Its only managers in India who call the final shots when it comes to taking decisions. Though it is in our culture, but nonetheless it need to change immediately for better results.
The Indian economy opened to the world in early 90’s’. Till then, there has been a dramatic shift in workplace reforms in the country especially with the entry of MNC’s. Despite the economy opening up, the two signboards (Come in, we’re CLOSED and Sorry, we’re OPEN) which I came across during a session on leadership actually portrayed the mindset of Indian managers. It’s nothing absurd. It’s our culture. A culture is something which comprises of norms or values which are learned and it usually govern our behavior and is difficult to change. In a recent interview in TOI, Infosys CEO, Vishal Sikka considered the Indian mindset as his biggest challenge as it restrict our thoughts. As per him, “we Indian’s don’t speak up….we have this cultural thing - if we speak up, it is questioning of authority which is contrary to western companies mindset, which expect us to speak up”. Mr. Sikka is an Indian by birth is aware of our culture. For expat like Marten Pieter, Vodafone CEO, this is really annoying. His views also showcased the Indian manager mindset which he had dealt during his current assignment. As per him, “In India, the managers are more willing to debate, but finally decision is yours as you’re the boss’. This trend is disturbing as on it doesn’t build people. Also it becomes an excuse to shun failure as it was manager’s decision. I came across a PhD dissertation by Dr. Shaidul Kazi at Tampere University of Applied Sciences, Finland on “Managerial Decision-Making Behavior and Impact of Culture” which summarize the decision making style of Indian managers. As per his study, with a top heavy approach, subordinates hardly ever oppose any decision made by seniors. In our societies, South Asian in particular, there is a moral obligation on more powerful people to look after the less powerful people in exchange for loyalty. With increasing complexities key decisions are critical moves. In many organization the decision making is becoming consultative from autocratic, however it needs further encouragement. Managers need to be more open with subordinates to create and inculcate the so-called culture of “teamwork”. A strong leader can develop such culture. One such culture I came across was with Hutch (now Vodafone). Such workplaces are usually informal and countering to the bosses’ argument is taken positively, respected and considered as a viewpoint. Such culture develops trust. A manager should not consider his/her subordinates as a threat. He should rather learn from their experience. The onus of opening up does not reside only with manager, the employee also need to come up in open. While the implementation of their views into action will build their faith in system, the outcome of their decisions will make them more responsible, be it success or failure. For manager, the viewpoint may help him to gain a new perspective on some matter which he have never imagined or believed. So let’s welcome views with an open mindset… (c) Sunil Singh Rana
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A working professional with 19+ years of experience in Sales, Marketing, Strategy and Operations, I am an avid reader and quizzer.
My areas of interest are Business Strategy, Marketing, Customer Management and Digital Media. With my blogger mission as "Learn, Think and Share", I would love to share my thoughts on business strategy, leadership, management, marketing and business quizzing. If my blogs help you out in your professional growth or my quizzes provides a perfect match of infotainment, then I will consider my little attempt as rewarding. - Sunil Singh Rana ABOUT AUTHORArchives
December 2018
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