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Review of Diversity Practices at Infosys and Wipro
Review of Diversity Practices at Infosys and Wipro
By
Group 2
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DECLARATION
I hereby declare that this project report “Review of Diversity Practices at Infosys
and Wipro” is our own work, to the best of our knowledge and belief. It contains no
substantial extent has been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma of
any other institute, except where due acknowledge has been made in the text.
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Chapter Title Page No
No.
Acknowledgement 4
Abstract 5
I Introduction 6
II Literature Review 15
VI Findings 47
VII Conclusion 48
VIII Limitations 49
IX Recommendations 50
X References 52
XI Appendix 53
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
A project report aims at bridging the gap between theoretical and practical knowledge. With this
thought, we dived into this report of diversity and inclusion practices with an effort to understand
these for the IT industry. Firstly, we would like to thank the supreme power of the Almighty who
is obviously the one has always guided me to work on the right path of life. Without his grace
this project could not become a reality. Next to him are our parents, whom we are deeply
indebted for they brought us up with love and encouragement to this stage. With the completion
of our project entitled “Review of Diversity Practices at Infosys and Wipro”, we feel obliged in
taking the opportunity to sincerely thank Dr. I. M. Pandey (Director General, Delhi School of
Business-VIPS TC) and in extending gratitude to our worthy guide, Dr. Rashmi Sharma,
who inspired us to think beyond and to always look for better solutions.
Moreover, we are deeply indebted to all the staff members for their generous attitude and
friendly behavior. Last but definitely not the least, I would also like to express regards to my
family, seniors and colleagues who gave me good advice, suggestions, inspiration, support and
constant appreciation, encouraging me to bring out the best of my abilities. We have no valuable
words to express our thanks, but our heart is still full of the favors received from every person.
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ABSTRACT
Moving beyond equal employment opportunity and affirmative action laws, diversity
management has increasingly become a hot issue in the corporate world. Top management
culture which supports and nurtures diversity are the key drivers of effective diversity
management. This study critically reviews the literature on diversity management through
various HR strategies and practices. In particular, the paper attempts to throw light on practical
HR diversity management practices being adopted by corporates in their daily life such as
diversity related recruitment & selection programmes, diversity training programmes, diversity
support groups, diversity audit, etc. The study evidenced that diversity management has a
positive influence on performance outcomes at three levels i.e. individual, group and
organizational level. This review also discusses the prevailing diversity and inclusion practices in
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1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 Diversity
Diversity is understanding that each individual is unique and recognizing the individual
differences which can be along the dimensions of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation,
socio-economic status, age, physical abilities, religious beliefs, political beliefs or other
ideologies.
"Diversity" means more than just acknowledging or tolerating the differences. It involves set of
conscious practices like:
1. Building alliances across differences so that we can work together to eradicate all forms
of discrimination.
2. Understanding and appreciating interdependence of humanity, cultures, and the natural
environment.
3. Practicing mutual respect for qualities and experiences that are different from our own.
4. Understanding that diversity includes not only ways of being but also ways of knowing.
5. Recognizing that personal, cultural and institutionalized discrimination creates and
sustains privileges for some while creating and sustaining disadvantages for others.
Cultural diversity: This type of diversity is related to each person’s ethnicity and it’s usually
the set of norms we get from the society we were raised in or our family’s values. Having
different cultures in the workplace is more common in multinational companies.
Race diversity: Race has to do with a person’s grouping based on physical traits.
Religious diversity: This type of diversity refers to the presence of multiple religions and
spiritual beliefs in the workplace.
Age diversity: Age diversity means working with people of different ages and, most
importantly, generations. For example, millennials, Gen Z and Gen X can coexist in the same
workplace.
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Gender / Sexual orientation / Sex diversity: Gender diversity is equitable or fair
representation of people of different genders i.e. it refers to an equal ration of men and
women in an organization.
Disability diversity: It says that employers cannot discriminate against a person with a
disability and must provide employees with recognized disabilities with reasonable
accommodations.
Organizational diversity in the workplace refers to the total makeup of the employee workforce
and the amount of diversity included.
When we introduce diversity management concepts into the organization’s culture, it is the
primary concern for management. Creating an inclusive culture means not only stating support
for it via various corporate-wide outlets, but also working towards an ideal level of open and
inclusive behavior. Culture is a matter of organizational behavior because it is inherently about
how people act (mostly subconsciously), and thus requires a great deal of energy and effort to
alter.
The following paradigms can be seen as a linear progression in achieving inclusion, the first
being the simplest and least effective and the last being the most complex and most effective:
Resistance paradigm: In this phase, there is a natural cultural resistance to change and
equity across diverse groups. This paradigm requires extensive managerial efforts to
overhaul, and corporate policies must be put into place to create a structure for corporate
inclusion.
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Discrimination-and-fairness paradigm: In this phase, the organization focuses simply on
adherence to social and legal expectations. The diversity team and inclusion culture
primarily come out of human resource and legal professionals fulfilling minimum
requirements, so they are still fairly weak.
Access-and-legitimacy paradigm: At this phase, management has successfully elevated
the culture from acceptance to active inclusion. Now the organization is looking at the
overall benefits derived through diversity and utilizing them to capture maximum
competitiveness.
Learning-and-effectiveness paradigm: In this final stage, management has successfully
integrated inclusion in a way that is proactive and learning-based. Groups are designed to
not only capture the innovative and creative aspects of diversity, but also to share diverse
skill sets and grow in efficacy through the learning process.
