January 15, 2010
Graduate Independent Final Report “Management of Technology” Fall, 2010
Comparative research on Indian and Japanese management styles. - Bridging strategies to bring them closer.
Rai Anod Kumar ID No. 52108001 Guided by: Dr. Yukihiko Nakata
Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University Graduate School of Management
Abstract
According to India Brand Equity foundation, India may witness US$ 20 billion worth of Japanese investment in the next three years. Major problem of Japanese multinational organizations investing in India is to align employees who are from totally different social background and used to different kind of management styles to make them work towards single goal. This research paper analyzes the underneath causes and differences between Japanese and Indian management style by using Geert Hofstede cultural dimensions. Case study of Infosys Japan gave us some facts that how companies can overcome intercultural barrier successfully. After analyzing both management styles this report outlined differences in power distribution, decision making style, masculine and Femininity behavior, Uncertainty avoidance, and long-short term orientation . Bridging strategies between two management styles suggest that both sides of people should know other side of people behavior, culture and working style and keep their management style flexible enough to get fit into others management styles.
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Table of Contents Abstract.................................................................................................................................. I List of Tables ....................................................................................................................... IV List of Figures ....................................................................................................................... V Abbreviations ....................................................................................................................... VI Acknowledgements ...................................................................................VII 1.Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 1 2. Literature review ............................................................................................................ 3 2.1 Geert Hofstede‟s cultural dimensions .............................................................................. 3 2.1.1 Power Distance Index ....................................................................................... 4 2.1.1.1 Power Distance in work place ............................................................ 5 2.1.2 Individualism and Collectivism .......................................................................... 7 2.1.2.1 Individualism and Collectivism in the workplace ................................. 8 2.1.3 Masculinity and Femininity ................................................................................ 9 2.1.3.1 Masculinity and Femininity in the workplace ..................................... 10 2.1.4 Uncertainty Avoidance .................................................................................... 11 2.1.4.1 Uncertainty Avoidance in workplace ................................................. 12 2.1.5 Long and short term orientation ...................................................................... 13 2.1.5.1 Long and short term orientation in workplace ................................... 15 2.2 Literature review of Japanese management style.......................................................... 16 2.2.1Japanese management style General Views ................................................... 16 2.2.2 Distinctive feature of Japanese management style ......................................... 19 2.3 Literature review of Indian management style ............................................................... 21 2.3.1 Socio-cultural influences on the Indian mindset .............................................. 21 2.3.2 India‟s growth and Potential ............................................................................ 22 2.3.3 Understanding Indian management model ..................................................... 24 2.3.4 Indian management at Micro level .................................................................. 27 2.3.5 Indian Social structure and philosophy ........................................................... 28 3.Introduction, Methodology and Organization of Final Report .................................... 31 3.2 Objective of the research .............................................................................................. 32 3.3 Methodology ................................................................................................................. 32 3.3.1 Scale Used ..................................................................................................... 33 Ritsumeikan APU
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3.3.2 Case Study ..................................................................................................... 33 3.3.3 Sources of Information .................................................................................... 34 3.3.5 Type of data and Information .......................................................................... 35 4. Case Study: Infosys Japan ........................................................................................... 36 4.1 Indian Information Technology Market – An Overview .................................................. 36 4.2 Japanese Information Technology Market –An Overview .............................................. 37 4.3 Infosys Technologies - About Company ........................................................................ 38 4.4 History of Infosys:.......................................................................................................... 39 4.4.1 Infosys Japan up till now ................................................................................. 40 4.5 Infosys Japan - Overcoming Intercultural Barriers ......................................................... 43 4.5.1 Client-Infosys team communication model...................................................... 43 4.5.2 Infosys communication model......................................................................... 45 4.6 How Infosys manages all this? ...................................................................................... 46 5. Suggested Bridging strategies ................................................................................... 48 5.1 Risk Propensity ............................................................................................................. 49 5.2 Decision Making Style ................................................................................................... 50 5.3 Communication Style .................................................................................................... 51 5.5 Role Clarity ................................................................................................................... 51 5.6 Individual /Group Oriented ........................................................................................... 52 5.7 Value of Time ............................................................................................................... 53 5.8 Process Orientation...................................................................................................... 54 5.9 Formality ....................................................................................................................... 55 5.10 Work Life Balance ....................................................................................................... 56 7. Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 58 References ........................................................................................................................ 60
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List of Tables
Table 1 India’s global strengths and weaknesses ............................................................... 23 Table 2 Sources of managerial mindset in India .................................................................. 24 Table 3 Indian business culture at micro-organizational level .............................................. 27 Table 4 Type of research data ............................................................................................ 35
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List of figure Figure 1 Power distance Index .............................................................................................. 5 Figure 2 Individualism and Group oriented of countries......................................................... 8 Figure 3 Country Masculinity Index ..................................................................................... 10 Figure 4 Masculinity Index .................................................................................................. 12 Figure 5 Long and short term Orientation ............................................................................ 15 Figure 6 Japanese management system simplified ............................................................. 20 Figure 7 Changing dynamics of management in India ......................................................... 25 Figure 8 Indian social structure and philosophy................................................................... 28 Figure 9. Infosys Japan employee ratio ............................................................ 41 Figure 10 Client Acquisition and fulfillment model................................................. 43 Figure 11 Infosys Japan communication model................................................................... 45 Figure 12 Comparison India Japan using cultural dimensions ............................................. 48
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Abbreviations
IT
-
Information Technology
PDI
-
Power Distance Index
MAS
-
Masculinity Index
UAI
-
Uncertainty Avoidance Index
CVS
-
Chinese Value Survey
LTO
-
Long Term Orientation
STO
-
Short Term Orientation
MNC
-
Multinational Corporation
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Acknowledgements I am heartily thankful to my supervisor, Dr. Yukihiko Nakata, whose encouragement, guidance and support from the initial to the final level enabled me to develop an understanding of the subject. It is honor for me to be a part of Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University and I am really thankful to the APU library for providing all books and e-Journals required for research.
Lastly, I offer my regards and blessings to my family, professors and all of those who supported me in any respect during the completion of the project.
Rai Anod
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Chapter 1. Introduction Corporate internationalization has created an environment in which an increasing number of employees are working in foreign locations and encountering intercultural diversity surrounding them (Peltokorpi, 2007). This kind of interaction generally takes place in foreign subsidiaries which is the most successful organization type. (Stage, 1999). In addition to personality differences and situational factors, complications in intercultural settings can occur due to varying array of needs and conflicts resolution styles (Lebra, 1985). According to the latest data released by the Department of Policy and Promotion (DIPP) Japan ranked sixth in terms of cumulative foreign direct investment (FDI) in India worth US$ 3,481 million in the period from April 2000 to October 2009, of which US$ 950 million came in the period April-October 2009 and its going to be US$ 20 billion in next three years. Due to this growing business relationship between India and Japan the interest of many scholars and researchers have been diverting towards understanding the underneath working style of two Asian giants. Even through these two cultures are Asians still they have many differences which got visible in the form of conflicts when they work together. This research outlines the Japanese and Indian multinational enterprises need to adapt their management practices to the each other‟s national cultures in which they operate in order to achieve high business performance. Work units that are managed consistent with national cultural expectations will be better performing than work units whose management practices do not fit the national culture. The research questions of this report are: (1) „What are the sources of intercultural conflicts between India and Japan?‟ (2)
„How are intercultural
conflicts can be managed with the context of Indian and Japanese organizations?‟
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The rest of the chapters are structured as follows. The following section uses literature review method to find out origination and working of Japanese and Indian management styles by using cultural dimension suggested by Dutch psychologist Geert Hofstede. The third chapter discusses the methodology and organization of final report. Fourth chapter includes case study done on Infosys Japan that how Infosys Japan overcoming barrier of intercultural conflicts from last 14 years successfully. Fifth chapter suggesting bridging strategies to overcome intercultural conflicts between multinational companies of these two countries working together. The chapter ends with conclusion of whole research.
