MANAGING WORKFORCE DIVERSITY

Challenge Faced

By

Organizational Behavior

Project Report

Submitted By

Vishal Vats

Roll No. 03

Personnel Management
2010-2012

XAVIER INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL SERVICE

RANCHI
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The knowledge of our theoretical studies is absolutely incomplete

without its proper implementation and application in today’s
diversified corporate world.

With profound sense of gratitude and regard, I convey my sincere

thanks to our teacher, Prof. Mary S. Bodra for her valuable guidance,
that helped immensely in completion of the project report. I would like
to thank her for providing the basic knowledge of Organizational
Behavior, project topic & the methodology to be used for preparing the
report. An undertaking of study like this is never an outcome of efforts
put in by a single person; rather it bears imprint of number of persons
who directly or indirectly helped us in completing the study.
 CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION

• Organizational Behaviour
• Workforce
• Diversity
• Managing Workforce Diversity

2. WHY MANAGE DIVERSITY

• Diversity seen as in Indian Context

• Diversity seen as in American Context

3. A CASE STUDY: IBM

• Historical Background
• Present Scenario

4. CONCLUSION
 INTRODUCTION

Organizational Behavior

Organizational behavior is field of study that illustrates the impact that

individual, groups and structure have on behavior within organization
for his purpose of applying such knowledge towards improving an
organization affective ness i.e. Organizational behavior is concussed
with the study of what people do in an organization and how that
behavior affects the performance of the organization. Underlying this
systematic approach is the belief that behavior is not random. It stems
from and is directed towards some and that individual believes, rightly
or wrongly, is in his or her best interest.
Organizational behavior is an applied behavioral science that is built
on contribution from a number of behavioral disciplines.

OB is multidisciplinary in nature. It is, in fact, an applied behavioral

science that is built on contributions from a wide variety of social
science disciplines, such as
• Psychology
• Sociology
• Social psychology
• Anthropology
• Political science
• Economics
WORKFORCE

Workforce can be defined as the total number of workers employed by

a company on a specific job, project, etc.

DIVERSITY

The term diversity is used in various perspectives. Generally diversity

refers to the multiculturalism which means the people from diverse
cultures and background.

Diversity, if properly managed, can increase creativity and innovation

in organizations as well as improve decision making by providing
different perspectives on problems. Diversity mainly came into the
picture when globalization came in 1990-91.As the wave of
globalization sweeps across the organizations, there is a convergence
of workforce from diverse countries, cultures, values, styles etc .Such
convergence of distinctly different people presents tremendous
opportunities as well as challenges. Organizations can derive
unassailable lead in the marketplace when they have in place effective
Human Resource Management practices and diversity initiatives that
accepts differences, values equality and creates preferred places to
work And 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.
Managing Workforce Diversity

One of the most important and broad based challenges currently facing
organizations is adapting people who are different. While globalization
focuses on differences between people from different countries,
workforce diversity addresses difference among people within given
countries.
Workforce diversity means that organizations are becoming more
heterogeneous in terms of gender, race and ethnicity. Employees don’t
set aside their cultural values and lifestyle preferences when the come
to work. The challenge for organizations, therefore, is to make them
more accommodating to diverse group of people by addressing their
different lifestyle, family needs and work style. Workforce diversity
has important implications for management practice. Managers have to
shift their philosophy from treating everyone alike to recognizing
differences and responding to those differences in ways that ensure
employee retention and greater productivity while, at the same time,
not discriminating. This shift includes for instance providing diversity
training and revamping benefits programs to accommodate the
different needs of different employees. Diversity if positively managed
can increase creativity and innovation in organizations as well as
improve decision making by providing different perspectives on
problems. When diversity is not managed properly, there is
communication and more interpersonal conflicts.
Quality management is driven by constant attainment of customer
satisfaction through the continuous improvement of all organizational
processes. It has implications for Organizational behavior because it
requires employees to rethink what they do and become more involved
in workplace decisions. Today’s managers understand that the success
of any effort at improving quality and productivity must include their
employees. These employees will not only be a major force in carrying
out changes but increasingly participate in planning those changes.
Organizational behavior offers important insights into helping
managers work through there changes.
 WHY MANAGE DIVERSITY

There are various reasons explaining the need to

manage diversity. They are:

• A large number of women are joining the work-

force.
• Work-force mobility is increasing.
• Young workers in the work-force are increasing
• Ethnic minorities' proportion constantly in the total
work-force is increasing.
• International careers and expatriate are becoming
common.