Diversity in the workplace promotes the individuality within an organization, acknowledging that
every person can contribute with different, creative and new ideas and solutions. Employees with
different backgrounds and experiences can bring together a variety of perspectives on matters and
thus increase the productivity and deliver better results. Diversity brings in diverse different talents
together working towards a common goal using different sets of skills that increases their retention and
productivity.
Diversity within a company helps in building a stronger brand and makes the company more interesting
and desirable employer. With a diversified workforce an organization gains even good reputation and
image because it is seen as having fair employment practices.
Workplace diversity increases creativity and problem solving. Having a variety of different people from
various backgrounds together is essential for finding and implementing creative solutions to business
problems. With diverse mindset coming together many more solutions will arise as every individual
brings in their way of thinking, operating and solving problems and decision making.
A diversified organization encourages personal growth and development. Having expats or persons with
international background working for the company can help employees learn new ideas, perspectives and
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connect professionally with different people. That enriches the employees and gives them another point
of view on how the market and the business work.
Interacting with diversified staff improves their ability to work in a diverse environment, with different
styles, cultures and personalities.
The objective of this project is to understand the diversity and inclusion practices at different
organizations in IT industry with the help of review of literature and employee survey. This
research is based upon review of literature and secondary data collected from various websites,
journals, magazines, newspapers and reference books.
2) Increased confidence: When employees recognize that differences are embraced and
celebrated in an organization, they are likely to also be more confident in their own
unique qualities. Encouraging diversity can help to boost confidence and performance
from individual team members, who may be more easily able to express their ideas,
become closer to their colleagues and enjoy and take pride in their work.
3) Boosting employee engagement: Employees are far more likely to perform well in an
environment where diversity and inclusion are top priority. The whole point of diversity
& inclusion that it is about everyone, not just underrepresented groups - so encouraging
everyone to be confident in their ability will only help to boost morale and employee
engagement across the entire team.
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4) Variety of different perspectives: Diversity in the workplace ensures a variety
of different perspectives. Since diversity in the workplace means that employees will
have different characteristics and backgrounds, they are also more likely to have a variety
of different skills and experiences. Consequently, employees in a company with higher
workplace diversity will have access to a variety of different perspectives, which is
highly beneficial when it comes to planning and executing a business strategy.
8) Better decision making: Workplace diversity leads to better decision- making results.
When employees with different backgrounds and perspectives come together, they come
up with more solutions, which leads to the more informed and improved decision-
making processes and results.
1) Increased range of ideas: One of the key benefits of diversity in society is the vast range
of ideas that can be explored. Diversity in the workplace will often result in a much
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broader spectrum of creativity, from people with different backgrounds, skills and
experiences. A wider range of different perspectives will be highly beneficial across all
teams; from marketing to finance.
2) Increased employee engagement: Generally, employees who feel included and wanted
will be more engaged and motivated to do well. In turn, a more engaged team will often
yield better team performance; making it a win-win for employers.
4) Helps you to understand your customers better: Having a more diverse team will help
your company gain a broader understanding of your customers, what they want and what
they look for. Who knows? Your company could be missing out on a huge group of
potential customers that could be explored by hiring more diversely.
5) Reduce employee turnover: Companies with a diverse workforce will tend to retain
employees for longer, because ultimately employees who feel accepted and valued will
be much less likely to leave. Likewise, companies who clearly value career development,
and really care about their employees, will tend to have a much higher retention rate than
those who don't.
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Lead to many opinions
When hiring managers focus on diversity, then they are creating a series of differing opinions
that can make it easier to find the right journey to take for forward progress. There are also
times when the sheer number of available opinions can create a problem for the organization.
When everyone gets a chance to be heard, then the speed of a project can slow down just as
quickly as it can increase. Sometimes, People who feel like their perspectives are ignored
might stop sharing their ideas because of this issue, which reduces the benefits of
approaching diversity in the first place.
Offshoring
Domestic diversity can become an expensive proposition. It costs a lot, between salary and
benefits, to hire the best people for your open positions. Because of this issue, it is not
unusual for companies to look for offshoring opportunities that can help them to add unique
perspectives to their corporate identity without a significant labor expense. This issue can
create a lack of job security for existing workers, which can limit their focus and
productivity.
Lessen the amount of trust
When an organization decides to make a diversity initiative a top priority, then there is an
immediate decrease in the amount of trust that is present in the workplace. This disadvantage
impacts every population demographic, including people who come from the same culture,
educational background, and career experience. Some people will interact less often with
others, experience fear if they are forced to do so, and this issue eventually can limit
productivity.
Communication problems
People from different cultures may not speak the same language as their primary
communication option. Hiring people from different areas can provide unique perspectives,
but it can also cause issues with how co-workers speak with one another. Even when the
same language is spoken, there can be differences in the meaning of certain words or jargon
understanding problems that can create confusion in the workplace.
There are several tools that can help to work around this problem, including translation tools
from Google. Unless there are direct translators present on a team; however, there can be a
misunderstanding that could eventually lead to conflict.
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Diversity initiative
There tends to be more conflict between individual team members in a diverse environment
when compared to one where most people come from the same perspective. Different habits
and working styles can create bothersome results. Imagine sitting next to a co-worker who
needs to click a pen constantly to think, and that’s how some people see this process. Without
proactive management, an increase in complaints and grievances typically occurs, which
means there is more time and money spent on investigations.
This disadvantage can become so severe that some companies will see a surge in resignations
because they don’t like being placed into an “uncomfortable” situation. That means an
organization must cope with the necessary costs to replace the lost workers, so it may take
months (or years) to recoup the investments made.
Communities grow and decline naturally as the economy settles into a comfortable pattern.
Diversity in the workplace can create stable circumstances and more job security, but it can
also create a series of problems where workers become over-qualified for what they are
doing. If that individual were to lose their job for some reason, then it could become a
struggle for them to find new employment elsewhere.
