“Outsourced” - the movie study guide
Date: 6 - 5 - 2014
You are going to watch and create a reflection on the film
"Outsourced".
These questions
will help you. If you miss watching the film in class, you may get a copy from
the library and watch it at home. Here are some clips from
"Outsourced"
Cultural Dimensions
in Outsourced
As you watch the
film, answer the questions and write down any examples of different cultural dimensions.
This will help you with your reflection.
|
Cultural
Dimension
|
Character
Todd, Puro, Aisha
or other
|
Outsourced Scene
or Circumstance
|
|
Low-context
culture
|
Dave
|
Calls todd to the office eagerly
|
|
High-context
culture
|
Puro
|
Asks todd to go to another place other then
the hotel
|
|
Individualism
|
Todd
|
Arriving in india other then hotel
|
|
Collectivism
|
Puro
|
Always with a group
|
|
Low power
distance
|
Todd
|
Refusing going to india
|
|
High power
distance
|
Puro
|
Brings food to todd and bows
|
|
Uncertainty
tolerance
|
Aunty J
|
Asking todd questions
|
|
Uncertainty
avoidance
|
Old Man in Aunty J house
|
Always sleeping
|
|
Task
orientation
|
Dave
|
He goes to india to check todds work, he is
not sure of his work.
|
|
Social
orientation
|
Aisha
|
Helps a costumer when he’s angry about a
product.
|
Reflection
Create a
reflection about the movie Outsourced using the PowerPoint I give you. Show
that you really understand the above cultural concepts.
1. As
soon as Todd arrives, he experiences the discomfort of being disoriented in a
strange
new place. What happens at the airport?
He
struggled trying to walk through the huge crowed at the airport, which was an
abnormal scene for him. Then all the taxi drivers around him, who were fighting
over him, annoyed him.
2. When
a friendly traveler helps him get on the train, what does he tell him to do?
He advised him to jump into the train.
3. When
he gets on the train, he cannot find an empty seat. How is this problem
solved
for him? How might this be a cultural solution?
The young kid
offered him his seat and then sat in his lap, because of the high population in
india people are used to such a solution such as sharing seats, standing and
squeezing in the train cabins.
4. As
any exchange student, he has a lot of experiences trying new food. His first
encounter
is with an iced drink. What happens?
He got stomach
ache, and got sick because of the polluted water used in the iced drink
5.
First encounters with a culture can be shocking – Todd sees crowded streets
with
cows,
noise, and a man urinating in the street. But how does his host describe the
city?
“Bombay is terrible, but here it’s very clean”
6. Even
though the host Puro speaks English, Todd uses American slang a lot
without
thinking. So as not to insult Puro, what does he say the meaning of
Schmuck
is?
“That means
like a nice guy”
7. Todd
wants to check in to a hotel. But Puro insists he comes to a boarding house.
What is
the reason he gives Todd?
That he will feel lonely if he stays by himself in the hotel.
8. As
soon as they meet, Aunti Ji starts asking very intimate questions that
Americans
who have just met would never ask. What kind of things does she ask?
What does your father do, are you married, what’s your salary, do
you have a girlfriend? Why did you break up?
9.
During his first conversation with Aunti Ji he makes two big mistakes. What are
they?
He ate with
his left handwhich considered not clean in india and he placed the same hand he
ate with back in the food
10. The
Golden Rule says do unto others as you would have them do unto you. That
means
his Indian hosts and friends are trying to make him comfortable the way
they
would be comfortable. How does this apply when the servant is preparing
tea for
Todd?
She poured the
tea for him and even put sugar just the way they do.
11. How
does Todd figure out why one does not eat food with the left hand?
The owner of
the boardinghouse explained to him by sign language why Indians think left hand
isn’t clean to eat with
12. What
is ethnocentric about his statement "You need to learn about
America"?
13. Why
do they disagree on how a "native" speaks English?
14.
What doesn't Todd understand about the Indians' response to the "cattle
brand"?
15.
What is Todd's reaction to "You need to learn about India"? What
stage of culture
shock
might it represent?
16. He
calls home several times. Why? What stage of culture shock might provoke
calls
home?
17.
What mistakes in language usage are represented in the recording of the call
about
"a
rubber"?
18. Why
is he so eager to go to McDonnells?
19.
Todd doesn't understand bargaining. How does the Indian respond to this?
20.
What does I.N.D.I.A. stand for?
21.
What advise does his fellow American have for him?
22.
When Todd develops the incentive system, he has begun to adapt to India. How
has he
adapted?
23.
