ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to dedicate this work to my family whose unending support and
guidance has been the reason for all my achievements and I express my deepest
gratitude to them. I would also like to thank my friends have always been a great
source of inspiration.

I would like to sincerely thank my supervisor Dr. Tim Andrews for his patience and
valuable guidance throughout the completion of this dissertation. My supervisor has
given me the right suggestions to tone my skills and approach towards the
dissertation.

Finally, my sincere thanks to all the participants and respondents who helped me in
my primary data collection.

ABSTRACT:

There is a strong relationship between work related attitudes and

culturally derived values which has been a tradition in cross- cultural research with
the most notable work conducted by Hofstede (1980).The special cognition and
behaviours that the workers develop are highly influenced by their deeply held
cultural values .It is also explored through this research that situational variables
like previous work experience, employees daily work experience, interaction with
people of other cultures etc. have an influence on their work related attitudes.
(Bennett, R.H (1999). Research was conducted on a sample of 15 Indian expatriates
who have been working in the United Kingdom. Situational variables were shown to
strongly influence the attitudes towards work. Suggestions for cross cultural training
prior to arrival are also offered.

Numerous cases and examples of unsuccessful foreign assignments and experiences

are mentioned in the literature review on expatriate management .The increase in the
number of expatriate failures have raised concerns among researchers regarding the
practices and methods followed by companies to retain their expatriates. (Tung,
1982; Landis and Bhagat, 1996). It therefore remains a challenge for MNCs to
assure that the foreign assignments are successful and these assignments must
provide adequate career opportunities. A lot of research has been done in order to
identify the factors that cause failures. Expatriate failures due to adjustment problems

also have serious impact on the overall productivity and performance of the firm.
(Shaffer and Harrison, 1998; Selmer, 2001).

Due to the fact that globalisation spreads rapidly around the world, companies are
becoming more and more internationalised. This fact entitles employees at any level
to sometimes work for a few years at foreign divisions, as expatriates. There are
several advantages of staffing expatriates. However, there are many drawbacks and
difficulties with expatriation and therefore companies should assist the expatriates in
their new environments (Breiden, O 2002). Differences in national and individual
cultures also require the expatriates to adjust to their work place. The literature
review was framed with the research questions which further helped to realise what
data has to be collected. The results derived can help to understand the issues faced
by Indian expatriates due to work adjustment problems and can help in formulating
appropriate strategies to further help the Indian expatriates and other human resource
professionals and international sojourners to cope up with culture shock and
expatriate adjustment.

Keywords: Expatriates, adjustment, cross cultural training, host country, culture, and
research.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

ABSTRACT .2
TABLE OF CONTENTS. 4
LIST OF APPENDICES.. 6
LIST OF FIGURES.. 6
LIST OF TABLES 6
LIST OF CHARTS

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 7
1.1.

Background

1.2.

Expatriation

1.3.

Purpose of Research 10

1.4.

Objective of Study

1.5.

Proposed Methodology 11

1.6.

Outline of Subsequent Chapters.. 11

10

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW .13

2.1.

Culture 14

2.2.

International Work Assignments and Expatriation 15

2.3.

Expatriate Adjustment. .16

2.4.

Diversity in United Kingdom.. .18

2.5.

Culture Context-India vs. UK . 19

2.6.

India Business Culture..

2.7.

UK Business Culture.. .. 24

2.8.

Determinants of Cultural Differences.26

2.9.

Differences in People and Practices across cultures ...28

2.10.

Expatriate Culture Shock.. ..31

2.11.

Potential Challenges Faced by Indian employees in UK.. .. 35

2.12.

Defining Expatriate Competencies ...38

20

2.13.

Building Cultural Understanding and Awareness 39

2.14.

Meeting Cultural Challenges. .40

2.15.

Outbound Assignments.. 42

2.16.

Cultural issues faced by Indians in UK. 44

2.17.

The need for research: A summary.. 48

CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

50

3.1.

Introduction

50

3.2.

Research Aims .50

3.3.

Research Approach. 52

3.4.

Research Strategy 54

3.5.

Research methods.. 55

3.6.

Research Design. 56

3.7.

Data Collection..59

3.8.

Data Analysis.. .61

3.9.

Methodological limitations to the study. .61

CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS. .63

4.1.

Introduction. 63

4.2.

Demographic Factors . 63

4.3.

Factors of Adjustment .68

4.4.

Summary of Findings .82

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

84

CHAPTER 6: IMPLICATIONS AND LIMITATIONS

88

REFERENCES

92

LIST OF APPENDICES
APPENDIX A: Definition of Terms

102

APPENDIX B: Questionnaire 103

APPENDIX C:
The process of expatriation - the cultural issues: A model for Analysis 107
APPENDIX D: Ethnicity and Identity: Population in UK...108
APENDIX E: Consent Form 110
LIST OF FIGURES
FIGURE 1: The Purpose of Expatriation 14
FIGURE II: Emerging cultural Profiles

29

FIGURE III: The U-Curve of Cross Cultural Adjustment 34

FIGURE 1V: A conceptual Framework. 51
FIGURE V: Forms of Primary research methods. 54
FIGURE VI: The research process onion .55
LIST OF TABLES
TABLE I:

Hofstedes cultural dimensions of India and UK.27

TABLE II: Background to the Interviewees 58

TABLE 1II: Descriptive Statistics of Respondents Demographic Factors .. .67
TABLE IV: Descriptive Statistics of Expatriates Cultural Adjustment Stage......74

LIST OF CHARTS
CHART I: Respondents Age Ratio . . .64
CHART II: English Fluency Analysis .. ..65
CHART III: Situational Factors.66
CHART IV: Cross cultural Training Analysis . ..71
CHART V: Percentage of Racism among expats 73

CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION

The following chapter will provide the reader with some background information on
the subject of expatriation and why it is considered as an important aspect of
international companies and firms/organisations employing employees from other
cultures and backgrounds. The problem discussion will then bring up significant
factors regarding expatriation, which will lead to the purpose of the research and the
research questions for the thesis.

1.1 Background:
UK has been one of the most favourite destinations for Indians for the last decade.
Indians have been pouring into this country for purposes of education, employment,
short term assignments etc. A large number of students come to this country every
year and eventually stay back and prefer to work here for some time (say 2 to 3
years or more) and many even plan to settle here. This has resulted in a large
number of Indians being employed in British Organisations. (Edstrom, D and
Jervfors, P 2007)
The trade relations between India and the UK have been growing since 1991. In
Britain, Indian companies are the 2nd largest investors and fourth largest partners in
trading. More than 500 companies of Indian origin, mainly information technology
industries have invested and have many offices in Britain. Since the liberalisation
started in the year 1991, India has become Britains third largest investor. The

Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) has listed that there are many hurdles while
moving the Indian executives and professionals to the United Kingdom in relation to
the visa procedures. The visa rules in the UK are not conducive to free movement of
professionals,

An increase in globalization is generating many opportunities for Indian companies

to expand overseas. Many booming and developing industries in India like the
information

technology

sector,

telecommunications

and

Business

Process

Outsourcing are heavily dependant on these foreign markets. Subsequently this has
increased the need for workers/employees working in diverse cultural environments.
In the recent times number of cross-border mergers and acquisitions has increased
significantly. The massive size of many cross border deals worth Millions of dollars
(for example acquisition of Tetley, United Kingdom) indicates the global aspirations
of the Indian organisations. This globalization trend is presenting a challenge to the
Indian organizations- i.e. to develop proficient employees who would be competent
enough and have the ability to work efficiently in multi-cultural settings and who
will also be an important link between the home company and its subsidiaries.
Further globalization has resulted in recruiting employees with different languages,
cultures and origin adding complexities to the firms and the organisational culture.
With differences in beliefs, norms, values, manners and etiquette there is plenty of
room for misunderstandings and poor communication. Hence, the firms should
develop processes and procedures in order to enable and train employees and
managers on foreign assignments to handle cultural diversity. In order to help
employees to cope up with the stress and cultural shock while dealing with a new

culture they should be provided with the necessary cross-cultural training. Hence
cross cultural training is essential for both employees and expatriates who are going
to deal with employees of other cultures and origins. Even for Indian Companies
getting into the BPO sector, cross-cultural training is essential as their clients may be
from distinct cultural settings. It has become of vital importance for aspiring
managers to Work effectively in cross-cultural environments (Harris and Kumar,
2000). This research proposal attempts to define the possible

cross-cultural

differences faced by the Indian Expatriates(which may include Indian Employees as

well) working in the UK who come from different industry and company
backgrounds, its effect on the business, skills required by the employees, the
importance of pre-departure and post-arrival cross cultural training etc.,.

1.2 Expatriation:

Expatriation has been a means of organisational control for centuries. Politically, in

the early phases of civilisation, ancient Roman created a mechanism which sent
trusted representatives to manage distant subsidiaries, bringing different effects to
success and failure in the overseas colonisation. This situation is also similar in the
business field. The effective performance of expatriates has been regarded as
decisive to business success and poor performance of expatriates has been co-related
positively with business failure (Hoeckilin, 1995; Barber and Pittaway, 2000). For
industry and commerce, expatriation was not a consideration until the aftermath of
World War II. With the prosperity of international business and the rise of MNCs,
expatriation became to a certain extent, an ideal option to manage overseas.

1.3 Purpose of the research:

This research is an exploratory research and the primary purpose of the present
research is to analyse the occurrence of culture shock and to study some of the
common cultural issues faced by the population of Indian expatriates working in the
United Kingdom. This study will also compare the British and the Indian culture in
detail by analysing the data collected from the fieldwork. The two cultures would be
compared using the four dimensions of Hofstedes i.e., masculinity vs. Feminity,
power distance, uncertainty avoidance and Collectivism vs. Individualism.

1.4 Objective of the study

To gain knowledge about culture, culture shock, expatriation and problems

faced by Indian Expatriates.

To develop a wide knowledge base about literature relating to cultural issues.

To study the cross cultural issues faced by employees due to different country
and organisation cultures, different company and employee beliefs

To analyse how they cope up with the change, cultural shock and their
transition to normalcy.
In short the objective is:
What are the cultural issues faced by Indian Expatriates in the United
Kingdom and what are the various factors affecting expatriate adjustment?

10

The objectives will be achieved using primary data collection (through telephone
interviews and questionnaires). The research outcome will contribute to further
recommendations and suggestions.

1.5 PROPOSED METHODOLOGY

Only through a primary and secondary data collection, the results of this project
could be achieved. In order to obtain and explore the necessary information and data
relating to this research numerous case studies, online resources, articles, past
research articles, books etc were used as a source. However such information may or
may not be enough to actually derive to a final conclusion due to the unique nature of
this topic. Moreover the limitation of the secondary research makes it necessary to
carry out a primary research.

A detailed explanation of the two types of

methodologies used in this study is given in the Methodology part in this project.

1.6 OUTLINE OF SUBSEQUENT CHAPTERS:

There are six chapters in this study:

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION:

In this chapter the research topic is introduced. This chapter also discusses the
background of the study, objectives of study and purpose of research.

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW:

This chapter presents existing theories in this area of research which then
helped to apply the most appropriate theory for this area of research.

11

CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY:

This chapter discusses about the primary and secondary research. It also discusses
about their implementation and various limitations and problems to the research. It
also provides an overview of data analysis .This chapter analyses the data
accumulated from quantitative research and provides the presentation of results using
various graphs and tables.

CHAPTER 4: FINIDNGS AND ANALYSIS:

This chapter concludes the research by answering the questions and achieving the
aims and objectives o the research.

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS:

This chapter provides the logical arguments and recommendations made after
achieving the research objectives.