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Chapter 2. Literature review 2.1 Geert Hofstede’s cultural dimensions In the first half of twentieth century, social anthropology developed the belief that while evolving all traditional and social societies face the same kind of problems only way to handle those problem were different. American anthropologists Ruth Benedict (1887-1948) and Margaret Mead (1901-78) played an important role in this research. In 1954 two Americans, the sociologist Alex Inkeles and the psychologist Daniel Levinson, published a broad survey on national culture. Twenty years later Geert Hofstede studied large number of data from 74 countries to understand the cultural behavior of people from different nationalities. He collected data from IBM spread all around the world and analyzed statistically of the country averages of the answers to questions he received from IBM employees. Although cultural dimension Power Distance, Individualism and Collectivism, Masculinity and Femininity, Uncertainty Avoidance are already used many times in many social science books but Inkeles and Levinson created a 4-dimensional model to understand the national character of country. In 1980, Hofstede and Michael Harris Bond from Chinese university of Hong Kong used this existing model and added new dimension Long and Short term orientation into it. Since then many researchers and organizations used these cultural dimension to estimate the behavior of people by their nationality and culture by understanding manager‟s working and decisions style it is very easy to do business in today‟s globalized world.
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2.1.1 Power Distance Index
There is inequality in every society some people are always smarter, stronger and bigger than others. Some people have more power, wealth and status than others: They are more capable and able to control the behavior of others, this situation bring inequality in society. Geert (1990, 2002) observed that in countries where PDI is small and employees are not very afraid from their bosses and bosses are not autocratic to their employees then the office environment is very consultative, bosses ask suggestions from employees and employees expresses their opinion freely. Usually everyone‟s consensus is necessary to reach some decisions. On the other hand, countries with large PDI where employees are more afraid of their bosses prefer autocratic bosses; bosses generally don‟t consult with everyone to reach any management decision. In short, PDI scores inform us about dependence relationship among employees in different countries. In small PDI countries, there is very less dependence of employees to bosses but in Large PDI countries employees dependence to their bosses is very large employees has to wait for their bosses decisions on most of the issues. As shown in Fig 1 Indian and Japan lies on left side of scale underlines hierarchical structure in workplaces having large PDI.
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Source: Power structure, Japan intercultural consulting
Figure 1 Power distance Index
2.1.1.1 Power Distance in work place
A book named Cultures and Organizations Software of the mind by Geert Hofstede (1990, 2002) on Cultural dimensions contains the following text: In the large-power-distance situation, superiors and subordinates consider each other as existentially unequal; the hierarchical system is based on this existential inequality. Organizations centralize power as much as possible in a few hands. Subordinates expect to be told what to do. There is a lot of supervisory personnel, structured into tall hierarchies of people reporting to each other. Salary systems show wide gaps between top and bottom in the organization. Workers are relatively uneducated, and manual system has much lower status than office work. Superiors are entitled to privileges (literally, “private laws”), and contacts between superiors only.
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Above text presents how Large PDI countries office work environment has huge power distribution gaps between managers and normal employees. We can observe from Figure 1.1 that countries which are less developed have more PDI score it means people in those countries are more afraid to express their opinion to their bosses, people become used to this uneven power distribution in work place and they feel to work hard to reach to that power status. Whereas, for Small PDI Countries Geert Hofstede (1990, 2002) in his book Cultures and
Organizations Software of the mind wrote that: In the small-power-distance situation, subordinates and superiors consider each other as existentially equal; the hierarchical system is just an inequality of roles, established for convenience; and roles may tomorrow be my boss. Organizations are fairly decentralized, with flat hierarchical pyramids and limited numbers of supervisory personnel. Salary ranges between top and bottom jobs are relatively small; workers are highly qualified, and high-skill manual work has a higher status than low skilled office work. Privileges are for higher-ups are basically undesirable, and all should use the same parking lot, toilets, and cafeteria.
Above quote shows the behavior of Small PDI countries workplaces where power distribution between managerial and non managerial employees is very less, people are less afraid to express opinions, decisions are generally consensus based. Superiors are easily accessible to low key employees. There is no research evidence that between Large and small PDI difference which one is better, actually it can be good at different tasks like small-power-distance cultures needs subordinate initiative and with high-power-distance need discipline. Companies need to Ritsumeikan APU
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understand and mould their management style according to local culture to get maximum productivity.
2.1.2 Individualism and Collectivism Individualism and Collectivism can be considered as two opposite poles in cultural dimension scale. Hofstede allocated high score to countries with individualism and low score to countries with collectivism behavior in cultural dimension scale.
Definition of
Individualism and collectivism as defined by Geert Hofstede in (1990, 2002) “Individualism pertains to societies in which the ties between individuals are loose: everyone is expected to look after himself or herself and his or her immediate family. Collectivism as its opposite pertains to societies in which people from birth onward are integrated into strong, cohesive in-groups, which throughout people’s lifetime continue to protect them in exchange for unquestioning loyalty.” According to Geert and Gert Jan Hofstede in work places Personal time, Freedom and Challenging work are the working goals are associated with Individualistic behavior however, Training, Physical working conditions and Use of skills during job is basic working goals for collectivistic behavior. As shown in Figure 2 below Indian is on left side of scale and Japan is on right side of scale indicates the individualistic behavior of Indian and collectivistic behavior of Japanese people. For Japanese group recognition is their reward they consider workplace as their first family and home is part of this first family but on other side home and office are two different entities for Indians.
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Source: Power structure, Japan intercultural consulting ,2007 Figure 2 Individualism and Group oriented of countries
2.1.2.1 Individualism and Collectivism in the workplace
In case Individualistic workplace people are recruited as “economic package” there is agreement between employee and employer there is no relationship out of workplace both work for their own interests, performance of employee and employer is should be good enough to support each other for long term relationship. However, in case of collectivistic workplace people are not hired as individual but family members, people are generally judged by their easiness to mix with others. Employee must act according to in-group and his self interest must not coincide with group interest. Generally while recruiting, preference is given to family members of existing employees to reduce the risk. But in case of individualistic societies family relationship in workplace is discouraged, there is rule in some companies that if two employees working together got married then one has to leave the company. Poor performance by employee or better offer by other company can be acceptable reason to terminate the work relationship. Ritsumeikan APU
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Hofstede suggested that management for individualistic cultural background employees is totally different then collectivistic background employees which can be considered very seriously while working in multicultural workplaces. Individualistic employees need encouragement individually but it shouldn‟t be practiced in case of collectivistic cultural background employees, group incentive is best management style for them.
2.1.3 Masculinity and Femininity Since origination of societies man and women have their distinctive roles in society, men tend to be more strong, protective, outgoing and challenging we call it masculine behavior and on the other hand women tend to be more relationship oriented, caring and emotionally stronger we call it feminine characteristics, But we can‟t always associate these characteristics with genders because this men can have feminine characteristics and women can have masculine characteristics. Geert Hofstede considered it as a third cultural dimension and he associated Earning, Recognition, Advancement and Challenge with masculine characteristics and Manager, Cooperation, Living area and Employment security with feminine characteristics. Geert Hofstede defined Masculine and feminine society as: “A society is called masculine when emotional when emotional gender roles are clearly distinct: men are supposed to be assertive, tough, and focused on material success, whereas women are supposed to be more modest, tender, and concerned with quality of life.
A society is called feminine when emotional gender roles overlap: both men and women are supposed to be modest, tender, and concerned with the quality of life.”