Generation gap
Whenever there is a generation gap within the employees, it could potentially hinder
discussions on certain subjects.
Hostility
As much as we hate to admit it, humans make decisions based on biases, rather than on facts
and logic. Sadly, this is no different in the workplace; employees will base their decisions and
judgements on unconscious biases despite their best intentions. Distrust can arise as
employees doubt each- others ability to do their jobs.
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2. LITERATURE REVIEW
Workplace diversity in multicultural organization has become a very crucial issue as it effects
1
the competency, efficiency and overall growth of an organization. Global corporate value
diversifying their workforce. The new age laws also make them do so mandatorily. Factors like
work environment, recruitment policies, selection, training & development and reward
management increases workplace effectiveness.
PURPOSE: This Research Paper focuses on the effectiveness of HRM practices for diverse
workforce in IT Industry, India. The objectives of this study comprises of cultural factors,
demographic factors, diversity management programs and managerial role of Diversity. This
research has evaluated literature from theoretical and empirical studies and at last outline the
theoretical structure of model.
The research study targeted a population of approximately 1 lakh employees from various
departments in the IT sector in NCR region, with a sample of 500 respondents from all cadres of
employment. The researcher used convenience random sampling to come about with the study.
The researcher has made use of self-administered close ended questionnaire. The data has been
processed using SPSS tool and reliability tool. Descriptive statistics like mean and standard
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deviation were used. Inferential statistics such as multiple regression, factor analysis and
perceptual mapping were also used in this study.
The findings of the study depicted that greater part of the workforce in the organization are
young and organization is keeping a mix of experience and fresh talent. The inferential findings
of the study touched on how demographic, cultural, diversity management programs and
diversity managerial roles relate with implementation of HRM Practices.
The researcher finally recommends the global organizations to instruct, prepare and give
mentoring to the forthcoming generations to overcome such challenges for future top executives
and maintain thriving businesses in the phase of globalization and challenging evolving
technology and culture.
There has been increasing awareness on the benefits of a diversified workforce and diversity and
2
inclusion are being recognized as strategic components of business. This paper critically
examines the diversity management practices being followed by three leading IT organizations
of India as they all are Indian multinationals having their operations in different parts of the
world. Analysis of the diversity management practices in these organizations revealed that global
operation, dynamic business environment, dependence on knowledge and talent shortage are
some of the key reasons behind focusing on diversity. Gender diversity and diversity of
nationality have received greater attention than other issues like diversity of the differently abled,
underprivileged, race, ethnicity and age-group.
Workforce diversity has been described as a double-edged sword; it has the potential for positive
3
and negative outcomes. To better understand why and how diversity leads to positive outcomes,
we examined the relationship between employee perceptions of diversity climate perceptions and
intent to turnover. We explored the role of four psychological outcome variables (organizational
commitment, climate for innovation, psychological empowerment, and identity freedom) as
possible mediators of this relationship. Racial and gender subgroup differences were also
examined. Survey data were collected from 1,731 public employees. Findings suggest that when
employees perceive equal access to opportunities and fair treatment, intent to turn over
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decreases. Furthermore, these relationships are significantly mediated by psychological
outcomes. Implications for diversity management and training are discussed. Keywords are
diversity climate, workplace diversity, business case for diversity.
An exploratory study into the extent of diversity management initiatives in organizations in one
4
Canadian city shows that diversity management originated in the USA where it is reportedly
being embraced by many organizations and where it has become the basis of a large consulting
business. Although a diverse workforce and workplace diversity management are often argued to
be critical to organizational competitiveness, little is known about how Canadian organizations
are reacting.
This paper investigates the association of diversity practices with an important aspect of
5
workplace well‐being, engagement. It was hypothesized that this association would be mediated
by trust climate, and that this mediation relationship would be stronger when employees
experienced feelings of inclusion in the workplace. Using a sample of 4,597 health sector
employees, results indicated that diversity practices are associated with a trusting climate that, in
turn, is positively related to employee engagement. Furthermore, the relationship between
diversity practices and trust climate was moderated by inclusion. Theoretical and practical
implications of the study are discussed along with recommendations for future research.
6
Workforce diversity and organizational performance: a study of IT industry in India
4 Workplace diversity management in a multicultural society (Gloria E. Miller, Julie I.A. Rowney),
https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/09649429910301670/full/html
5 The role of diversity practices and inclusion in promoting trust and employee engagement
(Stephanie N. Downey, Lisa van der Werff, Kecia M. Thomas, Victoria C. Plaut),
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jasp.12273
6 Subhash C Kunduarchana Mor, Workforce diversity and organizational performance: a study of IT industry in
India, https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/ER-06-2015-0114/full/html
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Purpose:
The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between employee perceptions of
diversity (i.e. significance of diversity and diversity management, and value of diversity
practices employed) and perceived organizational performance. It also attempts to examine
whether the perceptions of diversity vary among employees from different diversity backgrounds
(i.e. across gender and categories) in Indian IT industry.
Design/methodology/approach:
Primary data based on 402 respondents were analysed using statistical tools like factor analysis,
correlations, analysis of variance, means, grand means, and regression.
Findings:
Results indicated that employees irrespective of their diversity backgrounds positively
acknowledged diversity and diversity management. However, limited but significant differences
were observed among employee perceptions regarding valuing the diversity practices employed
based on their diversity backgrounds. Further, employees’ perception of promotion of gender
diversity was found to be positively related to perceived organizational performance.
