Workforce Diversity Project2

8/3/2019 Workforce Diversity Project2

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1 | P a g e N A T I O N A L L A W U N I V E R S I T Y , J O D H P U R

A project

On

A Study of workforce diversity

Submitted towards the partial fulfillment ofIst Semester of M.B.A. & M.B.L.Degree course, for the subject

Principles Of Management and Organisational behaviour

Submitted to: Submitted by:

Dr Vedantam Leela Shaina Mittal

Assistant Lecturer M.B.A. - M.B.L.Faculty of Management Studies Ist SemesterNational Law University


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No matter whether one is running a global company virtually from behind his desk or by

doing regular visits to his overseas sites, managing a multicultural Workforce effectivelyis a big challenge. For the company and his career to thrive, he needs to know how to

address the needs and concerns of those who work for him and be able to use the diverse

talents available to him. Failure to do so can lead to high employee turnover, low

productivity, poor morale, bad company image and more costly operations. For the

manager or executive, it can also result in additional stress.

Achieving sustained business growth in today's environment presents unique

challenges. Demographic trends show rapidly increasing diversity in society and thus inconsumers and in the workforce.

Demographic change, the global marketplace, greater tolerance for differences,

and government sponsored programs are increasing the importance of diversity in the

workplace. In the near future, more women, minorities, and people with different ethnic

backgrounds and lifestyles will enter the workforce. Companies will face the issues and

problems in understanding and utilizing the full range of human potential in a diverse

population. Organizations that do not manage diversity effectively will not be able to

utilize the full potential of their workers, not to survive and grow under increasingly

complex and competitive business conditions.

Whether your company's market is local, national, or global, whether your

industry is "old economy" or "new economy", whether you're a manufacturer or a service

provider, Workforce diversity can help you achieve and sustain improved business results

through workforce practices that generate high performance.

The study underhand is therefore devoted to develop conceptual and

empirical framework for the better use of diverse human resources in the Indian

Organizations. In this reference I have conducted a survey to reflect the diversity

needs in ICICI BANK.

PREFACEPREFACEPREFACEPREFACE


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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

It is pleasure to express our profound gratitude and esteemed regards to our

assistant lecture of faculty of management studies Dr.Vendantam leela, who has

provided valuable information and scholarly guidance to complete this work.

We would also like to convey our sincere gratitude to Dr.U R DAGA our DEAN

for his care and guidance throughout this work. We also place our thanks to all the

faculty members of the college for their care and affection.

We all will be failing in our duty if we forget to record our gratitude to our parents

whose best wishes and continuous pressure for excellence in whatever we do, encouraged

us in our endeavor.

We owe our gratitude to those persons who devoted their time and cooperated in

the successful completion of our field study.

Finally, we are thankful to the respondents and the individuals who directly or

indirectly rendered their help in completion of this work.

SHAINA MITTAL


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CHAPTER 1 WORKFORCE DIVERSITY: THE CONCEPTS AND TYPES.

Workforce Diversity: The Conceptual Framework. Diversity in Workplace. Types of Diversity.

CHAPTER 2 IMPACT OF WORKFORCE DIVERSITY

Diversity and Idea Generation, Growth, Image, Human Resources and DiscriminationSuits.

Trends in diversity Challenges in diversity Benefits of diversity

CHAPTER 3 FIELD REPORT

Introduction Analysis

CONCLUSION

RECOMMENDATIONS

BIBLIOGRAPHY

ANNEXURE


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Origins of Diversity

India is a land of contrast and diversity, land of fabulous wealth and abject

poverty, of palaces and hovels of sadhus (saints) and scientists, where the smell of

science mingles with the smell of cow dung and sewage.- (J.C. Hollick)

Whichever theory one adopts to explain the genesis of the Indian culture, it is clear

that its national diversity stems from the interplay of innumerous invasions, conquests,

cultural assimilation and fragmentation seasoned by multiple religious beliefs and very

diverse physical environment that generated the ethnic, linguistic, and religious diversity

we witness today.

What is Workforce Diversity ?

As we enter the 21st century, Workforce Diversity has become an essential

business concern. In the so-called information age, the greatest assets of most companies

are now on two feet (or a set of wheels). Undeniably, there is a talent war raging. No

company can afford to unnecessarily restrict its ability to attract and retain the very best

employees available.

Diversity is generally defined as acknowledging, understanding, accepting,

valuing, and celebrating differences among people with respect to age, class, ethnicity,

gender, physical and mental ability, race, sexual orientation, spiritual practice, and public

assistance status.

"Workforce Diversity refers to the Diversity which is exhibited in the

Workforce for any organization. The organization may be a business, a university,

hospital or any one of a number of different organizations that exists in a society or

community.

The diversity which is to be found can be due to gender, age, style of working, cultural

background, education, length of time in an organization, the nature of work that is

performed by various individuals, religious affiliations of workers, geographic origin,


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sexual orientation and a variety of other differences amongst the members of the

Workforce that may be the human resource of the organization.

Workforce Diversity is an issue which has come to stay and must be correctly

addressed, managed and resolved by an organization with an effort towards gainingbenefits from such a Diversity.

