the emerging challenges ob2

8/8/2019 The Emerging Challenges Ob2

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Learning Objectives

Explain diversity in the Indian Context

Outline the payoffs and challenges from diversityin a multicultural company

Discuss changes in workforce composition and the

place of women at work

Describe various approaches to managing

diversity


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Learning Objectives

Explain the nature symptoms and sources of stress

Describe the individual and organisational coping strategies

State the symptoms of burnout

Outline the techniques to reduce burnout


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The emerging challenges

y

Diversity has emerged as an issue because of imbalancedrepresentation of diverse groups in the workforce

y India has not only been a diverse society it has valued andcelebrated diversity

y Some authors have used the term synergic pluralism todescribe Indian culture

y

In India diverse religious and ethnic groups coming fromoutside such as Parsee/Jews and Christians were madewelcome and encouraged to maintain their identities-whileintegrating with the social mainstream


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y

India is the only country in the world to have enactedlegislation on reservation quotas for underprivilegedsections of society(termed scheduled castes /scheduledtribes or backward classes)

y Diversity has become an issue because of several reasons

y There is increasing realization in India that we need toinclude in the workplace in a planned way from thosesections of society that are under presented

y Legislation and various commissions are monitoringimplementation of the laws


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y World Bank and WTO are putting pressure on payingattention to diversity

y Western countries are bringing about such pressures-boycott some products if they find discriminatory practices

y With globalization and entry of Indian companies into theglobal market attention to diversity has increased

y Diversity is a competitive advantage for a firm enhancingproductivity and profitability(Luthans)

y Organizations paying attention to diversity are also morelikely to attract and retain talented people


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y There are several bases of diversity :demographic(age/gender/education-social (religion/language/region/caste/tribes/physicaland mental handicaps)-ideological(different ways of perceiving issues)

y The demographic profile in India is changing very fast-younger people are entering the workforce-because of the spread of education legislation and socialmovements more women and more members of minoritycommunities are being employed by organizations

y organizations considering physically and mentallychallenged persons as valuable


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y Diversity is important at all levelsy Diversity needs to be promoted in a planned manner-some

values and behaviours promote diversityy -empathy/openness /democratic values and supportive

behaviour help to develop a mindset conducive to diversity

y By special training Education Resources Centre in NewDelhi under the Campus Diversity initiative

y Organisations that encourage dissent and debate willdevelop a culture of leveraging diversity

y Monitoring can help in changing mindsets towards seeingdiversity as competitive advantage

y HR department can play an important role


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India is a country of interesting contradictions. People from Nepal,

Bangladesh, Pakistan, Tibet, Bhutan and other neighboring countries have

been pouring into different parts of the country since times immemorial. In

terms of population, it is a continent by itself. The vast majority of Hindus live

in close proximity to Muslims, Christians, Jains, Buddhists and people from

other religious faiths. But for occasional flare ups between people belonging to

different religious faiths, it is a fairly accommodative and tolerant state. The

class divide between the rich and the poor, too, is tolerated admirably. In states

like Kerala, the literacy levels are excellent whereas in other states like Bihar,

UP, MP, Rajasthan the literacy levels are very poor. We have more number of

doctors than nurses. Engineers outnumber skilled technical personnel.


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The educated do not get jobs due to lack of relevantskills and knowledge

The uneducated do not have anything to live by

With the result the pains and pleasures of life stare at you in the face

wherever you go

For managers its a challenge to understand the dynamics of society and

initiate appropriate actions that are in sync with local/political/social/religious/legal and cultural interests of not only internal

groups but external groups-customer /suppliers/community at large

Those who fail to live up to the expectations of society tend to pay heavy price


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Flashpointsy S Kumars Nationwide : Plant at Mysore closed on May 31 2005 due tosudden labour unrest over a trivial issue

y Honda MotorCycle and Scooter India Manesar: Labour management

differences led to closure of plant /chief Minister R.S. Hooda had tostep into resolve the strike losses estimate to be around Rs 120 crore

y Toyota Kirlosker Bangalore: Unable to resolve wage rlated disputesworkers resorted to strike in April-May 2005 leading to stoppage ofproduction

y CEOs /HR Managers /Supervisors killed on the shop floor

y Many cases HR managers and CEOs brutally murdered by angryworkers during 2007-08


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y Diversity in the Indian Context

y The success of the firms continued success is its ability to

y Attract

y Motivate

y Retain talented employees with divergent backgrounds and

expectations and to mould them into a focused and

dedicated workforce

y Their multicultural backgrounds pose challenges for the

firm but also offer an exciting opportunity-of harnessing

human potential to firms competitive advantage


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Contd

Diversity in the Indian Context

y The term diversity as we use the term in 21st century is far

more than skin, colour and gender. It refers to multifarious

differences including religious affiliation, age, disability

status, sexual orientation, economic class, educational

background, and lifestyle in addition to gender, race,

ethnicity and nationality.