Research limitations/implications:
This paper relied on self-report surveys for data collection. Future studies should collect data
using multiple methods to avoid common-method bias. As the sample was drawn from India,
specifically from IT industry, the conclusions may not be generalized to other industries. Future
studies may be conducted across industries covering different cultural settings.
Practical implications:
Implications are first, that, in addition to investing in initiatives for promoting diversity,
especially gender diversity, organizations need to ensure positive perceptibility of these
initiatives by employees. Second, to foster acceptance and effectiveness of gender/diversity
initiatives in organizations, managers need to ensure men and majority group employees are part
of these initiatives. Third, IT industry needs to reassess their hiring strategies and should design
diversity programmes with goals in mind, if not quotas, to hire and retain diverse employees to
explore their potential contribution.
Originality/value:
Inclusion of employees of Indian IT industry of different categories will definitely add value to
the existing knowledge on diversity, management theory, and practice.
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Effect of workforce diversity on the performance of employees in IT sector
7
Workforce diversity is the emerging issue in today’s corporate world as it’s not only a challenge
for the organizations but also an opportunity, which if not properly managed can affect the
performance of employees and the organization. The purpose of this study is to examine the
relationship between the four diversity parameters viz. - age, gender, education and ethnicity of
workforce diversity and employee’s performance in an organization. The target respondents were
300 employees of 2 IT companies, namely- Infosys and Wipro from Delhi and NCR. A structured
questionnaire was applied and its reliability was tested by applying Cronbach’s alpha. The data
was statistically analyzed using SPSS version 20. The analysis revealed the positive effect of age
diversity, gender diversity, ethnicity diversity and education diversity on the performance of the
employees. Keywords: Workforce Diversity, Employees Performance, Age Diversity, Gender
Diversity, Education Background Diversity, Ethnicity Diversity.
7 Dipanker Sharma, Swati Chaudhry, Effect of workforce diversity on the performance of employees in IT sector,
https://www.pramanaresearch.org/gallery/prj-p910.pdf
8 Dr. Shree Sonal1, Mr. Arora Hullas2, Mr. Khan Atul, Exploring Key Gender Diversity Practices Which Act as
Determinants of the Organizational Attractiveness in Indian It Sector. http://www.indianjournals.com/ijor.aspx?
target=ijor:zijmr&volume=8&issue=4&article=013
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Propositions (EVPs) to achieve being a “preferred” employer while fostering gender friendly
practices.
3.1 INFOSYS
Infosys Technologies Limited (Infosys), incorporated on July 2, 1981, is a global technology
services firm that defines, designs and delivers information technology (IT)-enabled business
solutions to its clients. The Company provides end-to-end business solutions that leverage
technology for its clients, including consulting, design, development, software re-engineering,
maintenance, systems integration, package evaluation, and implementation and infrastructure
management services. Infosys also provides software products to the banking industry. Infosys
BPO (formerly Progeon Limited) is a majority owned subsidiary. Infosys Australia, Infosys
China and Infosys Consulting are the Company's wholly owned subsidiaries. In June 2006,
Infosys acquired the shares in Infosys BPO held by Citicorp International Finance Corporation
(CIFC). As a result, Infosys effectively holds 99.98% of the equity share capital of Infosys BPO
as of March 31, 2007. The Company complements its service offerings with specialist support
for clients using its domain competency group that has expertise in areas, such as securities,
insurance, telecommunication, banking and cash management, supply chain management,
manufacturing, retail and distribution, energy and utilities, healthcare, and travel and tourism. It
also uses its software engineering group and technology lab to create customized solutions for its
clients. In addition, it continually evaluates and trains its professionals in new technologies and
methodologies.
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The mission is to achieve our objectives in an environment of fairness, honesty, and courtesy
towards our clients, employees, vendors and society.
3.1.2 Objective
To exploit various technologies to provide effective and cost- efficient solutions to their
customers. Infosys believe in working as partners with customers in identifying their needs &
work with them designing solutions to satisfy their business needs through long term
relationship.
3.1.4 Values
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3.1.5 Unique Initiatives at Infosys
The Company provides customized software solutions for its clients. Infosys creates new
applications and enhances the functionality of its clients' existing software applications. The
Company's projects vary in size and duration. • The Company's application development services
span the entire range of mainframe, client server and Internet technologies. An increasing
proportion of Infosys' applications development engagements are related to emerging platforms,
such as Microsoft's .NET or open platforms, such as Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE) and Linux.
Infosys provides maintenance services for its clients' large software systems that cover a range of
technologies and businesses, and are typically critical to a client's business. The Company
focuses on long-term functionality, stability and preventive maintenance to avoid problems that
typically arise from incomplete or short-term solutions. While Infosys performs most of the
maintenance work at its global development centers using secure and redundant communication
links to its client's systems, it also maintains a team at the client's facility to coordinate certain
key interface and support functions.
Software Re-engineering
The Company's software re-engineering services assist its clients in converting their existing IT
systems to newer technologies and platforms developed by third-party vendors. Infosys' re-
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engineering services include Web-enabling its clients' existing legacy systems, database
migration, implementing product upgrades, and platform migrations, such as mainframe to
client-server and client-server to Internet platforms.
Infosys assists its clients in the evaluation and implementation of software packages developed
by third-party vendors. It also provides training and support services in the course of their
implementation.
The Company specializes in enterprise resource planning packages developed by vendors,
including Oracle, PeopleSoft, Retek and SAP; supply chain management packages developed by
vendors, including i2, Manugistics and Oracle; customer relationship management packages
developed by vendors, including PeopleSoft and Siebel; business intelligence packages
developed by vendors, such as Business Objects and Cognos, and enterprise application
integration packages developed by vendors, such as IBM and TIBCO.
