ETHNICITY IN INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATIONS: Case of Two Organizations in Mumbai

This book examines the dynamics of ethnicity at the workplace-an issue that has been largely ignored in the Indian context. The belief that industrial development obliterates the relevance of ethnic leanings, promoting instead a rational, secular and universalistic outlook, is a contested one. This book, based on an empirical investigation of the interface between ethnicity and industrial life in two organizations in Mumbai, describes the obvious and subtle manifestations as well as the implications of this complex social phenomenon. Through its focus on the processes of recruitment and promotion in the studied organizations, the book lends support to the view that ethnic affiliation remains an inextricable part of the workplace. Even contemporary organizations with a better educated workforce are not free of the manipulations of basic group identity used by members of various ethnic groups to their advantage. Through its insights into the implications of the ethnic-industrial interface, the book emphasizes the significance of managing diversity at work.