Religious and Cultural diversity

Religious and Cultural diversity is the landmark of the Indian

society. The population comprises six main religious groups: Hindus
(83.2 percent), Muslims (11 percent), Sikhs (2 percent), Christians (2
percent), Jains and Buddhists (less than 1 percent). Amongst Hindus
there are over 4000 castes. The country has 179 languages and 544
dialects. India comprises 29 states and 7 union territories.
One of the major hindrances in the way of managing diversity in
India is the strong feeling of regionalism, religious sentiments and
stereotypes based on these beliefs.
The Work culture of any organisation is highly swayed by the
leadership in that organisation. The leadership of any organisation
should make the employees feel that they can truly be a part of that
organisation and respected for who they are, irrespective of their
religious backgrounds and their state of origin. This highlights the
relevance of inclusive workforce for an organisation to increase
efficiency resulting from the diversity and diverse thinking.
As more and more multinational companies (MNCs) have started
their operations in India, they are wanting to know the uniqueness
and eccentricities of the Indian workforce and how it could be
inspired to contribute its best to the organisational goals.
The various ways in which the leadership should tackle such an
inherent issue in the Indian society is by employing certain
approaches to diversity management.
Approaches:
1. Arnold (1997) has list some initiatives that would raise
awareness about diversity and change attitude of people to
tolerate differences.
a) Multicultural
workshopsdesigned
to
improve
understanding and communication between groups.
b) Core groups which meet regularly to confront
stereotypes and personal biases.
c) Support groups , mentoring ,relationship networks for
minorities
d) Training
Most of the MNCs in India are implementing such practices to
promote inclusive and safe workplace for their diverse employees
with the focus on religion and culture.

In the case of multicultural employees, training may also assist in

understanding different cultures and values. Training would
maximize the benefits of diversity while minimizing potential conflict
by developing respect and value for differences and understanding
style and behaviour of other cultures (Coleman,1994).
Eg.
1. TCS launched 'Culture Meter' in 2008 on its intranet that
profiles different countries in a lively way. Culture Meter talks
about the country, its culture, dos and don'ts, and TCS's
business information about that country. And there are corners
on their homepage on their intranet where senior leaders write
about their experiences in different countries. And also
constantly provides Cultural Sensitization and Relocation
training to the employees are assigned to work outside their
home countries (Rao, 2012).
2. Infosys has a program 'Employee Resource Groups' which
highlights and educates employees about cultural values and
ethos. The program employs innovative approaches and
communication campaigns channelled through live events,
intranet, corporate TV channel and posters. Further they
celebrate 'World disability day' on all their campuses and
conduct awareness programs and exclusive events to create
awareness and foster inclusion of Gays and lesbians (InfosysDiversity, 2012).
References:
Budhwar, P. 2003. "Culture and Management in India" In M. Warner (Ed.) Culture and
Management in Asia.
London: Routledge
Cox, T, S. Lobel & P. McLeod, 1991. "Effects of ethnic group cultural differences on
cooperative and competitive
behavior on a group task." Academy of Management journal, Vol. 34(4), 827-47.
Agars, M.D. and Kottke, J. L. (2004). Models and practice of diversity management: A
historical review and presentation of a new integration theory. In Stockdale, M.S. and
Crosby, F.J. v nk .mn.xv, cj (Eds), Psychology and Management of WorkplaceDiversity,
Blackwell, Malden.