HRM trends in India – a professional perspective

Citation

Rao, P. (2015), "HRM trends in India – a professional perspective", Strategic HR Review, Vol. 14 No. 1/2. https://doi.org/10.1108/SHR-01-2015-0002

HRM trends in India – a professional perspective

Leading industry experts answer your strategic questions

Article Type: Strategic commentary From: Strategic HR Review, Volume 14, Issue 1/2

Pramila Rao

Pramila Rao is an Associate Professor at the Department of Human Resource Management, Marymount University, Arlington, Virginia, USA.

Interviewee: Maria C.N., PhD. At the time of the interview, the interviewee was the Head, Content and Research Director of SHRM (Society of Human Resource Management), in India.

Interviewer: Pramila Rao is an Associate Professor of Human Resources Management from Marymount University, Arlington, VA. She met Maria at a global conference in New Delhi, India (December, 2012). Maria was a keynote speaker on generational differences at the workplace at this conference.

Methodology: The interviews for this article took place on May 21 and August 8, 2013. Each interview lasted for 90 minutes. The interview was tape-recorded following the guidelines of qualitative research. The responses were heard several times and transcribed to ensure accuracy. The transcribed material was sent to the respondent to clarify and check for any errors or misinterpretations.

Question 1: Please can you identify the prominent changes in the field of HRM (human resource management) in India over the last decade?

The main three themes in the last decade have been:

• The use of social media: Organizations have changed their outlook on how to source candidates. LinkedIn is used predominantly as a screening tool in recruitment. Applicants are becoming aware of the importance of their “web presences” and how this can enhance their chances in recruitment. Applicants try to establish good connections and recommendations/endorsements, as such aspects enhance their “web presences”. The social network theory suggests that at any point of time, there are only seven jumps (or gaps) between applicants and employers for applicants to get connected in well-established circles. Applicants try to form connections with well-known people in their industries.

• Leadership development: Organizations are beginning to focus a lot on leadership development. This is because over the past decade, organizations in India have grown exponentially because of local and global trends. They are hiring large numbers of entry-level employees, which requires a tremendous attention on developing internal leaders. Multinationals are also establishing rapidly in India, adding to this demand of developing local leaders. Organizations (both multinationals and locals) are also establishing at both the two- and three-tier cities in India. This once again requires hiring talent that will be able to develop into leaders to manage such talent. There is a large requirement for developing leaders in all industries in India.

• Talent crunch: With the aging of the population and the phenomena of demographic dividend occurring, India has a large number of young people looking for jobs. There are lots of educated (postgraduate and graduate applicants) individuals who are unemployed. According to the Labor Bureau of India, the unemployment rate is estimated to be around 3.8 per cent. Employability does not depend on applicants’ caste, gender, age, though a decade ago, such demographic criteria might have been very significant. Today, with trends of affirmative action and globalization, organizations are becoming more socially conscious that they should not discriminate applicants based on these factors (caste, gender, age). Though the number of applicants that organizations receive for any position is large, getting the right person–job fit is a big concern for managers across all industries. Organizations are struggling to find the right applicants that can work well in a corporate background.

Question 2: Please could you describe a typical Indian HRM model (recruitment and selection, training and development, performance management and compensation) that large, medium and small organizations follow?

There are four aspects that most Indian organizations follow in an HRM model: attract, develop, retain and separate (ADRS):

• Attract: Large organizations (private) like to create a unique brand in attracting applicants. The decisions of applicants to which organizations to apply are also influenced by the brands of the firms. Applicants take a lot of pride in the name of the organization they are working for. Applicants would always prefer to work for brand-name organizations even if non-branded organizations pay more in salary and benefits. Indian employees always like to be associated with distinguished organizations. Thus, Indian organizations invest a lot to create compelling employee value propositions. To create a good name for themselves, organizations offer a lot in developmental, succession planning and career management opportunities.The cultural trait of employee referrals (references) is predominantly used in the Indian recruiting culture. The use of recruitment consultants is just picking up slowly in the recruitment industry. Organizations are cognizant that positioning themselves positively to their current and potential employees is important. For instance, compensation practices such as 75 percentiles or 50 percentiles are frequently used to distinguish companies in the marketplace.

