avtardei

[avtardei]

Foster Inclusion with Cultural Sensitivity in a New Market

a group of people in a circle

A well-known company from the US attempted to establish a strong presence in the Indian market while maintaining its core values and achieving business growth. Despite a diverse workforce in a rapidly growing economy, the organization faced a daunting task. Read on to know more about how Avtar devised a suitable diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) intervention to sensitize them on culture.

The technology company recognized the immense potential of the Indian market and established a subsidiary in India. Despite a skilled workforce that could drive innovation, the cultural differences between the countries posed significant challenges. The organization approached Avtar to sensitize its employees.

Avtar successfully tackled their culture problem by implementing a Culture Sensitization module. Recognizing the importance of understanding and respecting diverse cultures within their workforce, they developed a comprehensive program, addressing cultural differences to foster inclusion. Avtar believed in co-creating content by including client feedback at every step. After every point in content creation, the client’s needs were assessed. The Culture Sensitization module encompassed various components, including poll questions, concepts, videos, and case studies.

Equipping employees with knowledge and tools to navigate cultural nuances, Avtar created a shared understanding and appreciation for diverse perspectives. The module facilitated open dialogues, encouraged empathy, and promoted a culture of respect and inclusivity. Soon, they witnessed improved communication, enhanced collaboration, and increased employee engagement. The module played a pivotal role in transforming the organization’s workplace culture into a harmonious and culturally sensitive environment. Individuals from diverse backgrounds could thrive and contribute.

This case underlines the importance of cultural sensitivity and adaptation when expanding into new markets. By recognizing and effectively managing cultural differences, the company navigated challenges, built strong relationships to succeed in India.

[avtardei]

Soil for House Construction

Soil for your Building foundation:

Different types of soil will affect your building’s foundation in different ways. Determining the type of soil a building will be built on affects the project’s construction and future repairs. Here are several of the most common types of soil foundation used in construction. We explore which type is generally the best type of soil to build on.

Common Types of Soil Used in Construction

  1.Clay

Clay is not an ideal soil for buildings due to its tendency to shift around as it dries or moistens. This can cause cracks or fissures in the building and result in uneven floors. Clay soil foundation depths are generally deeper to increase stability. When it comes to clay soil, the best house foundation would be between a drilled pier foundation or a slab-on-grade foundation. Drilled pier foundations will anchor deeper into the clay for more structural stability while slab-on-grade foundations combat clay soil’s tendency to shrink and expand.

2.Sand and Gravel

Sand and gravel have large particles which allow this soil to drain water quickly (which is good for buildings). Retaining less water means less risk for the building to shift around and form structural and non-structural cracks. Compacted sand and gravel offer even more stability and are a great option to build a foundation on. Over time, sand can be washed away. In these cases, a helical pier (also referred to as helical anchors, screw piles, or screw anchors) is a suitable foundation technique for sandy soil.

3.Rock/Bedrock      

There are many types of rock (sandstone, limestone, etc.) and they are all excellent options due to their high bearing capacity (making this type of foundation ideal for larger buildings). Bedrock is a layer of rock underneath a surface layer of soil. Unlike with clay, which can expand and shift, bedrock is more stable and resistant towards water damage. Your building is, therefore, less likely to crack as it shifts or settles. The most important thing about building foundation on rock is to ensure the surface is level before construction.   

4.Loam

Loam is the best soil type for construction due to its ideal combination of silt, sand, and clay. It combines the best of all their qualities into the ideal balance for supporting a foundation. Loam generally does not shift, expand, or shrink drastically and handles the presence of water very well. The one potential drawback of building on loam is the possibility of undecomposed material, which can and should be filtered prior to construction

5.Peat

Peat is often found in areas such as bogs and other wetlands and consists of decaying vegetation and/or organic matter. It can hold a large amount of water and is considered a very poor soil type for a foundation due to how much it can shift around and its low bearing capacity. You can build on peat soil, but the building would be at great risk of cracks or other types of damage.

6.Silt      

Like peat, silt is another poor soil option for building a foundation due to its prolonged ability to retain water. This quality causes silt to shift and expand, which does not provide the building any support and puts it under repeated, long-term stress. This can cause structural damage or failure. If possible, construction should be pursued with a more suitable type of soil.    Whether you are growing turfgrass, flowers or crops, there are four soil types that growers work with. Each type is composed of different sized particles: sand silt and clay. The combinations of these three particles define your soil’s type. Let’s explore the advantages and disadvantages of each type: Sandy soils, clay soils, silty soils, and loamy soils. Then, we’ll discuss how you can diagnose your soil type using either a soil test or a DIY method.