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Source: Cultural consequences Vol. 5, Geert Hofstede,pg 189 Figure 3 Country Masculinity Index
2.1.3.1 Masculinity and Femininity in the workplace
In highly masculine countries like America and Japan as shown in Figure 3 conflicts should be resolved with good fights whereas, in Feminine countries like Netherland, Sweden and Denmark conflicts are generally resolved by compromise and negotiation. India comes under moderate countries seems more at masculine side of scale. Organization in masculine countries stress on results and reward people on their performance and equity but on the other hand masculine society awards people on the basis of equality. According to Hofstede,
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In Masculine society women managers don‟t have equal opportunity as men manager, in very masculine country like Japan we will see very few or none Japanese women manager, power sharing is uneven between genders, there is strong guidelines for both sexes for their behavior. Boys in Masculine societies are more assertive, ambitious, and competitive which in turn reflect the behavior of managers of masculine society.
Based on cultural
characteristics of countries society excel in different kind of industries. Japan and China is leader in manufacturing quality products which needs more assertiveness, doing things fast which are characteristics of masculine countries.
2.1.4 Uncertainty Avoidance The term uncertainty avoidance has been borrowed from American organization sociology, in Particular from the work of James G. March. Everyone has to live with the fact that nobody knows what is going to happen tomorrow, nothing is sure about anything which is called uncertainty but every society has developed ways to avoid this uncertainty to certain extent some of ways include religion, technology, and law. Technology avoids uncertainty from nature. Rules and laws avoid uncertainty caused by behavior of people and Religion is to avoid or accept transcendental forces that can influence human future. Uncertainty Avoidance Index (UAI) is fourth dimension Hofstede found while doing IBM research project each country has been assigned UAI score according to questionnaire used. Hofstede found that if in country people feel more stress in workplace they wanted rules to be respected and they prefer long term association with the company, this kind of mental programming develops when people open eyes in this world goes to school, college, meet and interact with people. Hofstede (2002, 2005) defined Uncertainty Avoidance “Uncertainty avoidance can therefore be defined as the extent to which the members of a culture feels threatened by ambiguous or unknown situations.”
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Source: Power structure, Japan intercultural consulting Figure 4 Masculinity Index
2.1.4.1 Uncertainty Avoidance in workplace High UAI countries have more formal rules, laws and regulation to control and protect the rights and duties of employers and employees. Even they have internal regulation for controlling the work process and deviation from those work processes is highly discouraged. Every employee is programmed to live in structural environment where every work has some process to follow. People start to behave rule oriented that become ritual sometimes. People are always busy, they like to work hard and time is money for them. Uncertainty avoidance culture society people always believe in expertise on job floor; companies count on their specialists. On the other side, countries with low UAI people feel that rules are only made when it is really necessary; they believe that many problems can be solved without making lots of rules. People work hard if there is need for it but they are never feeling of inner urge for constant hard work, they like to relax and enjoy life when there is not much burden of work. Ritsumeikan APU
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As shown in Figure 4 Japan lies on left side of scale and India lies on right side of scale; Developed nations like Japan are more into right side of scale because they have mature processes and standardization to avoid any kind of uncertainty which gradually become part of their but developing nation like India which is still developing is on the process of developing their own processes. U.S. researcher Scott Shane did study on 33 countries on number of trademarks granted to nationals and found out that high UAI countries are slower in innovating, in these countries people rarely break existing patterns they can be good at incremental innovation but destructive innovation is really rare in these countries. According to author higher UAI does not necessarily constrain creativity, not does weaker uncertainty avoidance guarantee its free flow. Hofstede‟s IBM survey found that people in high UAI countries preferred larger companies to work for. Entrepreneurship is very less in these countries people avoid taking risks, failing new business is like havoc for entrepreneurship in these societies. Author says that weak UAI countries may be good at basic inventions but when it comes to innovation they became weaker because changing invention into innovation takes lots of hard work and punctuality.
2.1.5 Long and short term orientation In late 1980, Geert Hoftede and Michael Harris Bond from Chinese University of Hong Kong did CVS (Chinese Value Survey) and discovered this fourth dimension of culture and named it as Long and short term orientation. The fourth CVS dimension grouped values based on the teaching of Confucius (Kong Ze, in Chinese).
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According to book Cultures and
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Organizations Software of the mind by Geert Hofstede (1990, 2002) the fourth dimension combined the one side of these values:
Persistence
Thrift
Ordering relationship by status
Having a sense of shame
And on the opposite side:
Reciprocation of Geertings, favors, and gifts
Respect for tradition
Protecting one‟s face
Personal steadiness and stability
Author defined the this dimension as “ Long term Orientation (LTO) stands for the fostering of virtues oriented toward future rewards- in particular, perseverance and thrift. Its opposite pole, short term orientation, stands for the fostering of virtues related to the past and present – in particular, respect for tradition, preservation of “face”, and fulfilling social obligations." (Hofstede 2002, 2005). In Figure 5 below, countries at left hand side are short term oriented and countries at right hand side are long term oriented. We can observe that Japan and Indian both are at right side it means they both are long term orientation countries.
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Source: Power structure, Japan intercultural consulting
Figure 5 Long and short term Orientation
2.1.5.1 Long and short term orientation in workplace
In long term orientation, family and work is not separated. LTO society has lots of family enterprises, LTO structure supports entrepreneurial activity. People give respect other in order of their society status, a structure of stable hierarchical order is maintained which gives support to entrepreneurial activity. In long short term orientation(STO) , According to Hofstede It is believe that personal steadiness and stability discourage the initiative, dynamism and risk seeking required for entrepreneurs. Too much into traditional values can stop company for innovation. China and India success formula is how fast they accepted western culture without losing their own traditional values; even Japan has good learning records from west. Investing in projects to build strong market positions for long term with the expense of loosing immediate profit is LTO management style (mostly Asians) but in STO cultures the result of past month, quarter or year is more important, personal achievement is also very necessary. Wide social and economical differences can be seen in STO culture, money and power disbursed according to ability. In LTO culture having lot of personal connections is Ritsumeikan APU
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really good people don‟t want to harm these connections for short term profit they want to keep it for life time.
2.2 Literature review of Japanese management style
2.2.1 Japanese management style General Views
Tremendous success of Japan after the devastation of WWII created curiosity in intellectuals and managers all around the world to understand the magic mantra of their success; many studies are done and many theories and models were created, classified and clarified to find those theories which are assumed to be responsible for success of Japan. According to Robert H. Hayes (1981) Japanese success formula was their best manufacturing management practices and policies such as clean facilities, responsible employees, little or no inventories on the plant floor made possible by the absence of work stoppages, almost no rejected products, and "just-in-time" system and their good risk management system. Hayes also supports Wheelwright (1981) on basic differences between American and Japanese companies is the tradeoffs done by American manager between deadline and quality but Japanese never compromises with quality rather they never satisfy with their product and try to improve it by kanban system.
