Towards Managing Diversity

In most Western countries, diversity not only includes gender, race, ethnicity, national origin, and religion, but also includes disability, age, marital status, immigration status, and sexual orientation. But in case of India, the main diversity categories are gender, religion, ethno-linguistic region, as well as whether individuals belong to one of the traditionally dominant 'Forward Castes,' or one of the traditionally excluded 'Scheduled Castes' or 'Scheduled Tribes,' or the large 'Other Backward Castes' grouping. Towards Managing Diversity examines diversity management of Western organizations and that of their Strategic Business Units in India. Through understanding diversity, businesses can achieve equality and cohesion in the workplace. India's private sector organizations need to recognize diversity-related cultural imperatives. The book discusses how the cultural differences in people's skills, ideas, and creativity help contribute towards a common goal and that doing it in a right way gives an organization the competitive advantage. The book heightens the awareness of various diversity issues in India. Behavioral aspects from individual and group perspectives are also centralized from a cultural perspective, particularly when diversity refers to the co-existence of employees from various socio-cultural backgrounds within the organization.