Ekaakshara vol-12 (quarter-iv-2015)

Editorial Board

© 2015 @ Ekakshaara Editorial Board®Disclaimer: All the views expressed by the writers are their personal perspectives.Reprint of any content from this publication requires prior permission from the Editorial Board.

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Surya Prakash MohapatraChief Editor

Nitesh PandeyIndustry Partnerships

Prashant GhakharaEvents and Programs

Sanjat MishraArt & Design

Manjula DeshmukhFeatures

Thought Leaders

Tomorrow’s Leaders

Features

IndexDiversity can never be successful without InclusionPuja Kohli

Generation Z Will DisruptAbhijit Bhaduri

Deriving benefits from Generation Gaps in the workplace Ravichandran Venkataraman

Unity for Diversity M Keshav

How Generational Diversity affects Workplace Learning Rupinder Kaur

Growing together while being otherRavi Chava

Bridghing GenerationsSweta Sharma

Woman Entrepreneur Shradhha Patil

Diversity in Workplace Rashmita Jena

Creative DiversityVasudev Prabhu

Diversity of Thought – A connect to missing dots Abhipsa

Diversity +Inclusion Chandrakanth

Gender Diversity Susmita Bose

Gender Diversity at India Inc. Suraj Swant

Why diversity in organisation is the need of the hour?Mohit Lanjewar

Book Review - Manjula DeshmukhPhotography Contest

Thought Leaders

Tomorrow’s Leaders

Features

Diversity can never be successful without Inclusion

The impact of our Brain on Unconscious biasPuja Kohli, Founder, People & Change Catalyst, Unfold

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Diversity can never be successful without Inclusion

The impact of our Brain on Unconscious biasPuja Kohli, Founder, People & Change Catalyst, Unfold

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Do you consider yourself a biased person? Most of us would emphatically say no.When we reflect a little deeper, each of us carries with us a mental map of the world that enable us to navigate the world intuitively. These mental maps get formed based on our experiences, observations, prior information, associations with other similar situations. We deploy decisions or actions that do not generate any stress or analysis but help us navigate life quickly.

This general rule of living driven by associated memory also gives rise to other realities that may not have pleasant outcomes. Implicit or unconscious bias happens by our brains making incredibly quick judgments and assessments of people and situations without us even realising. Our biases are influenced by our background, societal conditioning, cultural context and personal experiences. We may not even be aware of these views and opinions, or be aware of their full impact and implications.

For instance, we form notions of what people from the south or north are like (regional), how men and women typically are or behave (gender); how the attitude of the younger generation is a departure and regressive from senior age groups (generational), how lawyers and doctors come across (professional), how a criminal might look like (moral). These images come instantly to mind when we see similarities with people and we take a position or stance towards them. These positions form opinions that are moulded by our preconceptions.

They can be both positive and negative images and drive our behaviours and actions about people when we meet, hear or even read about.

Why do we behave like this?

The answer lies, in a simple truth on how are brains are wired. The human brain is unwilling to expend much of its energy and processing capacity unless it really has to.

According to research, to keep from having to work too hard, the brain relies on simple, efficient thought processes to get the job done, not so much out of laziness but more out of necessity. In our cluttered world of activity and continuous streaming of decision making or navigation, the brain is unable to give every individual and every occurrence its undivided, unbiased attention.As quoted ‘So when it comes to perceiving you, your colleagues are (without realizing it) relying heavily on assumptions, the miserly brain’s favorite shortcut. They guide what the perceiver sees, how that information is interpreted, and how it is remembered, forming an integral part of his or her perception of you.’

Prejudice Discrimination Stereotype

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There are 2 forms of assumptions amongst many that have a powerful impactConfirmation bias – occurs based on perception and experience from past behaviour. We make decisions largely in a way that is designed to confirm beliefs that we already have. This behaviour occurs unconsciously in both positive and negative ways.

Primacy effect - is associated with “the first impression.” Psychologists have documented that interviewers’ first impressions of a candidate play a powerful role in their subsequent assessment.

Another significant study found a correlation between amygdala (an almond-shaped set of neurons deep in the temporal lobe) activity and implicit racial bias. It has also been found that implicit stereotyping is associated with the left temporal and frontal lobes. The left temporal lobe is important for storing general information about people and objects, this seems to be an important place for social stereotypes. The medial frontal cortex is important for forming impressions of others, empathy and various forms of reasoning.

Impact of unconscious biasThrough insights gained from our practical experience we have found that unconscious bias can heavily influence important professional decisions surrounding people in the workplace and inhibits progress of diversity. Some of the areas where it can be pronounced are

• Makinghiringdecisions• Assessingandselecting• Givingperformancereviews• Decidingpromotions• Providingcareeropportunities• Listeningtopeople’sideasandsuggestions• Valuingandrespectingperspectives

Unlearning through the process of Awareness and Sensitization As biases are implicit and at many times an automatic responses, there are no easy solutions to override them. Continuous sensitization built on reflection from scenarios, real instances of impact, classical fear conditioning helps in unlearning behaviours and guiding responses overtime. As our brains are governed by cognitive laziness, we have to develop a plan to mitigate the different types of biases as we become aware and learn to recognize them.

While it seems uncontrollable – research has found that the brain is well-equipped for controlling unwanted biases, if the person detects their presence

Exploring unconscious biases is foundational to the field of inclusion and diversity. While we learn to appreciate diversity, it is equally important to control our responses to biases and progress to being inclusive.

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Learning interventions should appropriately be designed to understand and become aware of micro inequities at work.

Leaders need to be aware of the impact of their decisions governed by unconscious biases. Managers need to be conscious of appreciating differences and appreciating the strengths that diversity brings to the team. Being prejudiced to backgrounds, personality types, thinking styles or experience can have far reaching impact on how careers get managed and the engagement level of teams. Individuals need to continuously self-reflect on the impact of their behaviours and actions on their peers and colleagues.

The 3 steps that organizations and leaders need to take1. Recognize that as human beings, our brains make mistakes without us even knowing it. This process of awareness can be achieved by a guided reflection technique to make the unconscious … conscious.2. Reframe the conversation to focus on fair treatment and respect3. Review every aspect of the employment life cycle for hidden bias

Email: [email protected] Ph: 9845422751

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Abhijit is the Chief Learning Officer at the Wipro group. Prior to this heled HR teams at Microsoft, PepsiCo, Colgate and Tata Steel and workedin India, SE Asia and US. He is among the top HR Influencers on Social Media in India today. To know more about Abhijit, you can visit: http://www.abhijitbhaduri.com/

Twitter: @AbhijitBhaduri

I remember getting stumped when a college student asked me to define the word career. I remember mumbling something about it being much more than just the job that we do. It was only when I looked up the Oxford Dictionary that everything fell into place. Career is our journey through life. Yet when we talk about Gen Z careers most people only mention what organizations have to do differently.

They are people born in the late nineties and are barely out of their teens. To understand a generation it is important to understand the defining events that they have experienced. These life experiences will influence the lens with which they will view the world.

Nineties was the era of Liberalization. It was an opening of the economy in India and the rise of the IT sector. The media exploded with choices and social media became a word. New sectors like the BPO emerged and started hiring younger people. Careers were not just about being a doctor or an engineer. Mobiles became the dominant mode of communication and television channels exploded. Urbanization increased, the joint family was not the default norm. Rising rates of divorce made single parent families fairly common. The marginalized communities found greater tolerance than before. The LGBT community, People with Disabilities and many more groups came into center stage. A more affluent India started traveling abroad and made the world their home. Experience of cultures beyond the native culture started being accessible to the middle class as well especiallyChoices: This generation grew up with choices. Plenty of them. The ability to change tracks and pursue dreams is the greatest privilege this generation has experienced. Unconventional career paths have opened up. It feels like a buffet of equally attractive options that are available. The natural response is for people to try out a spoonful of several different career options and suddenly discovering that there is no space left for more. The shortened attention span leads to a need for instant gratification. Get what you love is the philosophy that will drive careers. The older generations were taught to love what they got.