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Diversity in the Indian Context -contd

Composition of workforce changing -with opening of

economy after 1990s

The presence of young workers-skilled knowledgeable

employees occupying positions of importance

The entry of educated women- to address issues on sexualharassment/exploitation/gender inequity /it is no more

trivial and insignificant


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ContWhat about old hats?-with improved health care facilities older

employees have started asserting their rights in terms of equity/better

pay/interesting work

The divide between public and private sector employees- isnarrowing in terms of pay levels and working conditions

Minorities/Physically disabled people/economically weakersections of society/backward castes/ scheduled castes andscheduled tribes/ ex-service men etc

-The traditional Indian image of diversity has been one of assimilation/Akind of melting pot wherein differences based on caste /race /religioneconomic status were blended into an Indian puree

-The socially deprived economically poorer sections of society neverraised their voices /why they had to remain at the bottom of the laddereven after six decades of Independence


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ContdViolent demonstrations this has brought about sea change in

the thinking of political parties and industry leadership

They cannot think of postponing issues relating to

minorities/backward castes and weaker sections of society-

including marginal farmers /landless labour

There is a dramatic change in the thinking and actions of the

large majority who till yesterday were mute witnesses to social

economic cultural religious exploitation

Temporary workers:-large presence in the automobile /auto

component sectors/telecom/construction/real estate/health

care/textile etc- is of concern /cannot hire hem on regular basis

to be competitive

Child labour:-carpet making /crackers industry-contract labour

/various pieces of labour legislation ignored by employers


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Contdy The changing force of Corporate India: The Global

workforce-Indian companies are hiring global managers and workersby hundreds-They realize vital ingredient for success

y What is happening?y Tata Motors: Global employees 950 out of a total employee

strength of 22,000/reportedly trying to hire over 1000people for a development centre in the UK from all over theglobe

y Asian Paints: global employees 1400 out of a totalemployee of 4600-global assignment for 50 Indianmanagers


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Managing Diversity

y In the light of above discussion, managing diversity may

look like a contradiction within itself. It means being

precisely aware of characteristics common to a group ofemployees, while also managing these employees as

individuals. It is not just tolerating or accommodating all

sorts of differences arising out of diverse backgrounds and

divergent expectations but supporting, encouraging and

utilizing these differing points of view to a firms advantage

(Bateman and Snell).


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Managing Diversity

y Diversityas a Source of CompetitiveAdvantage

Gaining and keeping market share:-managers having exposure tomultiple markets are in demand/case of Hispanicmanager/southwestern city predominantly Hisponic as per Morrisonstudy

Significant cost savings:--huge penalties if companies are dragged tocourt for discrimination-

-incur high costs in recruiting training relocating replacing employeesoffering competitive compensation package

-a little bit of compassion ,nurturing attention and equitable rewardswould help retain non traditional managers on their jobs /increasecomfort level of employees belonging to the same group-leading to costsaving


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Contd Increased productivity and innovation:- Morrison study-if

employees treated with respect/enjoyed coming to work

-Multicultural approach had a positive impact on employeesperception on equity

- they were found to be more innovative agile and productive

Better quality management:- interaction with colleagues havingdiverse background helped managers develop openness

Enhancement of organisational f lexibility-policies procedures to

be kept flexible to accommodate divergent points-will help organisations to become more flexible /able to respondquickly to environmental changes


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Contd

Organisations are taking a more practical view of diversity

especially while trying to convert the challenges into anopportunity

Researches have highlighted the advantages of diversity

-A study by the department of Labours Glass CeilingInstitute (1955) showed that the stock performance of firms

that were high performers on diversity related goals was

over twice as high as that of other firms

-Recent study (Business Week Jan 26,2004) found that

companies with the highest percentage of women among

senior managers had a significantly higher return to

shareholders than companies with lowest percentage


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y Diversity: Challenges in Managing a DiverseWorkforce

y Diversity can turn out to be a big liability in the hands of a

manager who is not sensitive to the needs, concerns andexpectations of a diversified work group.

y It can pose, lot of problems when a particular section ofemployees feels neglected or bypassed. The perceived

inequity might reside only in the brains of some who mighthave been pushed to a corner on grounds of poorperformance. Subsequent law suits could threaten the veryexistence of a company.


