Final Reflective Blog

There is only one way to describe the trip to India; an amazing experience. The trip was a great opportunity to learn about many aspects of Indian culture and how business practices compare to those in the United States. The following are the experiences I felt were the most memorable and important to me.
Traffic
Having lived in Los Angeles, I was always under the impression that traffic could not get much worse than what is experienced on the 405. However, after traveling through India, I believe people in LA should be happy with our traffic. In India, car lanes seem to act more like guidelines and less like actual dividers in traffic. Open spaces do not exist on Indian freeways; if there is an open spot, it is aggressively filled by someone. These spaces can be little more than half a car length when they are taken by local drivers. Indian drivers also have to deal with the relentless honking of every driver around them. Although honking the horn is not the rage borne action that it is in the states, it can still be headache inducing by the sheer volume of horns being honked on the local highways.
Due to the headache inducing nature of traffic in India, I would not want to drive if I lived there. Since the local taxis and auto rickshaws were more than capable of transporting us during our trip, I would rely on those for work.
Poverty
Of the things I felt most prepared to see in India prior to the trip, it was the poverty in the country. Although it was rather presumptuous of me, I felt the combination of seeing Slumdog Millionaire and my experiences in Oakland and East Los Angeles would be enough to prepare me for what I saw. However, just like the traffic in the preceding section, I was overwhelmed by the differences. The poor in India seemed more content than the poor in American cities. They lacked either the rage or sadness that is a commonplace in some of the cities I have been to. I remember Neetu saying that this has to do with people having a sense of hope and I am inclined to agree. This is likely due to the fact everyone busy and the general confidence people have about the direction of India. Or it could be the fact that some of the shanties had satellite dishes and plasma TVs to share with their neighbors. In either case, people in India were more hopeful, which is something we desperately need in the United States.
High Levels of Service
Something that was not mentioned prior to our trip that was a very welcome sight in India was the incredible level of customer service experienced in India. Every business we met had a number of staff member dedicated to providing us snacks during our visits and take specific drink orders. Even McDonalds had people open doors and bathroom attendants. It makes sense that businesses can afford to hire more staff but that doesn’t account for the level of professionalism of the people working these jobs. This could be due to a larger population to pool from or a better work ethic among the people of India. In any case, I was very impressed to see this.
Technology
Another thing that was unexpected when traveling in India was the level of technology present in the country. I knew from the types of businesses we were visiting that we would see technology but I was unaware of how advanced it would be. From the modern automotive factory of Maruti Suzuki that utilized lean operations to the impressive videoconferencing facility at Cisco, the level of sophistication in these Indian enterprises was astounding. Many American engineering facilities I had seen in Berkeley and U.S. companies paled in comparison to their Indian counterparts. Given the level of superior technology in India, it is unsurprising that Cisco considers the hotbed for new technology to be India and not the United States.
This wave of new technology in India seems to be the main contributor to improving education in India. IBM was spending a lot of money improving the levels of education in technology in order to improve the quality of their workers. It seems to me that if the USA intends to remain the leader in technological expertise, we should promote the growth of technology companies and the education in this field.
Contrast of Traditional and Western
Although the growth of technology in India demonstrates a contrast between the traditional and western traditions, I believe the differences were most stark in the cultural changes. Most people in India whom were around my age or younger wore western clothing, some of them wearing clothes far more expensive than my own. The youth of India also seemed to eat less traditional food, many choosing American fare like KFC and Sbarro over Indian cuisine. In fact, the emergence of American malls that populated by youth seems in direct contrast to the more traditional bazaars of old. Despite this contrast between old and new, both cultures within India seem coexist peacefully, incorporating aspects from each other. It will be very interesting to see how these blending cultures will appear in the future.
Growth of Local Markets
From a business standpoint, this is probably the most important factor. India is experiencing incredible growth despite the economic recession affecting the rest of the world. The reason for this is the growth in local markets, which was clearly visible during the trip. There were a tremendous number of shops everywhere we went in India. The malls we saw in India, although American in design, were far larger than most of the malls I have been in. The smallest one we traveled through was still a four story facility. Even the taxi business seemed like profitable endeavor, given the large numbers of them on the road. From this experience, I can see why American businesses are very interested in getting into this market.