Charles Haynes wrote: > I think it's harder than you think - it's a cultural thing, and > cultures don't change so easily.
Agreed. My point is that, people have a "culture" of getting things done by others. Since labour costs were/are low in India this condition prevails even today. And this is because we have a large population and most of them are on the lower, really lowest, rung of the ladder. > Anyway, I think most of the differences we are discussing here can be > analyzed in terms of differences in national culture. > Absolutely true. I later found out that it was the culture at fault. If you really respect your manager, don't smoke in his presence. Why smoke, but keep the cigarette hidden from his view? Does one think cigarette smoke is invisible? :-) But I digress. DIY is not in Indian culture. And cost is closely related to that. Social standing and life in general is very tightly knitted into it. I used to pay Rs 6000 for someone to drive me around. It bought me the freedom to work on the road. Did my driver feel that he was getting a raw deal? No. He was happy I was paying him Rs 1000 more than what he was paid before and, get this, in his eyes, lived a comfortable life. He goes to a restaurant and celebrates. No, not the Shiok kind, but the darshini kind. He feels superior to the guy who cleans the tables there who is probably paid a couple of thousand rupees and food/shelter. Does that person (table cleaner) complain? Nope, his needs are met and he is happy. I guess this takes us straight to Maslow's Need-Hierarchy theory. and I just thread-drifted big time. C'est la Vie. Venkat
