Government looks at literacy as the biggest problem in India. But according to Madhu Viswanathan, Associate Professor of Marketing at the University of Illinois, illiterate Indians may well be more ‘functionally literate’ than their counterparts in the US. This means they know the basic know-how of life. Do you know to select products from the shop? Do you know to add and subtract entries on shop bills? The requirements of day-to-day life are higher in the more complex marketplace of the US with large chain stores, package labels, and computing technologies. In India, there is more of a one-on-one interaction and dealing with vendors which leads to the development of basic consumer skills such as counting, bargaining and judging a product.
Functional literacy is not only learning history, math or science. It is about knowing things that one is required to do everyday. For this one need not necessarily be literally ‘literate’ According to Madhu Viswanathan at least about a fifth of the people in the US are functionally illiterate. They are a large group of American consumers, yet we know very little about their behaviour. They are functionally illiterate adults who don’t have the skills necessary to understand everyday labels or signs and cannot easily add or subtract. But someone with the same formal level of education in India may well have higher skills to function as consumers, says Madhu Viswanathan, who is studying the downtrodden people in Chennai and their functional literacy.
Indians in low-income neighbourhoods, though illiterate, show higher functional literacy. During his research he interviewed many interesting people. There was this woman with no education and almost no shopping experience, and it was her husband who dominated over her and instructed her what to do. He would write the bus number on her hand, if she had to go out and she would follow what was instructed. He died, but now the woman successfully runs her household and has developed her skills as a consumer in quantum leaps.
Another lady with no formal education and almost no experience as a consumer, when forced to be the bread-winner, ran a complex installment plan for selling large utensils, managing interactions between customers, adhering to some general business principles, yet customising some things to meet the requirements of her individual customers. She has regular customers who visit her, she maintains her relationship with her customers, she sees to it that her customers are satisfied and come back to her. This is again functional literacy. These are a few examples but there are many more doing other interesting jobs though they are illiterate.
Another interesting aspect of India is the working of the roadside departmental stores. These stores cater to the poor. Brand names are not important in these shops. It’s only the price tag that matters. The shopkeepers maintain a personal relationship with their customers. They sell on credit, and sometimes safeguard the money perhaps from thieves or dysfunctional husbands. Thus he has regular customers who trust him. The shopkeeper is not an MBA to know the nuance of marketing. There are thousands of such shops in India. These are just a few examples of functional literacy in India. In India while about 15 per cent of the business is organised, that is properly established, 85 per cent are not properly established. Yet these 85 per cent show good profits.
Economists are always bothered and study about the economics and management of big orgnanisations, which are properly established. But Madhu Viswanathan’s study is about those people who do not have a properly established business. Madhu Viswanathan is currently using his research to develop business and consumer literacy training and educational materials for lower income people in India. He hopes to then customise the training to different settings in India. He aims to distribute it to NGOs who will in turn educate the masses.
Madhu Viswanathan directs the Marketplace Literacy Project, which aims to research and disseminate knowledge to improve the effectiveness of business and government in serving the needs of functionally illiterate consumers.
His team members in India include R Venkatesan, community organiser, Guild of Service and S Gajendran, project officer, Guild of Service. These people at the Guild of Service have been interacting with economically low profile people for many years. Their experience is surely lending a helping hand to his research.
Government looks at literacy as the biggest problem in India. But according to Madhu Viswanathan, Associate Professor of Marketing at the University of Illinois, illiterate Indians may well be more ‘functionally literate’ than their counterparts in the US. This means they know the basic know-how of life. Do you know to select products from the shop? Do you know to add and subtract entries on shop bills? The requirements of day-to-day life are higher in the more complex marketplace of the US with large chain stores, package labels, and computing technologies. In India, there is more of a one-on-one interaction and dealing with vendors which leads to the development of basic consumer skills such as counting, bargaining and judging a product.
Indians in low-income neighbourhoods, though illiterate, show higher functional literacy. During his research he interviewed many interesting people. There was this woman with no education and almost no shopping experience, and it was her husband who dominated over her and instructed her what to do. He would write the bus number on her hand, if she had to go out and she would follow what was instructed. He died, but now the woman successfully runs her household and has developed her skills as a consumer in quantum leaps.
Another lady with no formal education and almost no experience as a consumer, when forced to be the bread-winner, ran a complex installment plan for selling large utensils, managing interactions between customers, adhering to some general business principles, yet customising some things to meet the requirements of her individual customers. She has regular customers who visit her, she maintains her relationship with her customers, she sees to it that her customers are satisfied and come back to her. This is again functional literacy. These are a few examples but there are many more doing other interesting jobs though they are illiterate.
Another interesting aspect of India is the working of the roadside departmental stores. These stores cater to the poor. Brand names are not important in these shops. It’s only the price tag that matters. The shopkeepers maintain a personal relationship with their customers. They sell on credit, and sometimes safeguard the money perhaps from thieves or dysfunctional husbands. Thus he has regular customers who trust him. The shopkeeper is not an MBA to know the nuance of marketing. There are thousands of such shops in India. These are just a few examples of functional literacy in India. In India while about 15 per cent of the business is organised, that is properly established, 85 per cent are not properly established. Yet these 85 per cent show good profits.
Madhu Viswanathan directs the Marketplace Literacy Project, which aims to research and disseminate knowledge to improve the effectiveness of business and government in serving the needs of functionally illiterate consumers.
