No to Women Boss – ASSOCHAM

Its official now, we prefer male boss over a female boss. ASSOCHAM (The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry in India) recently concluded survey – “Preference of Bosses in Emerging Corporate Culture” which declares that more than 68% men and women prefer male bosses at their work.

The survey result which was based on the 2,500 executives feedback suggest that about 68 percent showed preference for male bosses saying male bosses give more operational freedom at work and are faster in decision-making, while the remaining 32 percent did not have any preference. More interestingly, of the 68 percent executives who voted for male bosses, two-thirds were female. The respondents argued that women approach work with more emotion than men. Also, motherhood and family responsibilities keep them from accomplishing assigned work leading to discontentment among the juniors.

The study also shows that women in the workplace do not just prefer male bosses over female bosses; they also feel more comfortable with male co-workers. Men choices were more evenly split, with 17 percent choosing male co-workers and 16 percent choosing female co-workers.

The survey, which comprised 67 per cent women and 33 per cent men, also found out :

Women have to work twice as hard to prove themselves.
Women picked a male boss rather than a female boss,
More men would rather work for men than women; 50 percent of men chose a male boss and 12 percent picked a female boss
Most women, 77 percent, agree that it is still difficult for women to get ahead in the workplace; only 43 percent of men feels that way.
A majority of women, 56 percent, feel that at one time or another they have been disadvantaged in the workplace because of their gender, while 25 percent of men feel the same way.
The better the bosses, the longer the stability factor is yet another key findings of the survey. On working with strict bosses, majority of the executives said they would opt for an early exist as today there are immense opportunities available

Reference: http://www.assocham.org, Male Bosses in Preference, Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Attrition in hospitalityIndustry

A study conducted by the Associated Chambers of Commerce & Industry of India reveals that the attrition rate in the hospitality industry in India is set to double to nearly 50% by 2010, up from the earlier 25% growing at an alarming rate of 10% per annum.

The hospitality industry is facing attrition problem from the growing hospitality industry in India and talent pool in India eager to test foreign waters for more lucrative opportunities. Moreover, the hospitality industry talent pool is also exploring better opportunities in industries like BPO, Banking, Call centers etc

The rising attrition rates are posing a major threat to the hotel groups. As per estimates about 80% of people prefer going to UK and Dubai to join the food and retail industry. These are the preferred destination for the hospitality industry professionals to start a career in hospitality industry.

The government and education institutions are working towards bridging the gap but top level management of the hospitality industry should also work towards solving the problem. The hospitality industry to retain people should work on the deferred compensation schemes, improved salary packages, better incentives, attractive perks etc.

Reference: http://www.financialexpress.com, High attrition hits hospitality sector, February 18, 2008

Attrition Hits the Cement Industry

Any fast growing industry has its own flip side and attrition is one of them. The same is true for the Indian cement industry.

Capacity expansion of existing companies and entrance of new players have added fuel to the job market. This is the dream time for professional working in the cement industry. The professionals are happy with the emerged situation as they are in position to demand good compensation and benefits but the employers are facing problem to retain and attract good talent. Attrition in cement industry has increased in recent times. The attrition in junior level employees is high in comparison with the middle and senior level employees. The attrition rate at Ambuja Cements is up to 15 per cent and at UltraTech Cement attrition is around 15-18 per cent. The situation is almost same with other cement manufacturers in India.

The 189-million tonne domestic cement industry is gearing up to tackle attrition in the industry. Ambuja Cements to put a check on the high attrition has increased compensation packages and are even inducting graduate engineers and diploma-holding engineers as trainees. UltraTech Cement has introduced deferred compensation schemes and improved salary packages. Moreover, to beat the attrition and talent crunch in the industry, In the last two years, Ambuja Cements hired over 300 engineers from regional colleges across the country and allocated them to different units.

Reference: http://www.business-standard.com Cement firms gear up to tackle attrition, Chandan Kishore Kant / Mumbai May 13, 2008