The Company's IT consulting professionals assist its clients by providing technical advice in
developing and recommending appropriate IT architecture, hardware and software specifications
to deliver IT solutions designed to meet specific business and computing objectives. • Infosys
offers IT consulting in the areas of migration planning, institution-wide implementation and
overall project management involving multiple vendors under a common architecture; IT
infrastructure assessment, which includes assessing its clients' IT capabilities against existing and
future business requirements and recommending appropriate technology infrastructure, and
technology roadmap development, which allows clients to evaluate emerging technologies and
develop the standards and methodologies for applying those emerging technologies.
Other Solutions-
Infosys' service offerings including testing services, engineering services, business process
management, systems integration, infrastructure management, and operational and business
process consulting. The Company offers end-to-end validation solutions and services, including
enterprise test management, performance benchmarking, test automation and product
certification. • For each particular client, Infosys focuses on developing a framework for ongoing
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testing in order to seek continuous improvement in the predictability of its client's internal
systems. The Company's service professionals are trained in test management tools from
developers, such as Mercury Interactive, IBM-Rational and Segue.
1. More keen on large deals. The margin dilution from large deals has been a point of concern
in the past at Infosys. However, while the initial margin profile can be extremely wavy, it is
possible to improve margins later in the life of the contract through reduced G&A overheads.
Infosys, in its recent analyst meet, mentioned that a dedicated team was now working on
large deals. We expect greater focus ahead in this area.
2. Increased focus on solution based offerings in both IT services and BPO. Infosys has
developed ~50 solution based offerings in the IT services space and believes that some of
these can help break the linearity between revenue and manpower growth in the business. In
BPO as well, its first platform based BPO offering is likely to be launched soon
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3. Willingness to explore new deal structures. The market was surprised when Infosys paid an
upfront $28m for the $250m/7-year Phillips BPO deal. While TCS had made such a payment
in the case of Pearl BPO earlier, Infosys’ willingness to do so was certainly a shift from the
past.
3.2 WIPRO
The company was incorporated on 29 December 1945 in Amalner, Maharashtra by Mohamed
Premji as "Western India Palm Refined Oil Limited", later abbreviated to "Wipro". It was
initially set up as a manufacturer of vegetable and refined oils in Amalner, Maharashtra, British
India, under the trade names of Kisan, Sunflower, and Camel. In 1966, after Mohamed Premji's
death, his son Azim Premji took over Wipro as its chairman at the age of 21.
During the 1970s and 1980s, the company shifted its focus to new opportunities in the IT and
computing industry, which was at a nascent stage in India at the time. On 7 June 1977, the name
of the company changed from Western India Vegetable Products Limited, to Wipro Products
Limited. In 1982, the name was changed again, from Wipro Products Limited to Wipro Limited.
Wipro continued to expand in the consumer products domain with the launch of "Ralak"
a Tulsi based family soap and "Wipro Jasmine", a toilet soap.
3.2.1 Vision
The vison of Wipro includes being a leader in area of business, customer and people
The company aims to be among the best IT company in India and the world
Its goals also include being the first choice among the customers and employees
3.2.2 Mission
To be RF system solution provider, through its innovative Research and Design works for a new
world Broadband Wireless Communication.
3.2.3 Culture
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There culture is the foundation of their success as it is people oriented, touching the lives and
making a difference to employees, stakeholders, customers and partners alike. They believe in
open culture, encouraging feedback, and actively transforming it into action. The emphasis is on
teamwork, individual responsibility and commitments are in reality implementing a soft
bureaucracy instead of ideal flexibility. Customer satisfaction is the key objective, it is used as
control over employees.
Wipro provides real solution to business challenges like mergers and acquisitions, Wipro works
with the client in the following ways:
Team with leadership to create a business vision that facilitates a guided coalition of
leadership to support the business change imperatives.
Collaborate with management to rationalize current state staffing and model future state
requirements.
Perform a comprehensive organizational assessment and create an optional design to
realize the business vision
Conduct a workforce assessment to define the complimentary resources that facilitate
realization of the business vision
Design action plan to develop or on board requisite for the organization’s future state
needs.
IT Services:
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Wipro takes charge of the IT needs of the entire enterprise. The gamut of services extends
from Enterprise Application Services (CRM, ERP, e-Procurement and SCM), to e-
Business solutions.
Product Engineering Solutions:
Wipro is the largest independent provider of R&D services in the world. Using the
Extended Engineering model for leveraging R&D investment and accessing new
knowledge and experience across the globe, people and technical infrastructure, Wipro
enables firms to introduce new products rapidly.
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6. Syntel (company)
7. Mphasis (company)
8. Genpact India (company)
9. IGATE-Patni Global Solutions
10. Mindtree (company)
11. KPIT Technologies
12. Zensar Technologies
13. Hexaware Technologies Limited
14. Cyient Ltd
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Continue to develop deep industry knowledge
Enhance brand visibility
Continue to invest in infrastructure and employees
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Training overview
It has a workforce of 1,60,000 employees.
Uses foundation program for training of fresh graduates.
Currently Infosys has huge facility in Mysore to train 4,000 employees together.
Infosys Leadership Institute (ILI), Karnataka trains employees for bigger roles.
Today, Infosys is rated amongst world best in training & development
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Cell phone policy
Grievance policy
Employee Relations
Communication policy
Problem resolution policy
Personal appearance policy
Conflicts of interest policy
3.3.2 Wipro
Corporate Strategy:
Market Penetration- Wipro expects to significantly grow its global IT-services business and the
percentage of its total revenues and profits contributed by the business over the next few years. It
hopes to achieve this objective by identifying and developing service offering in emerging
growth areas as separate business opportunities, such as infrastructure and support services,
business intelligence services and telecommunication, internet and application service providers.