Role models: Every generation will have its role models. In India the aspirational jobs and role models no longer come from the corporate honchos. Today the startups and entrepreneurs are the new role models. Generation Z has the financial cushion in the family that their parents did not grow up with. That has resulted in Gen Z having financial surplus at very early stages of their career and being able to take more risks. YouTube and other social media stars have the kind of following that several movie stars envy.

Hyper-connected: The digital natives have always experienced all answers instantaneously at the click of a button. This generation does not need to depend on previous generations for any need – social, emotional and least of all – entertainment. They learn from their peers and trust their opinions on choices to be made. Lack of information asymmetry makes them feel equal to people who may have more experience or tenure. In organizations where the rules are still made by the previous generations, the senior leaders have to get used to being challenged by the mobile wielding fresh hire.

As the restless and individualistic Digital Natives enter the workplace armed with digital savvy, they will cause disruptions in organizations that have no precedent. And this generation has barely started.

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“If you are a Hotmail user, we will not hire you”, said an advertisement. “These baby boomers are now leaders in various organizations and don’t understand what the millennial want.” I am sure you all have heard this. Personally, I believe that these gaps in generation exist but they have more benefits, if the diversity of the teams are leveraged properly.

It is true that generational gaps exist. This is because each generation is born in to a different context. In to a world that is quite different from the earlier generations. For my grand dad, having a fan in his house was a luxury. For my daughter, this will sound absurd as she was born in a house with fans and air conditioners. Similarly, with gadgets. When I was born, there were no computers in India. Today, children are born in to a world filled with gadgets that network the whole world.Given the different environments and contexts that generations are born in to, the thought process will be different. How they view a particular situation will be different. How well they collaborate will be different. However, the innate fact that we are all human beings does not change. The same emotions run within all of us - whether a grand dad who was born in 1930s or a millennial.

From an organization perspective, it is essential to note few key things about all its employees:1. Everyone wants to be treated with respect and as a human being;2. Everyone wants to be seen as part of team and contributing to the organization;3. Everyone would like to know how her/his work contributes to the end objectives of the organization; and4. Everyone wants to be compensated fairly for her/his contribution.

This is true of all employees whether they belong to the baby boomer generation or a millennial. These basic aspects of managing employees have not changed and will probably never change. Every other aspect such as how one leverages technology to approach work, what are some of the drivers at work, etc. change based on the context in to which we are born.

I was sitting through a talk where an elderly lady was speaking to young high school children. She said, “You children have it very easy. You do not understand the value of money. You want your parents to buy you gadgets every year. In our days we needed to walk 5 kilometres to School crossing 2 streams along the way. When I went to college I had a bi-cycle. We lived in small houses that did not even have fans.” She had lost the audience as they just could not relate to what she was saying. So what if she had to walk 5 kms to School? Their problems now included someone in class having a cooler gadget or the air-conditioner in the car not working or they having to come by bus because the car has gone for servicing, etc.

Let us bring this to the work place. I have heard people who are baby boomers say that a job is for a life time. You get in to a job and a company and that is it. You should not be looking at any other company. They talk of career being a rat race and dog eat dog but still say, in the same breath, that Collaboration is a must. It seemed to be a rat race because the generation then was focused on building personal financial capital. They saw the job as a means to doing that. It helped them own a new and larger house, pay for better schooling and expenses. So, the more the money, the better the living standards. Therefore, the job was critical and promotions in the job were even more critical. They fought tooth and nail to get promotions and many a time used unfair means. So, this

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was a rat race for them. Their grandchildren are now in a situation where they live in large houses and have a very good standard of living. Their objective in life is no more capital accumulation. It is more about getting excited at work every day. It is about working with others and doing things differently. The paradigm has shifted but our older friends still keep talking of dog eat dog. This is the generational gap and how it plays out.

As a Leader, I have found it useful to remember the four points that are mentioned above in this article and have used it to lead a team across 58 countries with an age range of 22 to 64. The principles given above worked really well across all age groups and across geographies. I noticed that attention was needed in the way we approached work from a technology perspective and from the perspective of what could motivate a particular age group. Though individual motivation was driven by the circumstances in which that particular individual was, we could come up with some general conclusions for each geography.

I also noticed that where we could combine generations in to projects, we got the best of few worlds. This is best described in the picture given. We not only looked at the baby boomers mentoring the millennials but also reverse mentoring. It worked wonders in driving an organization to move from an output driven one to an outcome driven one.

Yes, generational gaps do exist. They are because we are born and conditioned by the circumstances in which we grow up. This conditioning is very strong and though times change, our ability to change does not keep pace with changing times. The behavioural issues created by these gaps can go out of hand if we are not careful in handling situations. However, if we focus on the 4 aspects mentioned above and use a large dose of common sense, we can derive benefits from these gaps.

Email: [email protected] Ph: 9845422751

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M Keshav,ajournalistturnedExperientialLearningCoach,isFounder-CEOofMANTRA,aChennai-basedAttitudeConsultancy

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We have all grown up hearing that hackneyed clichéd term about Indian culture being described as Unity In Diversity. I see it with a small twist that for Diversity to thrive, grow and flourish it needs UNITY as an underlying principle for managing change. Hence, should we call it UNITY FOR DIVERSITY as a pre-requisite for diversity to develop? Managerial Diversity or Diversity as a management principle must learn from Nature that the very existential foundation of Biodiversity is : Swim or Sink, Survive or Perish, Grow or Go! The problem is that the rest of Nature has no problem with sinking or swimming but MAN who needs to ‘manage’ seems to discover difficulty with handling Diversity and Change in the workplace. Truly, as man ages, he barely manages to cope with the hard reality that faculties will fail forcing one to ACCEPT that the “Old Order Changeth, yielding place to the new!” This fundamental principle of harmony that we Indians discovered thousands of years ago explains the Cosmic world of Pluralism :”Ekam Sat, Viprah Bahudha Vadhanti!” The Rig Veda tells us that “The TRUTH is One, Sages call it by different names!” Indeed all Vedic literature is based on the fact that there is one thread of the Cosmic Whole that holds together and runs through all the various life forms of all matter and spirit, the manifest and the unmanifest. We are today seeing how India’s pacifist attitude of living and letting live is getting noticed and even recognized and celebrated by the rest of the so called “Developed” world!

To the modern Brand Marketing strategist, the more exclusive, exquisite and exemplary a product or a person, the better it is to market the brand for profit. Just look at the legendary cinematic icon of Bollywood, Mr Amitabh Bachchan and the way he has re-invented himself to become an ageless brand ambassador in International markets! Yet, like a typical Jim Collins prototype of a ‘10X’ Leader, the Great ‘AB’ who acted in a recent Hollywood version of The Great Gatsby is as much filled with humility as he is with competence. He sees himself as a ‘mere instrument’ through which ‘acting’ happens. He is able to cope with Diversity and Change as a true Champion as he accepts the attitude of gratitude that he is, after all, gifted by Existence to do what he does best : Converting POTENTIAL to PERFORMANCE. In the process, he reaches the top of Maslow’s Heirarchy Pyramid: Self – Actualisation! To be uniquely gifted is one thing but to have the right attitude to one’s ability is quite a few steps higher in evolution. Success, after all, they say, is merely the intersection where ability, or talent, meets opportunity. Hence Talent management is all about picking the right set of unique talents and ensuring that enough opportunity is given to convert such talent into performance through Strategy and Execution. The other recent example of such humility in communication came recently from our iconic RBI Governor after one of his more visible press appearances recently : “I am Raghuram Rajan and I do what I do!” Touche! Indeed, a billion Indians like me could afford to do likewise!

Diversity in Managerial terms is not about Inclusion or Tolerance. It is about CELEBRATING VARIETY of Creation with a “Win-Win” Attitude of Assertiveness that Live and Let Live is the only law of Harmony. Mangers are hired to manage MONEY but rarely understand that beyond mere money lies HARMONY, the basis of UNITY that if I have the right to live, I need to equally and equivocally respect the others’ right to live. It talks about a “I am Okay- You are Okay” attitude born of comple CONFIDENCE in SELF and TRUST in OTHERS. Therein lies the Harmony of the ecosystem that Diversity of talent will love to bloom in. In a culture of Distrust and Disharmony, such talent will

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not thrive and hence the brain Drain that our Prime Minister is wooing back by rightly calling it a Brain Gain or Deposit, by aiming for better GOVERNANCE.

