The First Generation College Student Scholarship Essay

The First Generation College Student - Scholarship Essay Example As an FGCS, going to college is one of the proudest moments in my life because I know that I have the opportunity to improve the lives of my family members who never had the chance to attend college. Going to and graduating from college also means that I get to realize my dream of starting my own healthcare-related organization. Â  According to Engle (2007), FGCS face a lot of challenges in relation to staying enrolled in, and graduating from college, among them being the inability to reach the required GPA for graduation. As a result of having good grades, with a GPA of 3.5, I have joined the National Society of Collegiate Scholars (NSCS) so as to increase my chances of getting a scholarship to further advance my studies. Right now, I am an undergraduate student majoring in Science in Health Administration with more concentration on Health Information Systems. With good grades, I am hopeful the NSCS will sponsor me to pursue a master’s degree in Business Administration with a special focus on Health Care Management. Â  Currently, I am working as a Medical Administrative Assistant so that I can gain experience in the field of healthcare management but also so that I can get additional money to support myself. After I am done with my studies, however, I would like to manage the information technology department of a facility that deals with healthcare delivery. By working in such a facility, I will be exposed to all manner of patients and get to learn their problems and discover what kind of help they need. Â  Having the access to patient records while working in the information technology department will give me information regarding the plight of special groups of people in the society. Since my long-term goal is to set up a non-profit organization that caters to the needs of special groups of people in the society, the information gained during my managerial job will be of utmost importance.

Illiteracy in Egypt | An overview

Illiteracy in Egypt | An overview Illiteracy in Egypt Illiteracy is a huge problem, which face the developing countries and of course some of the developed countries. Who we can call an illiterate? An illiterate is a person who is unable to read or write. The rate of illiteracy is high in Egypt especially for women. The rate of illiteracy in Egypt in 2002 is approximately 34.2, while 45.4 percent is women. According to Arab Human Development Report; the illiteracy in the Arab world has reached 65 million, two thirds of them women. The illiteracy problem is caused by many things; one of the causes is poverty and another one is the lack of education of the parents. For example poverty; people want their children to learn, but can not afford enough money to make that dream come true. For the poor parents, it is a dream to make his children enter a school, because he wants his son to achieve something he could not do. This is a reason why illiteracy is high in the rural areas in Egypt. This is not only in rural areas, but also in big citie s in Cairo and the main reason for that is poverty; people cannot afford money to pay for their children school expenses, so they do not enter school and of course they become illiterate. This essay will first demonstrate the causes behind illiteracy and will try to find solutions for this problem. There are a number of causes behind the increased rate of illiteracy in Egypt, one of which is family pressure on women specifically from husbands, most of the husbands do not want their wifes to learn, specially the illiterate husbands. In the rural areas it is nearly impossible to convince the husband to attach his wife to a learning system. The husband is convinced that his wife has no need to learn. She only needs to serve her house, so what is the need of learning. Most of the girls wants to learn, but as they grow this feeling vanishes with time. Therefore in most of the cases the illiterate husband is the cause for the illiteracy of his daughter and wife. Another aspect of the problem is that husbands do not want to learn, they say why to learn, while I got my wife and my farm to look after, learning is not important. Some people at first are convinced to join educational system, but after some time they leave. Because they are bored, or they do not understand what they were taught or the more advanced group of them leaves after learning how to read and write.