A Change of Heart

Throughout the time we spent in India, several people told us that "whatever you have heard about India is true, however, the opposite is also true". As the days went on, I began to see just how accurate this statement was.

I do not wish to recant my initial opinion about India, because that is how I felt at the time. However, after spending more time there, I feel obligated to add to it. I am amazed at how a place that at first glance was described as "dirty" and "poor", became one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen, upon taking a closer look.

In the beginning, I could not get past the culture shock, but once I allowed myself to step outside of my comfort zone, I was able to not only accept India's differences, but embrace them. Ultimately, what I found was a society that works, and works well.

Dharavi

After returning from our 10 day trek throughout India and friends and family are asking about out experience; our trip through Dharavi remains one of the most unique experiences. Although we had learned about Dharavi prior to departure (the vast size, redevelopment plans, and a revenue of of about $700M a year) our 2 hour tour with Reality Tours, questioned our prior perceptions.

Dharavi like most of India can be looked at from several perspectives. It is the largest " slum" in Asia, yet has highly developed and organized supply chains that feed into large MNE. Some of the major businesses we were invited to walk in were Plastics, Leather and Block printing.The slum itself is divided into a residential and business section by a bustling road. We learned that those who work in Dharavi are immigrants, and those who live there typically work within the surrounding city. Dharavi exuded a sense of community even stronger then some of the newer cities that we had visited earlier in the trip. This sense of community is also revealed through the dramatically low crime rates. It is a city within a city; hosting a marketplace, a variety of schools (public, ngo and private schools), health clinics, and even a gym. It was an amazing experience questioning our perceptions and seeing such a vibrant neighborhood firsthand.

Genpact (cont'd)

Although I’m very late…I will continue my blog post on Genpact! :P Genpact is a very interesting company. Having started off providing mostly basic outsourcing services only to GE , in 1997 they opened up to the public and have expanded their business to provide a wide range of services to the other companies . Although Genpact provides basic outsourcing services, such as Accounts Payable and collections, they’re primary focus is to provide more complex services that would be customized for the customer. During the presentation we learned that they are now providing comprehensive supply chain and procurement services comparable to those that are widely used in the United States. They believe they are 70% closer to being able to benchmark their client’s processes & metrics against other similar clients in similar industries, and against other industries and geographical regions. From an HR perspective, Genpact functions as many other companies do, they allow employees to grow and flourish in their respective departments and give them the option to move within the company to other departments. They also claim to provide careers that are in line with personal goals of the employees. They have a few competitors, namely Accenture, IBM, and Tata Consulting and, if I remember correctly, they are the #2 consulting company in world and are hoping that their current business strategy will bring them back to the #1 spot.

Ivon

Coming Soon...Final Thoughts :)

US Embassy Officials and Genpact

This past Monday we met with U.S. Embassy Officials to discuss Economic and Political Relations with India and later met with Genpact to discuss the BPO industry and how Genpacts was able to be one of the top BPO industries in the world. I was surprised to learn that the US Embassy officials who are tasked to monitor the political situation in India do so by keeping up with politics and other areas that may be of interest to the U.S. and report back to the U.S. on these issues and topics without the Indian government being involved in what they are viewing and reporting to the U.S. I was aso surprised to learn that everything that is done by these officials is mostly to help only the U.S. in their analysis of Indian politics. The political situation monitor mentioned three issues of importance...1. Governance, 2. Corruption, and 3. Internal security threats as big issues in Indian politics. The monitor also stressed how the governement was often run by existing relationships and bribes as opposed to what is really in the best interest of the country and how there was a large disconnect between the states and country. Thee is also a prevalance of non-state elements controlling different parts of the country. We also spoke with an official from the commerce department who briefed us on the challenges U.S. firms faced when trying to enter the Indian market. This part of the governement provides consulting type fee based services and acts an advocacy group for these firms. To enter the Indian market a business requires many contacts within the market to try and overcome some of the contraints and cultural barriers. At times, tarrifs have become an issue and although the U.S. commerce officials can advocate for reducing these tarriffs they sometimes created non-tarriff barriers. The companies that are likely to succeed in entering the India market would be unique, high-tech, high-value, products as opposed to commodity type of products because commodity products often come from countries like China at a much higher cost.
More on Genpact...TBC (My laptop battery is dying and I don't have the right charger!)

Emotional Overload

My fascination with India began with my love of their food. Throughout the years I have made friends with many people who call India home. My friend Romila even jokingly refers to me as an "Indian magnet", because wherever I go, I always wind up inadvertently befriending an Indian person.

Prior to my long awaited journey to India, I felt quite prepared. My dear friend Rema had told me so much about the Hindu Gods, the caste system, proper greetings, the rich culture, and she even touched on the fact that there was a lot of poverty here. But nothing she could have told me would have prepared me for what I've seen with my own two eyes. It has been so overwhelming I don't even know where to begin.

