Commentary
Forbes India, 6 Jul 2009
An expat must adapt to the genteel workplace in Singapore, says Bharat Puri, Cadbury’s global chocolate category director.
Singapore has a more Western influence in that sense. Singaporeans tend to be very diligent, hardworking and process-oriented. The difference between large emerging markets and Singapore is that a Singaporean doesn’t have to fight for a train seat or a bus seat. So the level of aggression in them is much less. They often get disconcerted due to the aggression in Indians. During meetings, Indians tend to debate passionately. But the next day it’s all back to normal. A Singaporean colleague saw this and got very disconcerted. She thought that the Indians would start hitting each other! I used to be very strident with my point of view in meetings. And then I realised no one spoke after I did — I now speak much more softly!
Read More
