Global Expansion and Cultural Issues
PART TWO COUNTRY DIFFERENCES
One of the interesting aspects of Hindu culture is the reverence for the cow, which Hindus see as a gift of the gods to the human race. The sacred status of the cow created some unique problems for McDonald's when it entered India in the 1990s, since devout Hindus do not eat beef (and many are also vegetarians). The accompanying Management Focus looks at how McDonald's dealt with that challenge.
Economic Implications of Hinduism Max Weber, who is famous for expounding on the Protestant work ethic: also argued that the ascetic principles embedded in Hinduism do not encourage the kind of to Weber, entrepreneurial activity in pursuit of wealth creation that we find in ~rotestantism.~~~ccording traditional Hindu values emphasize that individuals should not be judged by their material achievements, but by their spiritual achievements. Hindus perceive the pursuit of material well-being as making the attainment of nirvana more difficult. Given the emphasis on an ascetic lTfeftyle, Weber thought that . devout Hindus would be less likely to engage in entrepreneurial activity than devout Protestants. Mahatma Gandhi, the famous Indian nationalist and spiritual leader, was certainly the embodiment ofHindu asceticism. It has been argued that the values of Hindu asceticism and self-reliance that Gandhi advocated had a negative impact on the economic development of postindependence ~ n d i aBut ~ . ~ one must be careful not to read too much into Weber's arguments. Modem India is a very dynamic entrepreneurial society and millions of hardworking entrepreneurs form the economic backbone of India's rapidly growing economy. Historically, Hinduism also supported India's caste system. The concept of mobility between castes within an individual's lifetime makes no sense to traditional Hindus. Hindus see mobility between castes as something that is achieved through spiritual progression and reincarnation. An individual can be reborn into a higher caste in
One of the interesting aspects of Hindu culture is the reverence for the cow, which Hindus see as a gift of the gods to the human race. The sacred status of the cow created some unique problems for McDonald's when it entered India in the 1990s, since devout Hindus do not eat beef (and many are also vegetarians). The accompanying Management Focus looks at how McDonald's dealt with that challenge.
Economic Implications of Hinduism Max Weber, who is famous for expounding on the Protestant work ethic: also argued that the ascetic principles embedded in Hinduism do not encourage the kind of to Weber, entrepreneurial activity in pursuit of wealth creation that we find in ~rotestantism.~~~ccording traditional Hindu values emphasize that individuals should not be judged by their material achievements, but by their spiritual achievements. Hindus perceive the pursuit of material well-being as making the attainment of nirvana more difficult. Given the emphasis on an ascetic lTfeftyle, Weber thought that . devout Hindus would be less likely to engage in entrepreneurial activity than devout Protestants. Mahatma Gandhi, the famous Indian nationalist and spiritual leader, was certainly the embodiment ofHindu asceticism. It has been argued that the values of Hindu asceticism and self-reliance that Gandhi advocated had a negative impact on the economic development of postindependence ~ n d i aBut ~ . ~ one must be careful not to read too much into Weber's arguments. Modem India is a very dynamic entrepreneurial society and millions of hardworking entrepreneurs form the economic backbone of India's rapidly growing economy. Historically, Hinduism also supported India's caste system. The concept of mobility between castes within an individual's lifetime makes no sense to traditional Hindus. Hindus see mobility between castes as something that is achieved through spiritual progression and reincarnation. An individual can be reborn into a higher caste in