DIVERSITY IN INDIAN CONTEXT

Diversity can be seen through these figures in Indian context

Over 400 million women are employed in various streams
• Around 30 percent of the workforce in the IT sector is women
• Socially disadvantaged people (scheduled casts/tribes, etc.) have
entered organizations as a result of a policy of reservations and
concessions.
• Old employees have grown in number because of improved
medical and health care.
• IT Industries like Infosys, TCS and Wipro are actively recruiting
foreign nationals and women, both by choice and design.

• Bharti Enterprise has mandated their recruitment agencies to have

a 25-30% percentage of women candidates at the interview stage.
Diversity in companies is no longer about being melting pots, but being
salad bowls," according to Grady Searcy. "We want people to retain
their identity yet be integrated into the company Currently, 7.5 per cent
of our workforce consists of non-Indians," said Mr. S Padmanabhan,
Executive Vice President and head Global human resource, TCS said
while speaking at the Nasscom HR Summit on `The War for Talent'.
The Indian workplace is no different from global MNCs.TCS has
announced plans to hire about 4,000 people from across the world. A
majority of HLL customers are women but till 2000 women constituted
just 5% of its management. Alarmed by that number, the company put
in place a plan to hire more women. It looked at companies like ICICI ,
which had a far better representation of women in their workforce.
HLL started several initiatives like a six-month fully paid maternity
leave as well as a five-year sabbatical.

DIVERSITY IN AMERICAN CONTEXT

• By 2050 the percentage of Hispanics will grow from today’s 11

percent of workforce to 24 percent
• Blacks from 12.5 to 14 percent
• Asians from 5 percent to 11.5 percent
• The 55 + age group which currently makes 13 percent labour force
will increase to 20.5 percent by 2014
• The white non-Hispanic percentage of the population has decreased
from 77.7 percent in 1990 to 73.1% in 2000 and it is projected to
decrease further to 69.2% by 2010.
• Number of female workers have increased from 29.6 percent in 1950
to 46.7 percent in 2003 and are projected to increase to 47% by 2010
• Currently, as per ILO report, 45% of world women population aged
(15-64) are employed.
 A CASE STUDY: IBM

IBM

• Workforce Diversity:

IBM has operations in 170 countries of the world. They have created an innovative and
strategic global framework for this new era of diversity. IBM understands the
importance of diversity in its many dimensions. It is much more than good social policy
for IBM. An international company with local management, IBM addresses diversity
issues that are representative of local priorities and experience. Issues vary across
regions, as well as from country to country. For example, in Europe, Latin America, the
Middle East, and Africa, IBM's policies and practices are mindful of gender, people
with disabilities, and the growing awareness of ethnic minorities. In Asia Pacific
countries, IBM is putting increased focus on issues related to gender, disability, and
respecting and valuing differences among countries and regions. Their focus on the
advancement of women and the diversity of leadership team helps ensure that all
employees have an opportunity to develop into successful leaders. Attention to cultural
awareness and to the inclusion of people with disabilities in the workplace helps
provide an environment free of discrimination and harassment (Global Diversity).

• Corporate Culture:

IBM put’s a lot of energy into managing employee behavior through creating a strong
culture (2007, managing your corporate culture). No matter where IBM employees are
they are aware of what the organization stands for. This is done through their new-
employee program “Your IBM”. It sets the stage by providing new hires with a learning
continuum and action plan to help them gain the knowledge needed to understand IBM
its culture (Learning and Opportunity).

• Diversity Training:
 IBM conducts training sessions in a variety of diversity-related subject areas. For
example, "Shades of Blue" is a learning experience for managers to develop
competencies for engaging in business across cultures. Consisting of online learning
followed by a two-day face-to-face workshop, the program combines presentations,
group discussions, role playing and videos to build understanding and skills for
multicultural engagement. IBM also offers "Quick Views" and "Learning Clusters" —
online programs — to educate managers on the issues of diversity (Workforce
Diversity).

• Recruitment/Development:

IBM recruits employees from all over the world and does not take into account the race,
gender, religion, culture etc of people. It is the skills and potential of the people they are
interested in. IBM has structured programs to help employees develop the skills that
are most in demand in the marketplace, giving them IBM a competitive advantage. But
this isn't random, nice-to-have self-improvement. These investments are supported by a
methodology designed to move people along a development continuum, so that as
demand declines for certain skills in yesterday's technologies, applications or platforms,
they focus and invest in the market-valued skills employees will need now and in the
future. IBM's internal redeployment processes are designed to make the most of the
industry's top talent by reducing potentially wasteful loss of skilled employees whose
talents are often needed elsewhere in IBM. These processes also help manage the
inevitable changes that take place in a services business as clients renegotiate their
requirements (Learning and Opportunity).