† To convince people of the importance of staying with classes is one of the toughest obstacles we face â€Å"(Rashed, 2002, issue no. 604). There is another problem which is the most of the people leaves after they are able to read and write, and he or she think that this is enough, but this is a problem, because if he or she did not exercise a lot he will forget what he learned and that is the ability to read and write. You can teach people how to read and write in a nine-month program, but according to a recently conducted field study by WSA, if people stop their education at that point, there is a big chance they will forget what they have been taught in a period ranging from six to 12 months (Rashed, 2002, issue no. 604). Some of the illiterate people are wealthy, they does not see a reason for learning, as they demonstrate it â€Å"what did the educated people get? This is a result of the socioeconomic problems in the country† (Abdoun, 2009, Daily News Egypt). That kind of people is nearly impossible to convince, because he thinks that he got enough money, so he think why do I need to learn? I got enough money for my self and my children. But what he does not know that his children will suffer after he dies. Because of course he prevents his children from learning. If he has a son from he make him works with him and if he has a daughter he will make her wait for marriage. In large cities like Egypt most people are poor; maybe due to the low income. People do not find money to spend on their children to learn. Nowadays in high school every student should take a lesson after school to understand the subject, because he did not understand what he was taught in school. Most of the parent can not a fford to pay for that lesson so the student fail and leaves the school. Illiteracy has many negative effects, not only on the person himself, but also for his own country; first of all, if a country has a high illiteracy rate, it will be very hard for this country to develop, because the countries develop with its people, not with itself. If people have knowledge they can do anything like gain a lot of money, invent new things, which leads to the development of their country. Second, illiteracy make people naà ¯ve easy to trick, because if you ask a question to an illiterate person and he does not know the answer, anything you say he will believe it, so he can be trick because of his illiteracy. Finally, illiterate people can not be a well known person Can an illiterate person be a president for example? Of course not, because he does not have any information to give or to convince people with. Although there are many solutions to eradicate illiteracy, not many of them work. Why is that? Because only a small group of people accept to learn, while the other leaves after a small period or after they learned basic concept, like reading and writing and those are partially illiterate. Illiteracy eradication programs have spread in Egypt to help illiterate people, but not all of it has been successful. One of these programs tries to employ young graduates and teach them, how to teach illiterate people. But the program is not that successful, why? Because of many reasons; first the graduates are young so they lack training, of course they will be trained, but they do not have the experience of an old teacher on how to teach, not only teach, but teach and deal with an illiterate person. Most of the graduated students look for money and jobs but they did not find what they desired, so they look for any kind of job to get money. After graduating, I didnt find a job. I signed up for the Century Project when I found out it paid LE150 a month.(Nafie, 2003, Issue No. 654).thus most of the graduated student look for just work, so they might not concentrate on the people they are teaching, of course they take courses on how to deal with the illiterate people, but that might not be enough. Because experience is the key to make people learn and make them have a desire in learning. I dont think any of the volunteers really believe in the cause. Most of us are doing it just because we need the money. (Nafie, 2003, Issue No. 654).as one of the volunteers mentioned, if they did not believe in the cause, will they really succeed in what they are doing? One main goal the person whose job is to eradicate the illiteracy should have, this goal is that he really wants to eradicate illiteracy, not just take it as a job. Another main problem is the eradicating programs itself. Maybe it does not suit that illiterate person himself; maybe he can not understand from the person that is teaching him, maybe the time is not suitable for him. It is not just provide the people with classes then leave them. It is providing people with classes and monitors them see what they need, are they comfortable with the way they learn, do they need anything else. The main idea is to motivate and encourage them and make them fell comfortable and make the classes and the schedules suitable for everyone. If this is achieved they will gain a lot from what they are learning. â€Å"An important area is the development of flexible programs which suit different learners needs and interests, meaning flexible schedules and convenient locations† (Abdoun, 2008, Daily News Egypt). There are other ways of eradicating illiteracy that is claimed to work; one of them is by advertising and providing lessons through television.