How can one try to create that HARMONY in the ecosystem to ensure that DIVERSITY becomes a strength for a corporate culture to ensure that well-being and talent are not just promoted but celebrated? The Google workplace culture is nowadays very popular as an example for celebrating Diversity of all kinds, promoting INNOVATION based on TRUST and WELL-BEING. Meeting all the needs of the Maslow Ladder till people reach the top of the pyramid and Self-Actualise themselves like Yogis and Rishis. One wonders if all is as well as it looks from the outside but for staffers, it is a mere question of adopting the Right Mindset to work in the true “Google Spirit” of enabling a world of unlimited possibilities! Will the bubble burst? Nature says, everything must end sometime materially or transform spiritually. On a personal basis, I have a small checklist of FIVE SKILLS that one must look at for CULTURAL DIVERSITY to reinvent itself and stay relevant. The most basic is investment for ant talented professional today is in constantly upgrading FUNCTIONAL SKILLS. The second is MEMORY SKILLS especially as one ages. The third is COMMUNICATION SKILLS, where one has to be on top of the game of understanding and being understood. The fourth is Human Relations or Trust – based Relationship Networking where the lawyer who knows the Judge beats the lawyer who merely knows the Law! However, the last and most important is what I call “ATTITUDE” SKILLS which is based on Emotional Intelligence or the ability to show the right Sensitivity to situations and Empathy for people. Leadership demands that TQM (Total Quality Management) comes from TQM (Total Quality MIND)

So, to me, ATTITUDE is merely another word for MINDSET. The Bhagawad Geeta says that the Mind is Man’s best friend as well as his biggest enemy. Depends on how he aligns with his mind. That is what we call Emotional Intelligence. To celebrate DIVERSITY of thought, word and deed, it all starts with ONESELF! Self Awareness is the key to handling the planet more sensibly and sensitively.Is it all in the mind? Good question. Want an answer? Never mind! Celebrate Diversity. FAITH is the Key

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“Thisgenerationalstuffisjustsociallyacceptablestereotyping…politicallycorrectrationaleofferedforimmaturebehavior”

Mymanagers are barely “technologically literate” yet they’re never open to suggestions on how toimproveaprocesswithtechnology.”

“I’molder,havemoreexperienceandstopaskingsomanyquestions.”

So what is the Challenge?To quote a newsletter by Harvard Business School “Managing multigenerational workforces is an art in itself. Young workers want to make a quick impact, the middle generation needs to believe in the mission, and older employees don’t like ambivalence. Your move.”

Let us understand the Four GenerationsUnderstanding differences between the generations is fundamental in building a successful multigenerational workplace. For each generation there are particular experiences that mold specific preferences, expectations, beliefs and work style. Here is a brief description of each generation and their socioeconomic experiences and how they have impacted their work and leadership styles.

The Traditionalists (Veteran Generation):

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Any of these statements sounds familiar? I am sure they do and most probably all of them. This is what Generational Diversity is all about. We are living in very dynamic worlds: the present workforce comprises of four different generations working side by side; the traditionalists, the baby boomers, generation x, generation y and the millennials.

The Veteran Generation, born between 1925 and 1945, were brought up in a more challenging time with life experiences that included WW II. They are hardworking, financially conservative, and cautious. Organizational loyalty is of an essence and they have advanced with the premise that the seniority is important to advance in one’s career. They do not like the change, have a respect for authority and hard work.

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Generation XThe generation X, born between 1965 and 1980, was the first generation raised on “to do lists” and grew up with high rate of blended families. They witnessed their parents sacrifice greatly for their companies. As a consequence, they developed behaviors (not values) of independence, resilience and adaptability more strongly than previous generations. In opposition to the hard driving Boomers who live to work, they work to live and view the world with a little cynicism and distrust.

The Baby BoomersThe Boomers, born between 1946 and 1964, were brought up in an abundant, healthy post-war economy, becoming an egocentric generation. Nuclear families were the norm. More than anything, work has been a de- fining part of both, their self-worth and their evaluation of others. As such, they see the workday at least 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. This is a significant tension point between them and the new generations, as they expect others to have the same work ethic and work the same hours.

Generation YThe Y generation, born between 1981 and 2000, has been portrayed as the next big generation. They were brought up during the ‘empowerment’ years where everyone won and everyone got a medal. They were also encouraged to make their own choices and taught to question authority, expects to influence the terms and conditions of their job. Generation Y (as well as X, to a lesser

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degree) is also the first to grow up with computers and the Internet as a significant part of their lives. Constant experience in the networked world has had a profound impact on their style in approaching problem-solving situations. This generation of worker is coming into the workforce with networking, multiprocessing, and global-minded skills that the traditionalists and baby boomers could not have imagined. Let’s take a quick glance at the different generational preferences:

Having understood that there are definitive differences in the way things are done in all the generations within a socio-cultural context and also accounting for major technological upheavals, it is but natural to approach their learning in a different way.

How to Train Across Multigenerational Workplace? So how do we learn? We are all aware of the 70:20:10 principle given by Centre of Creative Leadership (CCL), which holds that individuals obtain 70 percent of their knowledge from job-related experiences, 20 percent from interactions with others, and 10 percent from formal educational events.

The question is how to provide the GenX and GenY’s with more learning opportunities in formal training and on-demand training, through series of structured web-enabled job related modules, creating virtual mentors.

How to Design an Effective Training PolicyImplementing a training policy framework is an essential prerequisite to serve as a facilitator of the training practices. The basis for successful implementation of training programs is the training policy that emphasizes an equal access to training across multigenerational groups based on the organizational needs as skills development requirements. Managers play an essential role in empowering the employees to design the training plan that would be reflection of the gap analysis

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between existing and required skills for the job, keeping in mind career progression opportunities and cross training, most important for Gen X and GenY. Listed below are some suggestions:

1. In house Mentoring Program: By working with Managers, the Talent Management group can identify and train Mentors in each business unit as well as develop the system to keep track of measurable impact of such program. This program should relate directly to job function and trainee should be provided with one on one consultative style coaching related directly to the job function. This approach can ensure the high performance and high level of engagement of the new employee, especially throughout the On-Boarding phase. The target group for these roles can be older workers which will add to their job satisfaction and engagement with the company.

2. Designing knowledge database and Multimedia Learning Opportunities: An effective e-Learning strategy requires three main components: relevant and engaging course content, an effective platform for the delivery of courses, and an ability to manage employee learning. The e-Learning is most beneficial and cost effective in the area of mandatory training and skills building. It is well received by GenX and GenY.

3. Make it Interactive: As different generations have different learning styles, it is important to design the training policy and training program that would foster interactive learning experience and use combination of variety of styles.

So what is the way forward?Mix up different learning styles: Traditional classroom setting utilizing predominantly lectures with excellent mentors as a source of institutional knowledge and experience.

For task specific Transformational learning style: Traditional classroom learning extended to learning through participation, critical reflection, reflection and feedback.

Self-Directed or Self-Paced Learning: Highly receptive to e-learning series of structured lectures, requires integration of technology and media in learning. Make it easy to access the information and industry procedures Informal, incidental learning.

The poignant use of different technologies along with a judicious mix of traditional approaches can ensure that learning needs of all generations are met. Whatever be the dynamics, I am sure we as true partners of business will find a way to learn and transfer learning across generations.

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RAVI K CHAVACEO at Metier HR, State of the Art, Cloud based HR Automation Suite

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GROWING TOGETHER WHILE BEING OTHER

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When people think of diversity, they may think first of ethnicity and race, and then gender; however, diversity is much broader than that. Diversity is defined as “otherness or those human qualities that are different from our own and outside the groups to which we belong, yet present in other individuals and groups.” Dimensions of diversity include, but are not limited to: age, ethnicity, ancestry, gender, physical abilities/qualities, race, sexual orientation, educational background, geographic location, income, marital status, military experience, religious beliefs, parental status, and work experience.

Diverse segments of the population, who due to their social position, view the world differently. The fact that where you stand determines what you see is a reality in most situations, and it is especially true for the concept of multiculturalism and the practice of managing diversity. Managing diversity means acknowledging people’s differences and recognizing these differences as valuable; it enhances good management practices by preventing discrimination and promoting inclusiveness.