CHAPTER 6: IMPLICATIONS AND LIMITATIONS OF THE

RESEARCH

This chapter discusses the future practices that can be applied for the research and
what can be done better to enhance the adjustment of Indian expatriates and studies
the practical limitations faced while conducting the research.

12

CHAPTER-2
LITERATURE REVIEW

The term expatriation represents a complicated procedure both before and after the
assignment. This chapter strives to study expatriation which is broken into several
stages. Here, the ample literature concerning expatriation will be divided into several
sub topics to serve the discussion. Many experts in International Human resource
Management have already brought up the importance of managing expatriation
through the whole process instead of viewing it as single event (Napier and Peterson,
1991; Chen, 1995; Chang, 1996; Evans et. al., 2002). Making an expatriate
assignment into a success for individual, the family, and the firm requires paying
attention to many factors from the time of initial selection until repatriation. Before
going any further this chapter will consider some background information on culture
and expatriate adjustment. Edstrom and Galbraith (1977) proposed that expatriates
are dispatched abroad for three reasons that sometime overlap. The first (demand
driven) is simply to fill positions that cannot be staffed locally because of a lack of
technical or managerial skills. The second reason (learning driven) is to support
managerial development, enabling high potential individuals to acquire international
experience. The third reason is organisational development, referring to the control
and co-ordination and informal networks. MNCs rarely deploy for a single reason;
the intention of applying it in their international management is usually incurred for
more than one reason, or more often, a combination of the above three. Figure I
combine the length and purpose of the assignment together into a framework for
understanding the nature of expatriate role.

13

Long
CORPORATE AGENCY

COMPETENCE

(Control/Knowledge

DEVELOPMENT

Transfer)
ASSIGNMENT
DURATION

PROBLEM SOLVING

CAREER ENHANCEMENT

Short

Demand driven

Learning driven

ASSIGNMENT PURPOSE

Figure I: The Purpose of Expatriation

Source: Evans et. al., (2002)

2.1 Culture:
Culture is the commonly held and relatively stable beliefs, attitudes and values that
exist within the organisation

Williams et al (1993)

What is culture?

14

Hofstedes research states that culture is regarded as the collective programming of

the mind which determines attitudes, values and behaviour. (Hofstede 1980).
Children are given the best advice by their teachers and parents so that they can to
prepare them for successful interactions in their own society and culture, where right
and wrong, good and bad, abnormal and normal are clearly stated. It is quite
unfortunate in a sense that children are given a different set of instructions by each
cultural group, each equally important in their own environment. These learned
regional and /or national concepts eventually become our core beliefs as we grow up
and which is almost impossible for us to discard. We regard others beliefs and habits
(Russian, Chinese, French...) as strange or unusual, mainly because they are unlike
our own. There is no doubt about it- Japanese are not like American.
In general, however, our national or regional culture imposes itself on our behaviour
rather than the other way round and we find that the closer we stick to the rules of
our society, the more accepted we become (Lewis, R.D 2006). Consequently these
differences also have reflective effects on the businesses and as a result limit the
extent to which managerial procedures and theories could be applied in general
across the boundaries.

2.2 International Work Assignments and Expatriation: An Introduction

Due to a steady increase in the number of FDIs and cross border trade between
economic regions, international organisations are challenged to promote, co-ordinate
and effectively manage their international units abroad. As a result the selection ,

15

recruitment and preparation of international managers to face the challenges of the

international world and demands of local markets has become vital (Tung and Miller,
1990; Schneider and Tung, 2001). Many studies and investigations have been done to
determine the size of expatriate population, but not much research has been done on
the worldwide trends in international human resource transfers. It has been observed
that a total of 65,000 expatriates on short term projects and assignments have been
employed in European organisations and firms are also striving for closer European
Business integration and are increasing traditional and permanent transfers at the
same time (Simpson, 1999). Clearly, in international firms there has been a desire to
develop and promote international management skills. These international firms
should take advantage of these growing opportunities and must have the skills to
motivate and attract suitable

"with the right blend of skills, personality and

languages to take on new markets as they arise. Much care has to be taken in order
to mange the expatriates due to the risk of costs which are incurred on cross border
assignments and the latent threat of failure and premature return (Tung, 1987; Black,
Mendenhall and Oddou, 1991; Landis and Bhagat, 1996). Consequently, researcher
are now examining the success factors that will contribute to the adjustment of these
international assignees.

2.3 . Expatriate adjustment:

An important area of concern in this research is expatriate adjustment. This is

important as it measures the degree to which expatriates adjust themselves to the
local work environment and establish relationships with the local community and

16

staff. This not only impacts the overall productivity, good relations with local staff,
long term customer relations but also raises questions regarding the effectiveness of
pre-departure preparation packages but also the cross cultural training provided. It
seems clear that the effectiveness of expatriates, also known as foreign assignees
(Ronen, 1989), is highly dependent on their adjustment to their new work
surroundings, the different culture and the new way of life to which they are exposed.
Expatriate mangers are usually hired with employment contracts of usually two years
of length. They are mostly selected based on technical criteria and the cultural
adaptability is given very little attention. Most of these employees and expatriates are
third country nationals. Expatriates are mostly hired as this provides the company
with a pool of highly qualified applicants. Indeed, literature from the last two
decades concerning expatriation highlights two alarming facts. First, the cost of
sending expatriates and their families abroad is high. Second, the rate of expatriate
failure is similarly high (McKenna, E and Beech, N. (2007). The last point is evident
in the large number of expatriates who fail to make a successful transition to their
new environment and return home before their mission is completed (Mendenhall
and Oddou, 1985; Ronen, 1989; Tung, 1982). It is for these reasons that research on
expatriation practices and expatriate adjustment flourished during the 1980s and
1990s.

Tung (1982) states that the cultural differences are one of the most important factors
responsible for the failure of foreign assignments. Despite the increased contacts
between India and the United Kingdom differences still exist in many business
sectors and are believed to be culture based. UK is a current and potential market

17

for International business firms. However UK is a challenging destination for the

Indians Expatriates and employees and is distinctly different from India. Their need
for effective cross-cultural skills appears to be substantial, as they have to adjust to a
fundamentally different cultural and social context than their own. In this chapter the
existing research done by authors on expatriates and the perceptions and challenges
faced by Indians in UK and the tension between the expatriates and the local staff is
studied and also reflects some of the issues faced by British firms who continue to
employ Indians inspite of having sufficient local talent (Hailey, J (1994)).
Expatriation in UK is not a new phenomenon. In order to survive living and working
in a new country (in this case UK) which offers a different set of experiences and
lifestyle, the employees must be mentally prepared to face challenges and make the
adjustments which are needed. These cross cultural changes encountered during the
transitions may appear to be depressing, frustrating and stressful and these
adjustments consume money, effort and time. Moreover the employees should be
patient and interested to adapt to the changes. Many employees also feel that these
challenges also have a big influence on the decision to continue working in the host
company and country.

2.4 Diversity in United Kingdom

UK has become much more diverse compared to the past years. For many years
the British multicultural policies have been centred mainly on the African and
Asian communities. These two communities mainly constituted the immigrants in
Britain. But according to the present statistics it is noted that when compares to the

18

immigrants between 1950s and 1970s and between 1991 and 2001, we find that
in the latter years migrants in UK came from a wide range of countries. The
current immigrant diversity is much more complicated than the past- we can call it
super diversity in fact.
Ethnicity, religion and language are a few important factors that determine how
immigrants interact with people in this country and how they organise and identify
themselves. Languages, ethnicity, origin and religions are not the only immigrant
characteristics that have an effect on the integration and socialization process.
There are many more factors. (Vertovec, S 2005)
Lets say for instance, in recent times immigrants have come to this country
through many different channels and for different purposes when compared to the
past. The kind of work they do, the public services and the types of housing they
use largely depends on an immigrants legal status and migration channel. The
people who migrate into Britain are highly skilled and consist of entrepreneurs
from the business, computing and finance field. The peoples plans on how long
they wish to stay in the country also depend on the immigration patterns and rules,
social interaction and legal status. Some of them may wish to stay for a short time,
some a little longer and many may wish to settle permanently.
2.5. Culture context- India versus UK
The British Rule left both a social and cultural influence on many Indians.
Commonalities with British include cricket, tea, army traditions, a democratic

19

constitution, early industrialism, and the English language as a carrier of

administration and culture and a legalised system (Lewis, R.D (2006).
Indians have a special and unique culture that varies considerably from those of
East Asia. Their communicative style is more loquacious than the Chinese,
Japanese and the Korean, and they are dialogue-oriented than most Latins.
Essentially multi-active they have created a society where privacy is rarely
indulged in and even more rarely sought. They make little attempt to conceal their
feelings.
2.6 Indian business culture
Geert Hofstedes study about India portrays India is a country with a large power
distance culture/ society. This large power distance in India indicates a high level of
inequality of distribution of wealth and power within the society. Between the
values of men and women there is a huge gap. Women are expected to wear
conservative dresses. Uncertainty Avoidance is Indias lowest ranking Dimension.
This ranking indicates that the culture may be more open to unstructured situations
and ideas.
Even before business is discussed, Indians will generally take a great deal of time
than the British to meet and develop relationships with the employees at all levels.
This kind of an approach may cause conflict as the Brits normally expect things to
be done quickly right from the start of the deal. Indians always believe that there is
a reason for everything that happens this is still obvious in the decision making
and negotiating process. This may also influence the time concept in India where

20

negotiations are never rushed and as a result the business discussions may
consume more time. In India people believe less in the concept of personal space
and there is an obvious lack of privacy. Developing interpersonal relationships,
avoiding conflict and an indirect approach to communication are of significant
importance in Indian business practises. (Fehir, S 2006)

Indian Working practices

o

Punctuality is well appreciated by Indians but they generally not

reciprocated. A flexible schedule will prove useful.

In the Indian Culture and work environment decisions are often made
slowly and are normally a thoughtful process in the Indian culture.
Rushing deadlines is seen as rude, aggressive and disgraceful.

Structure and hierarchy in Indian companies

o

In the Indian system of hierarchy in the work place, elders and

especially senior colleagues respected and obeyed. Most of the time
discussions are lead by the senior most people.

The highest ranking and senior people normally take the final
decision; hence it is essential to sustain strong relationships with
superior employees and executives in the businesses in India.

21

Working relationships in India

o

It is the responsibility of the higher ranking management to look after,

monitor and check their subordinates.

Indian businesses criticism must be done carefully as self esteem is

very important to them and they are very sensitive.

Business practices in India

o

A friendly small talk will generally be carried out before the start of
meetings in India. This conversation may include questions of
personal nature (mostly about family and their life) and is seen as a
technique of developing trust and rapport (Suroor, H 2008).

In order to establish successful business relationships in India, the

family values are important and therefore showing that you are
interested and giving respect towards the Indian counterparts family
is very important.

The word no is rarely used in a direct manner and Culture

disagreement in India is avoided and rarely expressed and is replaced
by other indirect forms of communication and non-verbal cues.

Cultural concepts and factors in Communication

22

Leadership and Status;

Working on time and by the clock is not a common trait among the Indians; however,
work ethic in the Indian commerce is quite strong and visible, especially when
people are working in their own or family business. There is an easy acceptance of
foreigner in business dealings; Indians do not fear foreigners-many invasions have
brought familiarity. They are however suspicious of the iniquity that the foreigners
may bring with them (perhaps a certain fear of division and subsequent loss of
national identity. Nepotism is a way of life in traditional Indian companies. Family
members hold key positions and work in close unison.

Communication Pattern:

Indian English is old fashioned, flowery and verbose. It is essentially a human,

sympathetic language showing respect and often humility to the listener. They praise
generally yet are hesitant to criticise, since failure in Indian business may quickly be
attributed to bad karma. The language of the Indian manger emphasises the collective
nature of the task and challenge.