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Industry depth: Wipro seeks to build a level of industry depth that will differentiate it in
market.
Portfolio of services: Wipro is seeking to expand its application outsourcing offerings by
providing BPO services. In addition, it is making significant investments in its Enterprise
Application Services, as well as specific technology alliances (for example, Microsoft).
Global workforce: Wipro is focused on expanding its domestic workforce in target
markets (the United States and Europe). Wipro's recent acquisition of AMS's global
energy practice, as well as that of NerveWire, served a dual role of providing a local
workforce in the United States.
Brand equity: Wipro has focused on growing its name recognition and overall brand
equity among U.S. and European enterprise buyers
HR Strategy:
Employee relationship management: Wipro has a well- organized structure to deal with
employee management it includes models like talent management, business process outsourcing
or software as service models
Talent management: Wipro offers flexible employee management solutions delivered in either a
business process outsourcing or software as service model that makes assessment and
development easy, more accurate and economical for their clients. Talent management covers:
Aptitude test
Technical interview
HR interview
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Wipro recruit 40% employees from campus recruitment. Another popular source for Wipro’s
recruitment is the online placement through NSR (National Skill Registry).
1. Preliminary Interview: this interview is conducted for eliminating the candidates who do
not meet the minimum eligibility criteria , this interview is also called the screening
interview .
2. Application blanks: candidates who clear preliminary interview are given application
blanks, which contains information like qualification , job experience , reasons for
leaving previous job
3. Written test: this contains various tests like aptitude test , personality test , intelligence
test
4. Employment interview: this interview is conducted to find out the best suited candidate
6. Appointment letter: a reference check is made about the selected candidate and he is
finally appointed by giving formal letter.
Training Model:
5. Review by stakeholders
Performance appraisal:
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Wipro offers an integrated end-to -end performance management solutions. This solution is
based on global people processes drawn for best practices and helps organization streamline their
performance evaluation processes. Wipro e-performance management solution not only helps to
establish the best practices like 360 -degree appraisal, MBO etc but also helps to reduce
performance management cycle time without compromising on the HR values.
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• As signatories to UNGC and U.N. Women’s Empowerment Principles, we express our
commitment to becoming a responsible business leader and role model.
4. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
A research is defined as a systematic inquiry to describe, explain, predict, and control the
observed phenomenon. A research can be descriptive, Hypothetical and exploratory. In our
project, we have used Descriptive Research.
For studying the diversity and inclusion practices at Infosys and Wipro, we adopted a
research strategy of Survey Research.
Secondary Data: The data is first collected from the published research papers, company
websites, online reviews etc.
Primary Data: After analyzing a problem statement, the primary data is then collected from the
employees through a structured questionnaire, prepared on a google form.
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Our questionnaire consisted of closed questions, that allowed the respondents to make
choices among a set of alternatives given by us. Although we had put the same
structured questions in both, we prepared two different questionnaires for Infosys and
Wipro for a relative study. The choices were measured on a 5-point Likert scale.
There are several methods for doing sampling like probability and non-probability and
under this comes many methods like Random Sampling, Cluster Sampling, Purposive
Sampling, Systematic Sampling, Cluster Sampling etc. We have used Purposive
Sampling (under non probability sampling) as we only want the questionnaire to be
filled by the people who are currently working or have previously worked at Infosys
and Wipro and they would represent the population of employees working in IT
industry.
Considering the Pandemic situation, we found the online medium as most appropriate
for contacting our targeted sample population. We reached out to the employees of
Wipro and Infosys via media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook and Whatsapp and
made connections through friends and family as well.
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4.10 Data Analysis: Validity and Reliability
Analysis was done to ensure the consistency with the study objectives with the help of different
tools and techniques such as bar graphs and pie- charts. Interpretation of data will be based on
the results we get from the survey.
Infosys
Wipro
The graphs show that the frequency distribution of responses to the above statement in Infosys
is 16 (53.3%) respondents as strongly agree, 13 (43.3%) as agree, 1 (3.3%) respondents as
neutral; and there are no respondents in disagreement. In Wipro, the response from the
respondents is 20 (66.7%) as strongly agree, 8 (26.7%) as agree, 1 (3.3%) as neutral; 1 (3.3%)
as disagree and no respondents are in strong disagreement>> higher agreement of Wipro
employees.
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Based on the total frequency distribution of the responses it can be said that 95% (60%
strongly agree and 35% agree) of the respondents of the Indian IT companies have the
knowledge about the diversity practices in their companies and believe that their companies are
committed to diversity and inclusion.
Infosys
Wipro
The graphs show that the frequency distribution of responses to the above statement in Infosys
is 13 (43.3%) respondents as strongly agree, 11 (36.7%) as agree, 3 (10%) respondents as
neutral; 3 (10%) as disagree and there are no respondents in strong disagreement. In Wipro,
the response from the respondents is 18 (60%) as strongly agree, 9 (30%) as agree, 3 (10%) as
neutral; and there are no respondents in disagreement>> higher agreement of Wipro
employees.
Based on the total frequency distribution of the responses it can be said that 85% (51.6%
strongly agree and 33.4% agree) of the respondents of the Indian IT companies are comfortable
talking about their background and cultural experiences with colleagues.
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3. When I speak up at work, my opinions are valued
Infosys
Wipro
The graphs show that the frequency distribution of responses to the above question in Infosys
is 11 (36.7%) respondents as strongly agree, 15 (50%) as agree, 3 (10%) respondents as
neutral; 1 (3.3%) as disagree and there are no respondents in strong disagreement. In Wipro,
the response from the respondents is 11 (36.7%) as strongly agree, 17 (56.7%) as agree, 1
(3.3%) as neutral; and there are no respondents in disagreement but 1(3.3%) in strong
disagreement>> higher agreement of Wipro employees.
