The title of this post: "When did you get back from the US????" not only left me laughing a little, but also highlights the incredible struggle to implement change in India. Today while having a conversation about driver safety in India and just how common it is to witness an accident, even a serious accident, and then simply continue on your travels rather than stop to help, elicited this response from a colleague when an intern stated that one should be compelled to stop and provide assistance to the injured motorist. The comment was a clever quip that I hope it was intended to be funny, but deep down I suspect that this underlies the resistance in some Indians for true change, rather than just cosmetic change.
I recently finished reading a book entitled Games Indians Play; why we are the way we are by V. Raghunathan. Mr. Raghunathan is a professor of finance at IIM Ahmedabad that cleverly used game theory and behavioral economics to help understand why the citizens of this nation have a lower regard for public cleanliness and hygiene, the concern for quality is rather "Lilliputian", why the ambition levels of most are "at the level of a centipede's belly button," why there is a need for additional airport staff at gates which have departures to India, why people don't retaliate against social ills, why drivers routinely block the left lane when their intention is to turn right and so on and so on.
A very interesting read, which draws heavily on Dresher and Flood's prisoner's dilemma model, which includes a very simple payoff matrix to highlight in general we humans are selfish and rational beings. However, here in India, while a very communal society in some senses it seems that overall the nation tends to think more selfishly in regards to policy, public hygiene, regulation, etc. than do other nations I would definitely recommend this book for anyone that works closely with Indian customers or suppliers. While it doesn't solve the problems here it does help to let the reader know that these issues are known by some locals as well.
I recently finished reading a book entitled Games Indians Play; why we are the way we are by V. Raghunathan. Mr. Raghunathan is a professor of finance at IIM Ahmedabad that cleverly used game theory and behavioral economics to help understand why the citizens of this nation have a lower regard for public cleanliness and hygiene, the concern for quality is rather "Lilliputian", why the ambition levels of most are "at the level of a centipede's belly button," why there is a need for additional airport staff at gates which have departures to India, why people don't retaliate against social ills, why drivers routinely block the left lane when their intention is to turn right and so on and so on.
A very interesting read, which draws heavily on Dresher and Flood's prisoner's dilemma model, which includes a very simple payoff matrix to highlight in general we humans are selfish and rational beings. However, here in India, while a very communal society in some senses it seems that overall the nation tends to think more selfishly in regards to policy, public hygiene, regulation, etc. than do other nations I would definitely recommend this book for anyone that works closely with Indian customers or suppliers. While it doesn't solve the problems here it does help to let the reader know that these issues are known by some locals as well.
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