Presentation developed by

Meg Girard and Dennis White

Learning About Culture Using the Film

Outsourced

Outsourced is about the manager of

an American call center, or order

fulfillment center, in the US.

They process orders for novelty

items from a catalogue.

Todd’s department has been

“outsourced” – that is, the jobs have

been moved to India where labor is

less expensive.

Todd must go to India and train the local employees in the “American” way of doing business.

And he must get the average length of each call to under six minutes.

Even though he really does not want to go, he has experiences very similar to those of exchange students.

Culture Shock

1. Initial Excitement2. Irritability3. Gradual Adaptation4. Integration

Culture Shock Cycle

Pre-Departure Months

Normal

Level of

Feelings

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Return …...

When most exchange students depart, it is a very exciting experience. In Todd’s case, he really did NOT volunteer for the job. But the newness is exciting anyway.

Nevertheless, the disorientation and “shock” of new and very different things happens to Todd as it does to all travelers

The advice from the friend in the train station is a metaphor for how Todd can be successful…

Just Jump!

He’s willing to try new things – like the frozen beverage –which leads to another kind of shock - later on

But it’s all still new and different. As an outsider, he notices things his “guide” doesn’t because they are commonplace to him, or because he is ignoring them.

Not being familiar with the culture, he starts making mistakes right away. His first mistake is thinking everyone understands his version of English

He uses American Slang as if it is universally understood.

Words like “kitsch”, “redneck” and “schmuck”.

So now “schmuck” means “nice guy”!

Trying to be agreeable, he is very forcefully talked into going to a boarding house, Auntie Ji’s, instead of a

hotel.

This not only exposes him

to more of a host family

atmosphere, which is similar

to that of an exchange

student…

It also reveals a strong

cultural value when Puro

tells him “you won’t be

lonely”.

So he meets his new

“host mom”, Auntie Ji

But instead of the usual

“small talk” an American

would expect, he is

subjected to very direct,

intimate questions,

right away

He begins to make subtle mistakes of social etiquette. Behaviors where he doesn’t have a clue that he is doing anything wrong.

Eventually the Gollah, frozen beverage, catches up with him and he learns for himself why the left hand is considered unclean

Todd is beginning to experience Ethnocentrism: Indian Ethnocentrism – and American Ethnocentrism

Ethnocentrism is the universal tendency for any culture to see its own practices as correct –sometime even the only way to do something

Examples range from Puro insisting that Todd stay at Auntie Ji’s so he won’t be lonely, which we already saw…

To the servant putting lots of sugar in his tea despite his requests for her to stop…

He is even surprised that his “host mom” Auntie Ji irons his underwear!

Todd’s own ethnocentrism keeps him from seeing that he has to adapt to the culture. But he does begin to see he isn’t getting anywhere doing what comes naturally

And he keeps making mistakes that alienate his employees

And he continues to be shocked by the directness and intimacy of Auntie Ji’s questions

He gets in more trouble when he tries to explain the American cultural values behind some of the novelty gifts

And he really gets in trouble when he shows absolutely no sensitivity to the tradition of the Sacred Cow of India

Finally, he hits the wall, or as we say, “the honeymoon is over” when he is confronted by an employee

At this point exchange students are usually very uncomfortable and try to make themselves more comfortable by seeking what is familiar, and so does Todd

But when calling home doesn’t work, he accidentally finds what he thinks is a familiar comfort food –McDonalds

So he hires a taxi to take him there, but has no awareness that the taxi driver is trying to bargain with him

Since he won’t bargain, the taxi driver does it for him, as if Todd is haggling as he should!

And then he finds that what he thought was familiar wasn’t exactly what he thought it was

So he has run into a fellow expatriated American who has obviously successfully adapted to India, and - has a sense of humor.

Making fun of or criticizing the host country is a typical Inbound behavior –sometimes part of what is called the Inbound Syndrome

But his new friend really has some wonderful advice –really the key to succeeding there

The advice – Give in!

This becomes the turning point – where he slowly changes to a more Ethnorelative point of view and gradually adapts to the Indian way of doing things

Ethnorelativism means accepting that there are many different ways of thinking, feeling and behaving, and that the many ways cultures do things are not right or wrong, just different.

And he begins to show some developing skill at listening to them as he works at it

He even accepts the cow right in the office!

His success with his employees is apparent as they begin to include him in their culture

This in turn leads to a deeper discussion of cultural differences, such as when Todd and Puro discuss their very different attitudes toward parents and family

Throughout the film, Todd has been looking with curiosity over the wall surrounding Auntie Ji’s.

When he is actually invited over, he is now prepared to accept the invitation with an open mind and many more social skills than when he started

He gets invited to a family meal

This time, he is able to see all the differences as just that – differences, not right or wrong. They are things that “work” for that culture

How about that wiring system, and an electric frying pan made from a

Volkswagen hub cap!

But we see that he fits in with the proper etiquette, that he is at ease - and they clearly let him know he has succeeded

We know that often exchange students are not aware of how much they have integrated into the host culture until they are confronted with someone from their own culture

Especially someone who doesn’t know what to do and makes the same mistakes they did when they were new to the culture

Todd’s boss shows up in India, as clueless as Todd was a short time ago.

Seeing the flooded call center and thinking it is a disaster, Todd’s boss cannot imagine how he will solve the problem

And his “consultant” has an Indian, not an American solution

And despite the crisis, things are going so well that they meet their minutes per call goal – things just couldn’t be better…

And just like an exchange year, when everything is finally working, when the student is using newly acquired skills to succeed…

It’s over! And the student has to go home. In Todd’s case it happens a little differently, but with mostly the same outcome

But this time he finds he has changed. He has broken away from his blind obedience to “getting ahead” in the business world without being happy

So he comes up with a solution that works for everybody, himself, the company and his friend Puro

If you wish me good luck with “break a leg”, I will wish you even more luck with “I hope both your legs get broken”!

So Todd comes home, but brings a little of the Indian cultural values and practices with him

Todd comes home a different person. He has changed in some ways he understands, and some that he probably will still have to learn

It might be hard to explain to others, and he might seem to be drifting without any focus for a while

Because now he’s a

REBOUND!(but that’s another story altogether)

The End !