Behaviours at meetings and negotiations;

Indians remain polite while modifications are proposed, and repackage energetically
to reach an agreement. They hate turning down any business. As far as negotiating
style is concerned, the Indians have a few superiors. Although highly collective in

23

their local group, they develop individuality and brilliance when dealing on their own
with outsiders.

Manners and taboos:

Hinduism dominates Indians social behaviour, with the associated taboos. Women
show great deference to men. Dress is opulent, often ostentatious.

How to empathize with Indians

Indians tend to complain openly about the injustices of the colonial period. If treated
with respect they quickly put the past behind them, especially when good business in
the offing. Indians emanate and expect warmth, respect and proneness. Do not risk of
joking with them they tend to take things seriously. Be flexible at all times. But we
must accept that there is a lot of chaos and also keep in mind that they manage it
better than you do. Learn to cope with the Indian bureaucracy, which can be slow and
tedious. They maintain multiple channels of communication, both with government
and commercial entities. In India oral agreements are weightier than documents.

2.7 UK business culture

UK has an increasingly diverse and multi-cultural work force unlike India. UK
business culture is very different from the Indian Culture. Let us consider

24

punctuality. UK is clock conscious. Time is valued like money and being late
for an appointment or work is the considered unprofessional and you will be
regarded as being highly unmannered. However, this is not true in India. Not going
in time for an appointment or work is acceptable and would not have harmful
repercussions. The work environment in the United Kingdom is a reasonably
informal and relaxed one.
Business meetings in Britain include criticising, brainstorming and gaining
consensus. In India however, the above mentioned is quite uncommon. Decisions
are mostly conveyed then made in meetings and challenging and criticising the
ideas of seniors and co-workers would be not be acceptable and would result in the
loss of honour and face. An Indian in UK would be mis understood if he arrives
late constantly for appointments and meetings and doesnt contribute as a part of
it.
In UK the boss provides constant motivation and support and acts as a coach. In
The United Kingdom people prefer to be addressed with their names where as in
India it is rude to call people elder to you with names. A person working in a
higher level would expect you to call him sir at all times (even if a younger
person is working in a higher post than you, he would expect the same).The
individuals are responsible and accounted for any errors or wrong implementation
and team work is given a lot o importance. The Brits respect personal space and
dont prefer to answer personal questions.
One of the major causes of cross cultural conflict between the two is the accent.
The Indian accent of English is completely different than the English. Most of the

25

Indians speak slowly and tend to make a lot of grammatical mistakes. (Jodie R.
and Gorrill, M.A 2007). Many times what the either try to convey to each other
might be totally mis-understood or mis-interpreted and this leads to confusions,
delays and taking wrong decisions.
From the above descriptions (Culture context of India and UK) we see how
different the two cultures are.
2.8. Determinants of cultural differences:
The work of Geert Hofstede is one of the most influential research works with
relation to National Cultures (1980; 2001).In the field of intercultural management
Hofstedes study is often used by practitioners and researchers. Hofstedes study
differentiated and defined various cultural dimensions they are; power distance,
masculinity vs. feminity, individualism vs. collectivism , avoidance of uncertainty,
and long vs. short term orientation. The author has classified a number of countries
on these dimensions. These can be defined as:

1. Power distance: This is the level of inequality in power between a more

powerful and less powerful individual of the same society. In organisational
terms this relates to the centralisation of authority and the degree of
autocratic leadership. Societies with high power distance are those where the
superior is seen to be more powerful than the subordinates. In contrast low
power distance societies favour a more democratic style of management and
flatter organisational structures.

26

2. Uncertainty avoidance: is the extent to which societies feel threatened and

uncertain and the degree to which they try to avoid uncertain situations.
Countries with high uncertainty avoidance, organisations adopt stability and
high bureaucracies and generally dis-courage activities that are risky. On the
other hand societies with low uncertainty avoidance will encourage flexibility
and adopt more diverse views.

3. Masculinity vs. feminism: According to Hofstede gender roles are more

firmly defined in masculine societies unlike feminine societies. Masculinity
measure the extent to which male values in Hofstedes term dominant
values are aggressiveness, ego, assertiveness, career oriented and not
caring etc.

4. Collectivism vs. Individualism: It is the extent to which the employees are

believed to look after and take care of themselves or stay incorporated into
groups. Where individualism is high-for example in the USA-people are
expected to take care of themselves and their immediate family only. In Japan
however, which is a collectivist society people are integrated into strong
groups, which throughout peoples lifetimes continue to protect them in
exchange of unquestioning loyalty. Whereas in individual societies the
individuals are keener to achieve self-respect and a strong hold, in
collectivist societies, the aim is on fitting in harmoniously.

27

Hofstedes

Power

cultural

Distance Avoidance

Feminism

collectivism

dimensions
Great Britain

Low

Low-Masculinity

High-individualism

High-Masculinity

Low-collectivism
Low-individualism

India

High

Uncertainty Masculinity

Low
Low

vs. Individualism vs.

High-collectivism
Table I: Hofstedes cultural dimensions of India and UK

These differences in culture may affect organisational design and structure,

collectivism and motivational factors at the work place etc. Paradoxes and
perceptions have been linked with the cultural differences (Osland and Bird (2000)).
Cultural myopia (perceptual schemas) and a lack of experience create these
paradoxes and theoretical limitations which present biased views of the cultures. The
tendency for observers to misunderstand role differences, cultural values, group and
individual values are reasons for misunderstandings. The trainers and employees who
receive the training should keep in mind the differences in business practises and the
varying approaches.

2.9. Differences in people and practises across cultures:

The way people react to a stimulus depends largely on the differences in cultures.
Managers and executives have different motivational needs depending on their
respective culture. The Indian Expatriates/employees have to understand the

28

fundamental differences in the behaviour of the employees as the factors of

motivation that might be used in India might not work in the United Kingdom
(Amble, B 2006). The manufacturing procedures and operations of companies may
be similar across their subsidiaries but the behaviour and culture of the employees
in these subsidiaries might not be the same. (Mayfield, Mayfield, Martin, Herbig,
1997)

Figure II: Emerging cultural Profiles

Source: Hofstede, G (1991).

The topic of cross culture is gaining significant importance in the recent times along
with business values and practices. The cross-cultural differences can be measured
using the basic four dimensions of power distance, time conception, the context of

29

communication and individualism vs. collectivism. In this context of cross border

businesses the time factor is very important as people have different perceptions and
perspectives related to time as they come from different countries and cultures. For
Example in USA employees prefer to commence and end the meeting on the right
time, while in many countries for example India people may just take their own time.
(Mayfield, Mayfield, Martin and Herbig, 1997). Time also has an impact on the
relationship dynamics of negotiations i.e. People might like to establish new
relationships during meetings in a collectivist culture where as in an individualistic
culture people may not want to bring in the relationship aspect in their meetings.
(Example USA).Employees from the collectivist cultures would indulge more or give
more time on positioning and non-task negotiating activities (Gulbrow and Herbig
(1999) and negotiators from the high power distance societies spend minimal time
on compromising and people coming from a masculine culture were observed to
engage into less persuasion. According to George, Jones and Gonzalez (1998) the
differences which may affect the employees emotions are classified into three
different categories of differences which include: cross-cultural differences
(expressions of Emotions , different linguistic styles, Internalized cultural norms and
values) individual differences which include previous experiences in cross-cultural
negotiations and finally the contextual differences which comprise of (the degree of
trust between the negotiators and the relationship between the employees ). Emotions
are expressed differently in different cultures for example the hand gestures and the
facial expressions may convey a different meaning in one culture and a different in
the other culture. The analysis by Weber and Hsee (1998) also states that
considerable differences are evident even in the way risk is perceived by people of

30

different cultures and which may be of significant importance during business

negotiations across borders.

2.10 Expatriate culture shock

Culture shock is one of the most complex and unique transition we face when we
move across a country or to other parts of the world. Feeling out of place, confusion,
anxiety, stress are a few of the symptoms of culture shock. It ultimately changes the
way we think about others and ourselves and the way it affects our emotions and our
interactions with others (Kotter, J.P and Hesketh, JL (1992). A sudden change in
everything around including the processes and peers makes the employee feel lonely
and develops a dislike towards the new work environment and the culture of the
organization, which is quite natural. As a result the employees react by comparing
their own beliefs and values to the new culture and are mostly not able to accept the
change between both. Culture shock often results in conflicts with co-workers, slow
career development, low self confidence and job satisfaction and lesser return on
investment for the firm and for the employee. Symptoms of culture shock are
homesickness, boredom, lethargy, irritability and hostility to the host culture
(Jassawalla, A., Truglia, C., and Garvey, J (2004). Companies, both national and
international have now realised that a cultural clash can and does have a vast affect
on the success of the business. Ethnocentricity also seems to cause cross-cultural
conflict.
When the employees experience culture shock, it may also result in the pre-mature
return of the employee manager to the home country before the period of

31

assignment is completed. A high percentage of the employee/expatriate failures are

related to the inability to adjust in new cultures. Failed assignments can result in
huge losses, unsatisfied customers and lost contracts which may result in conflicts
with family, unclear goals, feelings of failure etc. The most common reasons for
assignment failure are lack of adjustment, inability of spouse to adjust, national
differences, dual career issues, mis-communication personal and emotional
problems, and language barriers. Tung (1998) carried out a study on 409
expatriates assigned to 50 countries in which it was noted that most of the
employees took around 6 to 12 months to adjust to the new cultural setting.
Studies have found that between 16 and 40% of all employee managers end their
foreign assignments early because of their poor performance or their inability to
adjust to foreign environment (Black, 1988).The previous literature on cross
culture in international companies states that incongruity or strangeness between
the values of expatriate managers and employees and the host country
managers/workers has caused the latter to be paranoid sometimes. Failure to adjust
results in higher employment expenses, poor productivity and performance.
(Badar et al., 1982) Research carried out over the past 16 months by the Chartered
Management Institute (CMI) has revealed that more than six out of 10 managers
believe their organisation's culture has an impact on decision-making. Three
aspects of adjustments have been identified by Aycan (1997) namely sociocultural, psychological and work adjustments. CCT helps to prepare the employees
to be able to manage these changes. The goal of cross culture training (CCT) is to
reduce culture shock when on foreign operation and to improve the managers
cross cultural experience (Caliguiri (2000)). Therefore it is important to provide

32

cross-cultural training to the expats before, during and after foreign assignments,
develop and train employee families and develop the headquarters staff
responsible for planning, organisation and control of overseas operations. (Pande,
A 2006)
Firms are mostly blamed for the poor performance of the employees. Firms are
blamed by scholars for;

Firms Select employees mainly based on their technical experience and

skills while neglecting issues of adjusting nature, personality etc;

Pre-departure training that is poor and very rarely focussed on the

importance of interacting with people of other cultures while focused often
on cultural figures and facts. (Sanchez et al., 2000):

It is ideal for an employee/expatriate to possess the following personal

characteristics: (1) having empathy for others; (2) being culturally sensitive (3)
willing to accept intercultural experiences and challenges; and (4) being
culturally prepared for the assignment.
Culture shock and associated stress: (Dealing with a different culture)

The differences in culture lead to cultural shock, which is-a state of mental stress
caused by minute and delicate changes in the culture (McEnery and DesHarnais,
1990). This process of accepting and adapting to the new changes (Nicola, 1993) or
the acculturation process in other words can be categorised in 4 stages. They are:

33

 The honeymoon or Initial stage.

The culture shock or depression stage.

The stage of Gradual improvement or adaptation and adjustment.

The Final Mastery stage

Figure III: The U-Curve of Cross Cultural Adjustment

Source: Pires, G., Stanton, J. and Ostenfield, S (2006).

