Anand Vegesna, Director – HR, Air Liquide Engineering India Managing 11/22/2018 Anand Vegesna, Director – HR, Air Liquide Engineering India

What is diversity? Difference or a point of difference Variety Unlikeness Dissimilarity How can ‘differences’ be good for a team or an organization? 11/22/2018

Is diversity ‘good’? 11/22/2018

Is diversity ‘good’? 11/22/2018

Diversity at workplace means… Bringing together people who are different in terms of… Gender Age Nationality Ability Background Race/ Religion Culture ….. 11/22/2018

Culture Diversity Culture is defined as ‘collective software of mind’ Years of research by Geert Hofstede and Fons Trompenaars Hofstede’s 5 cultural dimensions Trompenaars’ 7 cultural dimensions 11/22/2018

Hofstede’s Dimensions of Culture Power Distance Individualism Vs Collectivism Masculinity Vs Femininity Uncertainty Avoidance Long-term Vs Short-term Orientation 11/22/2018

Trompenaars’ Dimensions of Culture Universalism Vs Particularism Individualism Vs Communitarianism Specific Vs Diffuse Neutral Vs Affective Time Orientation (Sequentialism Vs Synchronism) Achievement Vs Ascription Internal Vs External 11/22/2018

Learning from each other One culture is not better than the other – they are just different We can learn to value ‘time’; They can learn to value ‘relationships’ We can learn to respect ‘rules’; They can learn to be more ‘accommodating’ Understanding each other, recognizing and respecting the differences and working through them is key to success Opens up several alternatives – the best one can picked based on the context 11/22/2018

A, B, C, D of ‘Managing Diversity’ A Company can make diversity work by Acknowledging the importance of diversity – put a policy in place Building a diverse workforce – Provide equal opportunity to compete for a job/ position Creating awareness among its people – Offer Education/ Training Programs Dealing with differences constructively – Recognize and resolve 11/22/2018

The ‘true sense’ of diversity Differences are good Diversity doesn’t happen naturally; needs to be consciously driven Acknowledge the need, Build diversity, Create awareness, Deal with differences constructively Diversity not for the sake of ‘diversity’ – it is meant for development of individuals, teams and organizations 11/22/2018

Thank You