MBA- INTEGRATED

MARKETING
COMMUNICATION
(2020-22)

BUSINESS COMMUNICATION ASSIGNMENT

TOPIC- MOVIE ANALYSIS OF OUTSOURCED

(2006) WITH APPLICATION OF HOFSTEDE’S
CULTURAL DIMENSIONS THEORY

SUBMITTED BY- SHREYA KAK

While we all have individual characteristics that make us “us”, the culture and traditions
of the country we belong to, greatly influence our behaviour. In the world of
globalization, the instances of inter-country or even inter-continental communication are
increasing rapidly. Understanding the culture of the other party while communicating is
critical to successful interpretation of messages. Be it while travelling or working with
international teams, this understanding will definitely come handy to minimise the
communication barriers that arise due to cultural differences.
As a student of Business Communication, watching the movie “Outsourced” [2006]
directed byJohn Jeffcoat and written by Jeffcoat and George Wing was a treat. It is a
Romantic- Comedy movie wherein the protagonist Todd Anderson (Josh Hamilton) is
sent to India to train his replacement after his whole department is outsourced. India
came as a huge cultural shock to Todd and it could be observed right from the
beginning when he reached Mumbai.

The contrast between Indian and American culture is very well highlighted in the movie.
In every other scene, one could apply Hofstede’s theory of Cultural Dimensions.

Hofstede’s Theory lists out various types of cultural values that are the traits people
from a country appreciate in general. We can state examples from the movie to explain
each of these.

1. Individualistic and Collectivistic Cultural Values: North Americans are more

likely to have individualistic values whereas Indian culture is more collectivistic.
This means that Americans place higher value to Individual goals and
achievements and Indians focus more on the goals and well being of the group.
In the movie, it is shown that Todd is ambitious, has his own apartment in Seattle
and hardly meets his parents. His replacement in India, Puru, is shocked to learn
that. He displays collectivistic values throughout like leaving his work to get food
for Todd when he sees he’s unwell. He also takes Todd to “Aunty Ji’s”- a home
where he believes Todd will be taken care of like a son instead of the hotel Todd
was supposed to go to. Asha, another colleague at the call centre believes in ‘we’
rather than ‘I’. For one, she cares what other people in the society think which
comes to light when she refuses to let Todd hold her hand in public. She also
goes on to work beyond her job description and takes over her superiors’ role
when they fail to arrive to work on time.

2. Power Distribution: In some societies there is a huge power difference and in

others power is distributed more equally. While a huge power difference can be
observed at the Indian call centre, the power distance is significantly lower in the
American sales department. This can be substantiated by the conversations
between Todd and his boss David. Todd keeps refusing to go to India and calls
 his boss names on his face. On the other hand, something of this sort is not very
likely to happen in India. The subordinates are expected to listen obediently to
their superiors and talk in a respectable manner. When in India, Todd is referred
to as “Mr. Todd”, “sir” or “boss” by his subordinates.

3. Uncertainty Avoidance: While Americans tend to work in a more rigid and

structured way, getting uncomfortable in times of uncertainty, Indians are likely to
“go with the flow” and find creative solutions. Inspired by his neighbour’s creative
fix for using electricity at his home, Todd calls him for help to get the power back
on when there is an electricity shut down at the call centre. This shocks David
who’s yet to experience India. Another example of India having low uncertainty
avoidance is when the call centre employees lose their jobs yet continue to party,
not giving into the worry of finding a new job.

4. Masculine and Feminine Cultural Values: In a masculine society, gender roles

are well defined. Traits like being more assertive, ambitious and tough are
traditionally associated with masculinity. A feminine society, on the other hand,
does not have distinct gender roles. People of such a society value being
sensitive, modest and enhancing the overall quality of life. While both America
and India are examples of masculine societies, India scores higher on the index.
We know this as Asha, a young and smart Indian woman, had to fight with her
family in order to get educated and then get a job. Todd, an American, promotes
Asha to be the future Assistant Manager based on her work, not gender and tells
her that she can do anything.

5. Long term and Short term Orientation: Citizens of long term oriented nations
think more about the future. They value perseverance and being thrifty as they
eventually pay off. Contrastingly, citizens of short term oriented nations focus on
the present. They believe in spending over saving and give higher importance to
social and status obligations. The American company Todd works for shows the
short term orientation of Americans. Jobs are outsourced from USA to India and
then to China in the span of a few months without thinking of the consequences
this would cause. This was done to cut down on costs. Indians’ long term
orientation is shown with the examples of Asha and Puru. Asha is betrothed to a
family friend since the age of four and Puru’s business card says “Future Call
Centre Manager”.

6. Indulgence and Restraint: While Indulgence refers to giving into the human
desires, being driven by emotions, restraint is doing the opposite. It means acting
in a more controlled manner by suppressing your desires. America is an
indulgence driven country. Todd travels to Mumbai for four hours in the hope of
 getting a cheese burger. He also talks about how in his country, it makes sense
to work hard and go into credit card debt, just so you can have a 50-inch plasma.
He is also comfortable with public display of affection unlike Asha, the Indian girl
he is beginning to fall in love with. Asha refuses to talk openly about their
relationship and is uncomfortable to be seen alone with Todd in public.

While it is easy to notice basic differences in accents and language such as the slangs
used and the different connotations associated with phrases like “break a leg” & “no
problem”, study of Hofstede’s theory of cultural dimensions helps one to understand the
complexities of the same. The movie beautifully portrays how being open and accepting
of other cultures promotes understanding and helps one adopt the best practices of all
cultures.