Caligiuri (2001) classifies the four acculturation stages: Stage I- the honeymoon or
initial stage; Stage II- the culture shock or disillusionment stage; Stage III, the

34

gradual improvement stage and finally Stage IV- the final mastery stage. The
initial stage is a phase which lasts no more than two months. In this stage the new
experience causes excitement to the expatriate. In the disillusionment stage the
employee copes seriously with adjusting and adapting on a daily basis to living in
the new cultural environment. In this stage a lack of knowledge of the culture
makes the individual aware of what is right and what is wrong or unacceptable and
these differences in the new cultural environment results in frustration, uncertainty,
depression and nervousness. The depressions and disappointment occurs as the
individual starts to recognize that his past behaviours are unacceptable in the host
culture but he has not yet learned which type of behaviour is appropriate or
suitable. The third stage of adaptation is characterized by an increased capacity to
familiarize yourself with the new culture and environment and in the final stage
the anxiety is gone and the adjustment is about as complete as possible. The
reactions to a different culture are grouped in three categories which are
adaptation, flight and fight (Rhinesmith (1970).

Under the flight category,

reactions of withdrawing from opportunities of interaction and rejecting the new

people situations and culture cause discomfort to the employee/expatriate. In the
Fight stage the employees approach the new culture with hostility and the in
adaptation stage people actually carry out the practice of accepting the cultural
differences and adjusting to the new environment.
2.11 Potential Challenges faced by Indian Employees in UK :

The Indian Community constitutes about 2% of UKs population and has well
assimilated into the British culture and are in their third generation. Indians are very

35

professional, have achieved high in education and have low crime rates There are
more than 200 temples and over four hundred Indian Organizations in the United
Kingdom. The Indian Community in UK have also set up many learning and
teaching centres and also centres which promote the Hindu religion and culture.
There are a number of potential challenges faced by Indians in this UK, the major
one being identity (Morris, N 2008). This is because even today most of the
Indians are labelled as Asians by the media- the term referring to anyone who
belongs to India. This issue has had many negative impacts on the Indians in the UK.

For Example:
In the year 2001, there way riots between the Pakistanis and the whites in Northern
England. The media described this incident as riots between the whites and the
Asians. These generalizations have had many negative impacts and hence the term
Asian has now been rejected by many Indians. (Shah, D 2008)

Negative stereotypes: Many Indian employees in the UK have said that negative
stereotypes help by their co-workers against them is a major cause of conflict
between the two. One manager cited that employee Indians are viewed as gringos
(who) come in and stay for two to three years, fill their pockets, and leave. Indian
employees have also stated problems as they feel they are prevalent in the UK and
that the host country perceives them as the exploiter of the local people and who
dont invest in their local community.

36

Ethical Dilemmas: In other words Indian employees feel that there are too many
laws which are unclear and almost any action which is taken by the host organization
and Indian would be considered as the disobedience of the law.

Different value systems: Another cause of conflict could be the differences in value
systems. In India bribes are paid to the officials and government people to get things
done quickly without any hassles. When they are assigned in UK they must be
careful not to offer bribes to anyone as this might result in serious action being taken
against them.

Different perceptions of urgency, time and implementation : Another major cause

of stress and conflict that can be recounted as a problem is the difference is work
ethic. Many examples of cultural differences relating to time and urgency have been
cited by the Indian employees which they have experienced during their overseas
assignments. For Example they have cited that the UK mangers are:
(1) Without much worry and regard about the hours they devote to work, the UK
managers always work towards finishing the project on time (very good at working
towards deadlines).
(2)The British employees would start and wok until late if they have to complete a
project. A British Manager notes that the Indians describe the British as work driven
and ambitious and that Indians like to devote more time to their family and social
life.

37

Different business practices Indians have a different style of conducting meetings

which are generally unstructured and comprises of open discussions. The power
distance dimension (Hofstede, 2001) plays a vital role in the conduct in meetings.

2.12 Defining Expatriate Competencies

The same sets of functions have to be performed by the expats even in the new
environment and this causes a lot of depression and stress. This stress has a huge
impact on their work. Lack of adjustment in the new culture is a major reason or the
expatriate failure. Human Resource professionals should also keep in mind that soft
skills like the ability to adapt, be patient towards the new culture and have the
capacity to develop interpersonal relationships are very important to define the
expatriate competencies. (Hofstede, 2001) stated that skills required for successful
cross cultural adjustment are as follows:

Should have a flexible attitude

Must have a non-judgemental attitude
Should show empathy
The ability to communicate respect
Must be able to tolerate ambiguity

Emotional maturity and soft skills are imports skills which the expatriates must
possess. The expatriates should also possess the ability to understand the context of

38

the conversations and meetings without bringing in their own biases and perceptions.
A combination of three different dimensions are required to be culturally competent
(Black and Mendenhall, 1990), they are: the relationship dimension (ability to
develop relationships with host country nationals), self-maintenance dimension (self
esteem and confidence, reduction of stress and psychological comfort), and finally
the perceptual dimension (the expats perception about the social system and culture).
Perceptions thus play an important role in defining competencies. Perceptions lead
to stereotyping and cause wrong notions about the host culture (Pande, A 2006).
Employees shouldnt judge and form opinions about the host culture before they
spend some amount of time overseas. Cultural values, social and political systems
are the events which form a strong background and changes the perceptions of the
employees. The expatriates must be able to work in ambiguous and unstructured
situations and also have the ability to decode non verbal and verbal forms of
communication. (Demers, 2002). The expatriate employees must have empathy for
others, the willingness to communicate and be able to deal with isolation and
alienation. (Mendenhall and Oddou, 1986).

2.13. Building cultural understanding and awareness

Hofstede devised a framework which helped in developing competencies which are

required for operating in a cross cultural setting. The framework may be summarised
as follows.

39

(1) To create an awareness

Of ones own culture and

Of the cultural differences

(2) To develop knowledge

Of the impact of cultural differences.

And the relative advantages and disadvantages of different cultures in a

managerial setting.

(3) To build skills

To adapt behaviours to achieve effective results.

2.14. Meeting Cultural Challenges

Organizations have long depended on the cross-border mobility of their employees to

enhance the value of their businesses.(Marshall, J 2003) Whether related to the
creation of new markets or intended to reduce the cost of doing business, employee
mobility plays an important role. Companies in India, with a growing presence in
global markets, are increasingly using both inbound and outbound employee mobility
programs-both of which present challenges to an organization. (Aras, B 2006)

Cultural issues also play a role in ensuring the success of outbound mobility
programs. In an example affecting daily life, many Indians are vegetarians. However,

40

if they are unable to find familiar foods-as may occur if they are assigned to small
U.S. towns or cities-they may return home long before the project is complete.
Although Indians typically speak English, linguistic subtleties and unfamiliar
pronunciations can still trip the unwary. It is also a cultural difference that may
sometimes produce interpersonal tensions and hamper productivity. Indians often
need regular supervision and guidance, which is not the custom in many host
countries. Further, they are perceived to be interpersonal/relationship oriented,
whereas the host-country environment may be more task oriented.
Culture change can lead to culture shock and impede job performance. It takes time
to learn which behaviors are appropriate in a new setting and to feel at home. That
time may not be available in short-term assignments, making thorough preparation in
advance of the assignment essential. (Burchell, R and Gilden, A 2008)Organizations
should select adaptable individuals with good interpersonal skills for cross-border
assignments. They should also provide cross-cultural training and support to
assignees and, when families are accompanying the employees, to their families as
well. Relevant "soft skills" training offered by a growing number of companies
include social etiquette, language, and cultural differences. More intensive training
focuses on negotiating styles and the work culture of the host location.( Hoecklin L.
1995) While four out of five organizations provide formal cross-cultural training to at
least some expatriate employees some of the time, the 2005 Global Relocation
Trends Survey found that only 20% make it mandatory.

41

2.15.

Outbound Assignments

Outbound assignments for Indian companies are relatively new and present new
challenges-as well as opportunities-for Indian companies doing business in overseas
markets and for Indian employees of Indian subsidiaries moving to the headquarter
locations of parent companies. Also, in the last two to three years, Indian companies
have made entries into several new locales, and acquisitions outside India, a trend
that is expected to continue. As a result, more and more Indian nationals are on crossborder assignments overseas. In fact, where India generally dealt with inbound
assignments in the past, there appears to be a significant shift in the outward
direction.

A large majority of outbound employees from India currently tend to be junior

management and technology personnel sent abroad on short-term assignments.
Sectors contributing to this outbound movement include software and business
process outsourcing (BPO)-currently employing about one million people, according
to National Association for Software Companies (NASSCOM) data-along with
qualified information technology (IT), pharmacy, and chemical engineering. This
rotating mobile population, part of a large pool of highly educated graduates seeking
international experience, may spend four or five months overseas, return to India for
a short time, and then go to another country. According to a 2005 survey by GMAC
Global Relocation Services, more and more expats are young, unmarried, and eager
to accept short-term assignments to garner international experience.

42

In general, the challenges inherent in moving Indian citizens abroad include

immigration issues, compensation package design, tax consequences, cultural
adaptation, and repatriation to India at the end of the assignment. On the immigration
front, the biggest current challenge may lie in securing visas and local work permits.
Delays of several months are common, presenting a huge administrative task when
employees are needed onsite immediately, as is common, in mid-project. It recently
took several months for an Indian multinational company to secure the necessary
work permits for the 100+ employees urgently needed in a European country for a
client project. Another issue is the need to conform to local employment laws that, in
countries such as the U.K., Ireland, and Australia, require the payment of minimum
wages (which are generally higher than Indian wages, including the overseas
allowances) and the maintenance of payroll in the host country. Companies that
readily handled 150 to 200 inbound employees on long-term assignments are finding
it far more difficult to cope with thousands of short-termers going to different
destinations.

Outbound movement will continue, but moving employees out of India on both short
and long-term assignments presents challenges to organizations in human resources
(HR) and tax management. HR challenges include equity, training, and compliance.
Overseas assignments are generally attractive to Indians. However, to make the
assignments successful and productive for both the employer and the assignee, it is
essential that the assignee is appropriately trained to adapt to the host-country
environment. Also, it is necessary to provide essential facilities (e.g., vegetarian
food), as a leading banking and investment firm found. Further, to motivate

43

employees to accept an international assignment, companies need to provide the right

compensation package, whether those employees are going to a high-tax country like
the U.K. or a low-tax country like Saudi Arabia. Tax equalization packages, although
sometimes expensive, can be a way to achieve equity among employees moving
globally. However, tax equalization may not be the only option for many employees
and careful consideration must be given before selecting a compensation package.
(Shim, I 2001)

2.16. Cultural issues faced by Indians in UK:

Indians working in call centres and other organisations in the UK have repeatedly
reported cultural issues which they face in their work place.

Some of the instances where they faced problems are listed below:
Irate customers
This factor has been cited as one of the most important reasons for Indian employees
in call centres to quit and because of this many employees are under a lot of stress
and many UK organisations have started appointing counsellors and psychiatrists to
help the employees cope.
An increasing number of Indian employees (mainly call centre employees) are
quitting their jobs as they are unable to handle the abuse from British customers and
cope up with the stress and persistent rudeness.

44

Below are a few examples of the types of verbal abuse faced by Indian Employees
in UK call centers:

Example:1- Eugene, 27, an employee from Spectrumind( a company which provides

accounts services for BT) was abused by a customer as a Paki and was asked not to
call the customer again. She was very depressed and was reduced to tears on this.
She also said that once the customers detected from their accent that they werent
English they used to discriminate them a lot.

Example 2:- Even Pooja Chopra another Indian who used to work for BT and
America Online received similar abuse and racism; She had a customer who said
"You're a Paki; I don't want to talk to you, pass me to someone who can speak my
language".

