Glocalisation
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The views expressed in this article are the author's alone. I am not an expert in Globalisation and I haven't researched any of this and is only my point of view. The author is not responsible for the repurcussions that may arise from citing this post in formal documentation. This is a note, just in case you arrive at this article while googling. But please, do leave a comment if you have views on this article, I'd definitley like to learn more.
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It was in the 1990s that the term "Globalisation" started to appear very commonly in the news and in business circles. I, obviously, do not remember how it all started, since I was only 2 or may be 5 back then. But yes, we are the children of the era of globalisation. In finance circles, this meant that foreign companies could invest in the Indian stock markets and our public companies could be hosted in the NASDAQs and the Dow Jones' of the world. But for industry, it meant a revolution altogether. The Indian scene, which was rife with trade inhibitions and strict reguations even in the auto industry to prevent foreign companies taking away the share of indegenous Indian industries threw its gates open to foreign companies. The arrival of the internet hastened the speed of the ever diminishing world as communications broke barriers that were hitherto unbreachable. A company could have its software developed at Bangalore, the design in Germany, the manufacturing done in China, the corporate office in Norway and sell its products in the US. Companies which were afraid to have the "Made in China" mark took the easier alternative. McDonalds, Kentucky's Fried Chicken and Cocacola became household names even in the remote towns of Africa. The companies in the US pay Indian BPOs for the hour and the latter make a lot of money by paying their employees by the month, hiring them at dime-a-dozen rates in the first place.
But, when a company goes overseas to capitalise on business opportunities, the bigger slice of the pie comes at a price. The company has to keep in mind local customs and traditions; and this is where Glocalisation comes into the picture. In India, for instance, the Big Mac was substituted by the Chicken Maharaja Mac. I still remember the fiasco that McDonalds had to go through when news broke out about bovine fat being used for French Fries. Even if you look at Dominos, the taste is completely different; much more spicier to suit Indian tastes. Last year, we tasted pizzas in Quebec city, Rome, Venice and Mumbai, and trust me, it tasted different everywhere. But the cheese burst at Domino's is still the undisputed champion. But, then it is only my opinion. Under such circumstances, it is risky that the original products undergo heavy dilution and an entirely new product is developed. And this happens in something as small as a cigarette. The ITCs and the Godfrey Philips' get in foreign brands and try to "Indianise" it and sell it under the same trade name (with permissions of course). It is in this regard that I respect Coke for maintaining the uniformity in taste all over the globe.
I am currently watching old episodes of Heroes, an absolutely wonderful television series which aired in America a few years back. One of it's main characters is an Indian. So this guy's born and brought up in Madras and speaks flawless English. For me, as a true and skeptic Indian, it is completely wrong to portray a South Indian speaking English without the Ra's and Da's! It is blasphemous! If you want to copy something, copy it correctly! And even in India, he speaks English! And his name's Mohinder Suresh! A Punjabi first name to a South Indian - Not unheard of, but highly improbable. All of this is nothing but glocalising - selling foreign stuff to natives in a manner they can digest. But then again this leads to dilution of India's true culture. The people in the US might think that everyone in India is BPL after watching Slumdog Millionaire! Anyways, this series also has a couple of Japanese characters but they speak Japanese all the time. Now, I haven't been in the writer's head, but he might have thought getting the American people hooked on to Japanese would not be a problem especially since animes, mangas and more popularly, hentai are already a craze among the people.
Perhaps the most recent example in people's minds today is the Maruti advert. It brings forth the very nature of every Indian. No matter what features a particular product has, Indians will always look at cost and affordability. It is in our DNA. And designers, engineers and corporations must understand that if they want to survive in today's world, they have to adopt their products to suit local needs. Gone are the days when you could take a product built for the US, strip a few of its features and sell it in developing countries for a lower price. The whole business paradigm is rapidly changing. Look at the cell phone industry for instance. From Nokia's point of view, the competitors of the future are not the Samsungs or the htcs, but unseen and unlikely competitors like the Googles and the Dells. In conclusion, I thank Shashank Totre for making me aware of this quote filled with uncanny genius, which perhaps succinctly summarizes the present scenario: The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn. - Alvin Toffler
The views expressed in this article are the author's alone. I am not an expert in Globalisation and I haven't researched any of this and is only my point of view. The author is not responsible for the repurcussions that may arise from citing this post in formal documentation. This is a note, just in case you arrive at this article while googling. But please, do leave a comment if you have views on this article, I'd definitley like to learn more.
