Question Details

CASE: DIVERSITY COMPETENCY
ACCENTURE’S WORK-LIFE BALANCE PROGRAMS
Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services,
and outsourcing company. It has over 186,000 employees
with offices and operations in 200 cities within 52 countries.
Accenture is headquartered in New York City.
Time and Flexibility
Internal surveys at Accenture revealed that time is highly
Valued among employees—regardless of age—as are daily
And career flexibility. Eighty-one percent of the employees
Part 1 Introduction and Ethical Foundations
reported that their job satisfaction would increase significantly
with additional time and location flexibility. Eightythree
percent said the ability to balance work and life
impacts their commitment to stay with Accenture. Sixty-one
percent indicated that sabbaticals (career flexibility) are one
of the top five most-favored resources. Equally between
genders, 32 percent have turned down a new position in the
past several years or considered leaving because of work-
life balance concerns. Seventy-one percent said wellness is
a priority.
Work-Life Initiative at Accenture
As a result of these findings and other considerations,
Accenture developed two dozen work-life initiatives to give
employees more time and flexibility. They range from flexible
work arrangements to programs such as Back-Up Dependent
Care and Lifeworks. In-home or center-based care is available
for any dependent when regular care arrangements break
down. Lifeworks is a free and confidential resource that provides
information on a broad range of topics—from online
health coaching to ergonomics assessments. This initiative
also provides access to experts in many areas, including legal
and financial.
Future Leave is among the most successful new programs
at Accenture. It provides Gen X (born 1965-1981) and Gen
Y (born 1982-2000) employees and baby boomers alike the
flexibility to address the personal and family issues they face
at their particular stage of life while preserving promising or
well-established careers. This initiative makes it possible for
employees to take a self-funded sabbatical lasting from one
to three months to teach English in another country, trek
through Alaska, or meet family commitments. Any activity
that employees believe will enrich their lives, their families,
or their communities is eligible for approval. Employees may
take Future Leave after every three years of work. It offers
participants the option of planning ahead and putting aside
savings in a special account at Accenture to fund a future
leave. On average, 50 employees each quarter are away from
their jobs on such sabbaticals. This number is expected to
increase in the future.
Chris Tserng
Chris Tserng, the Human Resources Demand Lead for
Accenture- insurance practice in North America, supervises
a staff of four in the Cincinnati, Ohio, office. This office
Supports executives when they work at client sites across the
country. Ten years into her career at Accenture and eight
months pregnant with her first child, Tserng earned a promotion.
As planned, she took eight weeks of maternity leave and
four weeks of accrued vacation time.
Tserng states: “I didn’t know how hard it would be to leave
my baby, Nicholas. I was feeling guilty and nervous. The guilt
was compounded when I learned that the sitter I’d lined up had
a change in plans. I didn’t know what to do or where to turn for
child care. I began to think that my only option was to consider
leaving the company, the job, and the colleagues I loved.”
Future Leave was the answer for Tserng, making it possible
for her to add one additional month to her maternity leave
and paid time-off. During that extra time away, she and her
husband located an appropriate day-care facility for Nicholas.
Tserng adds: “It- the best thing I ever did for my family. It
was only 30 days, but it gave me the time to make important
decisions about Nicholas and about my own future.”
At the end of her leave, Tserng said her colleagues welcomed
her back with open arms. She adds, “A lot of our executives,
the men especially, recognize that once women become
mothers, they do feel guilty about leaving their child and some
decide not to return to work.”
To learn more about Accenture, go to www.accenture.
com.
Questions
1. Which key attributes of the diversity competency are
illustrated in this case? Give a specific example of each
attribute identified.
2. Which key attributes of the self competency are illustrated
by Chris Tserng in this case? Give a specific
example of each attribute identified.
3. Which key attributes of the change competency are
illustrated in this case? Give a specific example of each
attribute identified.
4225X_Case: Diversity Competency
Your initial post should contribute to the topic. It should demonstrate that you have read, understood, and critically evaluated the topic. Give examples and cite specific sentences from the textbook or from other journal articles to support your statements. 
Relate the topic to your own experiences. Consider using examples form your personal work experiences and discuss how they relate to the topics in the cases. 
 
Case 'Accenture' Work-Life Balance Programs.” Based on the information from the case, respond to the following:
•	Discuss the key attributes of the diversity competency illustrated in the case with a specific example of each attribute identified.
•	Recommend other strategies that may be used to help Accenture achieve its goals.
 
This case is located on p. 29 of our textbook

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