| Project Id
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BITSRMIT024B001220
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| Project Detail
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| Project Title
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Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in Global Supply Chains
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| Senior Supervision Team (BITS)
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| Supervisor name and Title
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Swati Alok
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School or Department (or company, if applicable)
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BITS PILANI, HYDERABAD CAMPUS
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Email ID
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swati@hyderabad.bits-pilani.ac.in
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| URL for more info
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https://www.bits-pilani.ac.in/hyderabad/swati-alok/
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| a) Are you currently supervising a BITS or RMIT HDR student?
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YES
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| Please comment how many you are supervising
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5
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| b) Have you supervised an offshore candidate before?
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NO
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| If no, what support structures do you have in place?
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|
| If yes, please elaborate
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N
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| Senior Supervision Team (RMIT)
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| Supervisor name and Title
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Dr. Aswini Yadlapalli
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School or Department (or company, if applicable)
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COBL
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Email ID
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aswini.yadlapalli2@rmit.edu.au
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| URL for more info
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https://www.rmit.edu.au/contact/staff-contacts/academic-staff/y/yadlapalli-dr-aswini
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| a) Are you currently supervising a BITS or RMIT HDR student?
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YES
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| Please comment how many you are supervising
|
4
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| b) Have you supervised an offshore candidate before?
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NO
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| If no, what support structures do you have in place?
|
|
| If yes, please elaborate
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N
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| Other Supervisors (BITS)
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| Supervisor name and Title
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School or Department (or company, if applicable)
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| Phone Number (Optional)
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Email ID
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| URL for more info
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| Other Supervisors (BITS)
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| Supervisor name and Title
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School or Department (or company, if applicable)
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| Phone Number (Optional)
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Email ID
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| URL for more info
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| Field of Research (For Codes)
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| 350507 | Workplace wellbeing and quality of working life | 30.00 |
| 350706 | International business | 20.00 |
| 350909 | supply chains | 50.00 |
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| Project Description
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Current global crisis has forced supply chains to embrace diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives among suppliers, collaborators, and other stakeholders. Diversity encompasses various demographic, while equity is associated with ideas of fairness, and inclusion enhances the sense of belonging for individuals within a system. Supply chain DEI fosters variety of perspectives, thoughts, and solutions, that promotes innovation, creativity, and resilience in supply chains. Over time, supply chain with DEI practices have seen an increased probability. According to 2022 Gartner/ASCM Supply Chain DEI Survey, 75% of supply chain organizations concentrate on aspects related to diversity, while only 40% are actively engaged in specific Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) projects or initiatives.
In India, uptake of DEI initiatives is ever more crucial as women are mostly limited to low-wage and low-skilled jobs. According to International Labour Organization (ILO), India's gender disparity has increased to 50.9%, with only 19.2% of the workforce are women. Better women participation could alone add $0.7 trillion to India’s GDP and reaching goal of $5 trillion economy by 2025. A recent Deloitte report, it was revealed that 70% of LGBTQIA employees experience workplace discrimination, a figure higher than the global average of 42%. Hence the aim is to investigate the DEI practices and develop a DEI index for Indian firms that supply products to the global firms such as Australian retailers.
This study will adopt a two-stage approach by employing qualitative and quantitative methodologies. Data will be collected from managers of Indian manufacturers and retailers of global firms sourcing from Indian manufacturers. In the first-stage, respondents from both retailers and manufacturers will be interviewed to identify the DEI practices and enablers to implement DEI practices in supply chains. Findings from the interview will be used to collect data for quantitative study. Fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) approach is used to analyse quantitative data and develop a DEI index.
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| Project Deliverable/Outcomes
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By promoting fair labour practices, equal opportunities, and inclusive employment, the index can ensure fair representation of diverse groups in various roles (SDG5) and can contribute to creating sustainable and inclusive economic growth (SDG8). For this, managers from various industries like apparel, electronics, automotives, footwear that supplies to global retailers will be surveyed. Suppliers perception of their respective global retailers will be used to construct DEI index. Given the broader implication on SDGs, findings can serve as a valuable tool for organizations, regulators, industry peak bodies, and stakeholders to advance DEI practices in supply chain management. Following are some of the expected research outcomes:
· Guidelines will be developed for organizations who seeking to implement DEI supply chain index within their operations.
· Presentations will be delivered at conferences, webinars, and industry events to share insights and foster discussions.
· Journal papers will be published that could contribute to the theoretical foundation of DEI in supply chain management.
· Guidelines will be provided for Industry associations to assist their members on using the framework for assessing DEI initiatives within the supply chains.
· Findings can be used by policymakers to incorporate DEI metrics and best practices into existing regulations or creating new guidelines.
· The DEI Supply Chain Index of this study may contribute to the development of international standards or certification programs related to DEI in supply chains.
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| Research Impact Themes
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| DESIGN, CREATIVE PRACTICE AND GLOBAL BUSINESS | SOCIAL CONNECTION AND INCLUSION; IMPROVED GLOBAL BUSINESS EFFICIENCIES AND INNOVATION |
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| Which RMIT Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) does your project align to
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GENDER EQUALITY
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| Which RMIT Enabling Impact Platform (EIP) does your project align to
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SOCIAL CHANGE
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| Which RMIT Program code will this project sit under?
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DR202 (SUPPLY CHAIN AND LOGISTICS)
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| Student Capabilities and Qualifications
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4 years (UG) and 2years (PG)/ 3years (UG) and 2years (PG)
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Basic statistics
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(BTech or BBM) and (MSc or MBA)
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| Preferred discipline of Student
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| Business |
| Completed Master degree (coursework/ thesis) in IT/ IS/ Business Management with CGPA at least 3.7/4 |
| MA in Development Studies |
| Mathematical Sciences, Operations Reserarch, Decision Sciences, Transportation Engineering, Supply Chains |
| MBA (Operations / Supply Chain and Logistics) |
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