beginnings as a purveyor of skilled manpower to

the savior of IT departments in its avatar as a Year 2000 bug killer, and,

finally, as the outsourcing destination of choice for the worlds technologies

and processes. The second has been the emergence of the Indian economy as a new

miracle with the grit and ability to attain and sustain an 8% plus growth

ratenot far removed from China and comparable to the four Asian tigers at the

time of their own economy coming of age. Both these factors, though coming at

different points of time, have served as inflection points for India as the

world struggles to come to terms with a country whose time has finally come.

For me, this struggle of mental realignment has never been more evident than

in a session on India conducted by Dr Nirmalya Kumar and me at the Dubai Master

Class of the London Business School. The audience comprising Sheikhs, Government

luminaries, and CEOs from most Gulf States seemed initially taken aback at our

question on their perceptions about India and Indians. But then they admitted

that Indians in gulf countries have been known more for their work in relatively

menial jobs and it was taking some time and mental effort to see them as truly

competitive global citizens. And, while some concerns persist on the impact of

the digital divide and the huge gulf that separates the haves from the

have-nots, there is a uniform acceptance of the fact that this is a country

that has truly arrived.

Ganesh natarajan

The implications for all of us in the IT and BPO sector is the responsibility

it reposes on us to make our country truly global in its thinking and in its

responses to worldwide customers. While the world may well have started to

accept the fact that an Indian CEO or banker or even politician is capable of

incisive thinking and brilliant articulation, experiences at the ground level

are sometimes delicate and even deplorable when Indian project teams travel to

execute a project.

I remember a situation, ten years ago, when an irate estate agency in the US

wrote a formal note to a VP of an Indian company operating in the area that the

agency would no longer be willing to lease apartments to Indian developers

because agency cleaners were facing some strange creatures scurrying in and out

of the kitchen sinkIndian cockroaches had arrived in New Jersey along with the

consultants!

My own personal experience in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania at a hotel almost

monopolized by one company shipping FOB (Fresh off the Boat) consultants to

clients was laughable when I complained to the management about the absence of

glasses or mugs in the bathrooms. The manager righteously mentioned that they

had stopped providing them since the consultants staying there tend to see the

bath tub as a bucket and use the mugs to fill water and bathe outside the tub,

spoiling the carpets in the rooms! A lot may have changed since then, but there

is still a lot more that can be changed in the attitude of our youngsters. It is

the responsibility of human resource managers to ensure that proper cultural

sensitization is done. Every Indian abroad is an ambassador of our country that

is aspiring to global leadership. Global leadership position could be achieved

only when our technical capabilities are matched by our demonstration of

cultural standards that are beyond reproof.