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Contdy When the reputation of a company, for right or wrong reasons,

takes a serious dent, it may be difficult to attract talent later on.Some of the challenges may seem insurmountable but withcommitment and sincerity managers can cross over the hurdles.Here are some challenges that come up:

Unexamined assumptions-Seeing the world from someoneelses perspective is a real challenge/qualified male for frontdesk job

Lower cohesiveness-Diverse groups are less cohesive thanhomogeneous groups/lack ofsimilarity/language/culture/experiences-difficult to getalong and produce results cooperatively-mgrs to lead andset common goals


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Communication problems-Diverse groups carry a lot ofemotional baggage in the form of misunderstandings/inaccuracies/inefficiencies/ explain again and again toachieve clarity

Mistrust and tension-Because of limited interaction andlow familiarity with members belonging to a particularcommunity /region/race/religion you may not like to shareyour feelings and opinion freely

Stereotyping-to se the world in a particular manner basedon our background experience/women as not loyal /olderworkers not willing to learn new skills etc


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y

Workforce Compositiony The composition of the workforce is changing in India.

Young, skilled and knowledgeable employees are occupyingpositions of importance. At the same time, thanks to theopening up of the private sector, employees are no more

fascinated by secure, less-paying, routine and standardisedjobs offered by the public sector (barring companies likeBHEL, NTPC etc.) and other government-owned andcontrolled organisations. Old employees have grown innumber now, thanks to the improved medical and health

care. Big private sector firms have been exploiting theirtalents to conceive, operate and develop new ventures inemerging areas such as oil, telecom, insurance, banking,health care, etc.


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Young vs Old

Inexperienced Difficult to bend and change

Impulsive Traditional

Impatient Go by the rule book

Unethical/not always ethicallyconscious

Workaholic

Selfish Inflexible

Manipulative Prefer safe /steady workenvironments/less risky activities


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y Organisations cannot discriminate on the basis of agey McDonalds a heavy recruiter of older workers-develop

masters programme training programme to unlearn oldbehaviours while learning new skills

y Companys to understand young employees-come with a

lot of expectations

y Days of lifetime employment/total loyalty to company andcommitment to work thing of past

y To attract and retain young brains organisations have toinstitute appropriate HR policies supported by attractivecompensation offers


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y Women at Work

y Women employees today constitute a major share ofthe workforce. In India alone, over 400 million are

employed in various streams due to a combination offactors like:

y Womens emancipation, Growing economic needs,

Greater equality , Increased literacy rate, Suitability forcertain soft jobs (public relations, telephoneoperations, reception counters, etc.).


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The invisible workforce-Women hold up more than the sky

-Government studies reveal that the female workforce inIndia makes a significant contribution to the nationseconomy and family welfare

y According to 1981 census-89.5 percent of women workersare engaged in unorganised sector

-of which a huge chunk of 82.3 percent actively participatein agriculture and allied operations

y 60-70 percent to total agriculture in villages(Business IndiaMarch 6 to 19 special feature)

y Glass ceiling A barrier that comes in the way of womenadvancing to top management positions


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y

Managing Diversity:A

ppropriate Skillsand Strategies

y In an increasingly multicultural business environment, managers need

to develop appropriate skills and strategies to overcome diversity

related problems: open communication

Encourage feedback

Awareness building

Diversity training and skill building

Organisational practices


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The emerging challengesy To avoid charges of discrimination Managers must (Luthans)y Ensure that all types of applicants are sought without any

discrimination(recruiting)

y Use of valid and non discriminators selection tools anddevices(selecting)

y Emphasise that all employees without exception are eligible to usetraining and development oriented facilities(training)

y Apply performance appraisal systems without any bias orprejudice(appraising)

y

Reward employee performance emphasising the principle ofequity9compensating)

y Fix work schedules in a flexible way so that female employees /dual career couples/disabled workers can participate in all organisationalactivities without any problem(scheduling)


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Promoting Diversity through Pluralism

Pluralism refers to an environment in which differences are

acknowledged, accepted and seen as significant contributors to the

entirety.

