In
changed business scenario of globalization, the nature
of workforce composition is becoming more and more heterogeneous
in terms of the demographics of the workforce. In almost
every unit of organization, we find the employees drawn
from different geographical areas, different religions,
different castes etc. Whereas, earlier, may be around
10 to 15 years back, people working in a particular
organization, were drawn mostly from the same geographical
area.
The
article discusses the very nature of workforce diversity,
some important factors leading to conflict generation,
different stakeholders responsible for creating and
managing the workforce conflict. The article is of great
significance and relevance for Indian economy and global
economy for mainly two reasons: One, currently, Indian
economy and global economy are witnessing an unprecedented
booming scenario. Two, India and world is full of diversity
in terms of geography, religions, cultures, practices,
beliefs etc.
The anthropological
approach focuses on cultural awareness (Fernandez,
1991; Lamphere, 1993; Locke, 1992). Employees are
challenged to "walk a mile" in another
person's shoes and to develop empathic understanding
of others. Understanding why various cultures have
adopted the different traditions that support their
ways of living are explored. People need to experience
some degree of immersion in a culture or subculture
in order to raise awareness and appreciate differences. |