Heterogeneity promotes creativity and heterogeneous groups have been shown to produce better solutions to problems and a higher level of critical analysis. Managing diversity well provides a distinct advantage in an era when flexibility and creativity are keys to competitiveness. An organization needs to be flexible and adaptable to meet new customer needs. Institutional structures and practices which present barriers to some dimensions of diversity should be examined, challenged, and removed.

Managing diversity is defined as “planning and implementing organizational systems and practices to manage people so that the potential advantages of diversity are maximized while its potential disadvantages are minimized,” according to Taylor Cox in “Cultural Diversity in Organizations”

DIMENSIONS OF DIVERSITY

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The first is recognition of the rich diversity in a given society or organization. For the longest time racial/ethnic minorities, the physically disabled, and women have not been given the same recognition as others. Respect should also accompany with recognition. Respect and recognition are not the same, since recognizing the existence of a group does not necessarily elicit respect for the group. There has been a long history of not respecting the rights of the powerless.

The next step is to also encourage and enable the contribution of the various groups to the organization. Not everything can be utilized, nor is of the same worth and value. But it does have value, even if for no other reason than the effort invested in bringing it forward. Such efforts must be encouraged, for who knows from where the next great idea may come—from a youth, from an elderly person, from a single parent, from a high school dropout, from a business executive, etc.? The word enable is important, because what lies behind it is the concept of empowerment - the process of enabling people to be self-critical of their own biases so as to strengthen themselves and others to achieve and deploy their maximum potential. People’s sense of self-worth, value and dignity is most often determined not only by the kind of support and encouragement they receive from others, but also from how willing they are to self-examine negative behaviours in their own life and in their cultural group.

Today’s diverse population pool and workforce is going to increase. This is the direction of the future—multicultural, multi ethnic, multilingual communities. And effective leaders, concerned with the bottom line—the maximizing of profit, whether material or nonmaterial—are recognizing this new direction.

The art of managing diversity is thus of great concern to all persons charged with the responsibility of overseeing the work of others. Organizations, however, that try to force today’s reality into yesterday’s management styles will seriously jeopardize the viability of their enterprise. Beyond the challenge of creating a humane working environment where management and staff of diverse backgrounds and experiences learn to appreciate each other, lies the additional one of changing the structural arrangements.

Diversity management is the key to growth in today’s fiercely competitive global marketplace. Organizations that seek global market relevancy must embrace diversity – in how they think, act and innovate. Diversity can no longer just be about making the numbers, but rather how an organization treats its people authentically down to the roots of its business model. In today’s new workplace, diversity management is a time-sensitive business imperative.

Stephen Covey once said: “Strength lies in differences, not in similarities.” Diversity is critical for organization’s ability to innovate and adapt in a fast-changing environment. Diversity is essential to growth and prosperity of any company: diversity of perspectives, experiences, cultures, genders, and age. Why? Because diversity breeds innovation. And innovation breeds business success.

Top 10 Reasons Why Diversity Is Good1. It reflects the real world – something every company should be sensitive to.2. Healthy debate can lead to better decisions.3. Divergent backgrounds mean tackling the same idea in differing ways.4. Great ideas come from disruption of the status quo.5. Your clients and customers are diverse.6. This can make your company knowledgeable and sensitive to a wider variety of groups.7. Counsel from a variety of authorities is sensible.8. Setting an example at the top will hopefully have a trickle-down effect within the organization.9. Improved reputation and brand.10. A variety of backgrounds can make the company more adaptable to its ever changing environment.

Mixed gender executive boards have outperformed all-male ones by 26% over the last six years according to research by Credit Suisse, while global studies have shown that organizations with diverse and inclusive cultures are 45% more likely to have improved their market share in the last 12 months, and have employees who not only give greater discretionary effort but are also less likely to leave.

More and more leaders are starting to add Diversity and Inclusion to their strategic agenda, and it’s about time. While diversity can be addressed as a compliance issue and tracked fairly easily, the range of individual behaviours which make up inclusion mean, it’s trickier to pin down and add to an HR leader’s goals.

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Bridging Generations

Shweta Sharma

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Generational gap is a phenomenon of nature’s swiftness depicting process of evolution, and evolution always moves forward, never backward. Whether it is really in progressive and prosperous direction may be questionable to some!

This means that whatever and wherever we are today in mind, body and spirit, we will not be that and there in a certain duration of time. While time is the biggest contributing factor to this progression, importance of space and environment cannot be under mined. This process is so slow and gradual that there are no panics; there may be surprises, but no panics.

And since we humans are a product of this nature, we just cannot by-pass this process; and so the forever existing generational gap.

In present times, generational gap is broadly categorized as per birth-year:

Source: As Reported by UN.

If you closely look at the categorization above, you will observe that the gap-years have shrunk - for Baby Boomers it is 18 years, Gen X - 15 years and for Gen Y - 9 years.

So does that mean nature is not swift anymore - what happened to the gradual and slow process of evolution here?

Multiple sources of information regard this gap to aspects such as victim of wars, witness of civil upheavals, boom of industrialization and dawn of information technology.

And all of these aspects have contributed immensely to the space and environment factors, including the shrinking gap. Each of these aspects has evoked different emotions and energy to the generation to not only sustain but also propagate itself - the prime purpose of nature.

Currently, information technology is the biggest environmental factor that is increasingly shrinking this gap. The focus is shifting from back-ground and experience to what one brings to the table!How does this gap affect an organization and its culture?

It affects immensely as a workplace relation consists of multiple layers – communication channels; feedback methods; commitment and dedication etc. Let’s consider these observations to distinguish the psychology:

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Here, take a minute or two to reflect upon the information in the table above and answer these questions:

1 What patterns do you observe?2 What else would you add to this table?

Well, as we started, evolution happens - one can clearly note the process of Natural Selection in the information above, i.e. pick what’s best and discard the rest!

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So is it possible to bridge the Generational Gap without unpleasant surprises?Of course it is, co-habitation is extremely central to us, we are social animals. We need a societal construct and we actively categorize. It’s just that this construct and categorization is happening at a very fast rate now. We are now very actively forming groups of similar interests so we can share and collaborate more effectively. As process of evolution, we are moving towards a generation that wants to collaborate with the best in a certain field and not just with anyone, not just by chance. The reliance and focus on specific knowledge, skill and attitude is at an all time high.

And the more we progress with years, the more this generation will take over. So it is upon the earlier generations that how best they pass the baton and how best they assist in this process of ‘pick what’s best and discard the rest’!

Some methods that can be adopted to bridge the generational gaps, in your organization, across age-groups:

1 Promote Networking: Create groups within your organization where people with similar interests get to network. Let these groups explore - from technology to arts!

2 Feedback Channels: Train your teams in importance of giving and receiving feedback and ‘how to’ do that.

3 Appreciation Days: Host focused appreciation days every week/month wherein the entire day the team-members have to give appreciation to each other or at least acknowledgement to what has been done.

Generation gap is a natural process and information technology has just accelerated its speed. So here the organizations need to learn to adapt to its most important assets - people - and create more and more ways to ally them and align them!

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Diversity for Prosperity

Shraddha PatilCo-Founder and Chief Mentor,

TheMentorpreneurs Inc

Women entrepreneurs constitute only 10 percent of the total number of entrepreneurs in the country.But the ecosystem is getting ready for a change. The biggest improvement has been an increase in the percentage of women entrepreneurs who are using new technology and introducing innovative products. In addition, there has been an increase in the percentage of women entrepreneurs who are ‘growth oriented’, that is those who plan to add more than 10 new employees and achieve 50% growth in five years.Being a woman entrepreneur I would like to share a few tips on how can woman use diversity as a tool for business success.

Diversity in TeamAs a woman entrepreneur selecting the right team is very crucial for business success. Women need to analyse and identify the challenges their business needs to overcome and choose the right team to address them. With technology advancements world is getting smaller and competition tougher. Diversity is an advantage for any company and with globalised marketplace it is necessary to have a diverse team for your business. Diversity in ExperiencesKnowledge gained at any stage can always be reused.As an entrepreneur woman must always try to gain varied experiential knowledge like how to develop and finance new organisation, how to lead & hire people, how to attract & retain customers, ways to serve market, etc.Entrepreneurs must always believe in exploitation of what is known and exploration of new possibilities.