The Four Layers of Diversity


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Reasons for the emergence of Diversity

1

A major reason for the emergence of diversity as an important challenge is changing

demographics. Older workers, women, minorities, and those with more education are

now entering the workforce in record numbers. However, for now it can be noted that the

composition of todays and tomorrows workforce is and will be much different from the

past. For example , USAToday calculates a diversity Index ( based on population racial

and ethnic probabilities ) that shows now almost 1 out of 2 people randomly selected in

the U.S. are racially or ethnically different ,(up from 1 out of 3 in 1980. at the more micro

level ,of an organization ,assuming talent and ability equally distributed throughout thepopulation and that every one has an equal opportunity , this means that there should be

diversity at every level of organization.

Another pragmatic reason for diversity in todays organizations stems from legislation

and lawsuits. The political and legal systems have compelled organizations to hire more

Changing Workforce

Demographics

(age, gender,ethnicity& education)

Increasing Diversity

in Todays

Organization

The Recognition and

Desire for Diverse

Viewpoints

Legislation

Law Suits.

Competitive

Pressure

Rapidly Growing

increase in

International

Business

2

3

4 2

5


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broadly and to provide equal opportunity for all employees. Although legislation going as

far back as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited discrimination in employment, only

recently have the full effects of that landmark law and other more recent legislation, such

as the following, had an impact.1. Age Discrimination Act of 1978.

This law at first increased the mandatory retirement age from 65 to 70 and then

was later amended to eliminate an upper age limit altogether.

2. Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978.

This law give full equal opportunity protection to pregnant employees.

3. American with Disabilities Act of 1990.

This law prohibits discrimination against those essentially qualified individualschallenged by a disability and requires organizations to reasonably accommodate

them.

4. Civil Rights Act of 1991.

This law refined the 1964 act and reinstated burden of proof falls on employers to

eliminate discrimination and ensure equal opportunity in employment to

employees. It also allows punitive and compensatory damages through jury trials.

5. Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993.

This law allows employees to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for family or

medical reasons each year.

These laws, along with lawsuits and the threat of lawsuits, have put teeth into

diversity. Individuals and groups that have found themselves excluded from

organizations or managerial positions can bring and have brought lawsuits in an effort to

overcome discriminatory barriers and ensure themselves equal opportunity in

employment. For example, successful lawsuits with resulting multimillion dollar

penalties have in recent years been brought against Texaco, the City of Seattle,

Mitsubishi, Boeing, Deenys and Safeway.


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Still another reason for the emergence of the importance of diversity to

organizations is the realization that diversity can help them meet the competitive

pressures they currently face. Firms that aggressively try to hire and promote women and

minorities are going to end up with a more talented and capable workforce than those thatdo not take such a proactive, affirmative action approach. For example, a recent large

study by the American Management Association found that the more accurately the

senior team of a company represents the demographics of its market, the more likely it is

that the company will design products, market services, and create ad campaign that

score a hit. Moreover, companies that gain a reputation for celebrating diversity are

more likely to attract the best employees regardless of age, gender, or ethnicity. The most

talented and qualified people will feel that opportunities are better with these firms thanwith others. In other words, diversity can provide an organization with competitive

advantage. For example, a recent study examined the relationships among racial

diversity, business strategy, and firm performance in the banking industry. It was found

the racial diversity interacted with business strategy in determining company

performance as measured in three different ways: productivity, return on equity, and

market performance. This study concluded that the results demonstrated that diversity not

only adds value but, in the proper context, also contributes to a firms competitive

advantage.

Stimulated by competitive pressures, organizations now recognize and strive to

obtain diverse viewpoints in their decision-making processes and teams. Recent academic

research points out the complex linkage between work group diversity and work group

functioning. But there is also growing practical evidence that diversity leads to

innovation and often breakthrough competitive advantages. For example, women

working for Reebok pointed out that there was no good shoe available for aerobics. The

firm took this advice and began marketing aerobic shoes, which became very profitable

and served as a breakthrough for Reebok in the very competitive athletic shoe industry.

Another example occurred at the giant chemical firm DuPont, which used input from


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African-American employees to develop and successfully market agricultural produces

for small farmers in the South.

A final major reason for the emerging challenge of diversity is that more and more

organizations are entering the international arena. A natural by product of goinginternational is increased diversity, in this case cultural diversity. If domestic

organizations have and promote diversity, then, as they expand globally, they will be

accustomed to working with people who have different cultures, customs, social norms,

and more. For example, a multicultural team at DuPont is given credit for gaining the

firm about $45 million in new business worldwide. Among other things, this diverse team

recommended an array of new colors for countertops that was very appealing to overseas

customers.The international arena is not a threatening place for diverse firms, a fact that is

particularly important because of the major role that international operations and sales

will play in the growth, and even survival, of companies in the global economy. As we

pointed out that the percentage of overall revenues from international operations and

sales is increasing dramatically. Trade developments. Such as NAFTA (North American

Free Trade Agreement), the EU (European Union) and an increasingly unified Asia-

Pacific rim, are a sign of the times. The advantage of multinational companies that have a

value cultural diversity becomes abundantly clear in this global interconnected economy.

Review of available research

Workforce Diversity is inevitable aspect of any organized endeavor. Mobilization

of human resource has resulted in heterogeneous Workforce available for different

organization. People from different class, creed, religion, and etc. are found working in

an organization. This situation has made the study of the nature and causes ofWorkforce

Diversity and its impact on industrial productivity necessary.

The purpose of this research project was to explore management practices that successful

multinationals employ in India to manage diversity. Success in the study of the nature

and causes or Workforce Diversity and its impact on industrial productivity necessary.


