Diversity of Host Country

The diversity of the host country was also mentioned by nine out of twelve interviewees.

Host country- Not a monolithic entity

The host country is a country of pluralism as the country consists of people from diverse backgrounds in terms religion, caste, languages etc. Therefore,

understanding the diversity of the host country is a crucial thing for the business leaders to understand the nuances of host people and their cultures. For instance, the diversity of the host country was explained by this interviewee as follows;

India is not a monolithic entity, and inside India there is so much diversity.

(Inter-05) Diversity of host country people

Three of the interviewees pointed out about diversity of the host country people.

The host country nationals are diverse in terms of their appearance, behavior etc., unlike the home country. For instance, two of the below interviewees quoted about the diversity of people as below;

India and Indians are different. So of course it was a big difference between Delhi and Bombay and Southern India. (Inter-07)

People also are different. I think in the south, they are more, I would say, open-minded also (Inter-11)

There is a vast difference between the people in the host country in terms of their attitude. For the home country people, the host country people from different regions have different mindsets. The host country people from the southern region appear to be more open minded than other regions of the host country.

However, the perception of host country people can differ once when the home country people come across people in diverse context and environment.

The regions of host country have different histories and are widely different from each other. The different regions have different environments as it is influenced by different ideologies. For instance, one interviewee explained the differences between regions of the host country as follows;

If you think about Kashmir area, Pakistan border and Tamil Nadu, Kerala, the history is different, the religions different. (Inter-19)

Difference in attitude

The host country is vast therefore due to this geographical differences the people differ in terms of their attitude which was mentioned by three interviewees. The attitude of people within the host country can be varied due to changes in environment, difference in language, culture etc. The capital of the host country is a place where people from different parts of the world live, travel etc. Whereas, it may not be the same in the other parts of the host country. Moreover, in some

parts of the host country people would not have seen the people from other countries. Seeing the people who look different unlike the host country people can be exciting for some of the host country people. For instance, one of the interviewees compared her experience in the host country as;

Indian people are curious in a positive way even though the difference between north and south is big. During my first days in Chennai, I was a little bit uncomfortable about so much of staring and so much of attention that I got as a

fair-skinned person going around. Whilst in Delhi, you don't encounter that.

(Inter-14) Host country compared to European Union

The host country can be compared to the European union as the EU has different countries with different languages, religion, people, culture etc. so does the host country. For instance, the following quotes are shared by an interviewee who compared the host country with the European Union as below;

There are same number of states in India than we have countries in EU. But the more years go, the more humble you are. The more you understand that, okay,

I have my own insights and I have my experience. (Inter-14)

The host countries pluralism in terms of language, religion, ethnicity, etc., has created a kind of mixed or a diverse environment that can be compared with host country. Possibly the host country is the one country in the world that has such kind of pluralistic environment. Without in-depth knowledge about different aspects of the host country it would be hard to generalize.

4.3.1.5 Religion

Religion is highly influential in the host country as it drives culture and the behavior of its people. In this background, the influence of religion has been pointed out by seven of the interviewees.

Importance of religion

The host country is heavily influenced by religions as it is home to origin of religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism. The majority of the host country population follow Hinduism. Hinduism impacts the life of the host country people in several ways. Also the behavior of the people are also influenced by the religion. Knowing the impact of religion on the host people and

their behavior can enable a person to understand better. One of the interviewees explained the importance of religion in the host country as below;

In India if you're not interested in Hinduism or other religions, but that's the main religion, I think you don't fully understand the people either. That's something I'm always stressing, that you have to know about Hinduism to --

because it reflects in their everyday life (Inter-19) Influence of religion in business

Three of the interviewees pointed out the influence of religion on host country business and its environment. For instance, according to this interviewee, the impact of religion is quite visible in the shops which was explained as below;

Religion affects business I'm quite sure of it, really sure. Example, if you go to shop, there is always maybe some incense or something is burning and people are making pooja or something. So it's really -- yeah, some religion behind –

(Inter-22)

In the host country business establishment, it is common to see the religious shrines or temples, as it is believed that such kind of establishment brings good luck to the business and people. One interviewee remembered about the shrine in the factory in the host country where he works as below:

When I went over there, we had some statues and shrines in our factory yard which we were supposed to renovate. […] So we actually studied the case a little bit and we left them there. We actually renovated the shrines and statues

because those are important to the people. (Inter-12) Impact of religion on behavior

Religion affects how people behave, treat others and handle the issues. When the behavior pattern of the people are influenced by the religion people tend to do things spontaneously as they are aware why they are doing things in certain way.

Whereas, when home country people who grew up under the influence of another religion, may tend to feel the differences in people of the host country behavior.

For instance, one interviewee explained the influence of religion on people’s behavior as follows:

If you look on the, let's say, religion, it's have a reflect of also how people are behaving, how you're treating people, how you see on certain issues and in certain matters and that explains also a little bit to certain extent why people

are behaving then in certain patterns. (Inter-09)

In order to understand how people behave and act, an awareness of religion and its impact is crucial. Another interviewee also pointed out the influence of religion on the behavior of people as;

If you understand cultures and religions then you can understand why people are acting like the way they do it. I think that's the key thing. (Inter-22) Different religion and its influence

The host country people are mixed with people of different religions. Each of the people from the different religions behave in different ways. Therefore, besides understanding the main religion Hinduism, it is also crucial to know about the other religions such as Sikhism. The interviewee explained as below;

There is a lot of religion things and beliefs you have to know and appreciate.