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Based on the total frequency distribution of the responses it can be said that 90% (36.67%
strongly agree and 53.33% agree) of the respondents of the Indian IT companies feel that their
opinions are valued irrespective of the diverse backgrounds they belong to.
4. Wipro/Infosys provides an environment for the free and open expression of ideas, opinions
and beliefs
Infosys
Wipro
The graphs show that the frequency distribution of responses to the above question in Infosys
is 13 (43.3%) respondents as strongly agree, 12 (40%) as agree, 3 (10%) respondents as
neutral; 2 (6.7%) as disagree and there are no respondents in strong disagreement. In Wipro,
the response from the respondents is 17 (56.7%) as strongly agree, 9 (30%) as agree, 3 (10%)
as neutral; and there are no respondents in disagreement but 1(3.3%) in strong disagreement>>
higher agreement of Wipro employees.
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Based on the total frequency distribution of the responses it can be said that 85% (50%
strongly agree and 35% agree) of the respondents of the Indian IT companies feel that their
respective companies provides an environment for the free and open expression of ideas,
opinions and beliefs, reassuring the 3 rd statement’s responses.
Infosys
Wipro
The graphs show that the frequency distribution of responses to the above question in Infosys
is 14 (46.7%) respondents as strongly agree, 11 (36.7%) as agree, 3 (10%) respondents as
neutral; 1 (3.3%) respondents as disagree and 1 (3.3%) respondents as strongly disagree. In
Wipro, the response from the respondents is 10 (33.3%) as strongly agree, 14 (46.7%) as
agree, 3 (10%) as neutral; and 2(6.7%) respondents in disagreement and 1(3.3%) in strong
disagreement>> higher agreement of Infosys employees.
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Based on the total frequency distribution of the responses it can be said that 81.67% (40%
strongly agree and 41.67% agree) of the respondents of the Indian IT companies feel that their
management demonstrates a commitment to meeting the needs of employees with disabilities.
Infosys
Wipro
The graphs show that the frequency distribution of responses to the above question in Infosys
is 19 (63.3%) respondents as strongly agree, 6 (20%) as agree, 3 (10%) respondents as neutral;
1 (3.3%) as disagree and 1 (3.3%) as strongly disagree. In Wipro, the response from the
respondents is 20 (66.7%) as strongly agree, 6 (20%) as agree, 3 (10%) as neutral; 1 (3.3%) as
strongly agree and there are no respondents in disagreement >> higher agreement of Wipro
employees.
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Based on the total frequency distribution of the responses it can be said that 85% (65%
strongly agree and 20% agree) of the respondents of the Indian IT companies are affirmative
about their company’s policies and procedures discouraging discrimination.
Infosys
Wipro
The graphs show that the frequency distribution of responses to the above question in Infosys
is 16 (53.3%) respondents as strongly agree, 8 (26.7%) as agree, 3 (10%) respondents as
neutral; 1 (3.3%) as disagree and 2 (6.7%) as strongly disagree. In Wipro, the response from
the respondents is 17 (56.7%) as strongly agree, 10 (33.3%) as agree, 2 (6.7%) as neutral; and
there are no respondents in disagreement but 1(3.3%) in strong disagreement>> higher
agreement of Wipro employees.
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Based on the total frequency distribution of the responses it can be said that 85% (55%
strongly agree and 30% agree) of the respondents of the Indian IT companies have access to
equal employment opportunities regardless of their differences.
Infosys
Wipro
The graphs show that the frequency distribution of responses to the above statement in Infosys
is 12 (40%) respondents as strongly agree, 10 (33.3%) as agree, 8 (26.7%) respondents as
neutral; and there are no respondents in disagreement. In Wipro, the response from the
respondents is 10 (33.3%) as strongly agree, 15 (50%) as agree, 4 (13.3%) as neutral; and there
are no respondents in disagreement but 1(3.3%) in strong disagreement>> higher agreement of
Wipro employees.
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Based on the total frequency distribution of the responses it can be said that 78.34% (36.67%
strongly agree and 41.67% agree) of the respondents of the Indian IT companies are in
agreement that their firm equally encourages employees from different backgrounds to apply
for higher positions.
9. Wipro/Infosys has done a great job in providing training programs that promote diversity
and inclusion
Infosys
Wipro
The graphs show that the frequency distribution of responses to the above question in Infosys
is 21 (70%) respondents as strongly agree, 7 (23.3%) as agree, 1 (3.3%) respondents as neutral;
1 (3.3%) as disagree and there are no respondents in strong disagreement. In Wipro, the
response from the respondents is 16 (53.3%) as strongly agree, 10 (33.3%) as agree, 3 (10%) as
neutral; and there are no respondents in disagreement but 1(3.3%) in strong disagreement>>
higher agreement of Infosys employees.
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Based on the total frequency distribution of the responses it can be said that 90% (61.67%
strongly agree and 28.33% agree) of the respondents of the Indian IT companies agrees that
their companies promote diversity and inclusion by providing training programs.
Infosys
Wipro
The graphs show that the frequency distribution of responses to the above question in Infosys
is 6 (20%) respondents as strongly agree, 10 (33.3%) as agree, 7 (23.3%) respondents as
neutral; 5 (16.7%) as disagree and 2 (6.7%) respondents as strongly disagree. In Wipro, the
response from the respondents is 13 (43.3%) as strongly agree, 6 (26.7%) as agree, 6 (20%) as
neutral, 2 (6.7%) respondents as disagree and 1(3.3%) as strongly disagree>> higher agreement
of Wipro employees.