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Diversity in the Workplace :

Diversity in the workplace means creating an environment where people from

dissimilar backgrounds can work productively together. Therefore it is important to

manage Workforce Diversity. Diversity if positively managed, can increase creativityand innovation in organization as well as improve decision making by providing different

perspective on problems. But when Diversity is not managed properly there is a potential

for higher turnover, more difficult communication and more interpersonal conflicts.

Types of diversity

Manager need to recognize the ways in which the Workplace is changing,

evolving, and Diversifying. Managers have to shift their philosophy from treating

everyone alike to recognizing differences & responding to those differences in ways that

ensure employee retention & greater productivity while at the same time, not

Discriminating. Since Managing Diversity remains a significant organizational

challenge, managers must learn the managerial skills needed in a multicultural work

environment. Supervisors and managers must be prepared to teach themselves and others

within their organizations to value multicultural differences in both and customers so that

everyone is treated with dignity.This is make essential that managers know various types of Diversities and their

implications on organizational working.

Diversity is divided into two parts:

Primary categories:-It includes genetic characteristics that affect a persons self-image and

socialization.

Secondary categories:-It includes learned characteristics that a persons acquires an modifies

throughout life.


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These categories arent independent. they are interrelated to each other. For e.g- a

woman(gender) with children( parental status) is likely to be directly affected by an

organization with family-friendly or family-unfriendly policies and attitudes. The

family friendly attitude would be your job must always come first if you are to getahead in the organization.

Primary categories:-

Age: The number of years a person has been alive and the generation intowhich she/he was born(e.g., depression era, baby boomers or generation X

in the united states)

Race: The biological groupings within human kind, representingsuperficial physical differences like eye form, skin color. Race accounts

for less than 1% of the difference in a persons genetic heredity.

Ethnicity: It is identification with a cultural group that has sharedtraditions and heritage, including national origin, language, religion, food,

customs. some people identify strongly with these cultural roots and some

may be not.

Gender: It is the biological sex as determined by XX(female) or XY(male) chromosome.

Physical abilities and qualities: It includes a variety of characteristicslike physical size, facial features, specific abilities or disabilities and

visible or invisible physical and mental talents or limitations.

Sexual orientation: It includes feelings of sexual orientation towardmembers of the same or opposite gender such as heterosexual,

homosexual or bisexual.


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SECONDARY CATEGORIES:-

Education: It includes individuals formal and informal learning andtraining.

Work experience: The employment and volunteer positions the personheld and the variety of organizations for which the person has worked.

Income: the economic conditions in which the person grew up and hiscurrent economic status.

Marital status: the persons situation as never married, married,widowed or divorced.

Religious beliefs: fundamental teachings received about deities andvalues acquired from formal or informal religious practices.

Geographical locations: the location(s) in which the person was raisedor spent a significant part of her life, including types of communities

and urban areas versus rural areas.

Parental status: having or not having children and the circumstances inwhich the children are raised, such as single parenting and two-adult

parenting.

Personal style: tendency of the individual to think, feel, or act in aparticular way.


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DIVERSITY AND IMAGE

Organizations have to be concerned with their image, i.e., what the public thinks

of it and the kind of feelings evoked when its name is mentioned. Firms will spend a

great deal of money on public relations to create a positive image for themselves andtheir products. A favorable image helps a firm attract investors, customers, and

employees. Being known as a firm that values diversity can do wonders for a company's

image.

Companies that are sued for discrimination generate a great deal of negative

publicity for themselves. E.g-Texaco's image was severly tarnished when The New York

Times ran a front-page story quoting a recording of executives that was derogatory to

black employees; the company settled eleven days later. As part of the settlement, thefirm agreed to pay $115 million to black employees and to do penance. This penance

involved establishing an "Equality and Tolerance Task Force" and to implement a

cultural transformation of Texaco (Rosin, 1998).

DIVERSITY AND HUMAN RESOURCES

Firms that want to ensure an adequate supply of labor have to wake up to the fact

that over the next two decades, women and minorities will account for almost all of the

growth in the labor force. This means that firms that want to survive had better plan on

recruiting more minorities. It is well known that people are more comfortable hiring

others that are similar to them. This means that it is considerable easier to hire women

and minorities once you already have a significant number of them working in your firm.

Furthermore, women and minority employees prefer working in firms that are committed

to corporate diversity. Incidentally, it is a good idea to make sure that the Human

Resource Department in a company is itself diverse if a firm wants to attract other than

just males.


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DIVERSITY AND DISCRIMINATION SUITS

There is another practical reason for diversity. Firms that employ very few women

and nonwhites will find themselves extremely vulnerable in the case of a discrimination

or sexual harassment suit. Imagine a firm in which almost all the employees are male.First of all, this is the kind of business environment in which sexual harassment is quite

likely. Secondly, if a women does sue for harassment, the first question that will be asked

is why the firm has done such a poor job with diversity. The fact that there are so few

women employed in the firm might be seen as evidence that the firm is not interested in

the rights of women.

Indeed, in the current discrimination case against Microsoft, one piece of evidence

being presented by the plaintiff is that only 83 of its 5,000 managers are black, and thereare only 500 blacks in a workforce of between 21,000 and 25,000. It should be noted that

the possibility of being sued for discrimination is not that remote. In the United States,

approximately 24,000 workplace discrimination lawsuits are filed every year in federal

court and many more in state courts. The average award for compensatory damages is

over $2,50,000. Some recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions (e.g.,. Beth Ann Faragher v.

