IT’S NOT OUR REPUTATION THAT PRECEDES US !!!

In my 10 years of marketing experience, I have travelled to almost all parts of India. I have come across people from different cultures, religions & groups. Though their beliefs & customs are often different, but two things have always remained the same. The way they addressed me, “Bhaaji, Oye-Bhape, Chak-de-phatte and sometimes Sardar ji (Sikh, Which I am not)” and the food-dish they all thought I would love- Butter chicken (which I don’t).Doesn’t matter which part of the country I was travelling to; these things have always preceded me. Over the years I have realized that, these types of preconceived notions aren’t just stuck to me, but something or the other is stuck to each on of us. You can observe it in the statements that people make:

• “Wait, what? You are a vegetarian & You don’t drink? You are a fake Punjabi”
• “Ah! You are from South India, so basically you’re a Madrasi … Vannakkam!”
• “Dude, you are so Kanjoos (Stingy), Are you a Sindhi?”
• “Bro! I can’t eat your Gujarati food, you put sugar in everything”

Here the point to ponder is that how people associate some characteristics with a particular religion or group? The answer is because we Stereotype them. 

Yes! it’s the stereotypes that even precede our reputation.

What’s a Stereotype?

Stereotype is a preconceived, generalized and fixed opinion about a particular group of people based upon their Gender, Religion, Ethnic background, Age, Country, Language or even Skin Color etc. If you are considering everyone in the group as being “all the same” and making a judgment about them without knowing them, you are stereotyping.

India’s Obsession with Stereotypes

India’s biggest obsession: Skin color complexion of a person

From “Hum Kale hai to kya hua dilwale hai?” to “Chittiyan Kalaiyaan ve”

(Hindi Songs: “I am dark skinned but have a big heart” & “Fair complexioned wrists”)

It’s a widely spread & openly practiced stereotype in the country. The fair skin has all positive virtues & dark skin has all the negative ones associated with it. Need a proof? Watch an advertisement of any fairness product. The person with dark complexion is always depicted as insecure, low on confidence and a total failure in life. s/he starts using the fairness product and transforms into a star performer. Everybody starts respecting & liking the same person, because s/he is fair now. So, in short “Fair is beautiful, confident, worthy & successful” & Dark is just the opposite. People who are looking to get married or are already married will have the first-hand experience of this. How did your family describe the dark-skinned girl/boy they met? Kaali – Kaluti, Baigan Looti (Blacky-black smeared, she robbed the color of an eggplant).

India’s obsession with “Sarkari Naukri” (Public Sector Jobs)

Growing up in a Punjabi middle-class family I knew of only 3 career options- to be a Doctor, Engineer or a getting a Sarkari Naukri. I was told that only these provide stability, social status & a peaceful life.

“There is izzat (dignity) in Sarkari Naukri. Private Company can close any day!!!”

The private sector employees are stereotyped as working 24X7 and having no family life. The Bollywood visualized boss treats them as servants, and they have no izzat (dignity) at all. Today millions of the educated & unemployed youth in India prefer a taiyaari for sarkari naukari (preparation for selection exams) over the private sector jobs. And The odds of getting public sector jobs are shrinking every year, as per the data published in a study by CES*, Uttar Pradesh government received 23 lakh (23,00,000) applications for 368 clerical jobs in 2015. It’s the matter of dignity Afterall.

India’s obsession with person’s fluency in English language

“Dhikra! (dude)…Your ingliss (English) is very good !!!”

Who said language is just a mode for communication? In India English is regarded as ‘a style statement’, ‘status symbol’ or ‘a benchmark of competency’. There is a certain faction of our society that has made English a standard to judge people. Data from the Lok Foundation survey shows that English speakers are richer & more educated. Yes! the Elite class in India prefers English.

Though one must agree that in this globalization era, English has opened the doors to reputed white collar jobs not only in India but across the globe. But one might wonder what is this hullabaloo over one’s social status & command over the English language? Are we still living in the hangover of Colonial Era? In my community one isn’t considered well educated when s/he completes a professional degree or any degree but when s/he starts conversing in English.

India’s obsession with Masculinity

It’s not just the women who are stereotyped, it’s Men too. In our society men too are penalized for not acting in accordance to the Masculinity stereotypes. There are set of norms, ideas & belief one needs to follow in order to BE A MAN.

“Come-on be a man, don’t cry like a girl!”

