Punjabi Culture and Management
Had a test on Cross Cultural Management recently where Father Joe Arun gave us the following question:
"Discuss 10 variables of your cultural ethinicity and their impact on managing people."
This is what i wrote:
Here we are not discussing Sikhs but arya Punjabis/ Hindu Punjabis. They are the descendants of the Indo- Aryans who settled around the Punjab and Sind area and belonged to the Kshatria(warriors) Clan. However, the political and economic stbility forced them to look for different avenues. Thus they took to merchantalism (merchants) and became very successful in this field.
10 variables of the Punjabi Culture and their impact on Managing People:
1)Brave and Risk Taking: Yes, Punjabis are very brave as they were fighters once upon a time. They do not mind taking risks and like experimenting. They have the ability to face loss which is not easy for everyone. They also love challenges. If u wanna get them to work, challenge them!
2)Good Business Intellect: Yes they do have good business intellect. Most of them are successful entrepreneurs. They have creative ideas and very successful in the Hospitality Industry. Since they are so experimantative, you will find them in every industry. They are good at selling. So take the best advantage if their talent.They are also very practical and rational in their approach.
3)Respect for elders: They have great respect for their elders. It is dificult for them to show disregard to their elders even if they have clashes. Thus if you have to tackle bosses who are old, they might be of help. It does have a downside too that they might not be very rebellious.
4) Amiable: They are the most simple and amiable people you might find around.They can befriend any stranger and can make them feel comforatble.The language they understand is that of love and expect the same from others.Use it to communicate with them.
5) Survivors: No matter how bad situations become, they will be the last ones to lose hope and will keep on trying. They know how to fight it out in times of crisis. Thus you can be rest assured that they will never show their back and leave you alone.They are good motivators.
6) Full of life: They are always full of life. They will keep you entertained and always keep the spirits of the team high.
7)Academically Disoriented: Academics does not interest them much. They are simple people and like stuff that is simple, short and easy to understand. Thus if you want to show them somethings, do not take lenghty reports. They do not have the patience to read through. Be to the point.
8) Gender Biasness: No generalisation but they may be biased when it comes to gender. Theirs is a male dominated society. Thus in the work place they might fail to acknowldge the opinions of the women but will treat them with all due respect. To correct them, you just have to tell them once.
9)Pomp and Show: They believe in a lot of pomp show. They feel it gives them an edge over the others. It is here that all practicality and rationality goes for a toss when they suddenly become extravagant. So keep a check and stop them when you think that they are crossing limits. If working in a team, peers might get jealous but they should try and ignore.
10) Indulgent: They are quite indulgent when it comes to food and drinks. The best part is that they dont do it alone but welcome others as well. Quite hospitable people you see ;). they pamper people a lot but as the same time end up affecting their health.Try and correct them. It is gonna be a mammoth task but if you dont want any lazy, overweight people in your team, then you better take some measures.
Guess these 10 points will help everyone when dealing with a Punjabi boss or peer as they will have better understanding of them and their culture. I never understood my culture better until I wrote this paper.
Ria- Punjabi by birth, culture and nature :)
"Discuss 10 variables of your cultural ethinicity and their impact on managing people."
This is what i wrote:
Here we are not discussing Sikhs but arya Punjabis/ Hindu Punjabis. They are the descendants of the Indo- Aryans who settled around the Punjab and Sind area and belonged to the Kshatria(warriors) Clan. However, the political and economic stbility forced them to look for different avenues. Thus they took to merchantalism (merchants) and became very successful in this field.
10 variables of the Punjabi Culture and their impact on Managing People:
1)Brave and Risk Taking: Yes, Punjabis are very brave as they were fighters once upon a time. They do not mind taking risks and like experimenting. They have the ability to face loss which is not easy for everyone. They also love challenges. If u wanna get them to work, challenge them!
2)Good Business Intellect: Yes they do have good business intellect. Most of them are successful entrepreneurs. They have creative ideas and very successful in the Hospitality Industry. Since they are so experimantative, you will find them in every industry. They are good at selling. So take the best advantage if their talent.They are also very practical and rational in their approach.
3)Respect for elders: They have great respect for their elders. It is dificult for them to show disregard to their elders even if they have clashes. Thus if you have to tackle bosses who are old, they might be of help. It does have a downside too that they might not be very rebellious.
4) Amiable: They are the most simple and amiable people you might find around.They can befriend any stranger and can make them feel comforatble.The language they understand is that of love and expect the same from others.Use it to communicate with them.
5) Survivors: No matter how bad situations become, they will be the last ones to lose hope and will keep on trying. They know how to fight it out in times of crisis. Thus you can be rest assured that they will never show their back and leave you alone.They are good motivators.
6) Full of life: They are always full of life. They will keep you entertained and always keep the spirits of the team high.
7)Academically Disoriented: Academics does not interest them much. They are simple people and like stuff that is simple, short and easy to understand. Thus if you want to show them somethings, do not take lenghty reports. They do not have the patience to read through. Be to the point.
8) Gender Biasness: No generalisation but they may be biased when it comes to gender. Theirs is a male dominated society. Thus in the work place they might fail to acknowldge the opinions of the women but will treat them with all due respect. To correct them, you just have to tell them once.
9)Pomp and Show: They believe in a lot of pomp show. They feel it gives them an edge over the others. It is here that all practicality and rationality goes for a toss when they suddenly become extravagant. So keep a check and stop them when you think that they are crossing limits. If working in a team, peers might get jealous but they should try and ignore.
10) Indulgent: They are quite indulgent when it comes to food and drinks. The best part is that they dont do it alone but welcome others as well. Quite hospitable people you see ;). they pamper people a lot but as the same time end up affecting their health.Try and correct them. It is gonna be a mammoth task but if you dont want any lazy, overweight people in your team, then you better take some measures.
Guess these 10 points will help everyone when dealing with a Punjabi boss or peer as they will have better understanding of them and their culture. I never understood my culture better until I wrote this paper.
Ria- Punjabi by birth, culture and nature :)
Wow...that was a wonderful and thought-filled piece of work. Congrats!
ReplyDeleteCan put one more- pride in their culture which almost rubs off as being dismissive of other cultures as inferior :)
ReplyDelete@ steve: thanks dear
ReplyDelete@ venkat: no comments buddy.
Good analysis lady..I almost agree with you on this but point1,3,5,6,7,10 are 100% true and applicable all across the community-Rajat-Punjabi by birth, culture and nature :)
ReplyDeletehey ria... nice one...agree wd u on most of the things...but have an opposite view for your point no 7 ( as punjabis are known for their mathematical skills...sharp brain...etc etc...best exp Dr. Manmohan Singh)...rest mostly i agree wd u...a very good article...
ReplyDeleteMR.Pallav, kindly read first paragraph,Sikhs has been excluded from this study,and point no 7 is completely rit though some outliers are there but they are excluded from the study,, try n remember JK's RM lectures.
ReplyDelete@ Rajat: Thanks for your comments Rajat..
ReplyDeleteGuess you read it with full concentration. proud of u ;)
@ Pallav: Thanks for the comments pallav.. guess Rajat has cleared your doubts and I totally agree with him. There might be outliers :)