When he looks at the cow in the office the second time, why is his reaction so
different?
24.
Explain the difference between American and Indian cultures when Todd and
Puro
discuss how often he visits his family and why he doesn't live with them.
25.
What cultural values are involved in the exchange between Aunti Ji and Todd
about
ironing his underwear?
26. How
well does Todd handle himself when he is invited over the wall to an Indian
home
for a meal?
27. In
what ways does he show he has adapted?
28.
When the call center floods and they are shut down, Todd finds an
"Indian"
solution.
What is it?
29.
When Todd comes home, there are several signs that his Indian experience has
influenced
him. Name three ways he has become more "Indian".
-Florida
Study Guide
Outsourced and
Cultural Dimensions
Outsourced is an excellent film to give meaning to
intercultural concepts.
There are five sets of cultural dimensions featured in Adler
and Elmhorst’s (2008) textbook Communicating at Work.
Below is a
brief explanation of the cultural dimensions:-
· Low-context
and high-context culture
· Individualism
and collectivism
· Low power
distance and high power distance
· Uncertainty
tolerance and uncertainty avoidance
·
Task
orientation and social orientation
and examples from the film that represent each of the
dimensions.
Low-Context
Culture and High-Context Culture
A low-context culture “uses language primarily to express
thoughts, feelings, and ideas as clearly and logically as possible . . . The
meaning of a statement is in the words spoken” (Adler& Elmhorst, 2008, p. 47).
A high-context
culture, on the other hand, “relies heavily on subtle, often nonverbal cues to
convey meaning, save face, and maintain social harmony.
Communicators . . . discover meaning from the context in which a message is
delivered” (p. 47).
Low-Context
and High-Context Culture
In the film, Todd has a
straight-talking style that reflects a low-context culture. For example,
when Todd is first taken to the ramshackle building that houses the call center
in Gharapuri, he does not hide his reaction: “Oh, you
gotta be kidding me. This is it?” he asks Puro. Similarly, Todd does not hide his dissatisfaction with the call center’s high MPI,
the average number of minutes per incident spent to resolve each call: “Why is
the MPI so bad?” he asks. “Puro, this place is a disaster.”
In contrast, Todd’s Indian
counterparts reflect a high-context culture. For example, when Todd asks Puro if
he can take a long trip to recover a shipment that has been sent to the wrong
location, Puro declines the request in a very indirect manner, in line with
collectivists’ concern for maintaining social harmony. “No problem,” he says.
“But first I must sleep for two hours, so that I can come back for the
interviews with the new agents, and then I must make sure that my mother gets to
the hospital.”
Individualism
and Collectivism
Individualistic cultures “offer their members a great deal of
freedom, the belief being that this freedom makes it possible for each person
to achieve personal success” (Adler & Elmhorst, 2008, p. 48). Members tend to “put their own
interests and those of their immediate family ahead of social concerns” (p. 48). In
contrast, members of collectivist cultures “have tight social frameworks in which members
of a group . . . feel primary loyalty toward one another and the group to which
they belong” (p. 48).
· Todd has his
own apartment in Seattle, he lives alone, and he is ambitious and
consumption-oriented. As he explains to Puro: “In my world, it just makes sense
to work your ass off and go into credit card debt just so you can have that
50-inch plasma.”
·
Todd also
does not see his parents often, even though they live only two hours away from
him. This news stuns Puro, who also cannot understand why Todd continues to
work for a company and a boss he dislikes.
Todd and Puro
are at opposite ends of the individualism-collectivism continuum.
A series of events at the beginning of the film also
highlight the contrast between individualist and collectivist cultures:
· When Todd
sits down on a crowded train after a boy has given him his seat, the boy
unabashedly sits on Todd’s lap, much to the surprise of Todd, who is used to
the private personal space of a person from an individualist culture.
·
When Puro is
taking Todd to his accommodations, Puro changes the plans for Todd to stay at
the Gharapuri Palace Hotel. “That place is very lonely,” says Puro, in true
collectivist manner. “I’ll take you to Auntie Ji’s guest house. She will take
care of you better than your own real mother.” When individualist Todd protests
that he would prefer to go to his hotel, Puro insists: “We go to Aunti Ji’s. .
. . You’ll not be lonely there.”
·
Finally, when
Todd arrives at Aunti Ji’s, this is the first question she, as a collectivist,
asks: “So, Mr. Toad. What does your father do?”
· Interactions
between Todd and Asha also highlight the contrast between members of
individualist and collectivist cultures. When Todd asks Asha if she would ever
consider living in the United States, she says: “I would miss my parents; it
would be too hard.”