† Utilization of the television channels and broadcasting as a teaching aid for distance education, through the introduction of literacy lessons and educational drama, thus covering all governorates at various periods to enable illiterates follow them regardless of time or place† (UNESCO Egypt report 1).This is good and a new way of learning, but the main question is does most the illiterates have television and if they have, do they have the time to watch literacy lessons on it? Of course not, because most of the illiterate parts in Egypt are concentrated in the rural areas, most of these people are concerned with their farms and work. Moreover most of these people will not want to see these programs on the television. They will say why I should waste my time on watching some program I do not even understand. The rural areas in Eg ypt do not care so much about technology some of them might still be using radios and do not even have a television or even care to have one. They are more concerned with their work, families and their own problems. To make a program like that work it needs awareness, how to know which time this program is aired and how to understand from it. Because when an illiterate person starts to learn, especially old people (people above the age of 30) they find most of the course or the program very hard to understand, so they start to fear what is coming and they ask themselves how I am going to understand the complex parts, when I can not even understand the easy part. Many ways of eradicating illiteracy had failed, because people do not have their expectations meet. This paragraph will provide few solutions, from all the information gathered about how to eradicate illiteracy. First of all, women is not like men they are easily convinced, if someone sit with them and talk and understand their problem, they might provide a solution for them.The best suited for this mission is one who is not working for money, but the one whose gladly dedicating his life to solve this problem, who believes that he or she can solve it if he or she tries. These descriptions mostly applied on female instructors; because they are enthusiastic and realistic about their work. According to one of the volunteers she said â€Å"we will make the project succeed. As long as there are a few like us, who are keen on teaching those in need, a lot of people will be able to overcome illiteracy. (Nafie, 2003, Issue No. 654).Other are men volunteer for the illiteracy eradicating program, which this essay explained some of the works for money and the others work because they did no t find a job. These kinds of people must be removed and replaced with people such as these women who do not work for money; they work to educate illiterate people. Another one of the female volunteers said â€Å"the money was not a motivational factor.†What can you do with LE150 these days anyway? she asked. Those who were doing it for the money, she said, dont deserve the job† (Nafie, 2003, Issue No. 654).Many women do not work for money, so they are the best candidates for the jobs. The question now how to convince husbands; by telling and showing him examples of literate people and demonstrate what his wife will be if she is literate, how she will understand him and her children better. That also applies for him, what he will be after he is a literate person how it will help him with his work and also make him a better person. Fighting illiteracy is not to make people learn how to read and write, it is a long way that involves convincing the illiterate women to go on with studying in the program, and convince the husbands about the essential of letting their wives continue their education. One big way of illiteracy eradicating is the family support. If the family is supportive enough the illiterate member of this family will continue to learn, not just stop by learning how to read and write and if they continue to support this illiterate member in their family he becomes a fully literate person, it means that he will have a degree. For the wealthy people who are illiterate they should understand if they make their children learn that should make things easy for him. His son will be able to take after his father job and even expand it. Because he learned in details how this job works. In the end the illiteracy eradicating process depends on the instructors and how can they convince and encourage people to learn. To sum up , illiteracy is a huge problem which is facing Egypt, but not only Egypt, the whole world is facing that problem. There are many problems which are causing illiteracy in Egypt, one of them is family pressure on women specifically from husbands, another one is the husband themselves dont want to learn and there is the rich illiterate people who do not care about learning. The effect of illiteracy is huge, a country with huge rate of illiteracy will not be developed country and illiteracy makes people naà ¯ve easy to trick. The illiterate person will be as he is until he dies without doing anything for himself or his country. There is some solutions that did not work for eradicating illiteracy, for example; people that only work for money not to eradicate illiteracy they are not dedicated to their job, so they will teach without care about the person in front of them. Also there is the television lesson for illiterate people, which illiterate people might not understand it, another thing the government provides programs