Outsourced movie cultural analysis MARWA BAWAZIR, H00269915

Outsourced movie is very good example of culture clash. Todd went to India because his boss told him so, and when he went out there he faced a lot of difficulties and cultural

clashes that he couldn’t understand it. India is much different than the U.S., because U.S considered to be low context culture whereas India is Low context culture.

Introduction:

Power distance: This dimension expresses the degree to which the less powerful members of a society accept and expect that power is distributed unequally. The fundamental issue here is how a society handles inequalities among people. People in societies exhibiting a large degree of Power Distance accept a hierarchical order in which everybody has a place and which needs no further justification. In societies with low Power Distance, people strive to equalise the distribution of power and demand justification for inequalities of power.

Power distance in India is very high when compared to the U.S. and to prove that we see a lot of low power distance in the movie between Todd and his manager David. In the first scene of the movie when David told Todd about outsourcing and that he should go to India, Todd said his opinion clearly and opposed his boss, because in their society they rejects status differentiation. also he didn’t respect his manager by saying immoral words. On the other hand in high power distance cultures like India, people accept that they are unequal and most of them call their managers Sir or Mr., because their manner of respect. Like we see in the movie how Peru was very respectful to his boss Todd

Individualism versus Collectivism

The high side of this dimension, called individualism, can be defined as a preference for a loosely-knit social framework in which individuals are expected to take care of only themselves and their immediate families. Its opposite, collectivism, represents a preference for a tightly-knit framework in society in which individuals can expect their relatives or members of a particular in-group to look after them in exchange for unquestioning loyalty. A society's position on this dimension is reflected in whether people’s self-image is defined in terms of “I” or “we.”

United states has very high rate in individualism, when India have very low rate.For example, in the scene where Asha and Todd were setting beside the water she told Todd that she is engaged since she were a child, and Todd couldn't understands why she is accepting this when she is a free women which have a right to choose the one that she will complete her life with. In the same scene, Asha told Todd that she is scared from what people says when they sees them in public together, then she shakes his hand like it was a business meeting. And in this scene we see Asha is worried about what people thinks and that is because she is in collective culture.

Another very good scene, is when Todd told Puro that he will live in a hotel, but Pero insisted that the he will be very lonely at the hotel and he should live at Auntie Ji’s guest home because he wont be lonely in there.

Another very good scene, is when Todd told Puro that he will live in a hotel, but Pero insisted that the he will be very lonely at the hotel and he should live at Auntie Ji’s guest home because he wont be lonely in there.

Short term Orientation vs long term Orientation:

Every society has to maintain some links with its own past while dealing with the challenges of the present and the future. Societies prioritize these two existential goals differently.

Societies who score low on this dimension, for example, prefer to maintain time-honored traditions and norms while viewing societal change with suspicion. Those with a culture which scores high, on the other hand, take a more pragmatic approach: they encourage thrift and efforts in modern education as a way to prepare for the future.

In the business context this dimension is related to as "(short term) normative versus (long term) pragmatic" (PRA). In the academic environment the terminology Monumentalism versus Flexhumility is sometimes also used.

America has very low term orientation, and wee see that in the movie when David said to Todd that he will be outscored to India, and told him that when he come back David will find something for him to work. Another scene were between Asha and Todd, when Asha said “A girl like me has her whole life mapped for her” because Indian’s have such a high level in time orientation.

Uncertainty Avoidance Index: The Uncertainty Avoidance dimension expresses the degree to which the members of a society feel uncomfortable with uncertainty and ambiguity. The fundamental issue here is how a society deals with the fact that the future can never be known: should we try to control the future or just let it happen? Countries exhibiting strong UAI maintain rigid codes of belief and behavior and are intolerant of unorthodox behavior and ideas. Weak UAI societies maintain a more relaxed attitude in which practice counts more than principles.

Asha in the movie said: “A girl in my position has her whole life mapped out in front of her.” but she was fighting to change that. her family told her that she cant go to university or you cant work in work center, but she did all of this, and Todd say “Asha can do everything” and she was very happy to hear that and answered him “you are the first person to tell me this” . And in this scene we see low uncertainly avoidance from Asha.

Indulgence versus Restraint: Indulgence stands for a society that allows relatively free gratification of basic and natural human drives related to enjoying life and having fun. Restraint stands for a society that suppresses gratification of needs and regulates it by means of strict social norms.

In the scene where Todd was in Auntie Ji’s guests home he ate with his left hand, and in India they eat with the right hand because left hand consider to be not clean. Also when Todd went to the bathroom and there were no toilet. Another good example, is when Todd wanted a beef burger and he couldn’t find it because Indians don’t eat beefs, while in America we can find Beef burgers everywhere. And these scenes indicates that India have such a high rate in restraint.

Low context cultures “U.S.A”:Short term relationships.

Intermarriage common

What you know is important

Outgoing

Specific information

“Have a go at it” philosophy

Focus in result

Direct eye contact

high context cultures "India”:•Close personal relationships

•Very rare marriage with outsiders

•Who you know is important

•Reserved

•General information

•Risks not taken easily

•Focus in process

•Elder people in control

References: Cultural Dimensions. (n.d.). Retrieved October 11, 2015, from http://geert-hofstede.com/cultural-dimensions.html