[…] The Sikh people, it's quite interesting. I have little bit studied about them.

They seem to be slightly different than the many others they are. (Inter-11) The host country is the origin of religions such as Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism and Jainism. Due to the mix of different religions in the host country, people from different religions are influenced by their own religion besides the influence from the main religion Hinduism.

Knowing religion by living in the host country

The influence of religion in the host country is quite strong in all the aspects of people’s life. In addition, the practice of religion is reflected in the lives of people and society, which may not be visible in the home country. Therefore, in understanding religion it is important to understand how it impacts on people and its society. The understanding of the host country religion can be experienced by traveling and living extensively in the host country. In this background, experience of living in the host country to understand the impact of religion was emphasized by this interviewee as below;

I think the best way is to learn that you go to India, stay there long time, get to know local people, respect the people there, all the religions. […] If you haven't

been there, go there because then you know how people are working in India, doing business, doing -- about how their religion affects for everything almost.

(Inter-22)

4.3.1.6 Decision Making

The decision making pattern in the host country environment has been identified as one of the significant differences by majority of the interviewees. Seven out of twelve interviewees mentioned about the differences in decision making between the host and home country.

Decision making pattern

The decision making pattern of the host country people was pointed out as below by an interviewee;

So in India, there is two ways. First, we make a decision, then each Indian make a decision if he will follow the decision. (Inter-03)

It can be seen from the above quotes of the interviewee, that the decision making is done by the person who is in the top most of the organization.

Finding the real decision maker

Four of the interviewees pointed out the importance of finding the real decision maker in the host country environment. The decision making in the host country, often does not always go through their superiors. For example, the following was said by an interviewee regarding his frustration in trying to find out the real decision maker in the host country:

If it is a big meeting and there are a lot of stake holders, then typical people start to run out on things and change people. So it's sometimes a little bit

frustrating then to know who is really making the decision. (Inter-09) It is crucial to know well in advance whether the person whom one is going to meet have powers to make decision or he is just an intermediary between the home country person and the actual decision maker. Therefore, doing a stakeholder analysis was emphasized by the interviewee as below;

One thing that I've learned in some project management training sometimes that always make a stakeholder analysis. Whom am I going to meet? What is

this person or what is his or her position in the society? How does he or she perceive herself? Does he have decision making power or is this person influencer or opinion leader? Always try to understand and make kind of a stakeholder analysis and understand where these people stand because you

don't always know. (Inter-14)

In the similar vein as above, another interviewee also shared the thought about finding the actual decision maker is important as below;

You actually have to know who you're -- okay not only the name of the person you're meeting, but what is his role in this organization, what is his approach and is he the decision maker or somebody in the line organization who needs all

the information about the project or is it a decision maker who is just going to have take 5 minutes with you. (Inter-07)

In the host country, even though if one meets the managing director of an organization he or she may not be the one who decides everything according to the interviewee, who said as below;

Even if I meet the Managing Director of the company, if he is not the owner, he might not be the decision maker (Inter-07)

I really see is the decision making that have somebody who is doing the decision. (Inter-09)

The real decision maker in the host country is not visible according to the interviewees. Even though people are designated with high positions it does not mean they are influential in making decisions. The people who are designated are just the front face of the actual decision maker who may not appear frequently.

Independence in decision making

In the home country, people have independence in making decisions, the decision making is not interrupted by the boss. Whereas, in the host country, the independency is less amongst the subordinates. This interviewee explained the independence in decision making, as follows;

A Finnish employee might think that I can decide how much skills I need. And Indian employee might think that it's actually up to the boss to determine this

(Inter-05) Layers in decision making

In the home country there is no layers in decision making and managers do not need to get approval to make decisions. Whereas, in the host country the decisions cannot be taken independently by the managers as it has to go through their superiors. Even though things may be agreed initially by the manager, it is not sure whether those things may go through without the approval of things by the superiors. The layers in decision making was explained as below;

Then typical anyhow in India, you know that you need to do some agreement and that need anyhow to go through to some superior. So you typical after the

meeting, they show you boss and then you go through everything with him what is agreed and he sometimes start at -- or many times start at the top and

want to review all the things again. –(Inter-09) Young decision makers

The interviewee who have been traveling to host country for several years who explained that as a younger person he has more responsibilities and independence to take decisions.

When I had to start traveling to India I was 20 years younger. So I was pretty young, but I was used to do the responsibilities and taking decisions. And I was

little bit maybe surprised then. I was then dealing with too many people who did not have the authority or maybe then the willingness or capabilities to take

decisions. (Inter-07)

In the host country subordinates are expected to follow the instructions given by their superiors even if the superior is younger.

The power to make decisions

In the home country the managers have independence to take decisions even if it involves decisions to purchase things that involve huge amounts of money.

Whereas, in the host country even the smaller things has to be consulted with the superiors. This was explained by an interviewee, as follows:

Also during that time, me then as an overall project manager, the local project manager in India, he had very little authority to say and to do things in the

project. (Inter-08) Knowledge about decision making

The knowledge about the host country decision making is important thing to understand how the system works according to an interviewee who said as below;

When you start to know how the Indian work and how they make decisions, it's absolutely no problem. (Inter-11)

Decision making tactics are widely different in different countries. In terms of the host and home country it is quite visible from the words of the interviewees. The differences in decision making is an important knowledge that is crucial in order to make effective decision making.

In document Managing across cultures with cultural intelligence quotient (CQ) : study of Finnish business leaders experience in India (sivua 168-176)