BUSINESS
2009
♦
IND I A
and C2C messaging have
become commonplace, and
younger entrants into advertising may ignore these
well-tested values.
While this book is, for the
most part, engaging for the
novitiate, it does not address
the larger issues in the interests
of more immediate preoc:
cupations. Areas like the ethics
of child-directed ads or whether
such ads should have
May 31,
Books
a separate telecast time, the
portrayal of women or whether
rural needs are targeted in the
'changed7
scenario,
bear
critiquing for a generation that
may not have encountered these
dilemmas. Also, the book is
riddled with typos, editorial
lapses and inconsistencies in
style.
The book addresses change
in its many contexts, and these
have been tumultuous
A guide for employers
A VALUES ROUTE TO
BUSINESS SUCCESS: THE WHY
AND HOW OF EMPLOYING
PERSONS WITH DISABILITY
By Rama Chart Sakshi Broota,
Meenu Bhambhani, Vijay
Krishnamani, Ankit Rajiv jindal
Published by: The Disability
Networking Forum of the
Confederation of Indian
Industry (en), Karnataka Pages:
258; Price: Rs500
T
hey can be counted on the
fingers, companies that
espouse inclusion of the
disabled in the workplace
-Godrej, Shell India Marketing,
IBM India, for whom, it is said,
hiring and mentoring of the
disabled is "a business target"
like any other. But mostly, the
policy on this, if companies
have one, remains on paper,
even though the UN Convention
on the Rights of Persons with
Disability, ratified by India in
2007, says employers are
legally obliged to "prohibit
discrimination
in
the
workplace" and to "ensure
reasonable
accommodation".
Research by the National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People
(NCPEDP) in 2003 revealed that
the public sector, private and
multinational
corporations
employed only 0.54,
0.28 and 0.05 per cent people
with disabilities, respectively.
Even if convinced about the
nobility of such a practice,
employers remain ambivalent,
with white-collar job prospects
for the disabled never given
much thought. Here comes a
manual that HR personnel, NGOS
and heads of industry would
like to consult. Brought out
recently by the Confederation
of Indian Industry (en),
Karnataka, and the Diversity
and Equal Opportunity Centre
(DEOC), Bangalore, A Values
Route to Business Success: The
Why and How of Employing
Persons with Disability is
packed
with
information,
including lists of books, people
and organisations working in
the field.
It "describes an ideal state/7
writes Xerxes Desai, in his
preface. The Bangalore-
and simultaneous since the
economic reforms of 1991
-from the mall to the multiplex
to the mobile, dotcom and all
the many offshoots that the
Internet has spawned. This is
fodder enough for comment, for
change, as we know it, is
usually
gradual,
generation-to-generation
change. And yet, one is
reminded of the evergreen
wisdom in the words of Bill
Bernbach, lead-
ing light of the advertising
world, when he said, "It took
millions of years for man's
instincts to develop. It will take
millions more for them to even
vary. It is fashionable to talk
about changing man. A
communicator must be concerned with unchanging man,
with his obsessive drive to
survive, to succeed, to love, to
take care of his own."
based advisor to the en, Karnataka, during his tenure as
vice chairman and managing
director of Titan Industries
seven years ago, had on the
rolls 6-7 per cent people with
disabilities. "We have to work
towards it bit by bit/' he says.
"There is greater awareness in
the West, but our society is
evolving in being more civil."
Indian history and legend
bear out how those with a disability were objects of pity or
derision. In the past few
decades, differences in socioeconomic background, religion,
physical fitness and gender
have led to exclusion of the
disadvantaged
from
opportunities.
This book-cum-CD, which
cost Rs3.5 lakh to produce, is
the result of work put in by the
five founder-members of the
DEOC, three of whom have a
disability. "It explains in factual
Q&A format, the hows and
whys of such affirmative
action/' says Rama Chari, who
set up Infosys BPO'S Equal
Opportunity initiative. "Why
should I hire people with
disability? What jobs can they
do? Can visually impaired
people use computers? Can
people with mental disabilities
work?"
In fact, this effort was born
out of the fact that "there is
hardly any research available
on disability", says Meenu
Bhambhani, a contributor to the
book and head, corporate
social responsibility (CSR),
MphasiS, Bangalore. When
people think 'diversity', 'race' or
'gender' occurs to them, but
disability tends to be looked at
in isolation - and companies
balk.
"Most companies don't have
this high on their agenda," says
Anita Rama-chandran, director,
Cerebrus
Consultants,
for
reasons
that
include
inconsistent quality of the
product; the thin line between
sympathy and the team feeling
weighed down; and the
economies of mechanisation.
"If the price differential is more
than 1 per cent, employers are
not interested."
Hiring the disabled is only
the beginning, says Mahesh
Godbole, head of HR, Sandoz
Pvt Ltd. "How to integrate
them, with responsibility and
dignity is the question, for
nobody wants to be done a
favour eternally."
The idea of integrating the
disabled into the mainstream
had led Tata Consultancy Services to launch the Advanced
Computer Training programme
for the visually impaired in
Mumbai in 2008. Godrej,
which has had 0.55 per cent
disabled
people
In
its
employment, won awards for
this in December 2008. For all
those who see value in tapping
a neglected corpus of abilities,
this book serves as a
comprehensive guide.
♦ 136*
♦ NANDINI BHASKARAN
NANDINI BHASKARAN