City of Boca Raton and Burlington Industries, Inc. v. Ellerth) make it clear that

employers that wish to defend themselves against a discrimination lawsuit had better be

able to demonstrate that they made a serious attempt to create a friendly, non-hostile

environment for women and minorities.


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TRENDS IN WORKFORCE DIVERSITY

These are the following steps that are used by world-class organizations to enhance

workforce diversity in their organizations:-

Assessment of diversity in the workplace Top companies make assessing and

evaluating their diversity process an integral part of their management system. A

customizable employee satisfaction survey can accomplish the assessment for the

company efficiently and conveniently. It can help the management team to determine

which challenges and obstacles to diversity are present in the workplace and which

policies need to be added or eliminated. Reassessment can then determine the success of

the diversity in the workplace plan implementation.

Development of diversity in the workplace plan - Choosing a survey provider that

provides comprehensive reporting is a key decision. That report will be the beginning

structure of the diversity in the workplace plan. The plan must be comprehensive,

attainable and measurable. An organization must decide what changes need to be made

and a timeline for that change to be attained.

Implementation of diversity in the workplace plan - The personal commitment of

executive and managerial teams is a must. Leaders and managers within organizations

must incorporate diversity policies into every aspect of the organizations function and

purpose. Attitudes toward diversity originate at the top and filter downward. Management

cooperation and participation is required to create a culture conducive to the success of

your organizations plan.

As the economy becomes increasingly global, our workforce becomes increasingly

diverse. Organizational success and competitiveness will depend on the ability to manage

diversity in the workplace effectively. Therefore the company should evaluate

organizations diversity policies and plan for the future.


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Challenges of workforce Diversity

Organizations face challenges of a diverse workforce which are as follows:

1. Language differences:

Communication is difficult or impossible if employees cant understand each other.

Employees cant train each other or work together if they cant communicate. Translators

may be used for hiring but for the day to day Communication that fosters a friendly,

informal and productive work setting, language barriers create a real and often serious

problem. Such problems may lead to misunderstandings regarding performance goals,

work methods, safety measures and other essential working conditions.

2. Formation of natural ethnic groupings:

The formation of natural ethnic groupings within an organization is a tendency that needs

to be managed. For example if employees dont speak English they may seek out others

of same ethnic group for assistance. In an hotel a large percentage of its housekeeping

staff is from north India. With English as a secondary language, these employees often

seek out other north Indians rather than a supervisor for help. They dont want to

embarrass themselves because of their inability to speak English fluently. Natural ethnicgroupings may create a strong sense of togetherness but they are unable to promote

working with others who dont share the same language and cultural heritage.

3. Attitudes and Cultural Differences:Most people have developed attitudes and beliefs about others by the time they seek a

job. However, some attitudes and beliefs create frustration, anger, and bitterness in those

at whom they are aimed. Managers and others who want to foster employee tolerancerecognize that major changes are required. In some organizations, women and minorities

are bypassed when important, formal decisions are made. Informally, these people are

left out when others go to lunch or a sporting event. These informal get-togethers often


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give older employees a chance to counsel younger employees about coping with

problems- an advantage not shared by those left out.

4. Resistance to change:There are always employees who will refuse to accept the fact that the social and cultural

makeup of their workplace is changing. The weve always done it this way mentality

silences new ideas and inhibits progress.

5. Implementation of diversity in the workplace policies :This can be the overriding challenge to all diversity advocates. Armed with the results of

the employee assessments and research data, they must build and implement a

customized strategy to maximize the effects of diversity in the workplace for their

particular organization.

6. Successful Management of Diversity in the Workplace :Diversity training alone is not sufficient for your organizations diversity management

plan. A strategy must be created and implemented to create a culture of diversity that

permeates every department and function of the organization.

It was found that diversity can reduce the cohesiveness of the group and result in

increased employee turnover. It seems that males working in homogeneous environments

were more attached to co-workers and to their jobs. As heterogeneity increased, however

absenteeism and turnover increased among males. Interestingly, it was found that this

negative reaction to diversity existed among males, not women or minorities. This

problem can be solved by changing the culture of the organization so that employees

understand the value and importance of diversity and of focusing on the goals of the

organization rather than individual needs.


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Benefits of Workplace Diversity

An organizations success and competitiveness depends upon its ability to embrace

diversity and realize the benefits. When organizations actively assess their handling of

workplace diversity issues, develop and implement diversity plans, multiple benefits arereported such as:

1. Increased adaptability:

Organizations employing a diverse workforce can supply a greater variety of solutions to

problems in service, sourcing, and allocation of resources. Employees from diverse

backgrounds bring individual talents and experiences in suggesting ideas that are

flexible in adapting to fluctuating markets and customer demands.

2. Broader service range:

A diverse collection of skills and experiences (e.g. languages, cultural understanding)

allows a company to provide service to customers on a global basis.

3.Variety of viewpoints

A diverse workforce that feels comfortable communicating varying points of view

provides a larger pool of ideas and experiences. The organization can draw from that pool

to meet business strategy needs and the needs of customers more effectively.

4.Creativity increases:

When people with different ways of solving difficult problems work together towards a

common solution. There is no one best answer to any question--the more ideas you can

obtain from different people, the more likely you are to develop a workable answer.