Diversity in Mentors

A mentor is your secret weapon. A good mentor will always make you think and add value with his experience. A woman entrepreneur must always look for mentors, not only in business but in other aspects of life. Having good mentors around is always an advantage as they can always guide you with their expertise and help you avoid the same mistakes.

Diversity in LearningThe online learning space is growing rapidly and everyday some new technologies are added. As an entrepreneur one must make full use of various learning tools available like live video based training, personality driven business program, Google for entrepreneurs, and membership based education programs.Other than online programs there are also various offline programs which encourage woman entrepreneurship. Joining and attending them can add value and experience to woman who dream to start up on their own.

WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS–So now you know how to use Diversity For Prosperity

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The beauty of the world lies in the diversity of its people. Therefore lets welcome people of all religion from across the world for the benefit of helping each other, learning and sharing the rich experience and moving from one continent to the other continent. This would help foster stronger trade relationship and in turn help the country towards development and growth. And what would be the best place to foster this relationship than workplace ?

“Strength lies in differences not in similarities “ So said Stephen Richards Covey. The famous American educator, author, businessman, and keynote speaker. And his most popular book “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” is a proof of how diversified culturally difference groups can come together to build a successful organizations.

Most people believe in the golden rule: treat others as you want to be treated leading to “Diversity in Workplaces”True Indian companies have woken up to this culture a long back but a lot needs to be done respecting the values, beliefs and the way they treat their employees of a different ethnicity. Leaving few of them who prioritize it and made it mandatory to include diversity many organizations are far behind in this race. These organizations need to understand that great relationships are about two things. And train their people about the same. First to find out the similarities and second to respect the difference which speaks volumes about “Diversity”. This is because once you understand other people’s cultural background, it becomes easier to connect with them easily for smooth running of any organization.

I believe we need to understand in its truest term what diversity is all about when it comes to workplace culture. It means accepting, understanding and valuing differences among individuals. Having a diverse workplace gives your business ideas and innovations from a variety of backgrounds and cultures. Many large corporations seek out suppliers that are over 50 percent owned and operated by diverse owners. Developing a diversity strategic plan for the workplace helps your companyoperate in a global marketplace.

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Diversity in WorkplaceRashmita Jena

Having a diversified cultural environment is all about an inclusive workplace where the human rights principles of fairness, respect, equality, dignity, gender sensitivity and autonomy are promoted and are part of the organization’s everyday goals and behavior.

It is also a good idea because the benefits can spread much further than the walls of your organization. Many people spend more waking hours at work than at home. Getting relationships right in the workplace is a way to start getting those relationships right in the wider community.Incorporating inclusive working into the key values of your organization can therefore have a threefold effect: good for your business, good for your staff, and good for the community around you. Promoting equality, human rights and inclusive working can help to increase productivity, improve motivation and retention, and provide an inclusive and adaptable service to customers and clients. An environment where everyone is treated with dignity and respect, where the talents and skills of different groups are valued, and where productivity and customer service improves because the workforce is happier, more motivated and more aware of the benefits that inclusion can bring.

To be a part of this dream organization it is the Human Resource department that can play a vital role in instilling this diversity culture among its employees from day one of their induction program.

The human resources department is often called upon to lead the way when companies commit to managing or valuing diversity. True, organizations come in all sizes and shapes, with staffs ranging from mostly homogeneous to totally diverse. In the same way, human resources can be a problem-solver. And it is this HR which is also an influencer, wise to the political climate of the organization and able to use this knowledge to protect and nurture the fledgling diversity program. Human resources supports the efforts of all participants, and thinks strategically, ever careful to include long-term as well as short-term goals into the overall planning.

To avoid mistakes, false starts and frustrations, it is also helpful to understand what the role of human resources should not be. It is not, for example, desirable for the human resources department to be the sole, or even primary, focus of the diversity strategy.Dealing effectively with diversity-learning not just to manage, but to thrive on the rich mosaic of differences-is an issue for all areas of the organization. If efforts to manage diversity are seen as “just another human resources program they will simply not work.

What is required is real change-in attitudes, practices, structure and policies-from the executive suite down. The human resources manager should not be the sole person responsible for driving the diversity initiative. Companies must spread out the responsibility, or the program may die early.

Hence to manage diversity focus should be on maximizing the ability of all employees to contribute to organizational goals. Affirmative action focuses on specific groups because of historical discrimination, such as people of color and women. Affirmative action emphasizes legal necessity and social responsibility; managing diversity emphasizes business necessity. In short, while managing diversity is also concerned with under representation of women and people of

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color in the workforce, it is much more inclusive and acknowledges that diversity must work for everyone.

But if ignored there can be many consequences of leading us no where. Because ignoring diversity issues costs time, money, and efficiency. Some of the consequences can include unhealthy tensions; loss of productivity because of increased conflict; inability to attract and retain talented people of all kinds; complaints and legal actions; and inability to retain valuable employees, resulting in lost investments in recruitment and training.

Workplace Diversity has many advantages. As an organization’s 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 are reported such.Increased adaptability, offer many services, shares many opinions from different people but it also comes with its fair share of challenges such as communication, resistance to change, Implementation of diversity friendly policies etc. But with the right policies and strategies in place this too can be over come by any organization and only if people are willing to change & give ways to their self development and contributing towards economic development as well.

SOisn’tittimeforustosay“Ifwecannotnowendourdifferences,atleastwecanhelpmaketheworldsafefordiversity.”JohnF.Kennedy

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Email: [email protected] Ph: 9845422751

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Creative Diversity: Fact or Myth?

Vasudev Prabhu, Founder – Harmonica Huddle

Hello there! Before you read any further, quickly close your eyes and think of a creative person. Who did you think of? My hunch is that you thought of a creative man, not a woman. I’m not surprised. In study after study, when asked to picture a creative thinker - writer, innovator, musician or artist - an overwhelming majority imagined a man. Even in groups that had equal number of men and women respondents, the result was the same.Now, some of you reading this (especially women) have probably already decided to dislike me, but hold on. This gets interesting! I’ve spent over two decades in the creative profession of advertising, and I’ve worked with both men and women. More recently, I’ve founded a corporate team building / core values idea based on creativity, music and experiential learning, called Harmonica Huddle. So based on all my experiences, I’m going to offer you offer some of my own theories on creative diversity.Creativity is a subjective process. It is also very dichotomous. It’s complex at one level and startlingly simple at another. Either way, the process of creativity / innovation is fraught with feelings of insecurity, discomfort and vulnerability. Also, in some ways, creativity is a leap of faith, even when creative people tell you they are ‘absolutely sure’! Therefore, to even start out on the journey, one needs certain traits. Not just ‘imagination / vision / intuition’… I’m referring to far more practical traits like risk-taking, self-reliance and dealing with ambiguity.Here’s an interesting hypothesis. Let’s go back in time – to 200,000 or more years ago. Homo Erectus had just arrived on the scene, so to speak. At that time, there were basically two ‘occupations’. Either you were a Hunter or a Gatherer. Naturally, the men became hunters and women became gatherers. We now know that apart from physical prowess, hunting also demanded the mindset of courage, risk-taking, etc. There was a huge element of danger and uncertainty in every hunt. Any hunt could go two ways: either you got the behemoth or the behemoth got you.So, working with courage, urgency and intuition in the face of uncertainty were core skills required to be a good hunter. Voila! These very traits are vital to the process of creativity; one could argue that these traits have been passed on genetically to men. And while we have come a long way from ‘Homo Erectus phase’, these traits are still very much a part of the male DNA even today. Interestingly, in another independent study, participants were asked to rate skills they thought are central to creative thinking. They came up with words like Decisiveness, Competitive Spirit, Risk-taking, Ambition and Daring, among others. The study also went on to suggest that these biases have been further strengthened because of the ‘different roles’ that were expected of men and women. Even as recently as a century ago, men were ‘the providers’ and women were ‘the home makers’ who had little time or energy to invest in innovating. In the last few decades, however, things have started to change. Women are breaking several barriers and walking shoulder to shoulder with their male counterparts. Not only is this a natural evolution (the hunter-gatherer phase is long over, if you’ve noticed) but it must be seen as a welcome trend. In this knowledge worker age, the lines between men and women are not just being blurred but being erased, in professional and social contexts. And this is wonderful because I believe that mankind will emerge the better for it.I’ve had the privilege of working alongside several talented creative women – writers, designers, strategists… I’ve admired them, respected them and learnt from them. As the founder-facilitator of Harmonica Huddle, I’ve also been a keen observer of how creativity unfolds in mixed groups. I feel, when it comes to creativity, it is almost impossible to rank men over women or vice versa, for that matter.