• Develop: The concept of lifetime employment is slowly changing to that of a hire-and-fire culture. However, an applicant expects that if he or she joins any organization with certain skills, he or she would like to leave with additional skills. Thus, employees are constantly looking to join organizations that will enhance their employability as they manage their careers. Thus, organizations’ learning and development opportunities focus on building “employability” for employees. Small organizations also do everything to invest in employees and meet standard business requirements, but large organizations go a step further to create employee engagement by providing challenging projects employees can work on. Large organizations support and promote high-performing employees to choose what work they would prefer to do.A number of organizations have taken different approaches to develop their employees by focusing on the profiles of their future workforces. For example, IT (information technology) companies such as Wipro, Microsoft, etc., have begun to work with educational universities to tailor their academic curriculum to their needs and make students more employable. SHRM (Society of Human Resource Management), India, also works with several undergraduate colleges in tier-2 and tier-3 cities to help students develop adequate corporate skills. These initiatives help students get appropriate job placements as soon as they graduate and become quickly productive in their careers.

• Retain: Employee engagement is a very important step in the retention process. Organizational initiatives include training line managers appropriately so that they can provide the best guidance for their subordinates. Employers provide reasonable autonomy and empowerment so that employees feel a sense of ownership in their own accomplishments. Efforts are taken to allow employees to work on projects that are core to the organizations, thereby enhancing employees’ visibility in their organizations. Organizations leverage corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives to fully engage employees and keep them focused on the broader societal goals. Through CSR initiatives, employees are able to make social connections to their immediate communities and experience a feeling of positive self-worth. Work–life balance (WLB) practices are also provided to retain employees in the organization. WLB practices that provide work flexibility are generally provided to all employee levels. These practices are more important for women, as they can balance other roles (such as parenting) if they can work from home or have flexible hours. Also, WLB practices are provided as benefits to senior employees and employees who have demonstrated organizational tenure. For senior-level tenured employees, providing sabbaticals or reduced work load is also provided as a part of WLB, as these employees have demonstrated organizational loyalty.

• Separate: Organizations have realized that if there is a poor person-job fit or an “inorganic growth” due to mergers and acquisitions, separation becomes an integral part of the HR process. The most important HR aspect Indian organizations are concerned about is “How can we ensure this done in a careful manner?” Organizations are careful that their names should not be tarnished in any separation process because of their employees. It is important that employees do not leave the organizations with any bitterness about the organization. Further, the employees who are currently in the organization should view that any separation process was handled fairly and transparently.

Large organizations are cautious about how they terminate their employees, as employees’ perceptions can become public via Web sites such as glassdoor.com. These Web sites allow employees to freely express their opinions about any companies’ policies. Thus, organizations prefer to be transparent and maintain standards in their policies as word-of-mouth spreads quickly as to how organizations are being perceived by the general public. Organizations usually maintain policies that are pretty explicit for showcasing its transparency. Their policies are usually publicly available on the intranet and in their employee handbooks for employees. Organizations also frequently participate in employer branding surveys and take pride in discussing their employment policies.

Organizations are also concerned with how they can retain “high performing” employees and are willing to rehire former employees. Organizations keep alumni records and have events for former employees as a part of this rehiring process. The current trend among Indian organizations is to preserve the employer–employee relationships and build any broken bridges regarding the separation process. The next section will discuss the Indian HRM model from the small and medium organizations and public (government) organizations’ perspectives.

Small and medium organizations follow all the four aspects (ADRS) of the model but follow such practices on a much smaller scale, depending on their capital and labor resources. The differences in HRM practices in India can be observed between public (government-owned) and private sector organizations. While public sector organizations are becoming more performance-driven, there is an emphasis on equal pay for equal work. Although some of the best-performing public sector organizations are striving to create a performance-based culture through appropriate reward mechanisms, their compensation practices continue to be driven by a pre-determined structure. Performance-based promotions are not the norm in public (government) organizations, as seniority is given more consideration. However, there are exceptions to this rule, and there are the “navaratna and maharatna” or “nine or big jewel” organizations, such as Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited, Coal India Limited, Bharat Electronics Limited, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, NTPC (National Thermal Power plant), ISRO (Indian Space Research organization), ONGC (Oil and Natural Gas Corporation) and DRDO (Defense Research and Development Organization), that are considered high-performing public firms. The consequences for public sector organizations in following a seniority-based approach are that they could lose a lot of good talent to private organizations. From an employee perspective, employees working in public sector organizations could lose opportunities of working in a competitive environment (such as private organizations) where performance is the driving key for promotions.