Other cultures can offer insightful alternative. This is a tremendous advantage of

diversity in the workplace.


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5. LANGUAGE SKILLS:

Language skills are obviously needed in todays increasingly global economy--and

diverse workers often have this proficiency. If a company needs specific knowledge or

language skills, it may hire foreign nationals for help. To truly build relationships with

the other people of the world, we must speak their language. It is a tremendous advantage

of workplace diversity if we enable people from other cultures can help us understand not

just their words, but also the meaning behind what they are saying.

6. NEW PROCESSES:

New processes can result when people with different ideas come together and

collaborate. In todays fast-moving world, there is no longer room for thinking, We have

always done things this way and cannot change. The workers must bring multiple skills

to the environment, think cross culturally, and adapt quickly to new situations. Those

who meet these criteria are likely to do well, regardless of culture--even in tough

economic times.

7. More effective execution:

Companies that encourage diversity in the workplace inspire all of their employees to

perform to their highest ability. Company-wide strategies can then be executed; resulting

in higher productivity, profit, and return on investment.


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FIELD REPORT: INTRODUCTION

ICICI BANK LIMITED

ICICI Bank India is the largest private bank in India and the second largest in the entirebanking sector (consisting of banks belonging to both public and private sector). Only

State Bank of India (SBI), controlled entirely by the Government of India has a bigger

business than ICICI Bank. It was founded in 1955 as Industrial Credit and Investment

Corporation of India, ICICI Limited was established by the Government of India in the

1960s as a Financial Institution like Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI) to

finance large industrial projects.

ICICI Bank is India's second-largest bank with total assets of Rs. 3,997.95 billion (US$

100 billion) at March 31, 2008 and profit after tax of Rs. 41.58 billion for the year ended

March 31, 2008. ICICI Bank is second amongst all the companies listed on the Indian

stock exchanges in terms of free float market capitalization. The Bank has a network of

about 1,308 branches and 3,950 ATMs in India and presence in 18 countries. ICICI Bank

offers a wide range of banking products and financial services to corporate and retail

customers through a variety of delivery channels and through its specialized subsidiariesand affiliates in the areas of investment banking, life and non-life insurance, venture

capital and asset management.

Besides, ICICI Bank India had over 30,000 employees working for it.

Today, ICICI Bank,India has the largest market share and value among all banks in retail

or consumer financing. ICICI Bank is the largest issuer of credit cards in India. It was the

first bank to offer a wide network of ATM's and had the largest network of ATM's till

2005, before SBI caught up with it.


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Managing Director & Chief Executive officer: Mr K V Kamath

Address: ICICI Bank Towers

C-15, G-Block, Bandra Kurla complex,

Bandra(E), Mumbai.

Pin: 400051

State: Maharashtra

Phone number: +91-22-26531414

Website: http://icicibank.com/

Fax: +91-22-26531122/368/212


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ANALYSIS

Regarding to my Topic of the project I went to ICICI BANK LIMITED, JODHPUR for the

purpose of field study. In the bank about 30 employees are working, out of those 15 persons are

working at the managerial positions like Manager, Asstt. Manager, Dt. Manager.I contacted those Managers and other Managerial position holders and give them the

Questionnaire. They gave me positive response and support me so much regarding to my

questions.

OBSERVATIONS AND FINDINGS:

Percentage of women in the organization:

30

30

40

Level of management

Executive management

Upper management

Middle management

Level ofmanagement

Percentage

Executive

management

30%

Upper

management

30%

Middle

management

40%

Total 100%


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People belonging to different religions:

Religion Percentage

Hindu 46.7Muslim 13.4Sikh 6

Christians 6

Others 26.3

People belonging to different age groups:

Age Frequency Percent

25-29 Years 6 40

30-34 Years 2 13.3333

35-39 Years 3 20

40-44 Years 2 13.3333

45-49 Years 2 13.3333

Total 15 100


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People belonging to different workforce demographics.

Ethnic group Percentage

North Indians 13.33

South Indians 13.33

North-Eastern Indians 0

Women 40Other 26.7

Workforce demographics

North indians

South indians

North east indians

Women

Others


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Q. What do you think are the hallmarks of an organization that promotes diversity inthe workplace?

Options Percentage

of personsCompetitive

pressure

26.7

Changing

workforce

demographics

13.4

increase in

international

business

40

Recognition

and desire for

diverseviewpoints

20

The response to this question was that the majority of the people are of view that increase

in international business is the hallmark of an organization that promotes diversity in the

workplace due to the globalization and the rapid changing environment.


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It can analyzed that there is an increase in international business and competitive pressure

which increases the competition among the companies so the demand for the qualified,

knowledgeable and skillful employees increases for survival of the companies in the

global economy which in turn, helps in increasing the growth of the company.

Q. Do you support the creation of committee to address diversity-related issues in theworkplace?

The response to this question was that most of the people were in favor of the creation of

the committee to sort out their grievances and to put forward their suggestions in front of

executives. The committee ought to be a platform to put forward their demands.In contrast to this the upper level management was not in favor of the committee system

as there would be groupings among the employees. Some of the upper level management

was in the favor of the committee system so that there would be less disputes and the

work of the organization is not halted due to the disputes.

So it is clear from the findings that the creation of committee should be there to avoid the

disputes from disrupting the normal operations of the organizations.

