Cultural Differences in Outsourcing
May 08, 2006
This is not about which country has better programmers. What cultural issues did you experience with the offshore country you've dealt with?
I'm not trying to generalize, or present any natioinality in a negative way, but this what I've heard so far:
I wonder, if anyone tried to work with the offshore teams of smart developers who do not speak English? Theoretically, this may open up an entire world of quality workforce if you have a middleman you trust, who speaks both languages?
I'm not trying to generalize, or present any natioinality in a negative way, but this what I've heard so far:
- India: programmers do not say no, which does not mean that they've correctly understood the assignment and will deliver what you expect.
- Russia: money does not motivate them that much. Threats like "I won't pay you unless you'll code this in 5 days" may not help. But if you tell them that so-and-so can do this in 4 days, they'll do it in 3.
- China: they won't admit that there is an issue unless it becomes an obvious disaster.
I wonder, if anyone tried to work with the offshore teams of smart developers who do not speak English? Theoretically, this may open up an entire world of quality workforce if you have a middleman you trust, who speaks both languages?