Sandy Soil: Advantages And Disadvantages

Sandy soils are light and gritty to the touch. Because sandy soils have large particles, they dry out quickly, are often low in nutrients and acidic. Both water and fertilizer have a tendency to leach out of the soil - escaping to waterways before the plant can utilize them.

Advantages of Sandy Soils:

1. Warms up quickly in the spring

Disadvantages of Sandy Soils

1. Dries out quickly in the summer 2. Nutrients and water often leech away especially with rainfall 3. Often acidic

Managing Sandy Soil

When it comes to sandy soils, apply less water and fewer fertilizers, but more often, to produce the best results. You can also amend your soils with organic matter that will improve the soil’s ability to hold onto nutrients. To improve organic matter, incorporate compost, carbon-rich sources of fertilizers, and materials rich in soil microbes

Clay Soil: Advantages And Disadvantages

Clay soils are the heaviest of soil types and are often considered the hardest to work with. They hold onto water and often take longer to warm in the spring. Soil compaction and cracking is also a big risk of clay soils. Ultimately this doesn’t just look ugly - but it also keeps plant roots from breaking through hard layers of clay. But, unlike sandy soils, clay soils are rich with nutrients! With clay soils, nutrients are stored for much longer and have a tendency not to leech away.

Advantages of Clay Soils

1. Clay soils hold onto nutrients so the plant has the food it needs 2. Great for growing things that need a lot of water

Disadvantages of Clay Soils

1. Holds onto water, slow to drain 2. Slow to warm in the spring 3. Compacts easily 4. Tends to be alkaline

Managing Clay Soil

Clay soils can be one of the toughest types to manage, but with the right management techniques, you can improve the overall quality of your soil. When it comes to turf - aerating your soils each fall reduces soil compaction. Utilizing products that are rich in soil microbes will help your soils breakdown nutrients, and build roots that can more easily penetrate tough clay layers. When it comes to your garden beds or agricultural crops - amend your soils with compost and products rich in soil microbes to improve organic matter. And, avoid compaction by not working on the soil when wet. Lastly, consider using a cover crop during the cool season.

Silty Soil: Advantages And Disadvantages

More fertile than sandy soils, silty soil is the intermediary between sandy and clay soils. Silty soils have a greater tendency than other types to form a crust. When dry, silty soils feel floury to the touch, but when wet, you can easily form balls in your hand.

Advantages of Silty Soils

1. Fertile soils that hold onto nutrients better than sandy soils 2. Better water holding capacity than sandy soils 3. Easier to work with than clay soils

Disadvantages of Silty Soils

1. Water filtration can be poor 2. Has a greater tendency to form a crust 3. Can become compact and hard

Managing Silty Soil

Avoid working with silty soils when wet to reduce your risk of compaction. Increase the soil organic matter by utilizing compost and soil microbe-rich products.

Loamy Soil: Advantages And Disadvantages

Considered the most fertile of soil type, loamy soils are a combination of sandy, clay and silt particles. The clay and silt particles improve moisture retention while the sand minimizes compaction and improves drainage. Loamy soils don’t get dried out in the summer, but also don’t get water-logged in winter.

Advantages of Loamy Soils

1. Drought resistant due to water-holding capacity 2. Faster to warm up in the spring, compared to clay 3. Can hold nutrients, making soils fertile 4. Good infiltration of air and water

Disadvantages of Loamy Soils

1. Depending on how your soil was formed, some loamy soils can contain stones that may affect harvesting of some crops.

Managing Your Loamy Soil

While loamy soils are ideal whether you are growing crops, flowers or turfgrass, all soils need to be managed in order to maintain or improve soil health. Adding products rich in soil microbes is key to promoting a robust soil ecosystem. Soil Profile If you dig a hole in your soil, you will notice different layers or horizons of soils. These horizons can differ in texture, structure, color and more. Together, the soil horizons form your soil profile. The horizon that sits on the surface is the O layer. The two layers below the O layer are the A and B horizons. These layers are known as your true soil and contain most of the chemical and biological activity that helps plants grow

[avtardei]

House and Important Systems