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Quality circle or employee participation for improvement is the factor behind their success (Cole, 1980; Rehder, 1981; Takeuchi, 1981; Yager, 1980) employees in Japan are more eager to contribute and managers are more adoptable to new management practices which resulted in improved productivity through higher levels of motivation, greater sharing of decision making, stronger employee commitment, and increased job satisfaction. Usage of Statistical tools to measure and continually improve quality (Deming, 1980) is taken seriously by Japanese , Tekuchi in 1981 compares and explains that although this knowledge came from America but Japanese took it seriously and practice it every day . Peter Drucker suggested the importance of long term plan is the bottom line, he also stresses on life time employment as a good example of their long term vision, here employees are more adoptable to change because of their job security same arguments in support given by William Anderson (1981), chairman and chief executive officer of National Cash Register Corporation. Consensus based decision making is a factor for total alignment towards improvement says Ouchi (1981). He argues that even through it is time taking process but once it is reached there is no moving backward and will get total support from everyone it become collective responsibility to achieve follow that decision says Ouchi. Richard Pascale and Anthony Athos (1981) utilize in their model the framework of seven management variables developed by McKinsey & Company. The seven variables of S's are
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super ordinate goals, strategy, structure, systems, staff, skills, and style. Then they further divided it into "hard S's" and "soft S's." The hard S's, is the more impersonal and institutional factors, are strategy, structure, and systems. In contrast, the soft S's, is more about human values and interpersonal issues, are staff, skills, and style. J. Bernard keys, Thomas r. Miller, 1984 stated that there are many reasons visible from outside but basic difference is rooted in their culture, Authors also explained underlying factors behind all these above successful Japanese management practices is Long-Run Planning Horizon, Commitment to Lifetime Employment, Collective Responsibility. As noted by J. Bernard keys and Thomas r. Miller
“A suggested pattern of causality among the
underlying factors of long run planning horizon, commitment to lifetime employment, and collective responsibility and a summary of outcomes characterizing Japanese management” (The Academy of Management Review, Vol. 9, No. 2 (Apr., 1984), p. 349). This journal provides the in-depth knowledge of Japanese management policies and practices later author is concluding the reason behind those successful management practices which is very important to understand the internal structure of so called Japanese management style in business. Here most the journal sections cover the Japanese manufacturing practices but I need to collect more information on Japanese strategic management style of working especially in electronics hardware industry.
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2.2.2 Distinctive feature of Japanese management style
Japanese management practices are influenced by culture, by industrial organization, e.g. keiretsu, government, especially the ministry of trade and industry (Most important values, Ideology, Traditions): a number of cultural influences serve as the foundation for current Japanese management practices. Including collective mentality, persistence in the face of difficult, strong emphasis on social reciprocity
as the governing principle of relationships, physical concentration and culturally.
Three pillar of Japanese industrial relations system: lifetime employment; the seniority wage and promotion system; and enterprise based unions
Decision making is an important part of JM Studies. There is ringi system of decision making. Nemawashi is an important Japanese business concept that refers to roots of tree. It implies the activities that take place below ground‐ level and describes the nature of surrounding out, in which contacted persons feel too talk about ideas.
Whereas Ringi seido as opposite to nemawashi is commonly used formal procedure of management by group consensus. A ringisho is a proposal that originates in one section, and is forwarded to all relevant sections on same level, the section heads, the managers, the directors and eventually the president of the company
Japanese believe in „wa’ which means harmony. Wa plays important role in decision making.
Life time employment (shushinkoyo)
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Most of the employees in this system are directly recruited from school rather than from an open job market. Secondly they are expected to stay in company for long time and can in return expect lifelong job security.
Seniority promotion (nenko joretsu) The term „nenko’ is the merit in the numbers of years an employee has provided his service. Since most of the employees are directly recruited from school, age and length of service; seniority becomes an appropriate standard for reward.
The enterprise trade unions (kigyo betsu kumiai) There are the enterprise trade unions in each company .Union member includes all white collar and blue collar workers. The workers do not have separate skill identification outside of the company.
Long Run Planning
Commitment to lifetime Employment
Collective Responsibility
Figure 6 Japanese management system simplified Source: J. Bernard Keys and Thomas R. Miller, “ The Japanese Management Theory Jungle”, The Academy of Management Review, Vol. 9, No. 2 (Apr., 1984), pp. 342-353.
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2.3 Literature review of Indian management style Indian is a land of contradiction, on one hand it is one of the fastest growing countries willing to play a leading role in global economy. On the other hand, in spite of reforms in 1990 India is still closed economy in terms of labor, capital, and knowledge. But Indian managers more optimistic about their future in comparison to their other countries counterparts (Bever et al., 2005). The domination of family, highly bureaucratic government systems, a labor laws and human resource practices are some of the areas where managerial gaps needs to be addressed. Since 1947 independence Indian government is shielded Indian companies from outer competitions which resulted in inefficiencies and status-quo at national level, and also contributed to corruption (Davis et al.,2005) . Nevertheless, there is new wave of change and development and changes are lead by rise of sectors like software, services, automobile, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology sector. Rise of these sectors proved that Indian managers can compete on world stage even after lots of adversities.
2.3.1 Socio-cultural influences on the Indian mindset
Over the centuries, cultural and spiritual forces have left very strong influence on Indian mindset. It has be argued that Indian can show one type of behavior in organization and totally different kind of behavior in family (Lannoy,1971). Another important element which contributes Indian mindset behavior is caste system; there are four major castes in Indian social structure Brahmins (priests), Kshatriyas(Rulers), Vaishyas (Businessman), and Shudra (people who serve others). This categorization of people according to their work influences Indian mindset people are used to categorize people according to their occupation, status and wealth gives Indian management system very hierarchical setup.
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In recent interview, the Indian-born former CEO of McKinsey, Rajat Gupta, his managerial worldview derived from derived from deep spiritual Indian idea of „Nishkama Karma’ , this idea came from hindu religious book Bhagwad gita it means people should do their work whole heartedly without thinking of profit or loss. The „holistic‟ interpretation of Vedantic philosophies is being applied in management literature as well as executive training programs in India (Chakraborty,1998). Well known ancient Hindu scriptures talks about Dharma (principled and ethical core), Artha (practical challenges), Kama (worldly motivation) and Moksha (self-actualization) are the four main pillars which sustain the society, organization and individuals. Chakraborty (1998) calls for India to act as a mature civilization in response of fast changing society and he argues that India has a potential to contribute to world of management (Chakraborty, 1998).
2.3.2 India’s growth and Potential India‟s global image in economic success is boosted recently, in recent years India‟s GDP grew with the rate of 8 percent average. Demographically 70 percent of India‟s population is less than 35 year of age. Instead of huge population of 1.1 billion effect of growth can be seen everywhere in India (Sinha,2005). Indian product quality is reaching world standards. India emerged as leading supplier of IT and IT enabled services. India produces largest pool of Doctors, Engineers, and MBAs per year. Table 1 below compares the indicators of economic competitiveness as compared to other countries and increasing influence of India in globalized world. India‟s competitive advantage lies, firstly, In large pool of English speaking knowledge intensive human resource and second, India offers very attractive cost structure (Chatterjee & Nankervis, 2007).Recently India emerged as favorable destination for business in world.
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S.
Indicators
2005 Positions
No. 1
International
growth
competitiveness Rank of 50 score 4.04
Index 2
Availability of scientists and engineers
No. 1 among 117 countries
3
Quality of management schools
No. 6 among 117 countries
4
Effects of privatization on competition No. 9 among 117 countries and the environment
5
Business competitiveness
Rank 31 out of 117
6
Average time to export goods
36 days in India compared to 20 days in China
7
Hiring and firing practices
No. 111 among 117 countries
8
Average time needed to start the 78 days compared to 48 days in China business
9
Market
capitalization
of
companies 10
11
listed $387 billion in India against $640 billion in China
Percentage of population living on less 31 percent in India compared to 13 than $1 a day (in 2004)
percent in China
Literacy rate age 15 plus (in 2004)
India 61 percent compared to China 91 percent.
12
Perception of business corruption
CPI index of 2.9 (Ranking 88 out of 159 countries).
13
Info-tech and services firms
Combined sales $28 billion. 130 percent increase since 2000
14
Cell phone subscribers
35 million in 2005
15
Internet users
33 million in 2005
Table 1 India’s global strengths and weaknesses Source: Adapted from Chandler (2005); Lopez et al. (2005); and Transparency International (2005);Asian management in Transition (2007), pg 84.
