Globalization requires effective international and cross-cultural collaboration. When project teams from Western cultures first come into contact with colleagues from the Indian IT and BPO industry, prejudices against the new and unknown are typically amplified. This book is a start on the journey of cultural appreciation for managers, project leaders, and offshore coordinators working together with Indians. It is also a resource for business managers and company strategists seeking to understand the softer aspects behind the headlines that the Indian IT and BPO industry so frequently creates. Being both academically well researched and an account of the author’s many years of personal experience in India, the book opens with a description of cultural dimensions that help to break down culturally driven matters. It provides background information about India as a country and a social system. Examining the development and current status of India’s IT and BPO industry, it moves on to describe the dynamics of its workforce. The book then provides practical information on how to communicate, negotiate, and interact with Indian colleagues, and intelligently utilize expatriates. It closes by formulating recommendations for a more effective collaboration.
"I am pleased to note that this book far exceeds being just the much awaited comprehensive reference primer on doing business with India. (...) This book will be an excellent resource for a guided and systematic journey to the Indian offshoring landscape." - from the Foreword by Sreemathi Ramnath, President SIETAR India, Society for Intercultural Education Training and Research