As prescribed by the Gender police, guys should be physically strong, aggressive, dominant, not exhibiting vulnerability, compassion & modesty. Our film industry has played a major role in glorifying this type of Masculinity- “Mard ko Dard Nahi Hota” (Men don’t feel pain). Failure to comply with these norms leads to being labelled as ‘feminine’, ‘gay’, ‘Transgender’ or ‘Incompetent’. So, guys comply to these masculinity standards seriously, even if you’re using a facial cream make sure it’s Mardon wali cream (cream from men). There is such thing, google it!

Don’t rob someone of his/her individuality!

Remember the school days, when teachers used to punish someone by making him stand on the bench in hands-up position, while others laughed at him. It’s not the punishment that hurt more but the humiliation of being laughed at. Similar is the impact of being stereotyped, it can make people anxious. It feels like the spotlight is on them all the time and the others are noticing their flaws, making jokes on their appearance, gender, culture & religion. They can’t focus their full attention on the jobs, studies or whatever they do. It makes them doubt their decisions, that might lead to decrease in the performance & low self-confidence.

These stereotypes are planted deeply into our subconscious mind. It come as natural thoughts, hence never put your responses on the auto-pilot mode. It’s good to keep a conscious check on the responses, get to know more about the individual before you make a perception. Treat Everyone as an Individual so that stereotyping & prejudice doesn’t lead you to discrimination. Remember:

“We aren’t the derivative of our group averages?”

Those who say otherwise don’t believe them. They might have their own interests behind glorifying a stereotype. Many big businesses are built around these stereotypes like- Fairness products, English coaching centers, Coaching centers for Competition Exams, even political campaigns are also run based on the widely prevalent stereotypes.

So, what do you think about stereotypes? Have you encountered any stereotype related to your religion, skin color, gender or region? Do share with us.

References:

https://www.simplypsychology.org/katz-braly.html

Between Aspiration & Despair- Government jobs & the predicament of the educated unemployed, A study by Center for Equity Studies* by Usman Jawed Siddiqi & Anirban Bhattacharya

https://www.livemint.com/news/india/in-india-who-speaks-in-english-and-where-1557814101428.html

Blog image- Burning House- Pixabay & Car accident- Unsplash

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THE DANGLING CARROT

A MAGICAL WAND OF 21^st CENTURY

We make many choices on regular basis in our professional and personal life. Like volunteering for an additional responsibility in the job or choosing a store for purchasing monthly grocery for home. Although these choices are made by us but there are ways by which these choices can be influenced by others.     

The one motivational factor that has strong impact on our decision making is a Dangling Carrot. It’s a Dangling Carrot that drives us to take additional responsibilities to make an impression on our seniors for getting promoted, motivate kids to work hard for a better score by promising gifts , use payment platforms like Amazon pay or Paytm to avail better cashback offers, purchase grocery from D-mart or Big bazaar for cheaper prices or vote for a politician who promises income tax rebates, job offers and security. We all are spell bounded by A Dangling Carrot. 

Dangling Carrot

A Dangling Carrot is the motivation that drives us towards our goals, to take actions, influence our decisions or behave in some manner. A Carrot Dangler is the one who dangles this carrot in front of others. We are surrounded by many Carrot Danglers in society, social media and profession on the other hand we too are carrot danglers for others.

I have also been chasing the carrots of professional growth one after the other for long now. In my personal & professional life I have come across 4 types of Carrot Danglers:

Authentic Carrot Danglers:

They always deliver that has been promised. They even support you to achieve it.

If you rank number-1 in your class, I will get you a new …….

Ring a bell? Parents, who else can be a better carrot dangler. They know what will make their child tick and support him or her in scoring good marks. True Leaders & Managers do the similar job for their team, isn’t it?

Self-Motivated Carrot Danglers:

One can be a carrot dangler for himself/herself. Self-motivated people keep re-inventing their own carrots, achieving one goal after the other.

“I don’t have dreams, I have goals. Now it’s on to the next one”                                                                                               -Harvey Specter, Fictional Character, TV Series-Suits

Tricky Carrot Danglers:

Over-Promise & Under-Delivery is a regular thing with these types of carrot danglers. They will deliver but not that was promised or expected.

So next time when someone wearing a khadi (a politician) promises to deposit huge sum of money in your bank accounts or a full loan waiver if you elect him, beware-tricky carrot is in action. The Carrot dangling is at peak during this election season-2019.

On the other hand, promises of salary hikes, incentives and promotions also fall in this category, if they are not delivered as promised.

Con Carrot Danglers:

The Carrot offered by these danglers is too good to be true

On Oct 19, 2018 Times of India reported that in Lucknow 45 people were conned on the pretext of being provided jobs. Many were promised government jobs while others were promised jobs in merchant navy and were duped of high sums of money.