If yes, then committee should be formed on the basis of

0

1

2

3

4

5

Age Sex Religion Nomination

4

1

0

5


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It can be concluded from the graph that the majority of people want committee to be formed on

the basis of nominations in order to avoid conflicts, misunderstanding an discrimination among

the employees. The committee members can serve as mentors and resources for people ofdiverse backgrounds. The employees have chosen nomination because all the people have

equal opportunity to be selected for the committee. Some of the people preferred age as the

basis of their selection due to their work experience and they want more authority.

Q. What is the criterion for selection for the selection of committee members?

Criterion Percentage

Performance 40

Work experience 40

Religion 10

Other (ability, knowledge, skills etc) 30


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The graph shows that the committee members be selected on the basis of the performance and

the work experience of the employees. Because it adds more value to the organization by

inhibiting new creative ideas for the progress of the bank. The employees were of the view that

the committee members should not be selected on the basis of religion, age, ethnicity etc. Itshould be fair and equitable selection. Some of the employees wanted performance as the basis

of the selection committee because they want responsible and talented people to take charge of

the committee so that their grievances could be handled in a better manner whereas some

preferred work experience because they have better understanding of the company diversity

policies and they can understand the problems of the members better as they have been with the

company for a long time.

Q. Indicate how well you believe your company meets the goals of the corporate diversity

program set forth by your CEO?

GOALS PERCENTAGE

We meet less than 50% of the program goals 13.3333

We meet 50%-79% of the program goals 20

We meet 80%-99% of the program goals 33.3333

We meet all of the program goals 13.3333

Dont know 20


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`

A companys vision of diversity and the level of success in promoting diversity initiatives must

start from the top. As the company head, the CEO must play an active and visible role in

enforcing diversity initiatives throughout the company. Nine of the 15 respondent companies

indicated that their CEO had a fairly significant role in personally championing diversity effortsby actively participating in the companies diversity effort. . It was held their management

executives accountable for promoting diversity through an employee performance appraisal

process whereby a managers level of diversity success is linked to his/her short-term

compensation.


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Q. Has your organization ever:

AGREE STRONGLY

AGREE

DISAGREE STRONGLY

DISAGREE1.Installed specialist facilities for diversegroups.

5 4 2 4

2. Allowed more flexibility in workinghours.

4 6 3 2

3. Allowed more flexibility in jobs, tasksand duties.

5 4 3 3

4. Closely examined your job criteria toensure that you are not discriminated inselection decisions.

4 6 2 4

5. Offer extra pay and holidays to parttime workers.

6 5 2 2

After examining the above graph, it shows that the bank provides various facilities to their

employees like offer extra pay and holidays to part time workers. It act as a motivating factor

for the employees which in turn helps in increasing productivity of the bank. They closely


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examined the job criteria of the employees so that they are not discriminated in selection

decisions which help in reducing the differences among the employees. Managers give more

flexibility in working hours as compared to less flexibility in jobs, tasks and duties. So that they

can easily do their tasks. Bank employs specialist facilities for diverse groups as it helps inreducing communication barrier among the employees.


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OVERALL ANALYSIS:-

During the field survey I found that organizations in Jodhpur are still not sensitive and

aware of the concept of Workforce Diversity. This is probably because Organizations in

Jodhpur are small in size and working styles are still traditional. However according to

the views of the organization( ICICI BANK) it plays vital role to help business growth.

As in todays competitive scenario when corporates excel in very large geographical

areas, the Workforce Diversity concept helps to tackle different segments of a task and

area of operations. Thus, it also help in increasing knowledge and skill of employees as

well as help to establish better and cordial inter-personal relationships between them and

by this people with less skill or knowledge can also get help from others who are

specialized in their work. It is a way to give an organizations multiplicate skills &

specialisations. Overall, the concept of Workforce Diversity though new but will

definitely help in smooth and effective working of an organizations.

As the companys head, the CEO must champion diversity by infusing it into all of the

companys processes to ensure that diversity is integrated into the core values of the

company at all levels. To achieve workforce diversity, the CEO must set diversity as an

important goal and position the responsibility for diversity with senior executives. In

addition, as the visionary force, the CEO must play an active and visible role in enforcing

diversity throughout the company. The CEO views diversity as fundamental to the

culture of the business, and considers it an essential component to the success of the

company in the marketplace.

The executives create Diversity Committee with an overall goal of increasing

opportunities for women and minorities so that they may then assume greater

responsibility and opportunities in management.


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The CEO or senior executives serve as the unofficial Diversity Committee to ensure that

the companys vision is effectively communicated to the rest of the company. The

company does have diversity program but it is not the part of the shareholders report.

Conducting diversity training for all employees is a priority at one communications

business so that no language barrier arises while communicating. Through diversity

training, a company can create a common frame of reference and establish a solid

foundation upon which employees can understand each other and eliminate biases and

barriers that often impede on the companies overall ability to effectively promote a

culture of inclusion.

The bank has diversity policy regarding hiring, promotion, retention etc to ensure it

continues to be enriched with talented employees from different walks of life, and that

those employees are prepared to take on new challenges and opportunities as they arise.

But few people think that it adheres to its diversity policy.

The employees of the bank has very little knowledge about the legislation and lawsuits

provided for prohibiting discrimination among the employees.