for eradicating illiteracy that do not suit all the illiterate people. Finally, there are some solutions for eradicating illiteracy. For women they are easily convinced, if someone understands their thought and what they need they can easily be convinced with the idea of learning. For the husbands, they must see an example of literate husband, to convince them what they or their family will become if they become literate. The illiteracy eradicating process depends on the instructors and how can they convince and encourage people to learn. References Rashed, Dina (2002), Life choices, Al Ahram weekly Retrieved (25/12/2009) from http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2002/604/fe2.htm Abdoun, Safaa (2008), Illiteracy eradication programs struggle with the numbers, daily news Egypt Retrieved (25/12/2009) from http://www.dailystaregypt.com/printerfriendly.aspx?ArticleID=18209 Abdoun, Safaa (2009), Egypts illiteracy rate drops slightly to 26 pct, daily news Egypt Retrieved (25/12/2009) from http://www.thedailynewsegypt.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=25852 Nafie, Reem (2003), Illiteracy revisited, Al Ahram weekly Retrieved (26/12/2009) from http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2003/654/eg2.htm UNESCO (2000), country reports Retrieved (26/12/2009) from http://www.unesco.org/education/wef/countryreports/egypt/rapport_1_2.htm

Corporate America and Modern Society Essay -- essays research papers

Corporate America and Modern Society Large corporations affect most of society today, and these affects have split the U.S. workers into two factions. People are becoming frustrated over companies having huge lay-offs, firing thousands of employees, shutting down businesses, and moving to countries like Mexico to make a bigger profit. What happens to those people who have families to take care of? Where are they going to find money to pay for their children’s medical bills, education, food, and clothing? How are they going to tell their spouses that they now have to work two jobs to take care of costs for their family? Top executives of large corporations often earn millions of dollars a year in salaries, bonuses, and benefits while the vast majority of people who work for them earn moderate wages, sometimes no more than the minimum hourly amount required by law. Some people believe that this type of a system for hourly working is wrong. Others argue that no change is possible without stifling human initiative. H ow might the economic system be changed? Should it be changed? History of Large Corporations  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The industrial revolution in America during the early part of the 20th century brought many new changes to society with the introduction of factories, construction, and businesses. As time progressed through the years, small businesses soon started looking to increase their market nationally. As small businesses soon turned into large corporations, they began to spread across the country giving people quality products anywhere in the United States. The economy was booming. Competition between businesses was moving at an incredible rate, producing many products and improving the Gross National Product. America was becoming the most powerful nation in the world. There were plenty of jobs for families to find work. As businesses grew, bureaucratic systems were set up within them to ensure better management. One man could no longer run his business alone. He needed supervisors to reach every employee. Hierarchies were introduced and so businesses were now ran by a select few individuals who were most likely the founders of the company, and they got all the profit. Capitalism   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Some people say that today’s minimum wage is not a livable wage. That it doesn’t make up for the cost of living in today’s society... ...ple want a change, there will be a change. Works Cited Cody, David. â€Å"Child Labor†. 1987. http://65.107.211.206/victorian/history/hist8.html (1 May 2002). New York Times. â€Å"Executive Paywatch 2002†. 2002.. http://www.aflcio.org/paywatch/index.htm (24 April 2002). Moore, Michael. The Big One. 1996. Reich, Robert B. Goleman, Daniel. â€Å"Point, counter point†. Training & Development, April 1999. Vol. 53 Issue 4 p26. Eisenscher, Michael. â€Å"Sweatshop Abuses Continue†. Nov. 30, 1997. http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/40/041.html (1 May 2002). Kronemer, Alexander. â€Å"Narrowing the Wage Gap†. Monthly Labor Review. Nov99, Vol. 122 Issue 11, p79. Blau, Francine D. Kahn M. Lawrence. â€Å"Wage Inequality: International Comparisons of Its Sources†. 1996. http://www.aei.org/cs/cs6931.htm. (22 April 2002) Kazis, Richard and Miller, Marc S. â€Å"Low Wage Workers in the New Economy†. 2002 http://www.urban.org/pubs/low_wage/index.html (24 April 2002) McCarthy, Jim. â€Å"Salary Gap Continues to Widen† Techniques: Connecting Education & Careers, Mar 2002, Vol. 75 Issue 3, p8. Robertson, Michael. â€Å" The Minimum Wage: Some New Evidence†. Journal of Labor Research, Winter 2002, Vol. 23 Issue 1, p1.

