Cultural Report Assessment: Indian Culture

Indian culture is becoming more and more prevalent in the United States every year. According to the 2010 United States Census, the Asian Indian population in the United States grew from almost 1,678,765 in 2000 (0.6% of U.S. population) to 2,843,391 in 2010 (0.9% of U.S. population), a growth rate of 69.37%, one of the fastest growing ethnic groups in the United States (United States Census Bureau, 2010). As the fastest growing population in the United States, Indian culture and influences is also spreading to places in America that has never had it before. We have more Indian restaurants, grocery stores, cultural centers and temples then ever before, and I think a lot of Americans including myself are starting to notice. So, taking time to learn more about the Indiana culture is good to understand our neighbors and coworkers.

When we look at Asian Indian Americans and the country they left, India is the world's fourth-largest economy. It produced $9.4 trillion in goods and services in 2017. But it has a long way to go to beat the top three: China, with a production worth $23.1 trillion; the European Union, with $19.9 trillion; and the United States, with $17.4 trillion. India has had rapid growth despite the Great Recession. It grew 6.7 percent in 2017, 7.1 percent in 2016 and 8 percent in 2015. From 2008 through 2014, it grew between 5 percent and 11 percent. That phenomenal growth rate has reduced poverty by 10 percent in the last decade (Amdeo, 2018).

Also, Indian not only has an impact from an Indian American perspective, but also Indian citizens impact our job markets. We have what's called H-1B visas in the American work place. An H-1B visa allows an individual to enter the United States to temporarily work at an employer in a specialty occupation. The regulations define a specialty occupation as requiring theoretical and practical application of a body of highly specialized knowledge in a field of human endeavor (Legal Information Institute 1, 2018). Including but not limited to biotechnology, chemistry, computing, architecture, engineering, statistics, physical sciences, journalism, medicine and health: doctor, dentists, nurses, physiotherapists, etc., economics, education, research, law, accounting, business specialties, technical writing, theology, and the arts, and requiring the attainment of a bachelor's degree or its equivalent as a minimum (Legal Information Institute, 2018 1).

Likewise, the foreign worker must possess at least a bachelor's degree or its equivalent and state licensure, if required to practice in that field. H-1B work-authorization is strictly limited to employment by the sponsoring employer (Legal Information Institute 2, 2018). In the United States a lot of Americans fell that foreigners are taking our jobs, Asian Indiana and Indiana citizens. That could leave a negative stigma using the H-1B process, but companies simply can't find the talent internally, so big companies like Facebook, Ford, GM, Google, Apple etc., turn to these types of sponsorships to get the talent they need. Asian Indiana Americans have impacted our society by helping fill a lot of these advance jobs, with skill sets they bring from India.

When we look at Indian Americans in American society and their Socioeconomics status, Indian Americans continuously outpace every other ethnic group socioeconomically per U.S. Census statistics (IBM, 2009). Thomas Friedman, in his 2005 book The World Is Flat, explains this trend in terms of brain drain, whereby the best and brightest elements in India emigrate to the US in order to seek better financial opportunities (Friedman, 2005). Indians form the second largest group of physicians after non-Hispanic whites (3.9%) as of the 1990 survey, and the percentage of Indian physicians has rose to around 6% in 2005 (Friedman, 2005). With the need to bring over talent from Indian to help with high level Engineering and IT level positions, it is obvious that education is very important to the Indian culture. According to Pew Research in 2015, 72% of Indian Americans had a bachelor's degree or more (Pew Research Center, 2015). The median household income for Indian immigrants in 2015 was much higher than that of the overall foreign- and native-born populations. Households headed by Indian immigrants had a median income of $101,591, compared to $51,000 and $56,000 for overall immigrant and native-born households, respectively. By far they are the richest and most successful ethnic group in the USA due to their strong work-ethic and focus on education. Approximately 7 percent of Indian immigrants lived in poverty in 2015, a much lower rate than the foreign-born population overall and the U.S. born (17 percent and 14 percent, respectively) (Zong & Batalova, 2017).

Religion is also something new and different that American Indian's brought to the United States. Communities of Hindus, Christians, Muslims, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis, and Indian Jews have established their religions in the United States. According to 2012 Pew Research Center research, 51% consider themselves Hindu, 18% as Christian (Protestant 11%, Catholic 5%, other Christian 3%), 10% as unaffiliated, 10% as Muslims, 5% as Sikh, 2% as Jain (Pew Research Center, 2012).