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Yes, men may be quicker off the block (perhaps genetically wired to act and take the first step). Women, on the other hand, like to be sure (more risk-averse?). I’ve also seen that women who are able to overcome the initial feelings of hesitation do very well with abstract concepts like music. In fact, many women participants in my workshops have emerged as clear pack leaders, with traits like clarity, perfection and sensitivity. I’ve also seen that teams with women participants invariably do well overall. It could be because of core creative traits or other vital traits like ‘nurturing, creating harmony or keeping the flock together’ which you’ll agree, are essential qualities to build any kind of team, leave alone a creative team.

So when it comes to creativity, there’s no right or wrong way. There’s no better or worse approach – just different routes. And we need that difference! Creativity thrives on variety, feeds on cultural nuances and grows in an environment of diversity.

In conclusion, I say it is a fact that men and women approach creativity slightly differently. But if you tell me one is better or more creative than the other, I’d say that is a myth. Cheers to creative diversity.

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Email: [email protected] Ph: 9845422751

It’s time to rethink diversity. Till date, diversity in its true terms, largely addressed the fairness for race, gender, underrepresented workforce etc. However; organizations in the present era needs to nurture a more potent kind of diversity – ‘Diversity of Thought’. Developments in neurological research that are sorting out how each of us thinks and solve problems can help organizations operationalize diversity of thought and eventually transform how they describe and harness human capital.

Diversity of thought is the advent of a new thought process. It refers to an idea that all of us know subconsciously and experience throughout our lives. Every human being has a distinctive assortment of personalities, philosophies, and practices that represents how he conceptualizes, comprehends, conveys, communicates and undertakes a job. Diversity of thought goes outside the avowal of parity. The emphasis is on apprehending the chockfull potential of employees, and in turn the organization, by believing and valuing the potential of each individual’s exceptional viewpoint and different way of thinking.

The inference of this different frontier in diversity is that corporate frontrunners and organizations must leave the impression that there is “one right way” and invariably pay attention to create a learning culture where employees sense an ambience of their ideas and thoughts being welcomed, and dynamically pursue to learn from each other.

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Diversity of Thought – A connect to missing dots

Abhipsa Mishra

The advantages of diversity of thought may be listed out as follows:

1. Helps organizations identify their leaders who think differently. A decade back having a heavy, ugly looking, mono-colour cell phone was a dream for many. When companies were fighting for coming up with new designs of cell phones this person was thinking something different. PhotonSynthesis invented by Vivien Muller helps you recharge your cell phone and camera with this USB solar-cell tree charger. It has got 54 tiny photovoltaic panels that help this device to store energy in a battery during the day, allowing you

Present day managers are proficient at leading a diverse work force. In future, they will be more sensitive not only to factors like race, culture, gender and skill, but also to the new research and empowering technologies that will help organizations comprehend how employees contemplate. Managers and leaders are required to understand the usage of emerging technologies to aid employees assess their exceptional thinking strengths and recognize their optimum contributions to the mission. Technology, of course, is not a panacea. Leaders will also need to learn how to adjust their management styles and strategies to bridge the networks between individuals and their ideas to advance problem solving, learning, collaboration, and innovation in their organizations. Leaders and managers will thus face the need to take snowballing ownership of creating an inclusive culture.

Talent acquisition needs to give room for having the basic diversity of thought in their workforce. Contracting for a diversity of backgrounds in terms of cross cultural collaborations will not be sufficient to clock variety in perspectives, as it is not a sufficient substitution for diversity of thought. The recruiters should hire from different sources and also change the pattern of recruitment in terms of finding a suitable candidate so as to get a varied pool of talent.

to reload your stuff whenever you need. All wires are plugged and hidden under the electronic bonsai tray.

Workgroups and teams these days are competing not with any other organization but within themselves. Interestingly, organizations are hiring a new position termed ‘catalysts’. A catalyst is something that increases the speed of a reaction similarly, a catalyst in an organization induces the rate of tension or competitiveness among workgroups. It is difficult to compete with another team in the same organization who not only knows your strengths and philosophies but also knows your weaknesses. These are the times when leaders need to think differently to benchmark and surpass it.

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2. Helps protect the organization against monopoly of thought process. We are what we are for the decisions we make. When we make a collaborative decision, taking into account different experiences and thought processes, it lands us at different heights.The adhesive used in Post-it Notes were invented by 3M’s research scientist, Dr. Spence Silver. It was a flop show as the glue was not sufficient enough to stick. Art Fry was a 3M new product development researcher. He wanted to find a solution to prevent the scrap bookmarks from falling out of his church choir hymnal. That was how he put the special adhesive to good use and Post-it® pads were an immediate success.

Diversity of thought helps organizations build a better decision making framework and channelize the processes in completion of a task by optimal utilization of resources as it elicits innovative ways of information processing and handling difficult situations.

3. Helps to map new visions. The book ‘Built to last’ by Jim Collins reads about a concept of BHAG – Big Hairy Audacious Goals. While organizations are envisioning a future as long as 30 years down the line, thinking out of the box in designing a product or delivering a service is quintessential

to be successful in the present competitive era. Amazon’s vision statement reads as: “Our vision is to be earth’s most customer centric company; to build a place where people can come to find and discover anything they might want to buy online.” On the other hand, a hotel named Henn-na in Japan is investing in robots to serve their guests. Not only that; the guests can also have an access to their rooms by face recognition and control the room amenities via tablets.

This innovative thought process can be achieved by linking numerous exercises and philosophies in a different way. Robotics and gamification are result of such diversity of thoughts to enable the capacity of organizations to resolve different demands of the era.

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Guest check-in done by robots in a hotel in JapanCourtesy: www.gizmag.com

“Diversity of thought is a critical element in determining the ultimate performance of workgroups. Bausch & Lomb recognizes diversity of thought as the foundation of diversity, observing that various workgroups are most affected and most energized by diversity of thought. It is this component that truly defines the word. Diversity of thought facilitates diversity of ideas, fuels innovation and generates creativity” states a research paper ‘Taking Diversity to the Summit: Diversity of Thought’ by Vincent M. Cramer & Clayton H. Osborne.

Input from the L&D vertical for implementing diversity of thoughts:Few training interventions which would be immensely required in organization which is going through a transition toward diversity of thoughts are; Conflict resolution, Stress management, Effective communications, Emotional intelligence, Team building/integration, Diversity and inclusion.

About the author:The author is a passionate training professional having experience in financial and leadership training of financial services sector. She is a social media enthusiast and blogger. She has authored articles for many journals and news dailies. She has also developed content for training consultancy majors. She likes travelling and photography and is currently working as the Behavioural Competency Lead of L&T Infotech; Bangalore.

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Chandrakanth is Vendor management risk and

control specialist in Honeywell and has 9 years

of experience in procure to pay business. He

holds a Bachelor of commerce from Bangalore

university & also he is a certified lean sig sigma

champion. He writes mainly on Finance, career & work life balance.

Logo for L&D group in face book was designed

by Chandrakanth. (this can be removed if it doesn’t make sense)

Diversity+

Inclusion

Companies need to evolve in order to survive in the 21st Century and diversity presents one of the biggest challenges. It requires a huge shift in the way companies run. Companies need to accept difference, respect difference, work with difference and live with difference.

Diversity has traditionally been thought of in terms of demographic diversity (e.g.- gender)but conversation has to shift from demographic diversity to diversity of thought as a way to describe the desired end game, where different perspectives become the point of valued difference rather than our visible characteristics.