The trend in public firms of employees being promoted based on seniority and not on their performances is easily accepted in the Indian work culture. Employees do not consider it damaging to their professional growth, as they view working for a public company like being in a huge joint family. There is always a clear hierarchy and definite system in place. When such organizations follow a purely performance-based approach, it becomes difficult for managers to justify why certain employees have been identified as high performers. Public sector organizations have a long way to go in terms of offering practices like career growth, succession planning and professional development based on performance criteria.

Question 3: What would you identify as some culturally driven HRM practices that Indian organizations follow?

• Employee benefits: We do not have the concept of a social security system in India. Provident fund, a lump-sum, retirement fund similar to 401k, is provided to all employees on their day of retirement by Indian firms. This contribution is provided both by the employer and the employee and is a government-based initiative. Organizations also focus on providing medical benefits to the entire family of the employees. This involves both regular check-ups and any other medical emergencies that may occur. Organizations are very aware that in many instances, the employee might be the sole earning member of the family and hence provide generous benefits to employees’ families as well.

• Attract: Employee referrals are a very important source of recruiting, suggesting that who you know in the industry is very important in Indian recruiting circles. However, employees are not solely hired based on whom they know, it just is a preferred screening mechanism for them to get into the door. After the initial recruitment, such employees follow the usual assessment (interviews, etc.) processes of the organizations. Organizations are aware that “digital immigrants” or senior employees may not use Web-based sources such as LinkedIn and hence not apply via such sources. Thus, organizations may miss out on qualified applicants if only Web-based sources of recruitment are used to recruit employees. Senior employees who are not on LinkedIn or any online sources are usually recruited by referrals, which is followed by an internal assessment process.

• Performance measures: The performance management process in public sector organizations may not be very objective. Employers in these organizations usually skew performance appraisals to the central tendency or categorize employees as average performers. Thus, it takes a cultural change in these environments to make employers differentiate among their employees in performance management. In my opinion, the culture regarding performance management in both private and public firms is pretty emotional in the Indian work context. It is easier for employers to categorize employees as average rather than single out performers as exceptional or poor. It makes it difficult for employers to put employees in the bottom rung of any performance management processes. Employers are aware of the social side (being considerate to employees) and are usually not punitive in their performance assessments.

The consequence for organizations in not being strict in their assessments of performance is that they might not become as high-performing as their multinational counterparts. There are both positive and negative consequences for employees in such a performance management process. It makes the whole process relatively easy and stress-free for both employers and employees. However, on the flip side, there could be dissatisfaction among good performers, as they are consistently rated as average and the organization may tend to lose out on superior performers. A culture of mediocrity gets built into the organizational system, as managers become subjectively involved about the performance appraisal process.

• Leadership: Indian organizations tend to be very hierarchical even though the country is in a state of transition with globalization, etc. While local organizations and multinationals, such as Google and Facebook, might disagree with such trends, leadership still follows a graded system. The relationship between superiors and subordinates can be synonymous to those of parent and children. The leaders are often seen as benevolent yet autocratic. There is also an inherent cultural assumption that the Indian leader knows it all. Many leaders hesitate to ask their subordinates for help or advice. The concept of reverse mentoring is very slowly picking up in some progressive organizations.

• Training: In training and development, the concept of guru–shishya (teacher–student) still exists in organizations. The guru is a person in the organization who is usually older than the shishya (younger person). The guru is expected to know everything about the subject, and the shishya rarely questions him or her. This practice of passive learning is established early in the Indian educational systems, as students are encouraged not to question their teachers. The classroom lecture is the most common method of providing any form of organizational learning in Indian organizations. In such a context, one person is considered an authority and provides the training concepts. Usually, the trainees may not ask many questions, as the trainer is considered as an expert.

The trend of e-learning is slowly emerging. Online platforms may not work well for training in organizations. In online learning, the teacher is not tangible or visible, which robs away from the conventional guru–shishya concept. Mentoring, coaching or one-on-one training is still popular, as it focuses and strengthens the concept of the guru–shishya. However, today, the concept of guru–shisya has slowly outgrown its time, as it does not tap into the concepts of collective intelligence, discussing ideas and sharing insights so prevalent in knowledge organizations. Employment practices such as career acceleration and other initiatives allow the student (junior employee) to slowly outgrow the master (senior employee).

