IT cradles work ethics of New Economy

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal"><script language="javascript">doweshowbellyad=0; </script><br /><img align="left" src="/photo/666680.cms" alt="/photo/666680.cms" border="0" />BANGALORE: A workforce of just over half a million belonging to a sunrise industry called information technology has been setting the agenda for the remaining working population of India, both in the organised and the unorganised sector.<br /><br />About a million graduates drift into the Indian employment market every year.Only a fraction of this is absorbed by the IT industry. Yet, it has shown the older industry segments how free and fair labour can yield rich dividends.<br /><br />There are many factors responsible for the current enviable situation of the IT industry, but four them could be considered crucial. One, the workforce is free from activism.<br /><br />Two, the employers are free from reservations and quotas. Three, the workforce has always kept upgrading its skillsets. And four, employers have understood that only by sharing wealth with their workforce can they create more of it in this knowledge economy.<br /><br />The IT worker does not belong to any organised group. In fact, professional bodies and clubs would probably complain that IT professionals show little interest in being party to any organised activity. But this has boded well for an industry that thrives on a highly disorganised working schedule.<br /><br />There has been little pressure on employers to regulate recruitment through reservations and quotas. Though in places like Bangalore, there have been demands to reserve jobs for locals, most firms have managed to steer clear of such moves.<br /><br /><formid=367815><br /><br /></formid=367815></div> </div><div class="section2"><div class="Normal"><script language="javascript">doweshowbellyad=0; </script><br />In an industry where obsolesence is always a looming threat, the workforce has had to upgrade its knowledge constantly. This has benefited both parties: the employer easily manages to find people with the right skills and the employee doesn’t have to fear being out of work.<br /><br />Equally beneficial has been the IT entrepreneur realisation that his primary capital is his skilled workforce and he had better share his wealth with it if he doesn’t want to erode that capital.<br /><br />Information technology has had the advantage of being a child of the post-socialist era. By the time this industry took root in India in the late 80s and early 90s, most of the private sector was already distancing itself from the old dogmas.<br /><br />It seems evident that the old economy would have to imbibe the work ethics of the IT industry to be equally successful. This would involve changing the mindset of the vast armies of workers in the country, helping them understand the need to keep upgrading, and on the other hand providing enough opportunities for them to do so.<br /><br />Wealth sharing will probably have to be central to this effort. Deepening labour reforms and bringing it closer to the IT industry model could, however, be a long haul.<br /><br /><formid=367815></formid=367815></div> </div>