Employees faced a spectrum of rudeness - from open racism and discrimination to

sexual harassment and anger at unsolicited sales calls. Analysts have noticed that the
number of racist customer and clients is constantly growing in the recent years and
the customers have expressed anger due to more and more customer service jobs
being allocated to Indians which has become a sensitive issue now. Hostility from
clients was cited as one of the major reasons for Indians to quit their jobs.

This concept of racism has become a growing problem and anger has been expressed
from the West because of job losses and the fear of off shoring. People will just call
up with difficult questions putting you in an uncomfortable position to converse with

45

them. For Example-"You're from India. You don't know anything. I don't want to
speak to you".

Companies are battling a departure rate of 60%-70% annually with staff turnover
being a major problem. Firms are therefore taking many steps to help the employees
to be to deal with abuse as most of the staff are quite young and dont have the
required skills and ability to help them cope up with the stress. Employees are
already stressed as they have to work in the nights and this has resulted in low
overall productivity. In this stage any abuse really lowers their self esteem and
confidence as they are very vulnerable. They dont want to deal with anyone for
sometime and the final productivity is affected.

Current research shows that more than 50% of the Indian employees would like to
receive counseling and the counselors are also making the expats understand not to
take the abuse personally. Many companies have now suggested that staff should
anglicize their names adopting fore names like Paul and Mary.
The call centre Unionist, Gautam Mody has stated that there are no workers
collectivists in the UK for the 350,000 Indian Employees in call centers in UK.

Organizations are now allowed to legally permit the staff to hang up on customers
after warning them thrice to mind their language (which was a sackable offence till
now). Trainers have also started to train the staff about the different forms of cultural
rudeness the staff might face.

46

British customers can be very rude but in a polite way, Anita Bhuttar, training vicepresident of GTL, a Mumbai-based company, said. The British customers generally
wouldnt use abusive language but they can from their voice you can make out that
they are angry. (Gentleman, A 2005).

It has been observed that if cultural diversity is an asset to the organization if it is

managed well and on the other hand it leads to poor performance if its not handled
in the right way. The nature of the impact of the positive or negative consequences of
diversity depends more on the type of diversity climate rather than the diversity itself
(Bhaduri et al, 2000). In case he employees are not able to communicate effectively
they feel that they are excluded and feel discomfort and develop suspicions. Every
facet of the life of employees and expatriates and their families can be affected by
communication impediments hindering their happiness in their current surroundings
and adjustment to the host culture and country. All these factors may result in the
expats becoming inefficient in group and individual processes, have a slow career
progression, ambiguity, complexity, psychological stress and confusion and finally
results in getting potentially devastated.
An increase in cultural diversity has made the managers realize the importance of
cross cultural training in order to help employees and expatriates to effective adjust
in the new environment. (Hung Wen, L 2007)

47

2.17 The need for research-A Summary:

The Literature Review suggests that although a lot of research has been done on
expatriates/expatriation, only very little research has been done on Indian Expatriates
in the United Kingdom. There is very limited information on the cultural issues faced
by them and what steps and measures have actually been taken to solve these cultural
issues. The different issues will be explored in this research by conducting interviews
with Indian Expatriates and also sending some open ended questionnaires to Indian
expatriates. This research/study therefore sets out to look at the most common issues
faced by Indian employees and the reasons behind them.
Review of literature as put forward above and personal interest in the subject area
have led to the development of certain key objectives for this research. Many gaps
are found in the research regarding Indian Expatriates in the UK which have to be
filled. These gaps led to the collection of primary data. Some of the gaps which were
identified in the previous literature are listed below.

To study if their expatriate assignment help them in career progression?

To study if the Indian expatriates received any pre departure training before
coming here (to the United Kingdom)?

To study if the respondent received any kind of impartiality (racism or

discrimination) from the employer or other employees or customers?

48

To study if the lack of fluency of the language has led to any cultural
differences?

To study what they felt like being in the new place etc.

In order to fill these gaps an empirical study was done which sought to answer and
study the questions which were not researched previously and the questions of the
research are listed in the questionnaire which is attached in the appendices section
(Appendix B) of the project.

49

CHAPTER 3
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1 Introduction

In the literature review the questions which need to be answered for the research are
stated and in this chapter the methodological approach which has been chosen to
fulfil the research is discussed. Each of the following sections will form a part of the
research process. This will follow with the collection of primary and secondary data
which will fulfil the aims and purpose of the study. The methodology was chosen
depending on the purpose, objectives, scope and aims of the study and justifies it.
This was an empirical study which is one of the most common forms of research
report or dissertation.

3.2. Research aims:

The present research was based on Indian Expatriates in the UK. The prime reason
of the current research was to investigate the cross cultural issues and other reasons
which lead to culture shock within the population of Indian Expatriates/Employees.
This research in particular has helped to determine the significance of numerous
variables and factors that lead to culture shock. An evaluation of the previous
literature on this topic/area suggests that a number of factors influence the
adjustment process in the new settings.

50

An initial framework was formed for the empirical research in which the variables
relating to culture shock were placed in 2 categories. In the first category the factors
that would impact on an individuals inter-cultural sensitivity like gender, age,
previous international experience, duration in the present organisation etc were
placed. Variables which function with an individuals inter-cultural sensitivity like
the fluency of the English language, cross cultural training, difficulties faced while
communicating with the British employees, perceptions about host and home country
culture, racism and/or any sort of discrimination received etc. were placed in the
second category. This framework is summarised in Figure 1V.

Figure IV: A conceptual Framework

Source: Chang, C. T (1996)

51

3.3 Research approach

Both a qualitative and quantitative study was applied for this research as it attempted
to explore the experiences in terms of challenges and adjustments of employees in
the context of cross-cultural setting. Thus it was required to interpret the experiences
that the informants encountered during their assignments. The qualitative study had
helped to understand how the individuals give structure to their lives in the host
country and to analyse the perceptions of the employees. Qualitative research often
works with small samples of people. Hence the samples need to be more purposive
than random (Gary, 2004). In Qualitative research 4 methods are used typically for
collecting data: They are listed as follows
(1)Direct observation: Respondents words and or actions are recorded without
necessarily asking them questions.
(2)Analysis of materials and documents: written materials such as archives, legal
statutes, minutes of meetings, letters, memos and communications.
(3)Interviews: Verbal responses to questions are gathered from individuals or focus
groups of respondents. (Silverman, D. (2000)
A Quantitative research in this study open ended questionnaires were framed to be
distributed among Indian expatriates who were not available for interviews. These
questionnaires were used to interpret the results of the study in the form of graphs,
bar charts and tables etc. Some of these questionnaires were distributed personally
and some were sent through e-mails as some respondents were located in different
cities in UK and said they would prefer sending it through mails rather than to have a
telephone interview with them. (Ghauri, P and Gronhaugh, K. (2002)

52

The employees were expected to have some knowledge of management, well

exposed to interactions among the locals either at their workplace or otherwise.
Moreover, the employee must be a professional in any of these areas, namely,
business, academic, medicine, communications or engineering, since these were
mainly the common areas where skills and knowledge of the employees are most
needed in this country.

For this research an inductive approach was used as in an inductive approach the
researcher would normally develop and collect the theory and data and would
develop a theory after analysing the data and moreover in an inductive approach the
researcher has less concerns with the need to generalise and uses a more flexible
structure to implement the necessary changes in the research as the research
progresses. Inductive reasoning applies to situations where specific observations or
measurements are made towards developing broader conclusions, generalizations and
theories. (Saunders et al. 2003)

Using multi methods

Multi methods have been used in this research which means that the study has used
both secondary and primary data and a qualitative and quantitative approach.
(Trochim, W.M.K 2006). Multi methods were used because, for example, interviews
were also conducted to get a feel of the key issues and also to develop a
questionnaire.

53

Figure V: Forms of Primary research methods

Source: Saunders et. al, (2003)

3.4 Research strategy

The research strategy is a broad plan of how the researcher goes about answering the
research questions. An exploratory study id the research strategy used for this
research. Exploratory studies are important means of finding out what is happening;
to seek new insights; to ask questions and to assess phenomena in new light
(Robson, 2002).It was helpful to understand the problem with clarity. The advantage
of using an exploratory study is that it is adaptable and flexible to change.

54

Figure VI: The research process onion

Source: Saunders et. al, 2003

3.5. Research methods

Methods are tools for data generation and analysis. Practically methods are chosen
on the basis of criteria related to or even dictated by the major elements of the
methodology in which they are embedded such as perception of reality, definition of
science, perception of human beings , purpose of research, type of research units and
so on( Sarantakos, 1998).

55

3.6. Research Design

In order to finalize the research instrument for the empirical study and to gain partial
acceptance and co-operation from the respondents, exploratory discussions were
conducted in the start of the research with Indian employees in order to get
knowledge of the types of cultural issues faced by them. The participants of the
research were employees (both male and female) who are presently working and
living in the United Kingdom for at least one year. A total of 15 expatriates were
used as the sample for this research. Employees of Information Technology
Companies were identified as key respondents. In order to avoid any kind of
unwillingness or non response it was essential to conduct preliminary discussions.
An exploratory research had helped to access a wide array of experiences
experienced by the employees.
Many leading organisations were contacted to gather data. It was also learnt that the
Information Technology sector was the primary industry where Indian employees
were sent on International Assignments. Therefore Expatriates were contacted from
major companies like Capita, Tech Mahindra and BeCogent. Their telephone
numbers were obtained through personal contacts and telephone interviews were
conducted with them. Questionnaires were also given personally and some sent via emails to some expatriates who werent available for the interviews. The questions
asked for the interview and the questions that were asked for the interview are listed
in the questionnaire attached in the appendix. On the whole 5 expatriates were
interviewed and questionnaires were given to the other 10. A few employees who had
prior intercultural experience were chosen to test the validity of the questionnaire.

56

Validity can be defined as the meaningfulness, usefulness and appropriateness of the

specific inferences made from the test score (Gall, Borg and Gall, 1996).

Background to the Interviewees:

It is also useful to introduce some of the basic biographical information for each
interviewee before going further. The names of the companies where the
interviewees work are mentioned in the table below and the respondents are chosen
from various other companies (mostly chosen from BeCogent Ltd.) Table II contains
the indicators of personal data of the 5 interviewees to give a clear picture of the
information in order to develop a better comprehension of the following analysis.

57

Interviewee

Interviewee

Interviewee

Interviewee

Interviewee

Gender

A
Female

B
Male

C
Male

D
Male

E
Female

Company Name

Capita

Tech

Tech

Becogent

Capita

Mahindra
Technical

Mahindra
Technical

Business

Tester

organisation

Associate

Associate

Analyst

Been

3 years

9 months

4 years

2 years

No

No

No

No

No

Work Experience
Living
with No

No

No

No

No

Position

in

the Tester

Expatriate 6 months

for ( till August

7th)
Previous
International

family

Table II: Background to the Interviewees

Constructed by the researcher.

All the interviewees were interviewed after their shifts and the interviewees took
approximately 15 minutes each and the questionnaires were returned personally and
through e-mails in maximum two days. The interviewees were highly participative
and ready to answer the questions in general. Interviewees were asked about their
adjustment so far and if they were offered any kind of training pre and post arrival.
In addition they were asked to share their recommendations for the future expatriates.