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CONCLUSION

Diversity is everywhere! It's the spice of life! We all are different. Some of us are

thinkers, others are doers, some are passive, and still others are aggressive. Mix in the

different categories of professional status, ethnicity, generations, gender and it makes for

an interesting melting pot begging for mutual respect.

Companies are beginning to adopt a broader concept and definition of the word

diversity to include most characteristics that individuals possess that affect the way

they think and perform tasks. Traditionally, diversity has been defined to include

characteristics such as race, ethnicity, gender, age, religion, and disability. Today,

diversity also includes less conventional traits such as cultural background, sexualorientation, class and marital status.

By focusing on behavior, employees are introduced to a deep experience as they explore

how individual behavior heats up or cools down the emotional climate of the work

environment.

It is extremely important for firms to understand that workforce diversity works. It helps

create a work environment in which female and minority employees and customers feel

welcome. Senior executives have difficult jobs. They must compete for talented people,

give them the tools and resources to do their jobs, assure the financial stability of their

organizations, push innovation in times of rapid change and guarantee that the

organization performs well against its goals. The manager have to ensure that their

diverse employees have the opportunity to develop their potential

In work environments where differences in gender, race, religion, or other culturalaspects are not addressed, undue tension results. Bridge the gap among the employees

by enhancing individual awareness of diversity in the areas of knowledge, understanding,

acceptance, and behavior. Leading organizations acknowledge that working successfully

with others who dont share the same background, beliefs or traditions is a top priority in


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the new workplace. Employees need help assessing their behavior toward people who are

different from themselves and the training program will provide a very personalized

approach to help them.

ICICI BANK provides a supportive, positive forum for developing, sharing, andexchanging information and ideas. They support strategic work force objectives by:

Attracting and retaining a highly talented diverse work force. Creating and maintaining an inclusive work force environment. Providing a voice to leadership regarding barriers and opportunities. Providing a support system and forum for exchanging information and ideas.

Thus the Diversity improves recruitment, retention and morale; increases employee

relations and productivity; improves customer relations and brand loyalty; enhances

relations with key community leaders and external audiences; and increases minority and

female market share.

The workforce diversity Team is responsible for designing and implementing workforce

diversity strategies, positioning diversity as a strategic initiative that seeks bottom line

results and promoting inclusion for all of its companys stakeholders, and creating,

producing and distributing Affirmative Action programs for specific business units.The

company should encourage employees to continue to learn new skills in dealing with and

managing a diverse workforce.

Diversity is full of many problems. In order to succeed, not only globally, but

domestically also, the world has move beyond their prejudices. There are businesses that

have begun to do just that and some that have not seen the light. Diversity is not going to

stop or even slow down. We all must realize that in order to manage diversity

successfully, you must invest one assettime. Diversity is about celebrating the

differences and similarities that all of us bring to the work.


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RECOMMENDATIONS

Workforce diversity is among the new trends and issues that are affecting and forcing the

ways managers do their jobs.

1. The benefits of having a diverse workforce cannot be all quantified and qualified;

The benefits are enormous particularly when it is properly managed. Therefore, all

organizations should strive to create a diverse workforce using the recruitment

and selection exercise.

2. The management in organizations should identify the differences in the people

they employ, manage them in accordance to those differences. This entails the

incorporation of diversity management policies into the organizational policies.

3. In order to capture the potentials from all age groups, organizations should see to it that

they employ people from all age groups. The needs and interests of all the different age

groups should be taken seriously.

4. Organizations must put in place some retention strategies for their employees so

that they are able to stay in the organization for several years. Competent

employees who have approached the fixed retirement age should be handled with

care and be relied on for their tacit knowledge, experience and skills. This group

constitute the needed corner stone in a building project, and are indeed, the

organization's memory. Separation occasions, therefore, must be done andmanaged with utmost care.


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5. The religious beliefs of the employees in an organization should be identified,

respected and accommodated to a reasonable extent. Employees whose religious

functions are not recognized nationally as holiday may be given the option of

adding such days from an individual's annual leave.

6. Possessing and portraying an international character (by the nature of composition

in terms of ages, race, ethnicity and nationality) gives an organization a higher

and brighter picture and thus gives it a competitive advantage over others. This

advantage is a strong pull factor for patronage of the organization services.

7. Organizations should consider the needs of working men and women especially inregard to family support benefits. Child care support is very essential. In as much

as the women (who have given birth to a baby) are qualified for maternity leave,

the man (whose wife has given birth) should be granted a paternity leave to help

out.

8. For an organization to operate in an area, it should first consider the socio

cultural cum health and safety conditions of the environment. This is necessarily

because no organization operates in a vacuum. There is always some interactions

with the environment. These interactions have both direct and indirect effect on

the employees of the organization.

9. Since all organizations have diversification among the workforce, the need to

recognize and properly manage this diversity to further productivity can only be

understated and under stressed. Therefore, all organizations should understand,

appreciate and try to overcome the challenges of workforce diversity.


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10.Disseminate an anti-discrimination policy. The policy must be a formal, written one

that prohibits all forms of national origin discrimination, including harassment. The

policy must include a grievance procedure that employees may use to report any type of

national origin discrimination. It also should delineate disciplinary procedures forviolations of the policy. The company should abide by these procedures with no

exceptions.

11.Focus diversity training on an appreciation for the differences among cultures. Make

a department or a group of employees responsible for this training, including the

establishment of a diversity mission based on input from all employees. The training

should cover how cultural differences need to be understood so that they do not have anegative impact on the workplace.