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2.3.3 Understanding Indian management model
Emergence of India as outsourcing hub leads researchers all around the world to study about Indian style management. Many trends appear to be emerging, some of cultural influences contributed to Indian managerial mindset. Some of contributing influences are listed by Sinha (2000) listed in table 2 below.
Contributing threads of influence
Impact on managerial mindset
Nationalistic pride as a counterpoint to colonial rule.
Integration of science, technology and related global ideas to indigenous educational and social norm with strong patriotic zeal.
Presence of all pervasive bureaucratic culture in institutional life.
Colonial legacy in the work culture and managerial practice in government, public sector and other spheres of life.
Cultural tradition and heritage as a stream of influence.
Strong cultural frames such as family bonding, mutuality of obligations and conformity to tradition.
Recent impact of global forces in managerial mindset.
Emergence of successful global sectors such as „Information services‟, BPO, Pharmaceuticals, Optical and Magnetic data storage, Bio-Technology generating a „Brand India mind‟.
Table 2 Sources of managerial mindset in India Source: Adopted and developed from Sinha (2000); Asian management in Transition (2007), pg 91. Table 2 presented above showing the changing dynamics of Indian managerial mindset. With the exposure of Indian MNCs to global competition leads them to build corporate governance and transparency in organization. Above Figure highlights four key areas of managerial mindset reorientation and they are Competitive, performance, Balance of global-
local, Brand India confidence.
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Market, strategy Competitive
and purpose
sphere
Performance sphere
Global threat and
New managerial
Competency leveraging
opportunity
mindset and
and bridging performance
thrust
potential gap
Balance of global-
Strength of
Brand India
local sphere
cultural heritage.
confidence sphere
Figure 7 Changing dynamics of management in India Source: Asian management in Transition (2007) from Chatterjee & Nankervis, pg 91.
The purpose of above model (As shown in Figure 7) is to highlight the new trends and transformation of managerial thinking in India. The four spheres of interaction have provided four stable anchors of „managerial mindset‟ thrust. These anchors are the base on which new Indian management style is designed.
Market, Strategy and purpose – for around fifty year bureaucratic mindset is dominant over Indian managerial minds but soon after 1990s economical reformation people started changing their orientation from opportunistic to strategic.
Global threat and opportunity – With the entry of global MNCs in Indian market forced Indian companies to change their internal work process, union-management relations, and Human resource practices.
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Strength of cultural heritage - The ancient Indian concept of „Nishkama karma‟, or devoting oneself into work without thinking of results unifies the diversity of culture threads. The idea of Nishkama karma is supported by many Indian business leaders.
Competency in leveraging and bridging the performance potential- With the demographic shift of more young workers at workplace, some changes in labor laws and new HR practices it has become possible to recruit, train and retain best and cheap talents (Chatterjee & Nankervis,2007, pg 92).
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2.3.4 Indian management at Micro level
Chatterjee & Nankervis (2007) argues that external factors can affect macro-level management but micro-level influence of culture remains significant. Tayab(1989) also argued that cultural factors and impacts more on underlying process and dimension of the corporate designs and strategies but
corporate macro level adjust to the realities of
economic reforms, communication, technology and globalization to sustain in long term. Although with effect of western market economy Indian management system also adopting culture associated with it (Webber,1969; Child,1981; Bond and Kind,1985; Chatterjee & Nankervis,2007) but Indian value and culture is so strong that it will retain its uniqueness in spite of all influence( England and Lee,1974 Chatterjee & Nankervis,2007)
But some
theorist say that some influence can results some hybrid management style (Beal, 1953; Chatterjee & Nankervis,2007).
Serial Number 1 2 3 4 5
Business culture in micro level High paternalism with frequent overlap in ownership and professional management More focus on security and stability by the strong union movement rather than accepting change and risk. Strong masculine values in managerial practices and organizational culture. Hierarchy used as the coordinating mechanism with very limited scope of empowerment Emphasis on security and stability by the strong union movement rather than accepting change and risk. Ascription emphasized more than work performance. Highly affective behavioral norms with bureaucratic dominance
6 7 Source: Asian management in Transition (2007) from Chatterjee & Nankervis, pg 101. Table 3 Indian business culture at micro-organizational level
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2.3.5 Indian Social structure and philosophy
value growth long-term opportunities relationships
More tolerant Position defines status
Low cost champions work division
Labor intensive work
Indian culture
Relationship influence
Leader –Follower system
Flexible Never Say “No”
Less entrepreneur ship
SuperiorSubordinate Relationship
Figure 8 Indian social structure and philosophy Figure 8 enlists the Indian social structure and philosophical values embedded in Indian society which are stronger enough to influence their working style in working place. Below all values are explained in detail.
Family business -In the joint family system, members of a family pooled their resources to maintain the family and invest in business ventures. The system ensured younger members were trained and employed in the family business and the older and disabled persons would be supported by the family. The system curbed members from taking initiative because of the support system and family or work.
Huge Financial Gap -Access to wealth and power varies considerably, and vast differences in socioeconomic status are evident everywhere. Urban-rural differences can be immense in the Indian Society. Nearly 74 percent of India's population dwells in villages, with agriculture providing support for most of these rural residents.
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Gender distinctions - The behavior expected of men and women can be quite different, especially in villages, but also in urban centers. Prescribed ideal gender roles help shape the actions of both sexes as they move between family and the world outside the home.
Caste system - The people of India belong to thousands of castes and caste like groups--hierarchically ordered, named groups into which members are born. Caste is historical distinction of people according to kind of work their ancestors did this system is still practiced strongly in India. Businessman caste is Bania (North India) and Marwari (West India) this caste system is so influential that it still decides the profession of individual. Big business houses like Airtel Co. Ltd. owned by Sunil mittal and world‟s number one steel maker Arcelor-Mittal is owned by Laxmi Mittal these all prominent business people belong to Marwari community.
Spirituality– Indian people are closer to spirituality sometimes they tend to connect their daily work with spirituality, their values and teachings bring work and spirituality closer. They consider workplace as temple and work as prayer. According to Ancient Hindu Vedas work is considered as one of the way to Nirvana.
Materialistic– In Hinduism materialistic (Artha) things were never apart from spirituality, even goddess of money Lakshmi is prayed by Hindus for materialistic gains.
Status Conscious – Due to deep rooted caste system in Indian society, people were always divided into several levels and status. People tend to be more conscious of their family and personal status, their most of the decisions is influenced by their status in society.
Individualism and collectivism Attitude – Indian society is more individualistic, from history we can observe that there is always idol or god like Figure existed in every era that‟s why people are more individualistic, they believe that one man can make difference in society. People are more motivated to express their ideas. But the most interesting part is Indian people tend to show collectivism when they are talking in their
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families or community and their behavior changes dramatically to individualistic when they interact with outside people (kumar and work 2004; Kumar and Sethi 2005).
Argumentative and Logical – Kumar and Sethi in 2005 in their article wrote that Indian people has logical mind they analyze everything calculative, they also observed they Indians are good argument makers that‟s why they are really good at mathematics , software and service industry which is more depends on interpersonal logical skills.
Hierarchical system - Indian families are combined families and they are hierarchical in nature, generally eldest man in home is head of the family everybody follows his command and decides the directions of whole family. This kind of structure is also reflected in Indian social structure where one man heads the community and everybody else suppose to follow him.
Hungry for growth - Because of rise of Indian economy Indian middle class who were poverty stricken for years are hungry for growth they are hardworking and intelligent, today‟s Indian educated youth is more competitive.
Lack of entrepreneurship activity – Due to poverty stricken past people prefer to join already existing organization instead of creating their own company, most of people don‟t want to risk their family status or career. That‟s why entrepreneurship activity is very low in India.