With all due respect to everyone with any lineage to India, particularly Delhi, this is the poorest, dirtiest, poverty stricken country that I have ever seen. A bus ride from one place to another consists of men urinating in the streets, children covered in dirt and grime, malnourished animals, sharing the road with pedestrians, horse drawn carriages, bicyclists, and motorcyclists, and garbage as far as the eye could see.

A trip to the market was like no market visit I could imagine. The streets were filled to capacity with people who looked like they just may be desperate enough to do anything, and quite frankly, I just didn't feel safe. I clutched my purse the entire time as I impatiently counted down the time until I'd be safe on the bus again and on my way to my beautiful westernized hotel room.

An early morning stop at the train station included what I would typically view as an invasion of privacy, as the train station appeared to serve as the bedrooms to entire families. Everyone just walked over them as if it were normal. Nothing I've seen here wold meet my criteria for normalcy and it has been extremely difficult for me to process. During my short stay here, I've taken several opportunities to just sit and cry. My emotions are running wild. Partly due to the fact that I am incredibly empathetic in nature, but also because I have a great deal of guilt, as I think about my own life in the U.S. and how I unconsciously take so much for granted on a daily basis.

Overall, I'd say this experience is eye opening and one that everyone should experience, should they be given the opportunity. I've witnessed a lot in a very short period of time, and to think…this is only the beginning.

-Ronda Miles

Our trip to the Taj Mahal was amazing! The journey started early in the morning with a 5am departure from the hotel and an early morning train ride from Delhi to Agra. The trip took about 2 and a half hours but was enjoyable. We saw the sun rise over miles of pristine farmland. When we arrived at Agra we transferred to a bus, which took us to the Taj Mahal. What an amazing place! It’s difficult to describe in words how beautiful the Taj Mahal is. I had such an amazing experience and am thankful that I had the opportunity to visit. After touring the mausoleum we headed back to our bus for a tour of Fort Agra and then to an upscale Indian lunch at a close by restaurant. The trip back to Delhi was by bus and took very long and bumpy. Along the way we passed numerous villages, farms and rest stops. I’m looking forward to our visit to Bangalore and Mumbai later this week.

Panel Discussion

We had a fascinating panel discussion on the Indian Economy and political situation yesterday morning to begin visit. Dr. Bidisha Ganguly, head economist of the Confederation of India Industry gave as a broad overview of the economy, largely painting a very rosy picture. Mr. Ravi Garg, Director of Supply Chain of Coca Cola India, was equally optimistic and described some of Coke's supply chain challenges in India. Professor Babu Mathew of the National Law School ended with a stirring rhetorical presentation that left us all with a lot to think about. Professor Mathew argued that the  new economy is leaving out a significant population in India, and in some ways exacerbating and worsening their situation through seizure of lands, disappearance of traditional livelihoods without providing new opportunities for work, and skewing democratic processes. A very lively discussion ensued.

A trip to the market

This afternoon we took a memorable trip to the market in Delhi. The market was extremely crowded and chaotic but offered something for everyone. We stopped to visit a spice shop and a fabric shop and learned about how they contribute to local economy. The market was not only stimulating for the eyes but the ears and nose as well. We had to compete with honking mopeds and scooters while traveling down the narrow streets. Smells of traditional Indian food and spices filled the air. Walking through the pepper market was nearly unbearable! Everyone was coughing and gasping for fresh air, even the locals. Before our trip came to an end we enjoyed a 15-minute ride on rickshaws back to our tour bus. The trip to the market was an experience I won’t forget.

Delhi Tour

What an interesting day today was! If you've never been to India before, like myself, today's tour would certainly be a bit of a culture shock. Even after having seen India many times on TV and seeing how alive and how busy the streets can be, it is really something else when you experience it first hand. I really enjoyed it and was surprised at how calm and collected the people were, working hard trying to make some money, while in the midst of what I described to be "organized chaos", it was amazing. Although India is a young country, it has history like no other and the people are very very proud of their history and culture as they should be. Looking forward to the Taj Mahal tomorrow.

2011 Course in India Begins

Welcome to our first post of the 2011 class. Most of the students are arriving in New Delhi tonight on a direct 14 hour flight from Newark. I arrived yesterday, but I'll be there to greet them tonight at the airport to begin a very intense 10 days of early mornings and late nights of meetings and activities. In the meantime, two students, Ashley and Robby, came to India a few days early to travel and I ran into them arriving at the hotel today, so I invited them to lunch at a place I had been planning on going to called the Andhra Pradesh Bhavan. It's essentially a canteen for people who work for the Andhra Pradesh government in Delhi, and although the sign out front said MLAs, MPs, and VIPs only, they let us in anyway for a delicious all you can eat Andhra thali. Ashley found it a little too spicy I think, indicated by the bright red glow on her face and the remains of the tasty chicken that she left mostly untouched. But fun was had by all.