These advancements are direct indicators of time-tested organizational methods. So, is the Indian way of organizing things any different from the methods prevalent in Europe? The answer is that they are as different as chalk and cheese!
When queried about the specifics of the atmosphere in a typical Indian organization, Seema Sharma, an Indian MBA student, opines, `In an Indian company, the “power distance” is a big factor, which magnifies as one looks up the hierarchical ladder. The higher the person is up the ladder, the more immune to opinions he or she becomes. Unlike in the Netherlands, it is not always possible to voice one's own opinions to one's superiors. Another important facet of the professional set-up in India is the male domination. But, on the brighter side, many development programs have been successfully implemented for the betterment of women.' She adds that Indians are, in general, more willing to help their colleagues.
It is common knowledge that India is fast becoming the fulcrum of the IT industry. In a typical Indian IT company, it is not unusual to come across employees who work 60 - 70 hours per week. Due to the tremendous competition in the job market attributed to the relentless churning-out of fresh graduates, people are willing to push themselves into working extremely hard. Sandeep Unnikrishnan, an Indian AIO in the Transducer Science and Technology group, views this issue from another standpoint: `In India, the emotional aspect is imbued in an organization. Just as many Indian companies are reluctant to fire someone due to this emotional employer-employee bond, the employees, in turn, are also willing to clock more hours for the company.'
Focusing on the academic front, nowadays, students from India are almost everywhere, seeking higher education. The basic qualifications of these students vary in quality and substance. It is a fair generalization to state that the majority of the `crème de la crème' of Indian students still prefer the USA as the destination to acquire higher qualifications. It is also fair to state that most European universities are still learning to identify the true measuring scale with which the standard of Indian students can be judged. This can be attributed to the de-centralized educational system in India, with widely varying syllabi and grading methods. In many Indian universities, it is mandatory to study a wide array of subjects at the bachelor's level in a short duration of time, sometimes resulting in the lack of subject-specific in-depth knowledge to compete in the European arena. At the other end of the spectrum, there are a number of world-class educational institutions like the Indian Institutes of Technology and the Indian Institutes of Management. So, it is rather difficult to define a median of standard for Indian students.
To sum-up, the professional and academic environments that one experiences in India are very different from the comparable spheres in Europe or the USA. But due to the continued invasion of multi-national corporations, vying to garner a chunk of the booming job market, the professional environment in India is rapidly evolving into a hybrid amalgamation of Indian values and Western style of management, the latter serving as a topping to the homemade cake.
The Brihadeeswara temple in Tanjore, India: This 1000 year-old temple is an example of India's organizational excellence. The cupola was carved out of a single stone and weighs 81 tons!