• Knowledge-sharing: Knowledge-sharing in written formats may not be easily accepted by a majority of the Indian employees. This is because English is an acquired knowledge and most Indians speak their native language till they attend their elementary schools. Having good written skills is largely based on whether individuals have attended English-medium schools (such as private/convent schools). Depending on their educational systems, employees may not possess good writing skills to write for knowledge platforms. Thus, any form of organizational learning that requires employees to write extensively might be viewed cautiously or hesitatingly. Also, requiring employees to write for knowledge platforms is not the primary requirement for many technical jobs. Thus, this criterion (writing) becomes secondary, as there are professional writers and editors to do any kind of specialized writing. Organizations usually do not provide writing workshops, as it may take away the employee’s time on core deliverables and can reduce his or her productivity.

Question 4: Which social media (LinkedIn, Facebook, Orkut, etc.) do HRM professionals in India typically use? Why?

LinkedIn is the most predominantly used social media by professionals as a screening tool for recruitment. The features of LinkedIn that are used by employers and employees are for connections, endorsements, recommendations and job-searches. Regardless of their size of their organization, employees try to have a Web-presence via LinkedIn. Facebook is used by younger individuals for maintaining personal and social interactions.

Question 5: What is the role of social media on HRM practices (recruiting, training, networking, etc.) in India?

The role of social media in training is getting a lot of attention in Indian organizations. Organizations have started to develop their own internal social media sites, as they would like their employees to contribute to the company effectively. Usually, employees are not provided access to public social media at work, as employees might become distracted by social networks (Facebook, etc.). Organizations usually adopt firewalls so that employees cannot access public social media during their work-related hours.

Social media platforms are used internally to enhance knowledge-sharing by encouraging employees to ask questions, respond to queries and create employee engagement. Social media is also used to encourage employees to write their own technical blogs or become subject matter experts. However, such initiatives are still developmental, as knowledge platforms that require a lot of writing is not a preferred skill among locals. There is a need to integrate other practices (recognitions and rewards) to encourage employees pursue knowledge-sharing initiatives. Organizations also use social media platforms externally to identify customers’ comments, understand product development, engage in professional networking and build cross-cultural collaborations.

Some organizations have used social media effectively for enhancing knowledge management. For example, MindTree, an IT leader, encourages employees to create their own internal knowledge communities. Such contributions by employees to knowledge management are incorporated into their performance appraisal processes, making it very effective. Thus, it is important that HRM practices support social media practices, otherwise the objective of using social media as a learning platform may not succeed. Another example is that of Yahoo in India that collaborates with the other stakeholders (such as the general public) to solve their internal technical problems (such as a software bugs). The firm provides awards for those individuals who solve these problems. Such organizational requests get a lot of public responses and become a win-win situation both for the organizations and individuals.

Technology is also one of the biggest tools to create an equal level among employees from various generations. Social media has helped both digital natives and digital immigrants to communicate and connect across various geographical boundaries. In a case study I did, an IT organization created an productive internal social networking site that helped employees across the globe to connect with others through posts, responses, picture uploads, comments, tagging, file uploads, document sharing, group posts, etc. One of the key factors for the success of this site was the emphasis of free expression with the absence of any censorship or retaliatory behavior on employees based on their content posted. Social networking within organizations has helped employees find shared purposes and build meaningful relationships in the workplace. Prior to these initiatives, large employee interaction happened only during cross-functional initiatives, corporate events or training programs. Thus, in such cases, employees may not be truly engaged unless he/she finds a shared purpose in the organization beyond his/her work-related goals.

Question 6: How do Indian organizations adapt to different generations working together?

Gen X, Gen Y, Baby Boomers are terminologies that have evolved in the West based on defining events in their cultural contexts. These terms have been defined based on specific events (World War II, Civil Rights Movement and technology) in the Western circumstances. Many Indian researchers have questioned the use of such Western connotations and have proposed alternate categorizations relevant in the Indian context.

