Dictated Diversity

Reading time: 2 minutes. 

As a faculty member in a respected B-School, I frequently engage with management theories and concepts. These ideas are mostly shaped by Western philosophies, which, in my view, do not fully capture the realities of the East. Because of these theories and concepts, management education today tends to cling to  Western ideas, leading to a shallow understanding of the human mind, culture, civilization, and society.

Lately, I have been reviewing papers on Diversity, Inclusion, and Equality in management journals. Almost all of them lack a deep (sociological) understanding of diversity and inclusion. The Western idea of diversity focuses mainly on gender, sexuality, and race, but misses the broader idea of "human differences." Around the world, there are many types of diversity—like caste, religion, and language—that Western management theories often overlook.

Take China and Japan, for example. These societies are heavily Westernised but remain deeply xenophobic due to past attempts by Westerners to convert them to Christianity. As Devdutt Pattanaik points out, many companies today are doing something similar. They aren't just doing business; they are spreading their ideologies, which they promote as atheistic, rational, secular, and scientific, assuming these are universal truths.

In sociology, it is well known that culture includes differences and hierarchies, while wisdom tries to reduce or eliminate them. This creates a tension between culture and wisdom. Most people are not guided by wisdom but by fear. Fearful people seek protection, building 'walls' of authority, glamour, brand, and perceived superiority—expressions of their insecurities. These insecurities push people towards uniformity, as being part of a 'Herd’ feels safer, though it doesn't lead to true wisdom.

When diversity declines in a society, insecurities grow. But what happens when an organisation or society fails to understand and embrace diversity? Can it ever achieve true inclusion? Can companies, management frameworks, and business values become flexible enough to include all kinds of wisdom and diversity and support an inclusive society? These are the questions that demand answers, and the quest for those answers continues...