58

3.7 DATA COLLECTION

Research instrument

Data was gathered using primary and secondary data. Subsequent to the initial
discussions which are described above, a questionnaire (the research instrument) was
designed which listed the final questions that had to be asked during the interview
and also which was distributed to the expatriates. The collection of actual opinions of
the Indian Expatriates was considered crucial in this study and the best way of
getting their opinions was through interviews (telephone interviews in this study
were conducted due to practical difficulties). Telephone interviews and distribution
of

questionnaires

helped

to

keep

relaxed

relationship

between

the

interviewer/researcher and the interviewee/respondent. Qualitative data can be

collected by using semi-structured interviews or discussions in which an interview
situation is set up which gives the respondents the time to answer the questions and
give their opinions on the subject. An interview is a purposeful discussion between
two or more people (Kahn and Cannell, 1957). This method gives the researcher
insights into how individuals think about their world. Interviews help the researcher
to gather important, reliable and valid data which are relevant to the research
questions.( Kosgi, H.M (2004)

For the researcher, conducting interviews can be quite challenging because it requires
the ability to handle the interview as diplomatically and non-judgementally as

59

possible (Clark et. al., 1998). In order to avoid making generalizations on the
behaviour the researcher must understand the respondents view point. Mostly
personal contacts were used to conduct the research.

Besides due to the time

constraint, the interviewer should also be capable of controlling the progression of

the interviews. Furthermore, it was important to strike a balance between allowing
the interviewees to talk freely an keep them on track or it was very likely that the
researcher got far more of the interviewees own personal views than what the
researcher actually wants. Therefore the structure and objective of the interview
should be carefully framed beforehand so that the cost, mainly of the time aspect, of
conducting interviews can be kept at the lowest level.

The telephone interviews were conducted and questionnaires were distributed in the
first week of August. To some of the respondents an English questionnaire was
distributed as those respondents couldnt attend the interview and the questionnaire
was very simple to understand. The questionnaire comprised of biographical data
which included age, gender; the ability to speak the English Language and other
variables like the duration spent working for the present organisation/company/firm
and time spent working in the United Kingdom.

3.8. Data analysis

60

This research identified factors which affected the adjustment of Indian Expatriates.
This study also helped to list the suggestions for future Indian expatriates coming to
the UK and also suggestions for the MNCs and managers to recruit expatriates with
the right skills. The main objective was to study the potential problems an issues
faced by the Indian Expatriates in United Kingdom. The interviews and
questionnaires helped to get a better understanding of the challenges and the support
received from the organisations. The research was conducted in MNCs in UK who
had Indian Expats. Data was further organised according to the research objective
and the data collected from the 15 respondents was separately analysed against each
factor which is then given in detail in the next chapter called Findings and Analysis.
A percentage analysis was done for the various factors of adjustment and is
represented in the form of tables, charts and pie diagrams which then helped to
develop a better understanding of the importance of various factors and the issues
faced in percentages.

3.9. Methodological Limitations to the Study:

One of the important decisions in the cross cultural research design is the extent of
population coverage. Different comparable samples had to be taken to be truly
representative. Due to resource constraints only a small sample could be analysed for
this study and this has limited the scope and results of the research. This research
uses a convenience sample since even employees with less than one year experience
have been chosen as respondents for the research. They cannot be considered to be
truly representative samples of the entire Indian employee and expatriate population

61

in UK. One of the practical difficulties faced during the approach was that it was not
easy to get in contact with many expatriates. So the sample size is also small (15
expatriates). Another important challenge was that all the 15 expatriates were not
available either for personal or telephone interviews and so questionnaires were
developed for those who couldnt attend the interviews and these questionnaires were
distributed personally and some via e-mails. However it can also be concluded that
the results of the study from these respondents could represent the trend of this
cultural group.

CHAPTER -4

62

FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS

4.1. Introduction:

In this chapter the research questions that are mentioned in Chapter 1 are analysed
and an attempt has been made to try to answer the same. This chapter aims to provide
an analysis of the opinions of the respondents to compare the practices and
consequently to present suggestions for the MNCs to develop a better expatriation
system in the future. A percentage analysis was done to study the various factors of
adjustment (demographic, situational factors etc.). The percentage analysis for the
various factors is represented in the form of bar charts, pie diagrams and tables. It
was observed that a number of factors influenced the adjustment of the Indian
Expatriates in the UK. The factors are studied below in detail.

4.2. Demographic Factors:

It is observed that respondents were mostly male. Other demographic factors that
were used in this study are age, duration of stay, fluency of the English Language,
work experience, whether or not the respondent is living with the family etc. are
discussed below. The questionnaire also included a question on the expatriates
position in the organisation. (Appendix B).

Age:

63

Respondents were distributed over the age range 20 to 30 years, Most of the
respondents from the total of 15 (60%) were between 25-30 years and 40% of the
respondents were between 20 and 25 years of age.

Chart I: Respondents Age Ratio

Duration spent in the United Kingdom:

73% of the respondents said they have been living in the United Kingdom for less
than 1 year now and 27% have been living for1-2 years.

English language:

Language is an important variable in cross cultural adaptation. There is a positive

relationship between language proficiency and the social interactions with the host
country nationals. Therefore the expatriates should not only possess language
proficiency but at the same time must have good information gathering, observation

64

and listening skills, problem solving, cultural awareness and human relation skills.
(Church, 1982)

Taking the entire sample, surprisingly, only 40% answered that they had fluent
English and 60% said they has only a conversational ability and that their English
was average. Expatriated also remarked that when they dint converse in fluent
English with their colleagues and general public they faced a lot of abuse and
difficulty.

Chart II: English Fluency Analysis

Duration Spent in the present Organisation:

65

60% of the respondents that were used for this study have been working in the
present organisation for less than a year, which means they have come into the
country just recently and about 40% said they have been working for more than a
year now.

Previous International Experience:

73% percent of the sample does not have previous international work experience and
27% of them have worked in other countries before coming to the United Kingdom.
The 27% who said they had previous international experience dint find great
difficulty in adapting and that previous experience also minimises the initial
difficulty in the host country.

Chart III: Situational Factors

Living with Family:

66

90% of the respondents said they are not living with their family and 10% of the
respondents answered that they were living with their family.

Descriptive Statistics of Respondents Demographic Factors:

Variables
Age

20-25

Percentage
60%

Gender

25-30
Male

40%
90%

Duration

spent

in

Female
the < 1year

10%
60%

present organisation

1-2 years

40%

Duration in UK

>2 years
< 2 years

0%
73%

>2 years

27%

Table: 1II: Descriptive Statistics of Respondents Demographic Factors:

4.3 Factors of adjustment:

In this section the various factors relating to adjustment and the situations in which
cultural differences arose are discussed in detail. Questions relating to their
perceptions and views of the UK, the cultural challenges they faced and importance
of cross cultural training are also discussed.

67

Purpose of the assignments

For many MNCs expatriation has become an ideal option, to a certain extent, to
facilitate the operations of their overseas subsidiaries. But the purpose of expatriation
can be varied. Evans et al. (2002) proposed that expatriation usually could be
categorised into demand-driven type and learning driven type. The former type of
expatriation is needed mainly when the knowledge and competencies of the
expatriates are not available locally, while the latter type of expatriation normally
takes place when the local capabilities have been developed and it is beneficial for
the expatriates or the MNCs to cultivate greater abilities to local management.
Naturally the 15 participants /respondents in this research carry different purposes as
well.( Brewster, C., Sparrow, P. & Vernon, G. (2007)

1. Career progression:
The purpose of career enhancement assignments is to serve young professionals and
managers as an integral part of career development (Black et al., 1999), and some of
the respondents were eager to get such a chance.
When asked if their expatriate assignment helped in any kind of career development,
83% of the expatriates said their overseas assignment did not help them in career

68

progression and only 17% said their assignment helped them in enhancement of their
career.

Most of the interviewees said they were expatriated on a demand driven basis, while
a few had different intentions (i.e., they volunteered which means they were
learning driven type)
One of the interviewees who said her assignment helped her in career assignment
quoted:
I got the idea to study in the UK because I thought it is a way to get a job in the UK
and now since I have got a job I like it because I like to gain career experience in a
different country. (Interviewee B).

Another respondent said Yes. It is a good learning experience. As a professional I

am learning hoe to work and live in a different country and culture.

____________________________________________________________________
Names of the Interviewees and the respondents are not disclosed due to anonymity.
2. Pre-Departure Cross cultural Training for respondents:

Most academics approved of the effects of pre departure training on enhancing the
performance of expatriates (Wang, 1997; Stanek, 2000). Wright et al. (1996)
presented a systems approach in which the training details were organised into a
systematic process to manage expatriates. Apart from this systematic approach, more

69

classical model of cross cultural training, proposed by Mendenhall and Oddou

(1986), stimulated more vivid discussions among researchers. It is found that crosscultural training is positively correlated to the development of candidates confidence
in their own abilities to interact with effectiveness in a foreign setting.

From the data collected through interviews and questionnaires it was observed that,
shockingly, 100% of expatriates did not receive any pre-departure training for their
overseas assignments (Oddou, 1991). The companies that were chosen didnt really
provide any pre departure cross cultural training as expected. All the respondents said
that they did not take any predeparture training before they assumed their
responsibilities. It could be inferred that the procedure of pre-departure training was
shortened or omitted, thus saving the cost of operation.

An interviewee expressed her frustration due to a lack of cross-cultural exposure in

terms of work: She said

The first couple of weeks were actually a disaster for me because I was so much
adopted with the Indian ideas. So when I came here I didnt really feel comfortable
with the whole thing that was going on and I couldnt get adjusted to the British
culture and workplace. (Interviewee A).

The discomfort brought about by an absence of pre-departure training in terms of

work and personal life was severe to some interviewees. Though for many
researchers the importance of pre-departure training cannot be over-emphasised, yet

70

again, there is something of a gap between practises and theories. Therefore it is

suggested that a company should take more efforts on the provision of pre and post
departure training/orientation for their expatriates so that the sufficient preparation of
these expatriates can be ensured to facilitate a more effective experience.

Chart IV: Cross cultural Training Analysis

4. Post Arrival Training for the Expatriates:

80% of the expatriates said they did not receive any post arrival training or support
from their host country organisation and it was observed that only 20% of the
respondents received post arrival support and training from the firm.

3. Racism/Discrimination

71

One of the most important questions of this analysis was if the expatriates faced any
kind of impartiality (racism/discrimination) from their customers or employers or
colleagues.
12 out of 15 respondents(80%) said that they faced impartiality during their work ,
which is quite a high percentage and only 3 out of 15 (20%) said they dint face
racism/discrimination. Different interviewees said they faced different types of
racism. The most common was when speaking over the phone with Britishers. One
of the respondents said:

When I was talking on the phone with a Britisher, he asked me to pass the phone to
someone else who could understand English and who is not an Indian, though none
of my co-workers ever found it difficult to understand my English. (Respondent 3).

Another interviewee said that he faced racism in relation to work promotions. He

claimed that he dint get the promotion h deserved and other British colleagues who
were working with him were promoted and said he wasnt treated equally and wasnt
given the benefits which many other Britishers got.

Interviewee C said that I get really bad shifts. They wont change it when all the
other people are doing their shifts.

72

Respondent 6 said At work customers are more comfortable to speak with other
Europeans. They are also more inclined to believe what solution a European gives
rather than an Indian
On the other hand one of the respondents quoted that
Sometimes everyone does it, even you do it (discrimination) and it happens in every
field and you cant change it. Its better if you just avoid it and dont take it
personally and be patient.

Chart V: Percentage of Racism among expats

A percentage analysis of the different factors which affected the expatriate
adjustment in the UK are mentioned in Table: IV

Variables

Percentage

73

What was nature of each assignment?

Good

20%

Bad

20%

Average
60%
Are you comfortable with socialising with people of nonIndian Origin?
Yes

40%

No

26%

Sometimes
Did your assignment help in career enhancement?

34%

Yes

17%

No

83%

Did you assignment help in Personal Development?

