The 3L Mantra to live by!

It's been almost a year since I left New York for the Netherlands. In fact, almost 15 years since I left India for the "West" (San Francisco, New York and Boston...got addicted to paying high taxes but apparently not high enough as I decided after all to come to the Netherlands ;-) So, what do I know about the Dutch by now? In danger of reinforcing stereotypes n all, I plunge in... 1) They surely love to smoke. Smoking and cycling seem to be the national commuting style, with no helmets on of course. And this picture comes in family size too- often, a couple of babies are packed in at the front and the back to celebrate the economics of cycling ! 2) They do love their flowers although admittedly not the flower festival as much...I think they surrendered Keukenhof , their annual flower fest to the tourists, willingly might I add. Why on earth they wonder would they PAY to see flowers? Only the dumb tourists and expats like myself would do something so silly. Of course tho

In another recent book chapter, Global Education Greenhouse: Constructing and Organizing online Global knowledge , Karen and I delve into the possibility of online collaboration in the makings of global knowledge. We were really astounded by how insular our educational systems are in spite of so much talk on globalization! While companies are merging and partnerships across industries are happening across borders that were unthinkable even a decade ago, somehow our educational system continues to be very "local"...very nationalistic. How do we make education globally relevant and applicable? Can we inspire students to think transnationally and cross-culturally? How is global thinking related to innovation? We basically acknowledge that there is a crisis in our current educational system as we are poorly preparing our students for this global era. Tye states that "global awareness will become the first new basic skill of the twenty-first century, as computer literacy ha

My book chapter/ case study on academic plagiarism just recently came out - " Copycats of the Central Himalayas: Learning in the age of Information ." Basically, I spent about 8 months in Almora, a rur-town in Central Himalayas, investigating what people do with the Internet. Given that cybercafes had sprung up relatively recently, I volunteered to work for one in exchange of playing witness to internet usage. It was amazing as I really actually pictured people to be using it for the usual browsing and entertainment oriented stuff. Instead, I became an active accomplice to plagiarism by college students - open, active, ingenious plagiarism! Of course as soon as one says "plagiarism," academics and others get all hassled about it, frothing in the mouth about it immorality, the decline of this generation and more. Rather than focus on the "pathological" reasons why students do what they do, I thought it would be worth stopping and asking how on earth did t

Will power ...what a burden! We sweat the small stuff a lot. We have to constantly exercise our Will to abstain from that extra slice of pie, from being "uncool" by wanting to stay home on a Saturday night watching Youtube, or just calling home to check in. Individualism can suck sometimes. Blame is rarely distributed. There's a reason why we say "exercise" your will...it's pure and simple work. Sometimes, however, society orchestrates an opportunity to take a break. And BREAK it is! Queens day in the Netherlands is one such moment in time! Thousands of people blind you with their orange glory as they sweep through Amsterdam. High on pot, techno and a vague reminder of being Dutch AND low on foot-estate, the mob has come to celebrate their Queen Beatrix and her conveniently timed birthday. (although born on January 31, the weather and her highness pushes this date to May 30th, allowing for orange neon bikinis, rave street parties and blood sporting bargain

Have you wondered why certain sayings are phrased one way versus another? Why do we NOT say "act outside the box?" and instead push "thinking" to venture out? Coloring outside the lines is said to be good at times..but we are never told to redraw those lines. Boxes can be turned inside out but it's still the box. We need that box. "How does one do it? " asked a student the other day; "we try so hard to get away from the 'structure' but it's so dominant and all...it's hard to escape!" Students already referring to "society" as "structure" means that she is paying attention in class...not bad, not bad at all! Taking theory and applying it to one's life to grapple about one's own existence is even better. This is the age of the tortured soul. It is a privilege to pause, ponder, probe. It is an achievement to recognize that we' re within a particular confinement. If we know the rules, we can play wi

Can't blame corporations for packaging culture. Anything to make a deal. It's that slight edge that you get in knowing that you cannot discuss business over dinner in Argentina or that it's not done to address your Korean client by her first name. Nuances infuse relationships. Missed nuances apparently can cost you your contract or sour your business partnership. In fact, management gurus and experts have done a great job in infusing paranoia about cultural misunderstandings in the business circuit... "... the single greatest barrier to business success is the one erected by culture. " Edward T. Hall and Mildred Reed Hall Metaphors lace this paranoia: "Culture is like an iceberg. The tip of the iceberg is easy to see. This includes the visible aspects and do's and taboos of working in other cultures. The remaining huge chunk of the iceberg hidden below the surface includes the invisible aspects of a culture such as the values, traditions, experiences and

This is no joke. Believe it or not, there are "Culturally sensitive Quizzes" out there to train you to perform better in business across different cultures and nations. It's so stereotypical that it should crack you up (although obviously not intending to do so); Try it out. Check out Kwintessential ================================================= QUESTIONS SAMPLE: Cross-Cultural Quiz on Islam 1. On which day would you expect to get least business done in Muslim countries? Friday Saturday Sunday 2. Which of these would make the best gift for a Muslim client? Silk tie Perfume Watch 3. The teachings of Islam emanated from which modern day country? Palestine Saudi Arabia Egypt 4. During negotiations your counterpart keeps saying 'inshaAllah' (God willing) to each of your requests. What should you do? Accept the 'inshaAllah' mentality Demand some firm commitments Repeat the phrase but try and establish some concrete agreements 5. What is the name of the hol