Corruption - Administrative system is not mature enough to run processes, corruption is commonly found at every level of public offices. This leads to lack of confidence of common public on government which in turn affects the patriotism of common people towards nation
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Chapter 3 Introduction, Methodology and Organization of Final Report 3.1 Introduction After the Rapid recovery of Japanese economy and extraordinary performance of Japanese companies all around the world after the devastation faced by Japan in World war II caught attention of many scholars and researchers all around globe to know the mantra behind success of Japan. Some researcher concluded that reason for success is productive collaboration between government and Industry (Hirchmeier et al., 1975; Pascale and Athos, 1982;Chalmers, 1989), and some argued that it happened because of late comer advantage ( Cole,1978; Pempel and Tsunekawa, 1979;Taira,1994), and Other factors like effective manufacturing process and methods ( Schonberger,1982;Shinohara,1982;Womack et al, 1980), Strategic product marketing(kono,1984;Dace,1987) and Characteristics of Japanese management style (Dore,1973; Pascale and Athos, 1982; ono,1984 ; Tokunaga,1984; Tanaka,1988,Whitehill, 1991). As Japan getting more developed and influential, many researchers suggested their point of view on success of Japan.
Among all the study done on success of Japan, Japanese management style seems to be most studied factor. Richard Pascale and Anthony Athos (1981) build a model by using Seven variables of S‟s developed by McKinsey & Company namely strategy, structure, and systems, skill, style and staff to explain Japanese management style more clearly .The
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study of Japanese management style from cultural perspective is still continued by researchers (Fukuda, 1988; Murakami and Rohlen, 1992; Fruin, 1994).
3.2 Objective of the research
(1) What are the sources of intercultural conflicts between India and Japan? (2) How are intercultural conflicts can be managed with the context of Indian and Japanese organizations?
3.3 Methodology
My research is about corporate relationship building strategies and procedures between companies of two nations so mostly information is gathered to understand working culture of both nations; and for that I looked from many sources of information and various kinds of information. The methodology of this research is Literature review and Case study. To understand the whole management system we need to go to the bottom of cultural and social structure, history of evolution of management practices for that I did literature review on Indian and Japanese cultures, History and Management style of organizations, cultural differences.
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3.3.1 Scale Used
Geert Hofstede collected studied large number of data from 74 countries to understand the cultural behavior of people from different nationalities. He collected data from IBM spread all around the world and analyzed and categorized it statistically according to country averages of the answers to questions he received from IBM employees and called it cultural dimensions as Power Distance, Individualism and Collectivism, Masculinity and Femininity, Uncertainty Avoidance. In 1980, Hofstede and Michael Harris Bond from Chinese university of Hong Kong used this existing model and added new dimension Long and Short term orientation into it. Since then many researchers and organizations used these cultural dimension to estimate the behavior of people by their nationality and culture by understanding manager‟s working and decisions style it is very easy to do business in today‟s globalized world. In this research too I am using this Hofstede‟s cultural dimension scales to compare and understand the behavior and peculiar working style of Indian and Japanese. How much these two management style is what factors are responsible for these behavior.
3.3.2 Case Study This research also includes case study of Infosys technologies Japan; Infosys is one the pioneer of IT sector in India and role model for other IT and services companies. I chose Infosys Japan because with this history of 13 year it has managed itself very well growing every year in Japanese market. Research includes study of evolution Infosys Japan and their strategies and policies to overcome the friction caused by intercultural conflicts. It also includes Infosys macro and micro communication and interaction model for internal and external communication.
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Pictorial explanation of these models gives clear picture of their internal and external working style.
3.3.3 Sources of Information
Sources of information includes primary and secondary source of data. Primary data includes small talk with employees in Japanese companies and my own experience of working with Japanese company I.A.P. Company Ltd. Secondary data includes many source of data such as:
1. University library books 2. Internet websites 3. Guidance from supervisor 4. Research work and journals 5. Online news, articles and blogs. 6. Infosys Japan factsheet, home page and case studies.
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3.3.5 Type of data and Information
History of India
History of Japan
Comparisons between two societies
Working culture in both
Contrast and compare, recent
Intercultural
countries
economical and business
relationships between
trends in both countries
both nations
Current business
Business agreements signed
Business obstacles in
scenario
between two nations
current scenario
Technological
Case study about nations
India-US software
achievements of two
enjoying good business
import-export strategies
nations
relationships
and related case studies
How global inflation
Infosys global and Japan case
Recent news,
affects indo-Japan
study and Annual Report , fact
development on Indian
economies and success
sheet and related article.
and Japan relations
Greet Hofstede‟s cultural
Previous study on Indian and
FDI
dimensions its usage
Japanese management style.
India and Japan.
stories of companies working in both nations.
inflow
between
and implementation
Table 4 Type of research data
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Chapter 4 Case Study: Infosys Japan 4.1 Indian Information Technology Market – An Overview
The Indian IT industry has grown from mere US $150 million in 1991-92 to amazing US $5.7 billion in 1999-2000. No other Indian industry has achieved this growth rate yet. Indian IT industry consistently maintained 50% growth since 1991. Total IT-BPO industry to reach USD 71.7 billion accounting for 5.8% of India‟s GDP; software and services revenues aggregated to about USD 60 billion and software and services export revenue estimated to grow over 16-17% to reach 47 billion. Services and software segments are estimated to cross USD 1.2 trillion by 2012. The global technology related spending is expected to grow from 2010 onwards led by growth to enhance global sourcing. (NASSCOM(6 July2009),Industry Trends, 3 January 2010,http://www.nasscom.in/Nassco /templates/NormalPage.aspx? id=56966). Large number of Indian companies are investing in overseas destination, either through mergers and acquisitions or direct investment to attain economies of scale, acquire technology, tap natural resources or brand building. India retains its position as the second heighest foreign employer in the UK. (“Indian investment abroad”, Indian brand equity
foundation, Sept-2009, http://www.ibef.org/economy/indianinvestmentsabroad.aspx, 3-Jan2009).
Vision “To be a globally respected corporation that provides best-of-breed business solutions, leveraging technology, delivered by best –in-class people.”
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Mission “To achieve our objective in an environment of fairness, honesty, and courtesy towards our clients employees, vendors and society at large.”
Values We believe that the softest pillow is a clear conscience. The values that drive us underscore our commitment to:
Customer Delight: To surpass customer expectations consistently
Leadership by Example: To set standards in our business and transactions and be an exemplar for the industry and ourselves
Integrity and Transparency: To be ethical, sincere and open in all our transactions
Fairness: To be objective and transaction-oriented, and thereby earn trust and respect
Pursuit of Excellence: To strive relentlessly, constantly improve ourselves, our teams, our services and products to become the best
4.2 Japanese Information Technology Market –An Overview Japan‟s IT market is world‟s second largest market, it was around USD 100 billion in 200607. But Japanese IT market has been adversely affected in recent years by weak performance of Japanese economy. Japan‟s GDP is growing with a rate of mere 1.3% but this growth is going negative since July-2008 which is matter of concern for new elected government. (“Japan GDP Growth Rate”, Trading Economics- Global Economy Research)
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industry; imports make up almost 50 percent of the total market. As Japanese companies continue to streamline their businesses processes and looking for ways to cut costs”. Source: “Japan’s IT Market”, IT Industries and trade development. Above phrase written in American trade development website shows the need of Japan‟s customized software industry need of skilled manpower to be here in Japan which can provide them best quality, cheap and customized software to Japanese industry which can only be filled by Indian software engineers who are looking for opportunity all around the world.