Table 2.7: Women in IBM Workforce

Americas Asia Europe, Total

Middle Worldwide
East
and Africa
Total Women 31.0% 24.9% 25.4% 28.0%
Women Managers 28.2% 18.2% 18.5% 23.5%
WOMEN WORKFORCE IN IBM

IBM started recruiting women professionals well before the Equal Pay
Act, 1963. A letter issued by Watson Sr. in 1935 stated, "Men and
women will do the same kind of work for equal pay. They will have
the same treatment, the same responsibilities, and the same
opportunities for advancement." IBM's management has made efforts
to find out what are the specific needs of its women employees and
provided women-friendly facilities accordingly. This improved the
productivity (of women) even while maintaining a proper balance
between work and family life. IBM treats diversity as a part of its
business strategy. It Have employees from different social and
cultural strata which helps them to understand and serve its
customers better. IBM responds to the needs of its employees and
tries to satisfy them it observed a significant increase in the number
of women in its workforce and made program catering especially to
their needs. IBM observed that women like other employees; usually
want to advance in their careers. At the same time, they want to
make sure that, while they're working, their children are receiving
good care. This was made possible by the introduction of Child care
and Dependent care programs. As childcare and eldercare became
increasingly important to IBMers, the company responded by creating
the Global Work/Life Fund with a five-year, $50 million commitment.
It was the first fund of its type to address employee issues on a global
basis (Employee well being).
 MOTIVATION

IBM also has many rewards and recognition programs from manager-determined
recognition awards to technical recognition awards to peer awards.IBM sloe has a
global recognition program which includes cash rewards as well as merchandise.
Award values vary by country, depending on currency exchange rates and local
customs. IBM also places a lot of emphasis on employee health an well being
(Compensation and Benefits)

IBM being a technology company has many employees who work form home without
ever coming to the organization (Dittmann, 2005). For these employees motivational
and other HR management practices would be different as they have completely
different needs and requirements.

The case examines the diversity and talent management

practices of the US-based IBM, the leading IT Company in the
world. IBM figured in the Fortune magazine's list of
"America's Most Admired Companies" in the year 2004. It was
appreciated for recruiting and retaining the best talent across
the world. IBM actively encouraged recruiting people from
various social and cultural backgrounds irrespective of their
age, sex or physical status. In the same year, IBM had
developed a talent marketplace to effectively manage its
workforce. The marketplace supported employees to find the
most suitable job across different organizational units within
the company.

Issues
1. To provide an understanding of diversity and its
significance at the work place.

2. To provide insights on how an organization can leverage

diversity to gain competitive advantage.

Introduction
In the year 2004, IBM was listed among the top 10 companies
on Fortune magazine's list of "America's Most Admired
Companies." The ranking was based on eight variables like
employee talent, innovation, use of corporate assets, social
responsibility, quality of management, financial soundness,
long-term investment value, and quality of products/services
Fortune was appreciative of IBM for recruiting and retaining
the best talent across the world. Analysts attributed IBM's
success to its skilled diverse workforce that included people
from almost all the countries in the world.

Workforce diversity at IBM

Diversity at the work place in the US originated from the
concept of EEO (Equal employment Opportunity) in the 1940s.
At IBM, Watson Jr. issued the first equal opportunity policy
letter in 1953. Later, it came under government compliance
under the Civil Rights Act of the US in 1964. With the onset of
„globalization' in the 1980s, organizations initiated efforts to
broaden their marketplace. In an attempt to sustain
themselves amidst the continuously increasing competition,
they started doing business across the world. This trend
made it important for them to focus on diverse cultures
across borders in order to offer products and services that
suited the specific needs of different markets...

Recruiting people with disabilities

IBM had a well-structured plan in place for recruiting and

training people with disabilities. The recruitment specialists
and hiring managers are specially trained for this purpose. In
each business unit, IBM had „line champions' - the managers
experienced in hiring and working with people with
disabilities - to facilitate the recruitment process. The
company also worked with various educational institutions for
campus recruitment of such candidates .IBM has a diversity
website where prospective candidates with disabilities could
submit their resumes directly.

Women at workplace