How rich is our knowledge bank? Do we have the variety of perspectives necessary to deal with complex problems and create innovative solutions? Are we fully valuing and leveraging the potential of all our employees?’

We now live in an era where the quality of a company’s people has become the distinguishing feature of a successful organization. People are the single sustainable sources of competitive advantage

In essence, demographics act as a lead indicator as to whether organizations are drawing from the full knowledge bank and making merit-based, rational decisions.

Diversity should be leveraged through inclusion which means the extent to which individuals feel valued and included by an organization.

This can be achieved through inclusive leadership by ensuring all employees have the opportunity to fulfill their individual and combined potential.

An inclusive leader can harness the power of diverse teams for creativity and innovation by shifting potential conflict to collaboration.

Diversity + Inclusion will result in improves business outcome.

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SUSMITA BOSEEducational Qualifications: PGDM (Marketing) Xavier Institute of Social Service

Present Company: Bajaj Electricals Limited

Designation: Management AssociateI am an extremely optimistic person with a passion for writing, travelling and exploring all the phases of life to the fullest. Being a fitness freak, I practice yoga everyday that helps me buildup inner peace and stamina. Have a strong fascination towards the world of marketing and advertisement. I believe life is too short to while away time, so I try to imbibe knowledge from every moment to replenish my unquenchable thirst for knowledge.

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G E N D E R D I V E R S I T Y

Gender diversity, a much hyped topic these days in the corporate world, refers to the representation of males and females in a relevant setting. Improper representation of the different genders in a certain setting gives rise to gender gap. With the elapsing time, the mindset of our society has evolved and transformed to a greater extent which instills a hope in us that we can accentuate gender diversity in the corporate world with an ease.

If we compare the general Indian mentality of present age to earlier times of our predecessors, we will witness a stupendous change in it. There was a time when women were looked down upon by the men folk and they were supposed to only look after the household chores, raise children and be bereft of the luxuries of life. With the changing times, women were given the right to be educated, but still the tethering chains were not gone, women working in offices were not very well received by our society. They were supposed be altruistic and meek, sacrificing their desires and rights. The revolutionary changes in the attitude of our society didn’t set in overnight. Women had to fight for her rights of equality. Urbanization as well as westernization compelled our Indian society to undergo metamorphosis.

In the present scenario, the attitude of Indian women today is no longer as it was previously perceived – submissive, nurturing, obedient and emotional, but today’s working women are just as aggressive and ambitious as men. They recognize their talents and understand their rights. The number of dual income families and single working mothers has increased over the years.The family structure in India is changing at a rapid speed. The joint family concept, where only the male head takes decision for the entire family irrespective of the varied needs and choices of the different family members, is now vanishing and nuclear families are cropping up, where both husband and wives take family decisions together.

In modern India, women have the largest influence in decision making process of every purchase. Thus, it becomes imperative for organizations to employ women in order to understand the psyche of the target audience. Understanding the need of the hour, organizations worldwide have started focusing on gender diversity. As the first step, organizations are recognizing the importance of accepting the culture of diversity before putting in systems and policies to promote it.Realizing the importance of gender diversity, a volley of programs is launched by many companies these days to support gender diversity and attract and retain their women employees. The underlying principle of the initiative is that gender diversity leads to a more creative, flexible and innovative organization that is in tune with the society and the market. They believe that by recognizing the strengths of each gender, working relationships become more productive, increasing the mutual understanding, respect and trust.

Women’s representation in the boardrooms is being discussed innumerous times but still nothing much has been done by the companies. As per SEBI’s directive all listed companies were required to have at least one woman director on their boards from April 1, 2015 onwards; yet till a week before the deadline, several hundred listed companies including PSUs were found to be non compliant. Only a handful of companies with broad outlook were found to have competent women in the boardrooms, rest of the companies were either having no women representation in their boardrooms or appointed ladies from their own family, irrespective of their competency levels. Data showed that nearly 57% of listed companies on the National Stock Exchange appointed wives, sisters, daughters etc. to their boards. Their hurried action completely undermines the potential and value that competent women can bring to the board and this also renders the SEBI’s directive Sisyphean.

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If we scrutinize the statistical data, we find that India is a laggard in terms of gender diversity in the boardroom, with women making up only 4.7% of India’s corporate directors. We fare poorly when compared to countries like Norway, Finland, France and Sweden that have over 30% of women representation in corporate boards. Even among developing economies like China and Brazil, India is the worst off.

The parochial outlook of the companies is making them blind to the fact that more female oversight in running companies results in better overall performance. A survey of Fortune 500 companies indicates that companies with higher female boardroom representation outperformed on various financial parameters like return on sales (ROS) and return on investment (ROI).

India is a vast country with people residing in various parts of the country with great diversity in tastes, religions, culture and knowledge. Women in India are extremely hardworking, focused and ambitious as well as rooted to their cultures in which they are raised. These qualities imbibed together make them dynamic personalities. Providing the opportunities to the competent ladies in the corporate world will not only foster gender diversity in the work culture of the companies but would also help in the growth of the company by leveraging their knowledge and intellect. Global studies have revealed that companies with greater gender diversity not only do well financially, but are also characterized by better leadership, accountability, innovation, operational efficiency and a motivational work culture. A recent study of the top 100 Indian companies (BSE 100) by Randstad shows that companies with women on their boards performed better. The study revealed that the board of a private sector company, run by a professional CEO with a mix of both men and women, helped Return on Equity (ROE) rise by 4.4% in 2014. In contrast, a similar company with a men-only board saw its ROE rise by a mere 1.8% in the same period.

According to the statistical data of McKinsey & Company, women in India continue to have trouble in moving up the corporate ladder and are struck at the junior and middle management levels. There is a huge leadership gender gap in India out of the 22.6% of the women employed by the organizations only 3% to 6% women are in senior management and pathetically only 4.9% women are Board of Directors.

I have been talking about a lot of statistics related to women and their representation in the corporate world but how can I forget that before initiating a career by entering any organization a woman has to pass through a lot of stumbling blocks in her life. The hypocrisy prevailing in our society is the biggest boulder that hamstrings her growth. They are taught to sacrifice for their brothers, father and husbands. When a well deserving and competent lady climbs up in her career at a faster pace than male colleagues, she may have to face false allegations raised on her character, a very common phenomenon, when the male ego gets hurt. Male chauvinism is so strongly ingrained in our society that whenever a lady attempts to add a feather to her hat, she will have to be ready to face the stark sarcasm and hypocrisies of the crazy jungle in which we live, the so called society.

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One of the major concerns, which may hamstring gender diversity, is sexual harassment at work place. Most of the cases remain stuck in oblivion and go unnoticed because if a lady raises her voice against it, either it gets muted forcefully or her character is being assassinated by some male chauvinists.

Even though we say we reside in a modern society, but yet a lot needs to be changed in it. People need to look at things on a much broader spectrum especially the way in which a society accepts a woman living in it. Gender diversity is one of the key factors in women empowerment as well as growth of any organization. Corporations and governments must capitalize on the contributions of a competent woman. India needs to change its mindset and try to leverage on women’s expertise and knowledge in good governance and effective management of the organizations.

The woman of 21st century has aspirations, dreams and the capabilities to do things as good as or maybe even better from their male counterparts. Today’s women intend to be financially independent and want to do things, they never did. Surprisingly, only 30% of all economically active individuals in India are females.

Some background to this; Catalyst Inc., found in 1962 is a non-profitable organization that promotes inclusive workplaces for women. In 2010, its statistics concluded that companies with significant percentage of women on their boards performed better than those with no woman on their boards – by a whopping 84% on Return on Sales, 60% on Return on Investment and 46% on Return on Equity. These were astounding figures leaving the business world surprised.How are women different from men? According to me, women are much better at team building and nurturing, skills they acquire from mothering a child & leading a family. Women have more modest goals, and thus have to face less of failure, also they are hard-working and have high level of patience. Also, women are more willing to collaborate than men are.

Suraj Sawant

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Gender Diversity at India Inc.

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Coming to India, we all know SEBI, The Security Exchange Board of India has made it mandatory for all listed Indian Companies to induct at least one woman in their Corporate Boardrooms and the deadline set was April 1, 2015 as per circular dated 17th April, 2014 under Section 149 of the Companies Act, 2013, under corporate governance Norms. This was done with a basic aim to improve gender diversity in corporate boards.