However, the Sikhs are vastly understated in this study. Number of Sikhs in the United States in 2010 were generally believed to be in the 250,000 to 500,000 range - which equates to anywhere between 10% and 18% of Americans classified as Asian Indians by the Census Bureau at that time. Among those who identify as unaffiliated are non-practicing members of the above religions.

The first religious center of an Indian religion to be established in the US was a Sikh Gurudwara in Stockton, California in 1912. Today there are many Sikh Gurudwaras, Hindu temples, Christian churches, and Buddhist and Jain temples in all 50 states (Pew Research, 2012).

I have chosen to interview someone who is a Sikh Asian Indian American who is working in the Distribution Center I work in Human Resources in. He is a practicing Sikh and wears the headwear that they do, which is probably a first for a lot of the warehouse associates to see someone who wears one. When I interviewed him, I asked him how him dressing different affect his life. He said a lot of people assume things. I asked him how so. He said, Most people don't know I speak English, and they assume I am an Engineer or in IT. I asked does that happen here in the Warehouse? He said, no not really, People will ask me what it means, but other than that people leave me alone.

I am working in Human Resources, trying to finish my degree in Business. The person I interviewed is also going to school to work in Human Resources as well. Cultural factors that play in effect with him, is a lot of family members from India, are coming to America to live, and they want to get a job as quick as possible. So, warehouse work is easy for them to get in to and stay involved with for fast money. So, with this I could personally encounter a lot of people with a similar culture to my interview, so learning their culture could enhance the company's ability to help these people when they get to America. Some things that came be done from an HR perspective is maybe having a day where we celebrate an Indian holiday with their traditional food. Where I work, we celebrate holidays like the 4th, Christmas, Thanksgiving etc. Maybe that could be a way for other associates to share their culture with each other. I think most associates I work with respect each other, and don't care about what religion they follow, but food is always a good ice breaker, and could bring awareness to people. Eating is the best common denominator you could have, because food has been brining people together for centuries. Some potential problems are that we just celebrate American Holidays, and never take the time to reflect and celebrate with others on other holidays. That could to start to offend people that come to this country and bring their culture with them here as well. I think that having people celebrate with everyone and learning about culture too will enhance cultural tolerance.

As far to recommendations for my profession to make people more culturally aware is to have educations at the Management level on all cultures, so they can learn how to work with all members of their team. There are always Anti-Harassment/ Safety videos for everyone to watch annually. But adding a Cultural Awareness video I think would be just as important. I think a proper corporate training on Cultures that go in depth, so that everyone gets a solid understanding of what cultures are out there, and how to adequately speak to it, and understand what your associate is going through or doing outside of work potentially. Not as a means of spying, but a way that a Manager could possible help tailor a schedule or know that someone is observing a certain holiday etc. I think the better equip someone is with understanding the better that Manager can effectively manager his or her team.

Justification for this training is simple. Our population is always changing with new cultures and people. A part of most businesses mission statements is making people better Corporate Citizens. Meaning a lot of business take the time to make sure their workforce is helping the world around them. Apart of that is understanding everyone and creating an inclusive culture. Creating a place that is inclusive for everyone to work in will only create a productive work environment, that attracts and retains the most talented workforce.

Sources Cited:

Census shows growth among Asian Indians"". USA Today. 2011-05-17. https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_15_1YR_B02018&prodType=table

Amadeo, K. (2018). Bollywood Is More Popular Than Hollywood: India's Opportunities. Retrieved from https://www.thebalance.com/india-s-economy-3306348

""8 U.S. Code § 1184 - Admission of nonimmigrants"". LII / Legal Information Institute 1.

""8 U.S. Code § 1184 - Admission of non-immigrants"". LII / Legal Information Institute 2.

""USA's best: Indian Americans top community World IBNLive"". Ibnlive.in.com. 2009-02-20. Retrieved 2013-02-07.

Friedman, Thomas May 16, 2005 ""MIT World » : The World is Flat"". Mitworld.mit.edu. Archived from the original on March 28, 2012. Retrieved August 11, 2014.

""Indians in the U.S. Fact Sheet"". POewsocialtrends.org. September 8, 2017. Retrieved January 9, 2018.

Jie Zong and Jeanne Batalova""Indian Immigrants in the United States"". migrationpolicy.org. 2017-08-29. Retrieved 2017-12-18.

Pew Forum Indian Americans' Religions"". Projects.pewforum.org. 2012-07-18. Retrieved 2014-08-11.

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