4 - Outsourcing & managing multicultural teams.

A few months into my previous job, I was informed by the management that my entire team would be dissolved at some point and our positions would be outsourced to a team of Argentinians based in Argentina. At that juncture, I decided to quit and look for better opportunities as I was anxious about my future. Most of the other team members were sacked about a year later.

As per global trends, it can be seen that many companies outsource their teams to countries like China and India to reduce overall costs as salaries offered to employees in these counties are much lower than in the West. Managing them in another country is no hassle as a manager is sent over to directly monitor the new team and to aid them, thereby helping them to adhere to company goals and policies.

Although the idea of relocating to a different country to work seems daunting at first, I think it would be a wonderful experience and we should embrace change. The only concern that I would like to raise now is the fact that big multinationals that set up offices abroad expect team members to follow the exact ways and methods with which they function at the headquarters. The gist of my argument is that although relocating and working in a new country is thrilling, what we are witnessing in the recent times is also a cultural invasion masked by a business strategy.


The following video clip describes and sums up my thoughts.

As seen in the clip, the protagonist is sent to India to manage the customer service call centre that his company had established there. He assumes that his new team fails to reach their expected targets due to their lack of knowledge about American culture and therefore, are not able to empathize with the average American customer. 

As the movie progresses, it is revealed to the audience that the real problem was due to the manager's inability to motivate his team, his unawareness about Indian culture, the people and their thought process.

 

On how many occasions have we experienced the authority of our superiors at work when they imposed certain methods and strategies? This approach to dealing with employees and team members results in dissatisfaction and anxiety at both ends.

Considering the cultural context of this issue,  this becomes even more sensitive. When it comes to working with people from a different culture in their own country, it is extremely important to be aware of cultural differences, without which one may come across as an unapproachable authoritarian figure.

 

Cultural awareness in the business setting is most important and relevant now than ever, as several companies are outsourcing jobs to people across the globe. Companies must train their senior employees and managers to think from another person's perspective and adopt suitable strategies related to specific work environments.

3 - Broad strokes of reality.

I recently came across with the following image. What do you see?

 

Right. Most of us would agree that it is a face looking to the left.

 I believe in first impressions because they provide me with much information about a new place or person. Gestures, colours, words, looks, etiquette, smells, noises, atmosphere… ; all those carry a meaning and have an effect on my mind when I am trying to get to know something or someone new. They are like broad strokes that result in a final idea in my mind. That image I have created based on those impressions will be taken to heart as long as I don´t receive any evidence to the contrary . As an example of this I am aware that a book´s cover might be misleading at first glance, but I accept it at face value.

Now, take a closer look.



What if I say it is all about a word written in vertical?



Yeah, we are all liars.

Better said, reality is the liar, sometimes, and it enjoys playing a trick on all of us.

 

2 - Dali, stereotypes and other curiosities.

The fact that we came from different educational, national and cultural backgrounds therefore holding very disparate opinions actually meant a far more enriching experience for both of us. We spent many hours in that small room sharing tears and laughter, love and hate, words from the heart and white lies, and friendship. 













Once I was asked to stop talking because something amazing became suddenly apparent. A Dali painting was hanging in the room, right in front of our eyes yet we had never noticed or sensed it around us. It showed beautiful swans in an unwelcoming lake and forest, and a human figure turning his back onto them. The weird thing was that the reflection on the lake's waters was not of swans but of elephants! What none of us had realised until then is that sometimes we believe that we are sending others a clear cut impression of our true selves but what they themselves perceive is something entirely different in shape, colour and even identity. How impressive is that!

I applied this epiphany to the area of cultural awareness, how our whole cultural and educational upbringinging shapes our minds from the very beginning leading us to form stereotypes about natives from other countries. I am not a believer in fate and determinism so I hold the strong opinion that each one of us has the capacity to liberate ourselves from pre-determined classifications of judging any person standing before us. Are all Germans inflexible, all Spaniards loud and lazy, all Americans overweight, all Argentinian men flirtatious, all Swedish cold as ice? I agree that there is some truth in stereotypes which are generally based on actual experiences plus a common perception of that particular culture as a whole. We should never forget however that our world is filled with unique individuals that can't just be put as a single entity inside a jar under the exact same label.

I am intrigued how much we expect our new foreign friends to conform to our particular stereotypes of their distinct backgrounds and cultures, how much space and opportunity we allow and offer them for their true, inner 'selves' to be revealed to us, to surprise us in its authentic uniqueness irrespective of what nationality they belong to.


Something else I also ponder, how much we expect and desire them to be just like us…but I'll leave that for another day.