Decision Making: Workforce Diversity and Inclusion

Read the following scenario and answer the THREE questions that follow.

Arti, CEO of an FMCG company, was under pressure from the Board of Governors (BoG) to increase diversity in the workforce. The board wanted the company to hire candidates with vision impairment*, as it believed that they contributed to organizations in many unique ways.

The CEO was apprehensive of hiring visually impaired candidates; she was not sure about the feasibility of accommodating them in the current setting. Moreover, Arti was unsure as to how the visually impaired could contribute meaningfully to the organization. (* A person, with a vision impairment in a range of 60-100 percent, is referred to as a visually impaired person. A person with 100 percent vision impairment cannot see at all.)

The following arguments were presented to Arti about the candidates with vision impairment: 1.Visually impaired can do some activities better than the normal people and hence complement other employees. 2.Visually impaired can motivate other employees to work harder. 3. Visually impaired can act as a role model for other disadvantaged people in the society 4. Visually impaired can work harder to prove themselves 5. Hiring visually impaired people may enhance organizational reputation which may consequently lead to better sales. 6. Visually impaired have to be paid 20 percent extra salary. From the above arguments, which of the following options indicate that CEO's apprehensions are misplaced?

Arti wanted to follow the suggestion given by the Board of Governors; however, she was not sure if the company was ready to accommodate candidates with 100 percent visual impairment. Also, the concern of involving such employees in meaningful activities was constantly bothering her. Hence, she constituted a committee to come up with recommendations that would help the company in hiring 100 percent visually impaired employees After two months of deliberations, the committee came up with the following recommendations:

1. Hire visually impaired employees unconditionally as it is any company's social responsibility
2. Hire visually impaired employees in the activities they can contribute
3. Ensure visually impaired friendly office space, food courts, restrooms, parking etc.
4. Allow guide dogs to assist employees with 100 percent vision impairment in the office premises Which of the following options will BEST allay concerns as well as be fair to all stakeholders?

Suresh refuses to be served coffee by visually impaired baristas, but he does believe in donating to the visually impaired. The following statements could explain why Suresh does not want to be served by visually impaired baristas.

1. He thinks that visually impaired are inefficient at serving coffee.
2. His parents have taught him to donate, instead of accepting services from challenged individuals.
3. He believes that his refusal to be served will have adverse consequences.
4. He feels joyous amongst visually impaired; sharing his life and caring for them. From the following, choose the option that BEST explains Suresh's biased behaviour