Yes

46%

No

54%

Table: IV Descriptive Statistics of Expatriates Cultural Adjustment Stage

5. The Adjustments of the Interviewees:

Adjustment refers to the extent of material comfort towards a new circumstance

(Chang, 1996). Academics have different interpretations to it, but in general,

74

adjustment means the interaction between the individuals and the environment. Many
experts claimed that there is a positive co-relation between expatriate failure and lack
of adjustment (Fish and Wood, 1994). It is observed that the results of adjusting are
highly relevant to individuals mental health and performance. Most interviews
evaluated their adjustments for the first few months as quite bad. This should be
easy to understand because none of the respondents had prior international
experience.

When asked what it was like initially for the first 3-6 months, some of the
respondents answered that

It was like an Alien Country. I found it very difficult to get accustomed to the culture
(Respondent 2)..Respondent 8 saidI was quite worried to see the relationship of
people with each other at the work place. It was very formal and took a long time to
make friends.

Respondent 9 remarked thatIt was quite difficult grasping the culture, getting to
know the local amenities, understanding the norms in UK and the climate was
horrible and I felt very lonely.

Interviewee D said that her experience was really bad and she struggled as she
couldnt find jobs easily and claims she dint get any support from the government
and employers and companies never responded back to her resume.

75

For the researcher, there are also some other issues that need to be explored while
studying Expatriates who work and live alone abroad. As observed, most of them do
not have family members living with them and therefore they found it somehow
difficult to develop their personal lives after the shifts are over

You will feel very lonelyThat is one thing for sure The loneliness really kills
and back at home you know whatever it is you ca run back home but here you cant
so I spend a lot of time travelling around to divert my concentration on feeling
loneliness(Interviewee E).

Most of them agreed that it is not easier to make close friends during their overseas
assignments, and therefore, the relationships among colleagues are more treasure by
these expatriates.

With the above analysis, it is not difficult to find that the adjustment of the
expatriates plays a crucial role to a successful overseas assignment. Undoubtedly,
the attitudes, perceptions and personalities of the expatriates themselves are also
essential to facilitate overseas assignments.

6. Nature of the Expatriate Assignment:

Out of the 15 respondents that were chosen, only 20% said that their assignment was
good, another 3(20%) said their experience was bad and the remaining 9 (60%) said

76

the nature of their assignment and their experience on the whole till now was
average.

Most Difficult Experiences:

When the respondents were asked their most difficult and least difficult experiences
in the UK, they said the most difficult was to understand the Accent (60% of them
rated accent as most difficult). 3 interviewees (20%) said that getting promotions,
the medical system and rigid procedures in this country was difficult for them to get
adjusted to and the remaining 20% said that finding a Job was difficult.

Respondent 10 said that I found it very difficult to get a job. I had to wait for three
months before getting a job despite of having previous experience and the response
was poor.

Interviewee A said

As such I never faced any difficult experience. However understanding the Scottish
Accent, opening bank accounts and travelling around without change were a few
difficult things which I came across.

Another respondent also remarked that The difficult experience was in the job
market and sorting the visa and the medical system and the strict and rigid
procedures were very difficult for me to understand and adjust.

77

However most of the respondents said that understanding the Accent was the most
difficult and especially respondents in Scotland found it extremely difficult to
understand the sharp Scottish Accent. On the other hand when asked about what was
the least difficult experience most of the respondents answered that making friends,
finding an accommodation and finding Indian food was the least difficult.
The four stages proposed by Caliguri (2001) as mentioned in the literature review are
helpful to approach a better understanding of practice in terms of cultural adjustment.

Respondent 4 has been assuming her responsibility just for 3 months, and the
description of Honeymoon stage is quite applicable to her. She said Oh I love the
food! This country has a Christian Culture and is quite easy for me to follow (This
respondent is a Christian) and I am quite happy.

Some of the respondents have already gone through the rough stage of Irritation
and got into the third stage of Gradual Adjustment. For instance Interviewee C said
that Its OK! .Working here for me is quite comfortable so far. I would love to
stay and give more. Also there is an example of the final or Mastery Stage.

For Example:

Honestly I did gain a lotI adopted quite well and I will actually miss this place
when I am not here (Respondent 9)

78

When asked if the expatriates views or perceptions of the host country and culture
change, most of them replied no and said that gradually they are becoming more
open minded to the people in UK and are trying to adapt to the surroundings and
culture. The expatriated did change a little bit on some perspectives but not to an
extent that it could be regarded as a perspective transformation.

7. Personal development:

When asked if their foreign assignment helped them in any kind of personal
development, 7 out of 15 respondents( 46%) said yes, while the remaining 8 (54%)
said No, their expatriate assignment dint help them in any kind of personal
development.

One interviewee remarked that I dint get much of personal development and you are
just told to do your work and thats it. No feedbacks or improvements
Another respondent said I became more practical and focussed

8. Are you comfortable with interacting with Britishers?

79

When the above question was asked 26% of the respondents said they were not
comfortable with socialising with people of a non-Indian origin. 34% said they were
comfortable with interacting sometimes and 40% said they were comfortable.

One respondent remarked Sometimes you do, sometimes you dont, I am getting
used to it, but its quite difficult to understand their jokes.
A majority of them said they were quite comfortable though.

9. Most helpful personal strengths:

Respondents were also asked which personal strengths they found most helpful
during their overseas assignment. Hard work and positive attitude were quoted as the
most helpful personal traits. Other characteristics which the respondents
recommended for successful adjustment were:

You must be flexible

Have self confidence.

Ability to adjust.

Communicating and sticking together through thick and thin(Interviewee C)

Must have work experience

Self initiative and

Friendly.

And finally when the respondents were asked if there was something they learnt from
this country.

80

Interviewee C said I have learnt a lot of things from the British culture as well.
Punctuality, acceptance of mistake and confidence are the three important things I
learnt from them
Respondent 10 remarked that People of Britain are very professional and you need
to know your rules and work very professionally to accomplish your task

Interviewee A said The Britishers have a Live and Let live attitude which is an
important thing I learnt from them. And there is nothing wrong in doing odd jobs
here. Another thing is you can afford basic things in this country by doing odd jobs
but in our country you cant

10. Recommendations for future expatriates.

When the respondents were asked for their recommendations for the future
expatriates , that is, how they can cope up with the culture change, most of them
replied that the work experience, mental strength, commitment to work and the
ability to adjust are highly important.
One of the interviewees said.you have to be well prepared and you have to be
extremely strong and know exactly what you wantMany times I feel like Im going
to pick my bags and go backbut once you conquer your own feeling of fear it is
actually very nice ..You have to stick to what the initial plan is. Thats what makes
you say I cant go back (Interviewee B)

81

More specifically Interviewee A expressed her opinion when being asked about the
requirements of taking a successful overseas assignment:
Knowing the place or the country you are going to should be put on the top place
because it really matters. Being too brave and over confident is not a very clever
thing to do so I would suggest that you know the place first Of course knowing
your own ability is essential as wellknow your capability of handling things and
your limitationbe prepared for what your going to facein this sense I mean your
competence is important , and then you should be strong enough to take
disappointments. I am not saying working and living overseas is scary, its just that
you should be ready to handle everything.

They also said that according to them one of the most important ways to reduce
cultural difference and facilitate adjustment is to provide pre-departure training.

4.4 Summary of Findings:

Age has been identified as an important factor (Furnham and Bochner, 1982) and it
also states that the younger people or individuals are likely to adapt better and sooner
to the culture in the host country than the individuals of an older age. Another
important factor which has been analysed is that Employees or expatriates who have
prior experience of foreign assignments generally adjust successfully to the new
environment (Selmer, 1995). It was also observed that most of the respondents were
male. The differences in culture between and the host country and an individuals
home country have also been recognized as an important aspect (Mendenhall and

82

Oddou, 1991); which obviously means that persons find more difficulty in adjusting
to the new environment if they are more distant. (Mamman, 1995). It is also observed
that language (the accent) was the most challenging cultural difference. Also it was
analysed that a few respondents (only a very small percentage) found that young
people taking drugs and getting drunk all the time very challenging and most of the
respondents also said that the society needs to restructure itself. Most of respondents
also said that the only solution to cope up with and adjust to this culture is to get
adequate pre-departure and post arrival training to familiarise the Indians with the
British Culture.

Intercultural sensitivity is also an important factor contributing to successful

adaptation of the expats (Burnes, B. (1992). Major cultural differences are perceived
by an expat in the values, attitudes and beliefs once he comes to the host country.
Clothing styles, physical attractiveness and food preferences which are the external
variables are noticed immediately while the internal factors like religions, values etc
are less obvious. International and intergroup hostility also depict differences
between the values and behaviors between other groups (Davison, 1979).

The purpose of the above detailed discussion is to bring out the point of cultural
factors. Culture is one of the main concerns in this research, and is often indicated as
one of the most influential factors in expatriation because with good cultural abilities,
flexible attitude, ability to adapt and the drive to learn, the impact of culture shock
can be reduced to the lowest level (Chang, 1996).
CHAPTER 5

83

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Conclusions:

The findings derived from this research were quite surprising in several aspects. The
study of Mendenhall and Oddou (1991) suggests that a respect for the culture of the
host country national, enthusiasm towards them and an overall sense of goodwill
between the host nationals and the Indian expatriates allowed the expatriates to
create a good relationship with their hosts. It is also suggested that in order to
develop an understanding an attitude of enthusiasm and respect will be far more
powerful than factors such as education, age etc. To conclude, our findings underline
the importance of training in facilitating adjustment and cross-cultural interaction.
This is regarded as an important finding. However the sample of expatiates in this
study (n=15) is quite small and cannot reveal genuine results. It is surprising that
none of the expatriates and employees who were used for this research received any
prior training before arriving in the United Kingdom. Brislin (1993) had studied that
an expatriates nature and frequency of personal interaction with nationals of the host
country, is directly related to culture shock.

Region of origin is also considered as an important topic to be discussed. An

important question is Why are Indian expatriates more prone than non-Indian
expatriates to culture shock? The answer partly lies in the big expectations on the
Indians. If a Non-Indian makes some cultural mistake, he wouldnt be
accused/punished because their unfamiliarity with the culture is not surprising.

84

However, the event may be well remembered if the same mistake is made by an
Indian Expatriate.

In connection with recruiting and selecting expatriates or employees of the Indian

origin these conclusions have huge implications on the personnel policy of the
organisation recruiting these Indians. Indian employees are employed in the belief
that they can adapt and adjust well to working in the UK and that they have
familiarity with the British religion, culture and political systems as well as language.
The various issues listed in the analysis section and the serious consequences that
culture shock has on the adjustment of the Indian Expatriates calls into question such
a policy.

Five expatriates were interviewed and questionnaires were distributed to 10 and the
material obtained from these respondents was used in Chapter four to produce an
analysis of the key issues emerging from the literature review like culture shock,
training, discrimination etc. The interviews and questionnaires brought out many
interesting points for the researcher to discuss. The perceptions of the expatriates
were not in exact compliance with the expectations of the theorists. The dark side of
expatriation may be spouse adjustment, depression and alcohol abuse, but these
problems may not be identified until the performance is affected seriously. It is also
analysed that firms that send expatriates on international assignments are failing to
capitalise on this investment and as a result are losing their talented employees by
not providing them with adequate training and support.

85

As to the practice of pre and post-departure training, not surprisingly it was found
that none of the respondents had undertaken such training, which, though bringing
great disappointment is actually very close to the observation of the academics.
Although many researchers propose that the conduct of pre-departure training has a
positive effect on the development of the candidates confidence in their own abilities
to interact with effectiveness in a foreign setting (Webb and Wright, 1996), from the
experience of the respondents, it is not difficult to find that the organisation seldom
did so and actually seemed to have good reasons for not providing training. Indeed,
the lack of such training has been apparent for quite sometime as well. Considering
the essential issue of good preparation for the expatriates, it is suggested that here the
MNCs should confront this issue seriously so that the expatriates ability both to
work and non-work issues can be enhanced.