In a country where unemployment is major concern, job guarantee is a carrot that works like magic. I have received many spam mails congratulating me on winning a Mercedes, a Rolex watch or a huge monetary prize from a big company. Their play is to ask for registration fee or handling charges and con us.

I have also been a carrot dangler for about 7 years now. As a part of Brand Management, I have made many incentive plans for my sales team to execute the strategies and achieve the sales target. In my view there are few basics one needs to follow to learn the Art of Carrot Dangling.

The Art of Carrot Dangling

People won’t start chasing the carrot if they feel it’s not what they want or it’s not within their reach. On the other hand, they will stop chasing it if one dangles it for too long and never deliver it.

Same carrot doesn’t work on different people, like one key can’t open all the locks. Even same carrot might not work on same people again, one needs to have a bigger or a different carrot to keep people in chase. 

Before one decides which carrot to dangle, he/she should know the profile of targeted people. Like their goals in life, habits, family background, financials, demographics etc. Companies today are investing huge in consumer database to identify which carrots to dangle. It has become a big business opportunity.

Companies like Amazon and Flipkart have taken it to next level. These corporate have systems in place to make customized Carrots for their Consumers. If you compare the home page of your Amazon or Flipkart account, it will be a bit different than others. It’s because the Artificial Intelligence has been learning from your shopping & surfing habits. It shows you the category wise items within the price range that you are interested in and maximize the sales opportunities.

If you observe closely, the carrot is in action everyday & everywhere. It’s like a magical wand that one can wave to influence the choices made by others. So, What’s your experience? Have you ever been spell bounded by any dangling carrot? How many times have you been successful in eliciting a desired response by dangling a carrot? Which new carrots have you explored? Do share with us.

References

Times of India news: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/lucknow/three-men-duped-job-conning-cases-on-rise/articleshowprint/66279515.cms accessed on 30-03-2019

Blog Image Compilation of pictures from: rawpixel.com & Macrovector from Freepik and Maja Cvetojevic from Pixabay

Watch it! – Even the Emotions can go Viral

Are you falling prey to the Emotional Contagion through Social media?

Have you ever felt thirsty when you see someone drinking water or ever felt like yawning when others yawn; or even laugh when others start laughing

The phenomenon is known as Emotional contagion, a type of interpersonal influence where one person’s emotions and related behaviours directly trigger similar emotions and behaviours in other people.

Carrier of Emotional Contagion- Social Media

There are various mechanisms through which the Emotional Contagion occurs. One of the biggest carriers of this contagion today is Social Media.

An experiment conducted with 6,89,003 Facebook users was published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Journal, it was found that reducing the positive expressions in the News Feed resulted in people producing fewer positive posts and more negative posts; when negative expressions are reduced, the opposite pattern occurred.

Another study published in the Social Psychological and Personality Science journal found that YouTube videos effect the emotional state of the viewers and cause emotional contagion just as they do in physical environments. So, depending upon what type of videos you are consuming; your mood can swing accordingly.

Given the fact that there are about 5 billion videos being viewed daily on YouTube, 2.27 billion monthly active users on Facebook & 500 million tweets shared per day- Oh boy! Even emotions can go viral.

Adverse effects of Emotional Contagion

It doesn’t effect just one person, everyone who is consuming such content through Social media can show similar emotional response. It has a ripple effect, Emotions spread among people like Viruses. And believe it or not negative emotions are more powerful as a contagion than the positive ones.

In May 2018, a video about gang of child kidnappers went viral on Whatsapp/facebook and worried many parents. The anger that followed resulted in over 20 people getting lynched by angry mob in different parts of India like Maharashtra, MP, Tripura, Gujarat, West Bengal etc. (including a man hired by the authorities to help dispel the rumours).

In 2016, the social media also came under scanner following the U.S. presidential elections for being used by various political groups/individuals to influence voters. Fake accounts & pages were created to spread misinformation and attack the candidates. Not only humans, the bots were used to exaggerate few conversations, amplify debates and tweet about the elections. All this to channel emotions in favour or against the presidential candidates.

Emotions have deep connections with our decision making, remember the famous advice that everyone give almost everyone “Just do what feels right! Or Listen to your heart or gut feelings!”. That’s putting emotions on the driver’s seat of decision making. And what if your emotions are infected or influenced?

What are my chances of being infected with it? What are the Signs & Symptoms?

Today we are not just present on Social Media, we are involved in it. In pre-social media era people used to be excited to share things with other people in their family & social circle but these days we are just excited to share it on social media and keep a track on views & likes. We are under peer pressure through social media to visit places, watch movies, buy something and even to show how happy and exciting our lives are – that’s involvement.