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Based on the total frequency distribution of the responses it can be said that only 58.34%
(31.67% strongly agree and 26.67% agree) of the respondents of the Indian IT companies feel
that they are fairly compensated relative to similar yet distinct roles at their company.
However, the rest 41.66% feel there exists some sort of inequality in compensation of
employees.
6. FINDINGS
According to the survey conducted, 95% of the respondents (57 employees) agree and are
aware of the diversity practices in Indian IT companies and believe that their companies are
85% of the employees (61 respondents) feel comfortable enough in representing their own
81.67% of the respondents of the Indian IT companies feel that their management
them disagree with the statement, which shows that this practice is not majorly applied in
On the basis of the above data, it is found that the probability of respondents in agreement
being 85%, there diverse culture does not face much of an issue of discrimination in the
Indian IT industry.
about from employees being satisfied on getting fair compensation relative to their diverse
backgrounds.
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If we observe unique responses, we can suggest that currently, there are much better
diversity practices deployed at Infosys and Wipro than in the past (as responses of past
employees tell)
On comparing the results for Infosys and Wipro, we can conclude that on a whole, Infosys
follows and inculcates diversity and inclusion practices on a greater level. Although,
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7. CONCLUSION
The main aim of the study was to establish the link “Review of Diversity Practices at
Infosys and Wipro”. The study concludes the entire IT sector collectively follows and
inculcates diversity and inclusion practices on a greater level.
Employees (85%) at both the companies feel comfortable enough in representing their
own diverse cultures and believe that their opinions are valued. It was concluded from
the survey that 95% of the respondents are aware of the diversity practices at Indian IT
sector companies.
Diverse employees at Wipro have team, work culture and environment as the highest
categories they have scored. Wipro ranks in the bottom 40% of other companies with
10000+ employees for diversity score.
Women at Wipro have rated perks and benefits, team and CEO rating as the highest
categories they have scored, Also Wipro ranks in the top 25% of other companies with
10000+employees for gender score.
Diverse employees at Infosys have rated team, CEO rating and work culture as the
highest categories they have scored. Infosys ranks in the bottom 30% of other
companies in the US with 10000+ employees for diversity score.
Women at Infosys have rated team, executive team, and work culture as the highest
categories they have scored, also Infosys ranks in the bottom 35% of other companies
in the US with 10000+ employees for gender score.
It was also seen that at Infosys they comply with all the applicable laws prohibiting
discrimination or harassment against any applicant or employees based on age, race,
gender, national origin, religion, creed, etc.
In conclusion we can say that there are much better diversity practices deployed at
Infosys and Wipro than in the past.
8. LIMITATIONS
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The major limitation of the project is that sample size is not large, it does not include vast
The area of our research was limited to India only though the companies had their branch
offices in foreign countries as well, their diversity practices can be different from that of
India
Diversity can become an expensive proposition it costs a lot, between salary and benefits, to
hire the best people for your open positions it can create a fear of offshoring and lack of job
security.
Another limitation can be time constraints, the research was conducted in a limited time
frame.
Availability of employees for survey was also a restriction, as many employees were not
easily available.
Considering the Pandemic situation there was a restriction of contacting employees through
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9. RECOMMENDATIONS
Identify the problems by getting feedbacks from diverse individuals in the business.
Develop a clear D & I (Diversity and inclusion) Strategy; frequently assess and improve
your processes.
Gender equality initiatives i.e. pay equal salary to everyone and also offer the same
opportunities.
Hold people accountable: put rules in place and don’t tolerate discrimination.
Accommodate disabilities
Initiate mentoring schemes
Team inclusion i.e. regular ‘desk swaps’ helping to prevent ‘cliques’ being formed.
Hire multilingual employees in order to resolve any language barriers.
Offer training programs i.e. computer lessons to bridge the digital skills gap.
1) Communication
2) Hostility
Hiring managers need to be able to recognize the signs of hostility. Diversity training for
employees can also help to educate them and mitigate any bias. With awareness training,
employees will understand that differences between colleagues are beneficial and nothing
to fret about.
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Communicate your company values; resistant employees will eventually realize that their
values no longer align with that of their employer and leave. If you’re concerned about
losing star employees, just remember that quality employees who align with your values
are more beneficial to your mission and vision.
3) Generation gap
Build and foster a multigenerational workplace culture.
Include age in diversity and inclusion strategy.
Design and offer age-inclusive training opportunities.
Develop programs that supports old workers.
4) Opinions
Electing a committee of high-performing executives who will hear every opinion and make the
final decision themselves. If a consensus cannot be reached, the committee can evaluate all of the
options and identify the best one. This might help the employees feel valued for their opinions
and suggestions.
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10. REFERENCES
http://wiprosustainabilityreport.com/16-17/diversity_and_inclusion
https://www.infosys.com/about/diversity-inclusion.html
http://www.ijstr.org/final-print/dec2019/Diversity-At-Workplace-Performance-Of-Human-
Resource-Management-Practices-In-It-Sector-In-Ncr-India.pdf
https://www.jstor.org/stable/23509817
https://scholar.google.co.in/scholar?
start=30&q=diversity+practices+at+IT+industry&hl=en&as_sdt=0,5&as_vis=1
https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/09649429910301670/full/html
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jasp.12273
https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/ER-06-2015-0114/full/html
https://www.pramanaresearch.org/gallery/prj-p910.pdf
http://www.indianjournals.com/ijor.aspx?
target=ijor:zijmr&volume=8&issue=4&article=013
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11. APPENDIX
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