There have been defining events in India; however, these events have not affected all Indians uniformly. For instance, significant events such as the independence struggle (1947) and trade liberalization (1991) have had different consequences for various Indian communities. Although the Indian independence struggle was a significant national event, Indian people working for the British were not against the colonial rulers. Similarly, the trade liberalization of 1991 largely impacted only urban individuals living in metropolitan cities and large towns. However, the population living in agricultural villages and small towns seemed unaffected by such radical trade reforms. Many villages and tribal communities have not benefited with any of advancement that is happening to the rest of the country and are still struggling with basic living facilities such as primary education, sanitary conditions, health, etc. In India, because of wide internal disparities (urban vs rural; agricultural vs industrial), it would not be correct to place two persons from the same generation in the same category.

Given the diversity of demographics in India, it is extremely difficult to identify events that have impacted all individuals in India in a uniform manner as is frequently done in the West. For example, the terrorist attacks at a high-profile hotel a few years ago was a defining event for the city of Mumbai (north), but did not impact those living in the south or west of India. Thus, an alternate classification of generations is warranted that is relevant to the Indian cultural context.

Another problem with the multigenerational concept of the West is that a lot of attention is paid to Gen Y – a categorization that is purely based on age. I see a problem in categorizing people based only on age in India, as we are not considering other demographic variables important in the cultural context such as socioeconomic status, regional differences, caste levels, family backgrounds, urban versus rural, etc. A case in point – for social events, large firms that have employees below the age of 28 feel the best way to engage these workforces is to have a disco night or DJ night. However, a young 25-year-old female from a rural background might feel very uncomfortable if she is asked to party, as she has been taught by her conservative upbringing not to socialize with men. Thus, in understanding Gen-Y applicants, organizations in India should include a wide variety of demographic characteristics other than age.

Question 7: What HRM recommendations would you suggest for multinationals to make their transition easier in India?

Multinationals should be aware that Indian labor laws are very conservative, as they offer a lot of protection for employees. There are large sectors of the workforce that are unorganized (94 per cent) and do not want to be under the labor laws. In many cases, such protection is not cost-effective for employers in small companies. Hence, many of the smaller firms keep the size of their regular workforces very small to avoid having to follow the labor laws. For example, employment in organized manufacturing sector in India would have been significantly larger if the provisions relating to government laws for retrenchment, layoff and closure (under the Industrial Disputes Act) were not applicable to all firms employing 100 or more workers.

Multinationals should also be cognizant of the kind of cities they plan to establish their subsidiaries. This will predominantly predict their talent strategies and retention outcomes. They should decide whether they will set up in metropolitan, tier-2 or tier-3 cities. Based on these criteria, they may be able to associate with prominent colleges or universities to attract talent. Organizations should also decide whether they will recruit on campus, from competitors or develop internal talent. Many organizations have come up with innovative ways of attracting local talent. Multinationals should also think whether they plan to use locals or expatriates in leadership positions.

Multinationals should be aware that recruitment is the first big HR step they will encounter. In India, it may be important to have some kind of preliminary testing for new hires (entry-level positions) because there are several “mushrooming” educational institutions which make the quality of education that new applicants have questionable. Any kind of organizational testing can ensure that the applicants’ capabilities match their qualifications. Thus, usually local organizations have some kind of cognitive screening tests to filter out candidates who may not have the required competencies.

Question 8: What training would you suggest multinationals (MNCs) provide for their expatriates going to work in India? (short-term: 3-12 months; long-term: 1-5 years)

The cultural bent of employees in India is more oriented towards relationships, as it is a very collectivist culture. Personal relationships are a very strong fabric of the Indian society which translates into the workplace. Indian employees view having a friend at work as critical as to their work engagement. Relationships at work with peers and superiors are as important as the job itself. Though organizations are moving from such family-contexts to a sense of professionalism, relationships at work is very important. Personal loyalty to organizations is very important for Indian employees.

Organizations also need to train Indians to understand the US style of management. India is a high-context culture with a lot of emphasis on non-verbal skills, interpersonal trust and indirect communication. The West has a low-context culture with an accent on direct and contractual relationships. US organizations need to understand the Indian psyche at the workplace. For the long-term expatriate assignments, mentors in India might help expatriates understand the cultural nuances on a day-to-day basis and deal with the workforces appropriately. Mentoring as a long-term strategy would work better for expatriates to transition into the Indian work contexts. The main focus should be to understand the differences in the employer–employee relationships. Indian organizations are very hierarchical, and employees view organizations as long-term associations.