Effectively managed diversity will produce the following benefits:

Individual:

1.Increased employee self-awareness of biases, stereotypes, and prejudices

2. Increased employee understanding and tolerance for people who are different

3. Employees who are more flexible and able to deal with change

Team:

1. A variety of approaches to thinking and problem-solving

2.Maximised innovation and productivity on complex tasks

3.Improved communication skills and the ability to work productively in teams

Organizational:1) Access to a range of competencies not previously available

2) Increased flexibility, adaptability and pro-activity within the organisation

3)Access to a diverse range of markets, customers, suppliers and distributors, translating

into bottom line results


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4)External recognition as an employer of choice and accompanying recruiting advantage

5)Increased knowledge of diversity issues (stereotypes and prejudices in the workplace)

6)Fewer grievances, complaints and lawsuits; less staff turnover and absenteeism; cost

savings

Customer:

1) Products and services that better meet customer needs


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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Robbins P. Stephen, Organization Theory Prentice - Hall India , 3rd edition,January 2003.

Luthans Fred, Organizational behavior Mc Graw Hill , 9th

edition, 2002 Greenberg and baron, Behavior in organizations , 8th edition, 2005 Hellriegel and Slocum, Organizational behavior, 10th edition,2002 Ivancevich Mattesion, Organization behavior and management Mc Graw Hill,

5th edition

Gregory Morehead and Ricky W Griffin, Organizational behavior http://www.netmba.com/ http://www.wikepedia.com/ http://www.moxiesearch.com/ http://www.managementparadise.com/ http://www.icmrindia.com/ http://www.icicibank.com/


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ANNEXURE

QUESTIONNAIRENAME:

AGE:

SEX:

DESIGNATION:

Rank the following options in the order of priority:

1- excellent priority2- very good priority3- good priority4- satisfactory priority5- no priority

Q.1What do you think are the hallmarks of an organization that promotes diversityin the workplace?

Criterion Rank Specific reasons

Competitive pressureChanging workforcedemographics

Increase in internationalbusiness

Recognition and desirefor diverse viewpoints

Any other, please specify

Q.2What are your workforce demographics in the following areas?

Ethnic group PercentageNorth Indians

South Indians

Western Indians

Eastern Indians

Women

Other ethnic group


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Q.3 What percentage of women belong to:

Level Percentage

Middle Management (i.e. linemanagers/supervisors, division/branchmanagers, etc.)

Upper management(i.e. directors,operations managers etc.)

Executive management(i.e. vice president,senior vice president, president, CEO etc.)

Q.4 Do you support the creation of a committee to address diversity-related issues inthe work place? Please explain.

Q.5If yes, then committee should be formed on the basis of:

-age ( )-sex ( )-religion ( )-ethnic groups ( )-any other (please specify)

Q.6 What is the criterion for the selection of committee members?

Criterion Rank Specific reasons(if any)

Performance in thecompany

Work experience

Religion or ethnicity

any other (please specify)

Q.7 Does your company have a corporate diversity program in place and is it part of yourshareholders report?

-Diversity program exists and appears in the shareholders report ( )-Existing diversity program, but not part of the shareholders report ( )-No diversity program in place ( )

Q.8 Does your company have:-a diversity officer or director ( )-a diversity department ( )-staff dedicated solely to diversity ( )


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-none of the above ( )

Q.9 Have you ever felt mistreated by co-workers or any other person within yourorganization because of factors related to diversity? If yes then how?

Q.10 Did you communicate your experience to a co-worker or any other personconnected to the organization?....

Q.11 Does the CEO set clear standards and endorse the corporate diversity program?( )Yes ( )No

Q.12 On a scale of 1 to 4, indicate how well you believe your company meets the goals of thecorporate diversity program set forth by your CEO.1-poor, 2-moderate, 3- good, 4- excellent

Goals Ranking Specific reasons(if any)

We meet less than 50% ofthe program goals.

We meet 50 - 79% of theprogram goals

We meet over 80 - 99% ofthe program goals.

We meet all of the programgoals.

Q.13 Has your organization ever:

AGREE STRONGLYAGREE

DISAGREE STRONGLYDISAGREE

1.Installed specialist facilities for diverse

groups.

5 4 2 4

2. Allowed more flexibility in workinghours.

4 6 3 2

3. Allowed more flexibility in jobs, tasksand duties.

5 4 3 3

4. Closely examined your job criteria toensure that you are not discriminated inselection decisions.

4 6 2 4

5. Offer extra pay and holidays to part 6 5 2 2


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Q.14 Do you think you would benefit from the creation of a support groupwhere you could share your concerns about diversity-related issues with others inyour organization who may have similar concerns? Please explain.

.....

Q.15 Do you have any knowledge about the legislation and lawsuits provided for prohibitingdiscrimination among the employees?Yes ( ) No ( )

Q.16.If yes, then about which laws are you aware about?

- Age Discrimination Act of 1978 ( )

- Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 ( )- American with Disabilities Act of 1990 ( )- Civil Rights Act of 1991 ( )-Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 ( )

Q.17 Do you know if your organization has a diversity policy(example regarding hiring,promotion, retention)? If so, do you think your organization adheres to its diversity policy?Please explain.

Q.18 What are the practices employed by the manager to reduce differences among theemployees?

time workers.


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Documents

Workforce Diversity Project2