A Short Analytical Paper of Abraham Lincoln’s “a House Divided” Essay

The House Divided Speech was addressed by Abraham Lincoln on June 1958. He delivered the speech upon his acceptance of Illinois Republican Party’s nomination as the senator of the state. Thus the speech became a very important launching campaign for his success in politics thus giving him a national limelight that saw him in the elections to the presidency in 1860.The speech primarily addressed on the issue of slavery in America. Abraham Lincoln delivered his speech aimed at establishing his strong beliefs towards the acts of slavery. The speech was also meant to point out a differentiating factor of beliefs from Stephen Douglas and the rest of the top governmental officials who seemed to practice corruption in their transactions. According to Abraham Lincoln, â€Å"A House divided against itself cannot stand†. This was the major crucial theme of Abraham Lincoln’s speech. From this important statement,Licoln meant that the American nation could not in whatever terms or state face a positive survival phase when it was composed of a state of half-slavery and half-free. He meant that only one of those two states could only exist. Thus his bold statement was that he expected that the division that existed had to cease so as to embrace success and good governance. Lincoln’s speech helped rouse to the people of America the recognition of the extent to which slavery had gone. Lincoln’s speech is still relevant in this 21st century in that even today, each nation should embrace unity in all its undertakings whether political, social and economic. He believed that the ideals of a nation with freedom for all could not have a chance of coexistence whether socially, morally or in legal terms under one nation. Thus slavery should either be accepted among all people or be universally denied. A universal truth is clearly bears a clear significance from Lincoln’s statement to the extent that such a statement even pervades a lot of importance to the modern society and even the governments in power today. Such relevance can be clearly seen in the experiences in Sudan. Continued irreconcilable differences in culture and religion against the people of Sudan saw Southern Sudan seceding to become the republic of South Sudan. Such success for secession bears credit from the prophetic work of Abraham Lincoln. A division had always existed between the people from Northern Sudan who were associated with Muslim religion and the people from the Southern Sudan who were associated with Christianity. This scenario bred a situation of ethnic and cultural differences between the two states to the extent where secession could be avoided. Even today, the American nation is still faced with challenging political divisions and differences especially between the parties of the Republicans and the Democrats. The unwillingness of the two parties to arise to compromised solutions has always been evident in most of the major recent crises facing the nation. Clear evidence is the recent crisis on the debt ceiling where the Republicans were on the favor of maintaining cuts on spending as opposed to the Democrats who were advocating for an increase in taxes so as to increase revenue collection in the country. Further differences saw a compromised situation of debt ceiling being arrived at as the solution. This led to the country facing an economic disaster as a result of the oppositions from the two strong political parties. In the recent world, the institution of marriage can be compared to the speech of Abraham Lincoln. Marriage is a union of two people who are bound to each other by law. Division is prone to occur in a marriage situation in case of a divorce. For the married partners to embrace endured togetherness and unity in their marriage, they must appreciate common interests of concerns in their practices. In case one of the partners dissent from the unity and togetherness set up, the marriage is susceptible to division brought about by breaking of the legal bonds that hold the marriage partnership in unison. Continued lack of an amicable compromised solution between the two conflicting partners will thus lead to separation. Continued separation will see the two partners seek a divorce in a court of law and the marriage will fail completely. Most marriages nowadays are failing as a result of continued disagreements of interests between the married couple. As per words of Lincoln that a divide house cannot stand, thus the divided marriage partnership cannot even endure survival thus it breaks up. Even today, divisions in groups have been as a result of continued differences among the uniting groups. Humans have a tendency to incline towards the protection of their interest’s aid favors of their perceived groups. Such favourism makes them advocate fully for their interests posing a challenging opposing side to the interests of their unperceived groups. Many nations today are faced with such opposing groups having differing interests and ideals. People advocating for similar ideals tend to create strong ties of loyalty and even alliances creating a boundary to the opposing group or alliance. The existence of the two opposing groups as a whole sees each group maintain conflicting interests. Continued disagreement leads to one group conquer the other resulting to a failing side and a winning side. Ultimately such results create division in the nations. Thus, Abraham Lincoln’s works from the speech â€Å"A House Divided† bears a lot of significance and relevance in our modern world.