********************************************************************************
It was in the 1990s that the term "Globalisation" started to appear very commonly in the news and in business circles. I, obviously, do not remember how it all started, since I was only 2 or may be 5 back then. But yes, we are the children of the era of globalisation. In finance circles, this meant that foreign companies could invest in the Indian stock markets and our public companies could be hosted in the NASDAQs and the Dow Jones' of the world. But for industry, it meant a revolution altogether. The Indian scene, which was rife with trade inhibitions and strict reguations even in the auto industry to prevent foreign companies taking away the share of indegenous Indian industries threw its gates open to foreign companies. The arrival of the internet hastened the speed of the ever diminishing world as communications broke barriers that were hitherto unbreachable. A company could have its software developed at Bangalore, the design in Germany, the manufacturing done in China, the corporate office in Norway and sell its products in the US. Companies which were afraid to have the "Made in China" mark took the easier alternative. McDonalds, Kentucky's Fried Chicken and Cocacola became household names even in the remote towns of Africa. The companies in the US pay Indian BPOs for the hour and the latter make a lot of money by paying their employees by the month, hiring them at dime-a-dozen rates in the first place.
But, when a company goes overseas to capitalise on business opportunities, the bigger slice of the pie comes at a price. The company has to keep in mind local customs and traditions; and this is where Glocalisation comes into the picture. In India, for instance, the Big Mac was substituted by the Chicken Maharaja Mac. I still remember the fiasco that McDonalds had to go through when news broke out about bovine fat being used for French Fries. Even if you look at Dominos, the taste is completely different; much more spicier to suit Indian tastes. Last year, we tasted pizzas in Quebec city, Rome, Venice and Mumbai, and trust me, it tasted different everywhere. But the cheese burst at Domino's is still the undisputed champion. But, then it is only my opinion. Under such circumstances, it is risky that the original products undergo heavy dilution and an entirely new product is developed. And this happens in something as small as a cigarette. The ITCs and the Godfrey Philips' get in foreign brands and try to "Indianise" it and sell it under the same trade name (with permissions of course). It is in this regard that I respect Coke for maintaining the uniformity in taste all over the globe.
I am currently watching old episodes of Heroes, an absolutely wonderful television series which aired in America a few years back. One of it's main characters is an Indian. So this guy's born and brought up in Madras and speaks flawless English. For me, as a true and skeptic Indian, it is completely wrong to portray a South Indian speaking English without the Ra's and Da's! It is blasphemous! If you want to copy something, copy it correctly! And even in India, he speaks English! And his name's Mohinder Suresh! A Punjabi first name to a South Indian - Not unheard of, but highly improbable. All of this is nothing but glocalising - selling foreign stuff to natives in a manner they can digest. But then again this leads to dilution of India's true culture. The people in the US might think that everyone in India is BPL after watching Slumdog Millionaire! Anyways, this series also has a couple of Japanese characters but they speak Japanese all the time. Now, I haven't been in the writer's head, but he might have thought getting the American people hooked on to Japanese would not be a problem especially since animes, mangas and more popularly, hentai are already a craze among the people.
Perhaps the most recent example in people's minds today is the Maruti advert. It brings forth the very nature of every Indian. No matter what features a particular product has, Indians will always look at cost and affordability. It is in our DNA. And designers, engineers and corporations must understand that if they want to survive in today's world, they have to adopt their products to suit local needs. Gone are the days when you could take a product built for the US, strip a few of its features and sell it in developing countries for a lower price. The whole business paradigm is rapidly changing. Look at the cell phone industry for instance. From Nokia's point of view, the competitors of the future are not the Samsungs or the htcs, but unseen and unlikely competitors like the Googles and the Dells. In conclusion, I thank Shashank Totre for making me aware of this quote filled with uncanny genius, which perhaps succinctly summarizes the present scenario: The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn. - Alvin Toffler
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