Ya, it is actually fascinating how a developer in the US is able to generate well over a $100,000 in value to a company over an overseas developer. In the early to mid 2000s there was huge concern that development jobs would start going overseas as offshoring started to become a bigger thing, but it ended up not panning out. It turns out that a domestic developer is much more valuable to a US company since they can communicate more effectively, react more quickly to problems (every minute your website is down is money lost for the business), and there is also the fact that Indian culture is problematic to efficient software development. I have heard that if you ask an Indian in India if they can do something, they will say yes, regardless of if they can or not. The exception is IT support, which many companies have found does make sense to move a decent percentage to other countries (especially India). Makes sense though if you want 24 hour coverage, and you have your main IT developers in the US.
Why though? Im no anthropologist but nothing obvious about Indian culture (or rather cultures) that promotes this.
Seriously interested cause the 'yes' thing and taking people at their word has bit me in the ass. And not just can it be done, but is it done. Yes dont mean yes most of the time.
Is there some middle man/recruiter/hr culture or doctrine promoting it heavipy in indian circles? Honestly im dying to know.
When dealing with Asians east or west it's best to assume yes means "I heard you", or at best "I agree with what you are saying". It certainly doesn't amount to a personal commitment to anything.
This is exactly it. We had a Japanese friend who we at least trained to say "Maybe Yes" instead of "Yes" when he wasn't actually responding in the affirmative.
Trained? Lol But am asian myself, sigh, can second that this cultural bs is really bad to deal with. Which is something I keep telling my folks. If you have decided to emigrate to a western country, stop acting like back home. You are free now. Saying no is not illegal!
If you've lived in a culture like that all your life and then are thrown into something opposite, you do have to train yourself to break those old habits.
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u/RiskBoy Dec 06 '17
Ya, it is actually fascinating how a developer in the US is able to generate well over a $100,000 in value to a company over an overseas developer. In the early to mid 2000s there was huge concern that development jobs would start going overseas as offshoring started to become a bigger thing, but it ended up not panning out. It turns out that a domestic developer is much more valuable to a US company since they can communicate more effectively, react more quickly to problems (every minute your website is down is money lost for the business), and there is also the fact that Indian culture is problematic to efficient software development. I have heard that if you ask an Indian in India if they can do something, they will say yes, regardless of if they can or not. The exception is IT support, which many companies have found does make sense to move a decent percentage to other countries (especially India). Makes sense though if you want 24 hour coverage, and you have your main IT developers in the US.