Diversity Training Essay

Diversity training is training intended to increase cultural awareness, knowledge and skills, and increase the inclusion of identity groups. This ultimately is designed to assist an organization promote a more diverse corporate culture, protect against civil rights issues, and promote better teamwork. This is accomplished through training in communications to all levels of an organization, reinforcement of policies and procedures to be more inclusive, design and implementation of strategies that limit the potential problems associated with lower diversity levels or diversity awareness. TYPES: Diversity Training Workshops * Diversity training workshops last about two to three hours, and courses last a minimum of four days. Workshops and courses teach conflict resolution skills, preparation for increases in racial and gender diversity, international work and safeguarding against harassment. Unfortunately, diversity training through workshops or courses produces only short-term positive effects. It seems that the â€Å"afterglow† of this type of training fades fast. Diversity Offices * Having a diversity office provides more training opportunities than a workshop or course does. Diversity offices can offer follow-up sessions in addition to the more extensive three-day to one-week diversity training sessions they conduct. Sojourner Training * Companies that compete in the international marketplace use sojourner training to help employees who will relocate to a foreign country. Once employees go through this type of diversity training prior to managing or working in foreign operations, their effectiveness increases. Sojourner training also provides counselling to help employees readjust to their return home. Ongoing Reinforcement * Rather than simply offering a short-term course or workshop, companies that make a real difference in diversity training are those that practice equality on an ongoing basis. In these companies, diversity is not just an add-on but also a major part of the corporate culture. In other words, to truly achieve diversity in the workplace, a company must practice what it preaches. Examples of ongoing reinforcement are hiring a diverse employee pool, recognition for diversity efforts, allowing minority groups to form support groups and celebrating cultures via special programs. How to Develop a Diversity Training Program Developing a diversity training program for your organization typically involves assessing your team’s needs, designing materials that reflect your training requirements, delivering workshops and reference materials and evaluating your efforts. Companies that implement diversity training programs to advocate workplace diversity tend to have higher employee retention rates, improved morale, reduced lawsuits and improved recruiting. Step 1 Initiate a diversity training program development project by identifying the project sponsors and stakeholders. Interview these people, conduct focus groups or conduct online surveys to gather input about the current environment in your organization and what behaviours need to change. Common topics include managing change, effective communication, cultural awareness, dealing with gender issues and conflict resolution. Step 2 Define objectives for your program. For example, you may want to minimize miscommunication and misinterpretation on the job. You may also want employees to recognize and value differences in age, experience, social customs, sense of time and demeanour. Achieving these types of objectives enables you to manage a culturally diverse and multi-generational workforce and resolve minor incidents before they become bigger problems. Step 3 Design your workshop. Prepare presentation materials to instruct participants about definitions and concepts associated with diversity. Intersperse long periods of instruction with interactive activities such as ice breakers, role-playing exercises and case studies. Ensure your content flows smoothly and covers all the relevant topics. Step 4 Deliver your workshop at team meetings, company events or separate training sessions. Decide how long your session should last, depending on the number of topics you want to cover, the number of participants and the participant’s familiarity with the content. Step 5 Create a quiz to test employees on their knowledge of diversity topics. Step 6 Evaluate your program’s effectiveness by creating an online survey to assess participant satisfaction. Talk with managers several months after your event to see if people have changed their behaviour and become more tolerant of people whose values may differ from their own. The Advantages of Diversity Training Fewer Lawsuits: One of main causes of concern in upper management is lawsuits filed by employees for discrimination, sexual harassment and wrongful dismissal. Diversity training helps all employees in a company to know what the laws are and what the company policies are. With training, people learn what acceptable behaviour is when dealing with a subordinate, peer or someone you feel is different from you in a way such as race, religion, nationality or physical abilities. In many cases, a situation is interpreted differently by the people involved, leading to misunderstandings and charges of wrongdoing. Once the employees have clear guidelines on how they should behave towards one another in the workplace, there are few misunderstandings and, subsequently, fewer lawsuits. Diversity training reinforces the policies that are already in place to protect employees and the company. Increased Job Satisfaction: When diversity training is successful, individuals are happier with their jobs. The training helps them to understand what is expected of them and what they can expect from their peers and supervisors. During diversity training, people get to ask question and discuss their concerns. Along with this knowledge and the feeling of being heard, people have a better understanding of the workplace environment and their role in it. This job satisfaction leads to a higher