Test your knowledge by answering the following questions on Indian culture and business practices.

1. The official Sanskrit name for India is:

1. Bharat.
2. Sindhu.
3. Brihadeswara.
4. Mokshapat.

2. How many official languages are spoken in India apart from Hindi and English?

1. 5.
2. 18.
3. 35.
4. 50.

3. In which year did India gain its independence from the British?

1. 1880.
2. 1925.
3. 1947.
4. 1969.

4. The hierarchical nature of Indian society means that:

1. Status is accorded to people solely on their family background.
2. People are judge on their abilities first and who they know second.
3. The boss is a symbol of power and prestige and is always treated with great respect.

5. When meeting an Indian manager for the first time it is important to:

1. Refrain from smiling and shake their hand whilst maintaining eye contact.
2. Greet using their title, family name and give a reasonably firm handshake whilst maintaining eye contact.
3. Be respectful by doing the 'namaste' traditional Indian greeting.

6. Indians rarely:

1. Ask personal questions when first meeting people.
2. Shake their head side to side to indicate yes.
3. Say no to requests from "superiors".

7. When giving instruction to an Indian counterpart:

1. Observe the head movements only to gauge acceptance.
2. Look for non-verbal signs that may be negative responses.
3. Take the verbal responses to be a 'true' indicator of acceptance.

8. When it comes to deciding which is more important, politeness or the truth:

1. Politeness is important but the truth must be told, however embarrassing.
2. Politeness will always win out over truth.
3. The truth can always be given in a polite way.

9. The typical Indian meeting style is:

1. Linear and deals with each point to be discussed in strict rotation.
2. Multi-focussed and circular with points discussed in random order.
3. Is a verbal 'free-for-all' with the person who speaks loudest gaining supremacy.

10. An Indian interviewee may ask about healthcare provision for his or her whole/extended family because:

1. They believe that the salary is inadequate and are looking for some compensation by having the healthcare.
2. They have many relatives who are ill.
3. Their getting the job will be for the benefit of the whole family - not just them as individuals.

11. When giving positive feedback to an Indian member of staff you should:

1. Send it in writing in the form of an official memo.
2. Make it as visible and as public as you feel is appropriate.
3. Do it in private behind closed doors.

12. After being given negative feedback an Indian member of staff may:

1. Appear to 'sulk' for a time as it will have been taken on a very personal level.
2. Appeal to a high level manager to give 'their side' of the situation.
3. Verbally accept the feedback and then seek to explore what steps to take to improve performance.

13. Conflict and differences of opinion are best dealt with in:

1. Social situations over food and drinks.
2. Meetings with all parties present.
3. Private and not in meetings to avoid loss of face.

14. The general attitude to 'time' in India is:

1. Linear with strict adherence to agendas.
2. Circular and non-linear with the focus on getting the 'right' decision.
3. Every minute counts and must be used well – not wasted.

15. When discussing schedules and work plans with Indian staff it is best to:

1. Check with them as to how they intend to reach their goals within the timeframe they propose and then write down that detailed timetable (as appropriate) and run it by others where necessary.
2. Accept what they say as fully feasible without querying any of it.
3. Ask them to put it in writing.

16. When an Indian walks into a new job situation he or she will immediately:

1. Find out everyone's first names in order to feel more comfortable.
2. Seek to understand the hierarchy around them and to understand their place within it.
3. Bring sweets and snacks to the office to share with everyone to 'break the ice'.

17. The importance of a person's status is determined by the following list (in order of importance):

1. Personal network, how many children they have, education, family background (including caste).
2. Job title and responsibilities, relationships with others in the organisation, how many children they have, salary.
3. Family background (Including caste), age and seniority, education, job title and responsibilities.

18. Westerners may experience Indian staff as lacking in assertiveness because:

1. Assertiveness is seen as 'selfish' and anti-social.
2. They are complying with their position in the present existing hierarchy and being deferential and modest.
3. They have poor regard for their own skills and abilities and therefore lack self-confidence.

19. The emerging or 'new' Indian we find working in Western companies in India can be typified as:

1. Less status conscious and more willing to be direct and open.
2. More aggressive and comfortable with verbal conflict in meetings.
3. Dismissive of traditional Indian values and keen to adopt Western approaches to everything.

20. The attitude towards female bosses by Indian males is:

1. She may be the boss but she cannot be as good as a man.
2. She is the boss for now but I will do what I can to undermine her.
3. She has the power and she is the boss.

21. In meetings Indians will:

1. Ask questions whenever they do not understand something.
2. Prefer to be 'led' and wait for questions to be asked of them before offering anything.
3. Engage in full participation throughout the meeting.

22. Indians tend to view their British counterparts as:

1. Difficult to listen to.
2. Great fun to work with.
3. Stiff and formal.

23. Indians will experience the use of British humour in the workplace as:

1. Initially confusing and possibly unsettling.
2. A good way to break the ice and make the time spent on the job go more pleasantly.
3. A sign that their UK colleagues do not take their work seriously.

24. Taboo topics for conversation with Indians are:

1. Kashmir, dowry deaths, the AIDS crisis.
2. British curry, The Gulf War, Peter Sellars.
3. The Second World War, assassination of Gandhi, general politics.

25. Good topics for conversation with Indians are:

1. Football, comparative salaries, Jazz music.
2. Cricket, Indian traditions, families, other foreign countries.
3. Rugby, The British Raj, Pakistan.

26. Indians of a Hindu background will not eat:

1. Beef.
2. Pork.
3. Shellfish.

27. The most important religious festival in India is Diwali (The Festival of Light) held between October and November and celebrates:

1. The welfare, prosperity, well-being, and longevity of a Hindu woman's husband. Following a bath early in the morning, well before dawn, the woman adorns new clothes and partakes of a meal of very select grains and fruit. For the remainder of the day, the woman is bound to abstain from food and even water, though the stricter rules of observance are not always kept.
2. The renewal of life, and it is common to wear new clothes on the day of the festival; and to light small oil lamps (called diyas) and place them around the home. The celebration of the festival is accompanied by the exchange of sweets and the explosion of fireworks.
3. The deity Ganesh or Ganapati, the elephant-headed deity who is known as the remover of obstacles and the god of auspiciousness. Each family purchases an idol of Ganesh and then takes it out in procession on Ganesh Chaturthi before immersing it in a river, pond, or tank.

28. Traditionally two parts of the body are considered as 'impure', they are:

1. The left hand and the feet.
2. The left hand and the forearms of a woman.
3. The feet and the forearms of a woman.

29. The lack of privacy and personal space in India can result in:

1. People asking you for money in the street.
2. People sitting closer than you feel comfortable with and asking you personal and private questions.
3. People having very similar opinions.