4.3 Infosys Technologies - About Company Infosys Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: INFY) was started in 1981 by seven people with US$ 250. Today, they are a global leader in the "next generation" of IT and Consulting with revenues of over US$ 4 billion. Infosys designs and delivers technology-enabled business solutions that help Global 2000 companies win in a Flat World. Infosys also provides a complete range of services by leveraging our domain and business expertise and strategic alliances with leading technology providers. Infosys has a global footprint with over 40 offices and development centers in and employs 105,000 people in its 50 centers spread across India, China, Australia, the Czech Republic, Japan, Poland, Canada and the United Kingdom.(“When the world was not enough”, Business Standard, Bhupesh Bhandari, New
Delhi, 31 December 2009, http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/whenworld-wasnot-enough/381280/").
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4.4 History of Infosys:
1983: Moved its headquarters to Bangalore, the capital of Karnataka .
1987: Opens first international office in Boston, US .
1992: Opened its first overseas sales office in Boston.
1993: Became a public limited company in India with an initial public offering of Rs. 13 crores.
1996: First office in Europe in Milton Keynes, UK.
1997: Office in Toronto, Canada .
1999: First Indian company to be listed on NASDAQ on March 11.
1999: Attained a SEI-CMM Level 5 ranking.
2000: Opened offices in France and Hong Kong.
2001: Opened offices in United Arab Emirates and Argentina
2002: Opened new offices in Netherlands, Singapore and Switzerland.
2002: Business World named Infosys "India's Most Respected Company".
2002: Started Progeon, its BPO (business process outsourcing) subsidiary.
2003: Acquired 100% equity of Expert Information Services Pty Limited, Australia (Expert) and changed the name to Infosys Australia Pty Limited.
2004: Set up Infosys Consulting Inc., U.S. consulting subsidiary in California, U.S.
2006: Became the first Indian company to ring the NASDAQ Stock Market Opening Bell
2006: August 20, N. R. Narayana Murthy retired from his position as the executive chairman.
2006: Acquired the 23% stake Citibank had in its BPO offshoot Progeon, making it a wholly owned subsidiary of Infosys and changed the name to Infosys BPO Ltd.
2006: December became the first Indian company to make it to Nasdaq-100.
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2007: April 13, Nandan Nilekani stepped down as CEO and made way for Kris Gopalakrishnan to occupy his chair effective June 2007.
2007: July 25, Infosys bags multi-million dollar outsourcing contract with Royal Philips Electronics in the area Finance & Accounting services strengthening its European operations.
2007: September, Infosys establishes a wholly-owned Latin American subsidiary, Infosys Technologies S. de R. L. de C. V., and opens its first software development center in Latin America in the city of Monterrey, Mexico.
2008: Agreed to buy British consultancy Axon Group for 407 million pounds ($753 million), but HCL Technologies outbid Infosys for 441 million pounds. However, Infosys gained Rs. 180 million from the failed Axon bid.
(Source: Infosys, Infosys About us, http://www.infosys.com/about/who-weare/Pages/history.aspx, 3 January 2010).
4.4.1 Infosys Japan up till now
1996 - Infosys began its operation in Japan.
1997 – Started the Infosys Tokyo office.
Grown from 2 to 1000+ personal in past 9 years in Japan.
250+ onsite, 750+ offshore employees placed for working.
A good mix of native Japanese (125+) and bilinguals (50+) working in Japan operations.
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(Source: “Inside the Japanese IT business”, Samson David, Infosys Technologies, Canada,http://dipp.nic.in/japan/japan_cell/indian_investment/Inside_Japanese_IT_Bu siness.pdf, 3 Sept 2010).
Infosys Japan plan to the increase the number of bilinguals in Japan and native Japanese workers by 30-40% ratio.
Infosys Japan employee ratio Japanese nationals 8%
Billinguals 6% Rest 86%
Source: “Inside the Japanese IT business”, Samson David, Infosys Technologies
Figure 9. Infosys Japan employee ratio
Infosys technology management knows that unlike US and European countries Japanese business runs on trust and long term relationship (Refer: Long term oriented table ) so to do business here, it is necessary for company to stay close to their Japanese clients and partners and understand their needs and fulfill them. Infosys Japan CEO Mr. V. Sriram stresses that adaptability and flexibility are the most valuable traits employees can have,
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especially when they are working in cross cultural environment. He stresses to his Indian employee to “put some soy sauce” on their thinking in order to make it more palatable to their Japanese colleagues. Likewise, he encourages his Japanese employees to “put some curry” on their thinking in order to be more persuasive to their Indian colleagues. About Japan he says that Japan is currently at and inflection point- and has lot of potential to succeed in this new world, Japan should change his policy to “build inside and then sent outside “to “first outside and then inside” policy to learn faster and bring that knowledge back home.
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4.5 Infosys Japan - Overcoming Intercultural Barriers
4.5.1 Client-Infosys team communication model
Since 1996, Infosys have been able to successfully overcome the barrier of intercultural communication by following model explained in Figure 3.3 below; Figure 3.3 explains how Infosys Japan manages communication with their clients and their core team.
Fulfillment
Client Acquisition
Japan On-Site
Japan On-Site Client
Client
J
J
SALES
On demand
Tech support
SME
Project team
SALES
Team
Offshore
Offshore Core response team
SG1
SG2
SG2
Core response team
SG2
SG1
resp
India Team onse
SG= Specialist tea group
SG2
resp Team in Japan SME-Subject Matter expert
onse Team India tea group SG= Specialist
m
SG2
SG2
Larger team Team in Japan SME-Subject Matter expert
m
Source: “Inside the Japanese IT business”, Infosys Technologies
Figure 10 Client Acquisition and fulfillment model
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Infosys Japan has team of bilinguals which includes Japanese and Indian national who works as a bridge between Sales, Technical support, and On Demand SME. These Bilinguals are well trained in Japanese and English language with knowledge of technicalities of projects; this team keeps in touch with Core development team in Indian and Japanese client. These bilinguals also translate Japanese-English and English to Japanese documents, they play very vital role in maintaining relationship between and overcome language barriers.
According to Samson David (2006) Vice-President Infosys Canada suggested few points what Infosys managers should always keep in mind while dealing with Japanese companies:
Interaction between business and IT is quite different to west; IT is still mainly a service provider and a cost center in most Japanese companies.
A very interactive way of solution definition/information collection should be followed.
A very suggestion driven approach.
Works on lots of assumption when sufficient information is not there.
Small but good starts are important with Japanese companies.
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4.5.2 Infosys communication model
JAPAN Client
INDIA Infosys (onsite)
Japanese
IT
BIZ
Infosys (Offshore) Delivery Manager
English
Project
Project
Project
Manager
Manager
Manager
Project/Program Team
Project Manager
Translation Support if Required Source: “Inside the Japanese IT business”,2006, Infosys Technologies
Figure 11 Infosys Japan communication model In above micro communication model, Project manager and his team (usually bilingual) always keep in touch with client‘s IT and Business development team. This team has knowledge of Japanese working style and culture; this team not only interacts with Infosys onsite team but also Infosys offshore team. Issues like Project negotiation, day to day working and software maintenance like issues can be solved by help of bridging team. There is team of Japanese-English translator who gives support in case any translation is required.
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4.6 How Infosys manages all this?
According to Samson David (2006) Vice-President Infosys Canada in his presentation informed how Infosys managing above model some of the points are:
People related
Hired people with Japanese skills and with genuine interest in Japanese culture and language.
Made sure that all interaction with Japanese clients should be in Japanese.
Following all Japanese rules and tradition while interacting with Japanese companies “Japanese way”.
Always keeping combination of technology and sales people while meeting with Japanese people. (Source: Infosys corporate website,3-Jan-2010)
Process related
Core Business development and interaction teams are well trained in Japanese language and culture.
Ensured continuity of team who is interacting.
Doing most of the working using Japanese language to increase awareness of Japanese in team members.
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Keeping multiple options
Always open for discussion and meetings.