-A diverse workforce is most effective when managers are capable of

guiding the organisation towards achieving pluralism.

-According to Jean Kim, five specific approaches could help

organisations achieve this: (Issues in Workforce Diversity, First Annual

National Diversity Conference, San Francisco, May 1991)


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Contd Golden rule approach-Do unto others as you would have them do unto you

Assimilation approach-fit in the existing culture/the dominant culture

becomes the guiding force and others are compelled to fall in line

Righting the wrongs approach-past injustices suffered by a particular group because of

historical inequalities

Culture specific approach-learn about the different culture /especially when employeetakes up foreign assignment

Multicultural approach-to develop an appreciation for both differences of culture andvariations in personal characteristics/attitudinal changes and interpersonal skills relate toorganisational performance/helps in achieving pluralism since advocates change inmanagement-employees and organisations systems and practices


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The emerging challengesy Job Stressy Organisational life is quite stressful. Work pressures, tight schedules, meetings

that never seem to end on time, unhelpful colleagues, critical bosses,

incompetent subordinates and a host of other irritating factors may all have acumulative effect in making the lives of modern-day executives quitemiserable. As we all know, stress is the bodys reaction to any demand made onit. Perceptions of events, whether positive or negative, activate stress. It is,therefore, a highly individual affair.

y Stress may be understood as a state of tension experienced by individualsfacing extraordinary demands, constraints or opportunities. The pressures ofmodern life, coupled with the demands of a job, can lead to emotionalimbalances that are collectively labelled stress. The term stress normallyrefers to excessive stress caused by extraordinary demands (which cause us tolose something we desire), constraints (things that keep us from doing what wedesire) or opportunities. (Matteson)


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Excel Books

Copyright 2009, V S P Rao

Organisational Behaviour V S P Rao

Ch-2The Emerging Challenges

Cont.

Two Faces of StressThereare actually two faces to stress, as depicted through Figure.

Optimum Level of Stress

The concept of an appropriate dosage of stress is highly important. Stress literature

indicates that the ultimate goal is to reduce stress. It may be, but not necessarily.For some people, the level of stimulation is very low; they are bored and need moreexcitement and challenge. If stress is a neutral concept, then the goal is to reducedistress and maintain eustress. Thus, we are concerned with maintaining balanceand equilibrium, realising that it is a dynamic process.

Two Faces of Stress

Constructive stress Destructive stress

High

Rustout Burnout

Low

Low Moderate High


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The emerging challengesy Natureof Stress

y As pointed out previously, stress is a state of tension experienced by individualsfacing extraordinary demands, constraints or opportunities. Stress can beeither positive or negative. For example, some new work situations can bring uspositive challenges and excitement, while others are very disturbing andanxiety-arousing.

y The GeneralAdaptation Syndrome

y Selye considered stress a non-specific response to any demand made upon anorganism. He called the three phases of the defense reaction that a personestablishes when stressed as the General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS). Selyecalled the defense reaction, general because stressors had effects on severalparts of the body; adaptation refers to a stimulation of defenses intended tohelp the body adjust to or deal with the stressors, and syndrome shows thatindividual pieces of the reaction take place more or less together. The threedistinct phases are known as: alarm, resistance and exhaustion.

y Symptoms of Stressy There are a number of biological, psychological and behavioural changes which

can be symptomatic of individual stress.


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The emerging challengesy Sources of Stressy

Organisational Factors1. Occupational demands2. Role conflict3. Role ambiguity4. Role overload

5. Role underload

6. Interpersonal relationships7. Ineffective communication8. Responsibility9. Job change

10. Climate within a companyy Personal Factors

1. The impact of life change2. Type-A and Type-B personalities3. Externals vs. internals and the belief in external locus of control4. Other reasons


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The emerging challengesy Some Questions about You and your Job

y Yes No

Are you constantly doing more than one thing at a time?

When travelling do you feel the travel time is wasted?

Do you get angry when things do not run smoothly?

Do you feel you never get to really finish one thing before moving on to the next?

Are you constantly being told you work too hard?

Do you work more than 10 hours on a workday?

Are you too busy to develop a creative hobby like gardening, bird-watching, painting etc.?

Do you take only 10 minutes to finish your meals or skip them?