Question 9: Are men and women equally represented in management positions? If not, what opportunities can multinationals (MNCs) provide to make this equitable?

Women are very largely underrepresented especially at management and senior leadership positions. This is because of the multiple roles that women need to play at home and work. Men often play the bread-winning roles for their families, while women have the extra burden of taking care of their homes in addition to their work roles. With more and more women having jobs, they have started playing an instrumental role in the workplace. Men in India still do not play predominant roles taking care of their children or homes. Hence, women balance and juggle both their careers and home responsibilities, with the latter often taking precedence over the former. MNCs need to understand the social and cultural situations Indian women face. Many Indian organizations are pushing women to come back to the workforce after any kind of break they may take. But for women, work always takes a back seat compared to the other social roles they have. Typically, women in India enter the workforce in their early twenties (23-24). Once they get married, women take their first career break for maternity and childcare, which is predominantly their responsibility in the Indian culture. They take another break when their children are in the 10th or 12th grade. This is an important transition that is a make-or-break situation for high-school children in India. Every time women have professional disruptions, they have to start their career paths all over again regardless of the management levels they were in. This constant conflict between women’s personal and career roles is something that organizations also find difficult to support. Organizations can provide several opportunities for women to make their careers more manageable such as flextime, support for dependent care, reduced organizational travel and telecommuting. Organizations in India usually have social events that are critical to professional networking and career growth during the evenings or weekends which typically conflict with a women’s domestic roles. It may be more convenient for firms to host such events at more convenient times for both genders.

Question 10: What do you think will be important HR trends and predictions for the future in India?

• High-performance culture: There will be a lot of focus on creating a high-performance work culture to make great workplace cultures. It seems a little esoteric right now, but the main focus will be on how to integrate HRM practices to make everything come together.

• Analytics: The other trend I predict is measuring HR through analytics. The emphasis is going to be on how HR can be accountable to their organizations. HRM cannot play a support function anymore. Organizations are going to see on how HR can contribute to their ROI (return on investment).

• Flexibility: The third trend will be work flexibility, which is becoming a high-focus area. Work is no longer going to be defined in the traditional context of the 9-to-5 jobs. The concept of flexibility is going to define where you work, when you work and how you work. Any professional work is going to include flexibility with contractors, outsourcers and freelancers.

• Sustainability: The concept of sustainability and interventions is also going to be a huge trend, and organizations are going to focus on how to give back to the broader society. This will contribute to improving the brand of organizations to their local communities.

About the author

A brief bio on the “Meet the Person”: I have a bachelor's degree in computer science/statistics that was completely science-oriented. I realized I was not going to be able to work with machines because I am more of a people person. I made a shift from a science background to a master's in social work from Stella Maris College, India. I really enjoyed this course, as I wanted to change the world as any young person would think. I pursued an MPhil (Masters in Philosophy) in psychiatric social work at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences. This was largely a clinical role with a lot of emphasis on doing therapy and seeing patients. I worked as a Mental Health Consultant at National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS) and got to do a lot of training programs for managers in terms of addiction, stress management and emotional intelligence. I then started my PhD in 2001 at the Indian Institute of Science in human resource management and organizational development. When the bubble burst, I did my research on right sizing/downsizing research. I wanted to combine my mental health and management background and realized that there is a larger picture in understanding organizations in terms of organizational strategy, knowledge sharing, sustainability, fairness perspective, etc. After four years at my doctoral program, I had my first corporate job at Honeywell, which was a great opportunity. I worked in the organizational development (OD) function and was picked to revamp the knowledge management function in the organization. This is when I got out of HR to play a strategic role with business leaders. I stayed with the company for five years. I then moved to this function in SHRM because I was very interested in research, and this was a phenomenal opportunity to look at India’s specific research and also create specific cultural content for global organizations. I have been with SHRM, India, for the past two and half years and was involved in India specific research such as leadership development in Indian corporations, diversity from the Indian perspective and trends in HR, given the emerging market scenario. My public profile is available at: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/maria-christine/18/b53/800. Pramila Rao can be contacted at: mailto:prao@marymount.edu