India - The Knowledge Capital

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                                  MANAGING DIVERSITY: THE CHALLENGES FACED BY INDIA INC.

“MANAGING DIVERSITY: THE CHALLENGES FACED BY INDIA INC.”

INDIA – THE KNOWLEDGE CAPITAL

AIMA – NCMS 2008

Research Paper Presentation Competition

Institute for Integrated Learning in Management

PGDM 2008-10, Welingkar Institute of Management, Development & Research


CONTENTS

ABSTRACT

A diverse ethos like India not only showcases unity in diversity but also the potential to create waves in innovative thinking. India, largely an agro-based economy has undergone a massive facelift in the recent decade due to the dotcom boom, giving the economy a phenomenal push. Statistics reveal that India will be a youth country in the coming decades. Given the immense knowledge pool, diversity and youth population at the country’s disposal, it is only natural to predict that India will be the global leader. At the same time, amendments are required to manage these great resources effectively to deliver what we dream to achieve. Challenges faced by India Inc. are not only population burst, corruption, terrorism, etc but also management of youth & the immense knowledge base available along with attitude refinement to facilitate retention of knowledge. The country which boasts of a plethora of natural resources should reinforce ways to utilize these depleting resources and the talent pool available to the best of its potential. This paper looks into few of these issues and suggests methodologies for managing the diversity.


INTRODUCTION

A country like India is a perfect example of unity among diversity with a mix of cultures, languages, religions, age groups, etc offering a tremendous opportunity to learn and garner knowledge. The country has evolved over centuries into a multi-dimensional ethos, learning and assimilating a vast pool of knowledge. But have we succeeded in managing and utilizing this talent pool to its full potential? This provoking question leads us to the topic, “Managing Diversity: The Challenges Faced By India Inc.”

A key distinguisher and common asset, knowledge is of importance. The healthy diversity along with a huge population does India an opportunity to grow fast. New ideas and fresh perspectives are natural offshoots of diversity and should be seen as “blessings in disguise”, rather than a challenging hurdle towards growth. But in this age of information technology and speed, “application of knowledge”, will majorly contribute to the country’s growth story. Diversity in India and its implications…

Between 2003 and 2050, India will add about 250 million people to its labour pool … By 2020, 61% of Indians will be under 35, i.e. about 780 million Indians will be in this age group.

The statistics indicate that future India will be home to more young minds, thus increasing the average disposable income, and facilitating greater youth participation in decision making activities with fresh outlook. The youth and baby-boomer generations together can contribute a lot in adding value to the knowledge chain. The acquired knowledge should be practiced or else the country cannot thrive on the potential knowledge leaders & diverse knowledge pool available.

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The concept of “Knowledge Learnt, Used & Thrown”, entrenched in the young minds will have to be given up to produce innovators and thought leaders, and stress on practical application of knowledge is quintessential.

“Knowledge is of no value unless you put it into practice.”

  • Anton Chekhov


LITERATURE REVIEW

A knowledge economy and its attributed index primarily depend upon 4 key pillars listed by The World Bank as Innovation, Education, Information Communication & Technology (ICT) and Economical & Incentive Regime (EIR) under the Knowledge Assessment Methodology (KAM) and ...

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