The adjustment of expatriates, the most mentioned topic in this research drew out
some vivid discussions from both the academics and expatriates themselves. Many
researchers pay attention to the expatriate adjustment issue because a lack of
adjustment can lead to the result of expatriate failure. Due to the close relationship of
adjustment and culture, some authors, such as Torbiorns four stages of culture shock
(1982) and Hofstedes classification of culture are often used to examine the practice.
Though most interviewees and respondents had limited knowledge of these theories,
they evidenced great similarity with a number of propositions outlined by Torbiorn
and Hofstede. When talking about cultural differences (racism and discrimination)
most respondents had abundant to share.

86

Recommendations:

Data from larger samples of a more a representative population of Indian Expatriates

need to be drawn. This is a quantitative research finally and the respondents views
and issues faced by them are measured by short statements only. It would be better to
express the questions need to be expressed in more detailed and comprehensive ways
in order to substantiate and fully understand the findings. It is also recommended
that for all the expatriates, there should be a generality, which are work experience,
mental strength, commitment to work and the ability to adjust. Knowing all
about United Kingdom and having the right attitude and personal skills are also
equally important. Moreover it is recommended that the expatriates should have a
good English language ability in order to be able to communicate well and avoid
rude remarks from employers and customers. Indians should also understand the
relaxed attitudes to holidays and the working hours. The expatriates should be given
appropriate cultural training to familiarise them with the culture and prepare them for
the challenges ahead. This research will be useful for other researchers intending to
explore the issue further.

With the increase in the number of Multinational

Companies it is very essential for the companies to prepare their employees to be fit
for global assignments. Another important thing to be considered by future
practitioners is that in order to get a full proper understanding of the various
expatriate issues, a long term and closely observed research methodology must be
used.

87

CHAPTER 6
IMPLICATIONS AND LIMITATIONS

Practical implications of the research:

Research indicates that poor performance and pre mature return of the expatriates to
their home country takes places mostly because of an inability to adjust to the host
culture and less often because of technical competency. As a result international
firms will now have to be open to a greater understanding of the difficulties faced by
expatriates and give importance to their adjustment issues and in order to be
successful should replace their narrow minded mindset. This will help the firms to
facilitate better adjustment. The adjustment process should begin with effective
training, selection and recruitment programs based on the requirements of the
assignments and accurate assessment of the needs of the organisation. These
conclusions have implications for the personnel policy. The present research has
indicated that the 2 most important factors (individual factors) that has to be
considered initially before selection should be the fluency of the host country
language and previous international work experience. It is quite unfortunate that
cross cultural skills are not given much importance during the selection of
expatriates. Further it is also indicated that more than upper level managers, previous
international experience may be most necessary for middle and lower level
employees and managers and also that the fluency of the language of the host

88

country is more important for the technical expatriates to possess than for the
managerial expatriates.

The significance of in-country support to facilitate better expatriate adjustment is

also strong and that where cultural novelty has been found to have a great impact,
such support may be beneficial particularly for third country nationals and new first
time expatriates assigned to the host country. This level of support can be achieved
through higher supervisor and co-worker support at the organizational level and at
family level this support can be achieved through indirect and direct intervention by
the parent firm to facilitate the adjustment of the family, and more particularly the
accompanying spouse. Finally it is pointed out that research has mainly been done
from the U.S. perspective as pointed out by (Shaffer et. al. 1999) and the future
studies should include MNCs from a variety of nations in order to be more
generalizable.

Training and facilitation therefore should be provided from time to time, more
importantly before coming to the host country and after arrival. In fact, a previous
recent assignment to the same host location can be seen as the ideal expatriate
training experience, especially if the assignment was relatively successful. Selecting
such candidates, with recent positive experiences of the host country and work task
at hand, could be regarded as a perfect substitute for cross-cultural training.
Matching the characteristics of the expatriates with the cultural profile of the host
country is another worthwhile endeavour. (Nicholson et al., 1990). It is also
suggested that global businesses should recruit and select potential expatriates from

89

third countries whose ethnic networks and resources should be present at least to an
extent in the host country and that may help to reduce the culture shock. (Pires G,
Stanton, J and Ostenfield, S 2006). Another good idea would be to emphasise on the
work context in the United Kingdom while providing training to the Indian
Expatriates before the start of their assignments. Existing expatriate networks can
also ad to the experience of expatriates and expatriate value and also socialising
occasionally with expatriates having similar problems. In addition recruiters should
also consider the adjustment factors of the expatriates in addition to the previously
noted selection process of expatriate employees focusing on the existence of
appropriate technical skills for operational efficiency. As argued by Marecek et al.
(1997), expatriates often enjoy a status and benefits that exceed what they
experienced back home, such that instead of becoming acquainted with mainstream
friends and ways of living, they become part of an expatriate subculture and find
their friends among others like themselves.

The present study also looked at the adaptation between the Indian Expatriates who
come from a highly collectivist and high power distance society and staff from a
highly individualistic and low power distance society. The relationship in this current
study is based only for the United Kingdom and hence making generalizations
beyond United Kingdom cannot be assumed. Future research should also try to
extend this exploratory study.

90

Limitations of study:

Like most studies, this research also has some limitations. First, as mentioned in the
methodology the sample size used in this research cannot be representative of the
entire Indian Expatriate population. It was also difficult to get in contact with the
expatriates and majority of them were not ready for telephone interviews and hence
questionnaires were distributed to about 10 expatriates.

Second, another limitation arose from the cross sectional approach used in this study.
We must consider that expatriation is considered as a process over time. Only
measures of the average level of adjustment for the investigated groups of Indian
business expatriates at a certain point in time were used for the present research. In
order to produce a more rich data source where adjustment patterns over time could
have been identified and compared a longitudinal approach should have been used.

91

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APPENDICES

APPENDIX A:

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Definition of Terms:

Adaptation: The process of fitting in with and negotiating with a new culture (Searle
and Ward, 1990), relating to achieving an external balance (Argyris, 1957)
Adjustment: The general psychological well being, self satisfaction and contentment
a person experiences in a new environment. (Ruben and Kealey, 1979), related to
achieving an internal balance or equilibrium with the new environment (Argyris,
1957)
Expatriate: An employee who is working outside his or her home country.
Expats: Abbreviation of expatriate/expatriates.
Home country: An expatriates country of origin (Taylor, 1993)
Host country: It is the country where an expatriate lives and works (Taylor, 1993)
Learning: a process of encounters with the environment that results in a change in
knowledge, attitude and skill (Paprock, 2000)
Perspectives: Higher order schemata, theories, propositions, beliefs, prototypes, goal
orientations, and evaluations that for a persons worldview. They may also involve
ways of understanding and using knowledge, and ways of dealing with feelings about
oneself (Mezirow, 1991) schemas
Schema: An underlying organizational pattern or structure, a conceptual framework.

APPENDIX B:

102

The questions that were asked to the interviewees and the respondents are listed
below in the questionnaire.
QUESTIONNAIRE: (Please circle/tick your choice):
EXPATRIATE ADJUSTMENT: INDIAN EXPATRIATES IN THE UNITED
KINGDOM.
1. a) Name:
b) Age:
c) Gender:
d) Company Name:
e) Position in the organisation:

2. Duration spent in the present organisation?

a) < 1 year

b) 1-2 yrs

c) >2 years

3. How long have you been living in the United Kingdom?

4. Do you live with your family?

Yes

No

5. Is your communicating level of English is_____

a) Fluent

b) Average

c) Poor

6. Do you have any previous international work experience?

Yes

No

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7. Did you receive pre-departure cultural training before coming to the host
country?
Yes

No

If your answer is yes,

a) Were you provided with practical information on living conditions in the
host country?
Yes

No

b) Were you provided with political, economic and cultural facts about the
host country?
Yes

No

b) Did you obtain any cultural awareness information on the host country?
Yes

No

8. What was it like initially for you for the first 3-6 months in the host country?

9. Describe some of the most difficult experiences? What was the most and least
difficult?

10. While you were in the host country, did your perceptions(views) and
perspectives of the:

104

a) Host culture change? If Yes in what way?

b) United Kingdom change? If yes in what way?

11. Do you or did you receive any kind of impartiality (racism or discrimination)
from your employer, other employees or customers?
Yes

No

If yes, give us one situation ..

12. What was the nature of each expatriate assignment you experienced?

a) Good

b) Average

c) Bad

13. What is the different thing that you learnt from this culture which has helped
you to adjust better in this Country?

14. What were the cultural differences you found most challenging?
15. Which personal strengths did you find most helpful during your overseas
assignment?

105

16. Did you receive post arrival cultural training from your host country firm (the
present company you are working for)?

17. Are you very comfortable with socializing/interacting

people/colleagues/employees in this country who are not of Indian origin?

with

18. Did your expatriate assignment/ employment help you in any kind of personal
development?

19. Did your or does your experience help you in any kind of career
development?

20. Do you have any recommendations for the preparation of the future expatriate
managers?

APPENDIX C
The process of expatriation - the cultural issues: A model for analysis.

106

Role of Cross Cultural

training.

Domesti
c country
culture

Employee
beliefs,
work
culture and
attitudes

Foreig
n
Countr
y
Culture

EXPATRIATE

Foreign
organisat
i-onal
culture

Organisational
Culture

APPENDIX D

107

Culture
shock.
Problems in
coping,
adjustment
issues

Coping
with
change,
transition
to
normalcy

Ethnicity and Identity : Population Size in UK

The majority of the UK population in 2001 were White (92 per cent). The remaining
4.6 million (or 7.9 per cent) people belonged to other ethnic groups.
Indians were the largest of these groups, followed by Pakistanis, those of Mixed
ethnic backgrounds, Black Caribbeans, Black Africans and Bangladeshis. The
remaining minority ethnic groups each accounted for less than 0.5 per cent of the UK
population and together accounted for a further 1.4 per cent.

108

The non-White population: by ethnic group.

Around half of the non-White population were Asians of Indian, Pakistani,

Bangladeshi or other Asian origin. A further quarter was Black that is Black
Caribbean, Black African or Other Black. Fifteen per cent of the non-White
population were from the Mixed ethnic group. There were almost 691,000 White
Irish people in Great Britain accounting for 1 per cent of the GB population.
In Great Britain the number of people who came from an ethnic group other than
White grew by 53 per cent between 1991 and 2001, from 3.0 million in 1991 to 4.6
million in 2001. In 1991 ethnic group data were not collected on the Northern Ireland
Census.
http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=455

109

APPENDIX E
A copy of the consent form which was given to the respondents.
Consent Form
This consent form is related to the research carried out by Nikita. D. Mehta, student
in the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, whose research title is Expatriate
Adjustment: Indian Expatriates in the United Kingdom.
1. Your participation is voluntary.
2. Your signature on the consent form indicates:
that you are aware of what your participation involves.
that all your questions concerning the study have been satisfactorily
answered.
3. You can terminate your participation at any time without giving a reason and
without any of your rights being affected.
4. You can also ask to have your data withdrawn from the study.
5. You are under no obligation to respond to all aspects of the procedure: for
example, you can refrain from answering any interview question(s) about which
you feel uncomfortable.
6. You understand that all information you give will be treated with the utmost
confidentiality and their anonymity will be respected at all times.
7. Where relevant, you give your consent to the investigators to access specified
records (if applicable).
8. Where relevant, you give permission for the investigator to maintain records of
the study should a follow-up to the study be conducted in the future, or a further
study be undertaken.

I give consent to the research.

Signature of participant
below.

Please also print name

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