retention rate. Content employees are less likely to quit and look for new jobs. Employees happy in their jobs are more motivated and are more productive. These improved attitudes help the company as a whole to run more efficiently. More Diverse Workplace: Diversity training points out how alike people are, even if on the surface, they seem different. This knowledge leads to hiring managers and human resources personnel being more open to hiring people from all backgrounds and walks of life. Having a more diverse workplace makes the work place a more interesting environment. The training also unifies people with diverse backgrounds around a common goal. With proper training, a diversified workplace has everyone working together as a team to help the company succeed and grow. Disadvantages of Diversity Training Hiring Manager Authority: In the name of increasing workplace diversity, employers may feel pressured to recruit applicants from diverse groups. Many hiring managers believe that employer edicts concerning increasing diversity require them to overlook more suitably qualified applicants in favor of applicants who bring diversity — not necessarily talent — to the organization. In these circumstances, hiring managers may begin to resent how increasing workplace diversity affects their ability to exercise independent judgment, as well as their authority in making hiring decisions. Workplace Relationships: Employees who realize the company’s goal is to increase diversity may feel they are less important if they don’t represent the typical diverse populations that focus on race, sex, national origin, age and disability. In a workplace where employees don’t belong to diverse populations, these employees may feel undervalued and unappreciated based purely on the fact that they don’t represent diversity. They also might believe that employees from diverse groups have more opportunities for advancement, thus disrupting the working relationships they once had with colleagues and co-workers. Myriad Accommodations: Although the premise of workplace diversity is mutual respect, making accommodations for numerous diverse groups’ demands can become burdensome on employers, making diversity management difficult. Employee requests and work constraints based on religion, national origin, gender and race can become overwhelming if your workplace has so much diversity that it takes a full-time human resources staff member just to keep track of accommodating the needs of diverse groups in the workplace. Examples of accommodating numerous diverse populations include translating materials into multiple languages and having interpreters on hand for meetings with employees, accommodating employee absences due to religious practices or disabilities, as well as adjusting business hours to coincide with preferred schedules for employees with different work styles and personal obligations. Diversity Training at Infosys A global company must reflect the diversity of the world it serves. Their employees represent the widest possible variety of nationalities, cultures, gender identities, employment histories, and levels of physical ability. They recruit employees from global talent pools and provide paths for professional growth to all members of society. Within such a diverse company, people bring to the workplace contrasting opinions and worldviews. As these people interact, they develop new ideas, methods and perspectives. Infosys recognizes and promotes this power of diversity to drive innovation. Infosys actively fosters inclusivity across business units and company offices. They encourage employees to focus on their commonalities and de-emphasize differences. Inclusivity ultimately makes for more informed and sensitive teams that can serve customers better. Infosys was the first Indian IT company to establish an office for diversity and inclusivity. Their workforce comprises people from 89 natio nalities working from 32 countries, with 34.7% women on board and a multi-generational representation. Talent diversity is the key to propel their business growth engines and sustain momentum. Employee resource groups They work towards increasing employee motivation, their ability to collaborate and innovate with internal as well as external stakeholders and to have a positive business impact on their business success through various diversity and inclusivity programs. Creating Common Ground Highlights and educates employees about the values and cultural ethos. The program employs innovative approaches and communication campaigns channelled through live events, their intranet, their corporate TV channel, mailers and posters. Family Matters Family Matters promotes work-life balance among young parents. It also offers family enrichment programs and workshops, networking opportunities to employees for support and information sharing. IGLU Infosys Gay Lesbian employees and You (IGLU) creates a safe and respectful work environment for employees from the LGBT community. Awareness programs and exclusive events are held to create awareness and foster inclusion. Ineffability Ineffability creates a sensitive and inclusive workplace for differently-abled employees. Regular accessibility audits are conducted to ensure that their infrastructure is accessible to differently-abled employees. The World Disability Day is celebrated on all their campuses and policies are enhanced/ changed keeping in mind the special needs of differently-abled employees. IWIN The Infosys Women’s Inclusivity Network (IWIN), works towards creating a gender-sensitive and inclusive work environment for women employees and develop them for managerial and leadership roles. IWIN partners with gender networks and forums across the globe to benchmark. Samaritans Network Volunteers trained in barefoot counselling listen, empathize, support and counsel fellow employees and help them cope with life’s challenges, mostly personal in nature. This initiative is a first-of-its-kind in India and is active on their seven campuses and had positive outcomes for over 638 employees.