So, you stand a good chance of being infected with the Emotional Contagion being spread through Social Media. It effects everyone you, me and other’s in society.

As an Individual, it affects your choice of everything from buying a deodorant to buying a house, from choosing a dress to choosing a leader of the country. It’s your Fundamental Right to Make Own Choices, but are you?

As a Parent or a Family, it affects the upbringing of your kids. You are careful about who they hang out with while they are out of house, but wouldn’t you also want to know who they hang out with on social media. Gone are the days when Smart phone & Social Media use were considered harmless. Today everything is available at a finger’s click from Porn to suicidal videos. What social media culture are your kids growing in?

As a Consumer, it affects your spending behaviour like what things to buy? Which brands to choose? Where to buy these things from? Have you ever wondered why you end-up buying things you don’t need or end up spending more than your budget? Think about it, what baited you?

As a Marketer, it affects your brand’s image in the market. That’s why companies spend huge on influencer endorsements so that a positive emotion can be associated with the brands. It affects the brand loyalty & equity. What do you think is a big loss to Nestle- Loss of sales of Maggi noodles or Loss of Consumer Loyalty?

As a Leader, it affects the culture & performance of your team. Today each team has their own Whatsapp group & Facebook communities etc. One negative share in the morning can direct the fate of many interactions during the day and drain out positive energy. Managing emotions not only at workplace but also in social media groups is critical.

The Remedy: Digital-Vaccination  

Being a responsible citizen you will never throw garbage in the open, same treatment should be given to digital-garbage. Don’t throw digital-garbage on your social media account, the right place for all garbage is a bin- a dust bin and a recycle bin.

Here are few suggestions that can help you to prevent yourself, your team, family or friends from spreading or getting affected with the emotional contagion:

• Don’t follow or add suspicious people & pages. Ignore the spam messages, mails & videos.
• Set Social Media rules just like house rules, you make for your kids to follow. Similarly, leaders should set it for their teams.
• Set right examples of Social Media Behaviour & Social Media Culture for your team, kids, friends & family.
• Be-aware of what is being shared on your timeline, account, pages etc. And Keep a check on what is being shared on the groups, threads, communities etc. where you are an administrator. Ask members to refrain from sharing sensitive posts or delete it yourself.
• Marketer should use Social Media Listening not just to gather insights but also keep a track on the Social Media Sentiments of consumers. You can identify the tone of conversation- happy, satisfied, angry or annoyed and take appropriate steps to manage the sentiments related to your brand.
• Don’t believe in news from unauthentic sources and don’t share fake news posts. Before acting on any News, whet it out. Don’t fall prey to View, Like & Share Bait.
• You can also block spammers; different social media platforms provide its users with options to do it. Even if you are seeing paid ads on your page you can block them, if you don’t like them.
• Platforms like Google, Instagram & YouTube, will show you content like suggested pages, news, posts or videos based upon your search history, so be conscious about your searches, keep searching for things that make you positive. These platforms also have options for you to ignore or stop seeing similar content.
• And Don’t make the mistake of believing that whatever is happening on Social Media is real. There are professionals for hire, who can be assigned specific tasks like trolling someone on social media or damaging the reputation of someone etc. These professionals maintain huge number of fake online accounts, that are used to spread rumours, cook fake news, increase followers/likes & views, commenting on posts or glorifying/trolling someone online. So be-aware & beware of being a party to the game of these emotional vampires.

References

Feeling moody? Blame YouTube videos for that, ANI, DEC-28-2018

Sigal Barsade Ph.D., Faster than a Speeding Text: “Emotional Contagion” At Work, Psychology today

Experimental evidence of massive-scale emotional contagion through social networks, Adam D. I. Kramer, Jamie E. Guillory, and Jeffrey T. Hancock, PNAS June 17, 2014 111 (24) 8788-8790; published ahead of print June 2, 2014 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1320040111   

Tweet statistics: http://www.internetlivestats.com/twitter-statistics/,

Facebook user stats: https://www.statista.com/statistics/264810/number-of-monthly-active-facebook-users-worldwide/  

YouTube user statistics: http://www.businessofapps.com/data/youtube-statistics/

Parents panic as child-lifters video goes viral; 5 beaten up, published in Times of India, MAY-15-2018

Bots, trolls and fake news: Social media is a minefield for U.S. midterms, By Steven D’Souza · CBC News · Posted: Oct 21, 2018 4:00 AM ET | Last Updated: October 21, 2018 https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/national-us-midterm-elections-bots-trolls-fake-news-1.4863258

Blog Cover Image: FreePik.com