Arguments against the survey

1. On what basis only 35 countries were selected? What were the criteria chosen in this survey? Why not other countries?

2. Why did Reader’s Digest research team choose only Mumbai and not any other city in India? Mumbai is known for its commercial characteristics and knowledge hub and in general they are known for their modest behavior. I agree that certain cities in North India may lack some sort of civic sense but not Mumbai at all. I strongly suspect its findings.

3. How did its research team develop the questions which they considered as an indicator of rudeness? Was the questionnaire or criteria developed by experts or social scientists or by using a Delphi technique?

4. Most importantly, I am seriously asking, what was “THE RESPONSE BIAS AND NON-RESPONSE BIAS” in the survey? To what extent the findings about Mumbai were statistically significant?

5. By simply giving marks, out of 100, they can't draw inferences or conclusions. For this type of survey, the research team should have developed an index.

6. Before drawing inferences, the research team should have considered the cultural dimensions of Asian societies as explained by Professor G. Hofestede. Asian societies are generally more conservative and shy.
They do not mix up easily with strangers. At the same time, they may not say "Thank you" using English language rather may express thanks in their own language. It appears to us that the researchers have biased mind in jumping to conclusions.

7. Even if, I believe that Readers' Diggest survey findings are correct with some margin of error, Mumbaikar rudeness may be 100 times better than the racial discrimination and hatred attitudes shown by people in London, NY, and other major cities in Europe and North America.

8. Mr. Sanjay from Delhi also argues that "possibly Mumbai has ended up bearing the brunt of a faulty methodology, designed by a Western mind for Western cities. This may be the reason why New York has fared so well". This strong possibility may not be ruled out in these survey findings.

Dr. P.L. Joshi, is a Professor, Editor-in-Chief: Int Journal of Acc. Auditing and Peforamnce Evaluation, UK Managing Editor: Afro-Asian Journal of Finance and Accounting. He submitted this article to “Asian Tribune.”

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