· When they are
in public together, Asha is concerned what others will think. Todd, on
the other hand, cannot understand this preoccupation. “You’re a free
woman!” he exclaims.
·
Then when he
hears the news that her parents have arranged her marriage since she was a
child, he cannot believe that a smart, opinionated woman like her would accept
this.“What about your right to choose for yourself?” he asks.
Low
Power Distance and High Power Distance
Cultures with low power distance “downplay differences
in power” (Adler & Elmhorst, 2008, p. 50) and its members are
comfortable approaching or challenging superiors. Cultures with
high power distance accept an unequal distribution of power and the fact that
“some members have greater resources and influence than others” (p. 50).
· The low power
distance characteristic associated with American culture is revealed in the
totally uninhibited way in which Todd speaks to his boss, Dave. On different
occasions, Todd calls Dave a “corporate slime-ball” and a “cheap bastard.”
· Todd’s
demonstration of low power distance contrasts with the deferential way in which
his Indian employees address him, using Mr. Todd and Sir.
Uncertainty
Tolerance and Uncertainty Avoidance
Cultures that tolerate uncertainty are more comfortable
with unpredictability and risk taking, and they are “relatively tolerant of
behavior that differs from the norm” (Adler & Elmhorst, 2008, p. 50).
Cultures that avoid uncertainty “are less comfortable with change. They value
tradition and formal rules, and show less tolerance for different ideas” (p.
50).
In Outsourced, Asha refers to practices in India that
are characteristic of uncertainty avoidance:
· “A girl in my
position has her whole life mapped out in front of her.” Asha explains that her
father is an assistant manager in a phone company and that her mother comes
from a small village.
· Low-context
and high-context culture
· In a
significant moment for Asha, Todd shows her that people can change their
“inherited” roles. Representing a culture that tolerates uncertainty, Todd
promotes her to assistant manager, saying he believes that “Asha can do
anything.” Those words are magical for Asha. “I always wanted to believe that,
but until you, I didn’t think it was true,” she tells Todd.
Task
Orientation and Social Orientation
Task-oriented cultures focus on making its members “more
competent through training and use of up-to-date methods and are highly
concerned with individual success” (Adler & Elmhorst, 2008, p. 51).
Cultures with high social orientation “focus more on
collective concerns” such as cooperative problem solving and maintaining a
friendly atmosphere (p. 51).
In Outsourced, the continued pressure to achieve a
lower MPI rating reflects the task orientation of Todd’s and Dave’s culture.
· Puro, on the
other hand, represents a social orientation when, early on, concerned about
Todd’s unwell appearance from eating gola, he abandons his job
responsibilities to go find food that will help Todd’s stomach.
Using the cultural dimensions framework and backed up by
specific examples from the film Outsourced, helps students to see
general differences among cultures. But, Outsourced also shows cultural
dimensions not usually associated with their native cultures:
o
Individualism and collectivism:
· At the end of
the film, the first phone call Todd makes when he arrives home in Seattle is to
his parents. His experience in India has changed him, and this phone call is
one manifestation of that change.
o
Low power distance and high power
distance:
· Indian call
center workers begin to address Todd by his first name.
o
Uncertainty tolerance and uncertainty
avoidance:
· In the midst
of tradition-bound India, Todd’s Indian neighbors who live on the other side of
the wall of the guest house demonstrate an extreme ability to adapt to
difficulties and to find creative solutions to problem. Thus, a sterling
example of uncertainty tolerance exists within a culture prone to uncertainty
avoidance. Todd himself is inspired by these neighbors when he takes action to
restore electricity to the call center after flooding.
o
Task orientation and social
orientation:
· Although Todd
is the task master at the beginning of his tenure in India, he later veers
toward a more social orientation, by asking his Indian employees: “What would
make your work day a more positive experience?”
· For their
part, the Indian employees become more task oriented as they respond to an
incentive program that rewards MPI improvement by giving them access to company
merchandise.
To conclude, Outsourced provides a rich backdrop for
exploring the meaning of intercultural concepts, in terms of broad generalities
as well as accompanying complexities.
This information sheet has been adapted from an article by
Carol Briam from Zayed University.
References
Downloaded from bcq.sagepub.com at SWETS WISE
ONLINE CONTENT on November 14, 2011
398 BUSINESS COMMUNICATION QUARTERLY /
December 2010
Adler, R. B., & Elmhorst, J. M. (2008). Communicating at work: Principles and practices for
business and the professions (9th
ed.). Tuas Basin Link, Singapore: McGraw-Hill.