Re using as many component as possible to save and money.
Maintain uninterrupted communication.
Well established Risk and change management strategy.
Do more product testing, Japanese like perfection.
(Source: Infosys corporate website,3-Jan-2010)
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Chapter 5 Suggested Bridging strategies
Differences shown by Hofstede’s cultural dimensions in chapter 2 outline the basic differences between these two management styles which is summarized in table 4.1 below: Management style comparison Hofstede’s cultural Dimension India PDI
Big PDI, Hierarchical
Japan Highest PDI, Senpai-kohai relationship strong
UAI
Low UAI : less developed
High UAI: matured processes and
procedure and standards.
standards for everything.
LTO
Believe in long term relationship
Relationship and Trust is very important.
Decision
Top to Bottom decision making
Bottom to top consensus based decision
making
approach
making approach
Group
Individualistic behaviors of
Highly group oriented behavior.
orientation employee
Figure 12 Comparison India Japan using cultural dimensions As we can observe from above table 4.1 that even through these two are Asians still there are huge differences between there working style. Roots of these two cultures shares different historical events which gave them totally different shapes which is reflected in their working style.
One kind of management style can’t be implemented on other kind of management style. Many organization tried to implement their system in other countries but failed that’s why organization needs to localize good things in their working style according to other culture
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and working style to make it a big success. Companies like Maruti-Suzuki and Tata-Docomo well known success story in India and Infosys technologies leading software and services firm is running their subsidiary in Japan from last 13 years successfully.
As discussed in case study of Infosys Japan we found that proper knowledge of local culture and making themselves flexible enough to get fit into local society is mantra of success. Infosys Japan not only understood things from their roots but they implemented procedure and processes in their internal system which kept them growing in Japan one of the top competitive country in world.
By understanding the basic differences of both working style and by looking closely at working style of Infosys Japan this research is suggesting management practices if pursued will help to overcome the barrier of intercultural conflicts in Indian and Japan.
5.1 Risk Propensity
Bridging strategy For Japanese Management
Keep mind open for new ideas.
Look mistake or problem as opportunity.
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Give everyone freedom to take risks, do new experiment and learn.
For Indian Management
Try to know what kind of risks makes others more uncomfortable.
Avoid spontaneity and surprises with Japanese team mates.
Keep them updated with all information and detail, Japanese like detail information.
5.2 Decision Making Style
Bridging strategy For Japanese Management
Give clear and concise detail to your team mates.
Establish clear goals and objectives, explain them vision.
Give them power to take independent decisions.
Remove unnecessary levels for approvals.
For Indian management
Should take team consensus before any critical decisions.
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Avoid becoming rigid leader, be flexible to listen and accept new ideas.
Encourage team mates .
5.3 Communication Style
For Japanese Management
Express more to Indian team mates.
Tone of voice, facial expressions, and gift-giving are not sufficient to express use some words and talk to them more.
Give explanations, definitions, clear instructions.
For Indian management
Pay attention to Japanese expressions and actions, Japanese talk less.
Ask brief and good questions and keep it simple.
Interact more often with Japanese people.
Use charts, tables, diagrams, outline form to explain your point.
5.5 Role Clarity
For Japanese Management
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Explain them clearly their roles and work description.
Give them explicit permission if you want them to do job outside of their respective jobs.
Allocate job according to profile and status of people.
For Indian management
Be ready to accept a job which may fall out of your current job description.
Be ready to help and be open to get help from others.
Give them a clear job description and detail.
5.6 Individual /Group Oriented
For Japanese Management
Provide choices or options in jobs.
Give them some time of their own.
Give Indian people some time to make individual initiative.
Use individual objectives, individual performance-based compensation and incentives, and individual praise.
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Understand the unique needs, preferences, and personality of each individual, Indian employees need individual recognition.
For Indian management
Be attentive to others needs.
Always be ready to help other team members.
Plan group social activities with Japanese people. Team parties, picnics and group dinner are best way to maintain relationship with Japanese people.
Emphasize teamwork and team spirit.
Stress on group work and group celebration.
5.7 Value of Time
For Japanese Management
You should realize that Indian people are not used to Japanese working style, sometime they can’t be exactly on time, instead of getting angry give them time learn this.
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It is really important to pay attention to implementation, follow-up, and maintenance if project is implementing. Regular review is necessary.
Give in-depth guidance and training in planning and implementation.
Rather than automatically assuming that speed is priority number one, consider other priorities such as quality, risk avoidance, and maintaining good relationships.
For Indian management
Pay careful attention to deadlines; give them reason with detail beforehand if deadline can’t be achieved.
Be precise and be sure to leave enough time so that the deadline can be met.
If things are taking a long time, explain the reason why clearly. Japanese people like details and ready to accept excuses if its real and acceptable.
5.8 Process Orientation
For Japanese Management
Be ready to accept new ideas or ways to do things.
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Be ready to listen and accept new style of working.
Recognize that different techniques may work better for different people.
Distinguish between when a certain process is necessary in order to achieve the best result, and when it’s just a matter of custom or habit.
For Indian management
Find out what process-related steps are most important to your colleagues. Japanese people have process for every thing, try to learn and implement.
Recognize that efficiency may be increased by having everyone adopt a standard approach.
Explain the steps you took to reach the conclusion.
Help your colleagues understand the process you are using in your work.
5.9 Formality
For Japanese Management
Don’t hesitate to follow formalities, Even Indian people are formal people they like formalities.
If something you don’t like, try to tell them which things you don’t like.
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Choose informal place if you are planning outing with Indian team mates.
For Indian management
Follow etiquette, Japanese people are used to it. It’s better if you learn their formality.
Read books, Journals or watch programs on Japanese culture to gain knowledge.
Following formalities definitely improve relationship and maintain cordial work environment.
Always greet your co-workers by good morning and good evening . always say please and thankyou.
5.10 Work Life Balance
For Japanese Management
Avoid ordering team mates to do late stay.
Respect peoples' sense of family responsibility when they, Indian people are very close to families.
Give them time to fulfill their family obligations.
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Sometime accept excuses when they have some family problems.
Give them vacations and don’t expect work from them on holidays.
For Indian management
Demonstrate your abilities and finish your work on time.
Be ready to stay late and work if it’s really important.
Keep commitment even though you have to stay late or overwork.
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Chapter 6. Conclusion
Researchers and scholars wrote about the simplicity in Japanese management system, the whole point in this society or organization is characterized by commitment, honesty and respect for each other.
Indian management style is totally different than Japan’s because situation they faced over time is different than Japan, Indian society faced situation of control/restrictive system while in Japan they faced facilitating (helping) systems. Individual’s internal feeling is different when they encounter either of these situations. Indians feel impatience, anxiety and fear of failure; while Japanese feel relaxed and safe.
It is not change in management style that can make an organization competitive and successful, but basic change in its thinking, understanding of its background, its social and business environment, and sense of commitment that would make all difference. Merely copying management style to another will not bring any positive results. There has to be serious effort towards modifying and adapting foreign approaches to work in new settings. There is a hope as many Indian companies like Tata Consultancy services and Infosys Technologies successfully adopted international standards and corporate governance showing ways to others. Ritsumeikan APU
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Now, Many Indian companies are working in Japan and Many Japanese companies working in India successfully, managers of both management needs to understand others cultures and localize their organization working accordingly.
After analyzing both management styles this research report outlined differences in power distribution, decision making style, masculine and Femininity behavior, Uncertainty avoidance, and long-short term orientation and concludes bridging strategies between two management styles suggesting to both Japanese and Indian management should know other side of people’s behavior, culture and working style and keep their management style flexible enough to get fit into others management styles. Managers should understand the need of change and flexibility according to environment. As by popular saying “When in
Rome, do as the Roman do”.
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