The initial deadline to comply with this order was October 1, 2014, which means India Inc. has a good 6 months to do the required. But later, the regulator extended the deadline to April 1, 2015, just to align its various corporate governance norms as per the provisions in the updated Companies Act. So, a timeline of 347 days was available with India. Inc. to look for and hire a qualified woman director. Why qualified? Well, the companies were to hire for a Board of Director, rite? So, someone present in the boardroom should be that eligible to be there rite? Well, these were not mentioned specifically in the regulators order, and I believe most of the companies have taken advantage of this loop hole.

But how well has it actually facilitated bridging the gap?If research data from PRIME Database is to be believed, at 4.30 p.m IST, April 1, 2015, around 189 companies listed on the NSE did not have a woman on their board. Data also reflects that 58 companies had inducted woman directors 24 hours away from deadline. Quite a close shave to the time line eh!!

Also, more than half the companies who have inducted woman on their board are relatives of some or the other executive. The overall aim of SEBI to have woman representation in the boardroom & company’s decision making is not completely achieved as these relatives will resonate the same views as their promoters. Off course, I don’t say its wrong appointing a woman director who is a family member, but someone who is not competent or qualified enough being inducted on the board is wrong.

To name a few, Reliance Industries has inducted Mrs. Neeta Ambani, wife of the Chairman, Mr. Mukesh Ambani. Vijay Mallaya’s step mother now is a director of the Mangalore Chemicals & Fertilizers. Other companies following this trend of installing relatives as directors include Raymond Ltd, Asian Paints, Videocon Industries, Godhra Phillips, JK Cement.

To conclude, I would just request India. Inc. to change its mindset and respect the spirit of gender diversity, the basic aim behind SEBI’s directive. I don’t say, don’t induct relatives, or compromise on the quality of the board to ensure woman representation, I am just saying that the selection of Woman Directors should be based on their professional capabilities & competencies. I believe this will result in enhancing the performance of the board, leading to better figures on the Annual Report.

About Author

Mohit is currently pursuing MBA in Marketing from IBS Business School, Pune. He has an experience of 6 years of working in the field of Network Marketing. He is also a motivational speaker and guides youth in a proper way to unlock their potential and achieve their dreams.

Ideally, Indian companies should hire Indians, German companies should hire Germans; companies from the countries like U.S.A, U.K, Russia, China and Australia should hire people from their own countries. Moreover, companies from a particular region of a country should be specific in hiring people of their region. Why there is a need to hire people from different culture, country, state or a region?

Why top MNC’s like Google and Microsoft are looking from employees of different cultures; especially India?

If we consider any sports playing team as an organisation, why there is a need to hire foreign coaches or support staff?

Following are various benefits because of which many companies value diversity in the organisation:

Mohit Lanjewar

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Why diversity in

organisation is

the need of the

hour?

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(1) Access to talent: Why to restrict yourself? When you are doing business globally, you can also access the talent in various countries. It gives an option to select employees with various kind of talent. As various cultures nurture people differently, it helps them to develop in different ways. Thinking of diversity simply means accessing various kind of talent.

(2) Various viewpoints: Why to think in only one way? If there are 20 people of the same culture, assigned with a task, the chances are high that all of them will try to find a solution in more or less similar way. What if that there are 20 people, 4 each from 5 different cultures, the chances are high to get 5 to 6 different ways of working on the same problem.

(3) Creative solutions: What if an organisation gets a creative solution for all of its problems instead of traditional or conventional solutions? Well, if there are employees working on a certain project belong to various class, culture, region, country, state and race; and all of them are asked for solutions, surely we will get various solutions. If we combine all the solutions, we can create a very creative way of working. If this practice is repeated continuously, it will increase the productivity of the organisation.

(4) Global reach: As many employees of various countries working in an organisation, that much information can be generated about the countries. Once the organisation has the information, the organisation can plan to expand its global reach.

(5) Increased profitability: Diversity in organisation surely gives better way of working. It helps organisations to do its businesses in effective ways. Surely, it helps to increase the profitability of the company.

Email: [email protected] Ph: 9845422751

Manjula Deshmukh

Managing Cultural Differences—Global Leadership Strategies for the 21st CenturyBy Philip R. Harris, Robert T. Moran, Sarah V. Moran

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Features

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The fact that this book has survived and thrived for six editions and 25 years, speaks volumes about the content of this book. Managing Cultural Differences(MCD) is a synergic effort of three of the biggest names in the study of cross cultural diversity. In many universities, these books (or its different editions) are a prescribed text for HR/Management students.

The book is not meant to be consumed in one sitting. Rather, you will have to savor this slowly and going back to it regularly. It is a reminder of considerations that fuel tolerance, diversity and inclusion in workplace and everywhere else.

The book is divided into two parts. First part with 9 chapters deal with Cultural Impacts on Global Management. Aptly, the book begins with an attempt to explain the constituents of culture. The book flows easily and definitely not very preachy, something that the typical management books are wont to do.

The first chapter explores the generic concepts of culture, like systems approach to culture, some cultural terminologies, heterogenic nature of global organizations, key concepts of global leadership etc.

The second chapter is about communication in the world of ethnic and linguistic differences. The subsequent chapters in the first part deals with global leadership, negotiation across cultures, managing change in the multi-cultural environment etc. There are some interesting stories and anecdotes that you can very easily connect with.

In the first part, the authors also cover transitioning to a new culture, globalization, diversity and inclusion in workplace. The last two chapters of the first part also covers very essential element of diversity, the gender. The women in global business is an great read even in its independent entity.I found the second part of the book very interesting. In six chapters, the authors outline the key characteristics of doing business with some of the ethnic groups in the world, VIZ, North Americans, Latin Americans, Asians and Australians, Europeans, Middle Easterners and Africans. Of course, to understand the book better, I dived mainly in the section for Asians and Australians. Here there is a section for every country in the region. Again, I read the section on India was left a bit disheartened. While it is an interesting read, it is very archaic and does not reflect the urban Indian workforce. Similarly, the European section also has a set of countries and some generic notions about the countries.

The second section left me slightly disappointed. However, when I think that this book was originally written about 25 years ago and mainly some of the key facts and numbers are updated, it does make me think about what a wonderful resource this book must have been to the students and managers during that time. Remember folks, there was no internet or the magic wand of our lives, the google, at that time.

The language is simple and concepts discussed in the book are not something new. However, MCD is definitely makes us recall some key concepts.

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Winner Amit Goswami

A EKAAKSHARA Photography Contest

Contact Purna Rao at [email protected] to participate in photography contest

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Runner UpHanumanth Rao Kulkarni

Subir Verma

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51

Sairam

Sunny Nagpal

Malini

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phy contest

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Manoranjan

Rina Mohapatra

Sairam

Contact Purna Rao at [email protected] to par-ticipate in photography contest

53Hanumant Rao Kulkarni

Amit Pandey

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Bipin

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EditorialDear Readers,

Recently, I was a speaker in a panel discussion organized by a premier B-School. The moderator of the panel discussion asked me how my organization is dealing with the challenge of managing millennials. Pat came my response, “Do we need to manage millennials? Do we see the presence of millennials in our organizations as a challenge?” The moderator clearly didn’t anticipate this response and was visibly off-track for a few minutes before gaining the momentum back.

Well, my intention was not to derail the momentum and flow of the discussion. My objective was to drive home an important point about millennials. Many HR leaders and practitioners are harbouring the misconception that millennials are a problem and hence they need to be managed. This misconception has led to many impact-less programs and initiatives in organizations to deal with this so-called problem or challenge. What a sheer waste of money, men and material!!

This edition of Ekaakshara is dedicated to the theme of DIVERSITY. We have featured eminent thought leaders from the industry who have touched upon various aspects of Diversity- Generation, Gender, Culture, Language etc. I hope you would enjoy reading this edition of Ekaakshara. Do share your feedback with us? Help us to serve your better.

Happy Reading

Surya Prakash MohapatraChief Editor, EkaaksharaFounder, Learning and Development Group

[email protected]

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