Are you too busy to go outside during the day for at least an hour?

Do you get less than 7 hours of sleep at night?

(if you have a majority of yes as answers then it is recommended that you attend courses in

time management)

Th i h ll


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Consequences of Stress

Subjective effects:Anxiety, aggression, apathy, boredom, depression,

fatigue,

frustration, guilt and shame, irritability and bad temper, moodiness, low

self-esteem,

tension, nervousness, and loneliness.

Behavioural effects: Accident proneness, drug use, emotional outbursts,

excessive eating or loss of appetite, excessive drinking and smoking,

excitability,

impulsive behaviour, impaired speech, nervous laughter, restlessness and

trembling.


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Cognitive effects: Inability to make decisions and concentrate,

frequent forgetfulness, hypersensitivity to criticism and mental

blocks

Physiological effects: increased blood glucose levels, increasedheart rate and blood pressure, dryness of the mouth, sweating,

dilation of the pupils, difficulty in breathing, hot and cold spells, lump

in the throat, numbness and tingling in parts of the limbs.

Organisational effects: Absenteeism, poor industrial relations andpoor productivity, high accident and labour turnover rates, poor

organisational climate, antagonism at work and job dissatisfaction.

(Source: T.Cox, Stress, Baltimore, University Park Press , 1978)



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The emerging challengesy Management of Stressy It is not true that employees do not want any stress at work. As the current

research evidence indicates, employees are energised and motivated by

moderate amounts of stress. What most people want in the workplace is a

challenging job assignment followed by moderate doses of competitive spirit,constructive conflict and a zeal to get ahead of others. There are a variety of

ways in which individuals cope or deal with stress at work. Broadly, these could

be classified into two categories: Individual coping strategies and

Organisational coping strategies.

y Individual Coping Strategies

y Why do some people seem to experience more stress than others or seem to

experience stress in situations that leave other people unaffected. Take a

moment and answer the following questions to understand more clearly the

questions given in Table


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The emerging challengesy

An article published in theH

industanT

imes, dated 31.1.1998catalogues other individual coping strategies thus:

Keep a Pet

Say your Prayers

Sing Aloud

Laughter, The Elixir!

Sleep Right

Be Good at Loving

Spend Time with Children

Take a Walk

Make Friends Enjoy the Idiot Box

Cultivate Interests

Dare to Dream


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The emerging challengesy Organisational Coping Strategiesy Stress management includes stress prevention also. This is best achieved

through certain organisational coping strategies.These include:

1. Role clarity

2. Supportive climate

3. Clear career paths

4. Company-wide programmes


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y B

urnouty A phenomenon that is receiving great attention in recent times is the problem

of burnout (Pareek; T.V. Rao; Armstrong). Generally speaking, everyone is a

potential candidate for burnout. But the most likely candidate to face this

serious problem is the over-achiever. In the words of Herbert J. Freudenberger,

burnout is a state of fatigue or frustration brought about by devotion to a cause,way of life or relationship that failed to produce the expected reward. It may be

defined as the total depletion of physical and mental resources caused by

excessive striving to reach an unrealistic work-related goal. In his book, Burn

out Dr. Freudenberger poses a set of questions designed to be a self-test to help

us find out if we are in danger of burnout. The test includes the followingquestions:


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Burn-out self testy BuBrnout-SelfTest

Are you working more now and enjoying it less?

Do you find it more difficult to confide in others?

Must you force yourself to do routine things?

Are you listless, bored, constantly seeking excitement?

Would you rather be somewhere else?

Do you drink more than you used to?

Do you need a tranquiliser to face the day..a sleeping pill to get through the night?

Are you resigned about your future?

Is your need for a particular crutch increasing? (smoking, nail biting etc.)


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Emerging Challengesy Symptoms ofBurnout

y Some of the symptoms of burnout include: chronic fatigue, anger at thosemaking demands, self-criticism for putting up with demands; negativism and

irritability; a sense of being besieged; and hair-trigger display of emotions.

Other symptoms include recurring health problems, such as ulcers, back pain

or frequent headaches. The burnout victim is generally unable to maintain an

even keel emotionally. The victim may burst out often and express his rage andhostility in totally inappropriate circumstances.

y Reducing Burnout

y W.S Paine suggested four technique to reduce burnout. These are:

Identification

Prevention

Mediation

Remediation

the emerging challenges ob2

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