35 Comments Add your own

• 1. David McKinnon  |  December 12th, 2008 at 3:47 pm

  Great segment. It was interesting to learn that the call center positions are so selective. I seem to hear a lot of people complain when they get someone from India on the line. With the high churn rate and minimum wage pay that you find in US call centers it may be feasible that the quality of service from an educated call center rep in India is superior to that of an American.

  Henry Ford emphasized the idea of creating value in a job. He believed that if you paid your employees a high wage then they would value their job more. They would put more effort into fulfilling their responsibilities because they would understand that their job is in high demand. I believe this is the case with Indian call centers.

• 2. Andrea Muntzel  |  December 13th, 2008 at 10:48 pm

  I really enjoyed this movie. I had no idea that so much training was done for an Indian outsourcing job. It definitely gave me a renowned admiration for those on the other end of the “technology help line.” I wasn’t surprised at the number of jobs going to India, especially not the accounting ones. The accounting firm I will work for after I graduate divides the United States into Regions (ex: Northeast, Southwest, etc.). India is ‘Region 10’. It’s the easiest way for 24 hours of work to be done each day and India is an integral part of the business.

  I noticed an inconsistency between the article and the movie. In the movie, they said that outsourcing jobs were difficult to obtain with only ‘5 out of 100’ applicants being chosen for a job. In the article, however, the fact that the companies have to go out of their way to include applicants’ families makes me believe that they are recruiting heavily for these jobs. This might be a timing difference between the movie and the article. Perhaps as time has passed, outsourcing to India has become so popular, they are looking for more people and needing to recruit more heavily.

• 3. Oscar Merlin  |  December 15th, 2008 at 10:36 am

  I was also surprised by the level of competition that the call service centers have. I guess for a second there I forgot the size of the population in India. In the video it was interesting to note how the young guy being interviewed answered the security question on your tax returns by comparing their level of security with the level of security in the United States. And he was right to do the comparison, because they have probably analyzed that they need much more stringent regulations than the US otherwise if the have even the tiniest of security scares in India they might lose all of their customers in a blink of an eye.

  Also, interesting to note was the older gentlemen saying that ‘geography is history now’, which is true with any enterprise that can send their work using the internet. But try saying that for agriculture. Try shipping a container of lettuce to India, it will never make it. I’ll be amazed at the day distance won’t matter when shipping agricultural products.

• 4. Jason Larocco  |  December 15th, 2008 at 11:04 am

  There have long been complaints about the negative affect of globalization on blue collar jobs in the U.S. As globalization starts to affect low to medium level white collar jobs it will be interesting to see how the U.S. public reacts. It is difficult to know how to position yourself in today’s job market when in many cases long term prosperity for the company you work for comes at the cost of jobs for Americans. You can say that the U.S. workforce has lost its hunger and energy, but at the same time I don’t think any of us would perform these jobs at $300-$400 a month. For that matter, I don’t think any of our Indian counter parts would do these jobs for the U.S. equivalent of $300-$400 in India.
  The WSJ article on Parental roles in the hiring process showed the need for alignment between corporate needs for educated, capable employees, and cultural expectations in India. The companies who succeed in recruiting and maintaining their recruits have done a better job aligning incentives that address the cultural concerns of the employee. Some companies have approached only the financial aspects which may win them the initial recruit, but is not as effective in keeping the employee after training. In my previous line of work several of our contractors in China also had issues with high employee turnover. Project managers and key technical personnel moved from company to company chasing higher pay and better opportunities. This made it difficult for our contractors to maintain customer relationships and consistent quality. Those companies who were able to attract and keep the best employees did a very good job aligning employee incentives with cultural needs beyond just money.

• 5. Morgan O'Hara  |  December 15th, 2008 at 7:09 pm

  Geography is history, says Wipram CEO Raman Roy. Now that’s a bold statement. And I agree. Proximity has its advantages, but can be counterbalanced by good business practices in places the world over. Roy also talks about India rediscovering its pride – people in India and China have rediscovered hope. It’s the American dream reborn across swaths of Asia and the Far East.

  The CBS clip mentioned that India will eventually outsource to China. In which areas? I’ve just gotten started on the Khanna book, and its premise seems to be that India and China will learn to complement one another – they will leverage each other’s strengths and compensate for their weaknesses. Working in tandem will make Chindia even more formidable.

  It’s amazing to see how quickly India’s outsourcing industry has developed. In the 2004 CBS clip, the trend was beginning to take off. Nowadays, it’s full blown – Indian outsourcing firms are stealing each other’s workers, and have to implement retention measures to keep talent. That includes keeping the parents happy. Which spotlights a huge cultural difference. In the US, imagine if management were to coddle parents and appeal to them. Just the thought of my mom speaking with my boss makes me uneasy.

  So while geography may have lost significance, distinct cultural differences remain, regardless of whether they can teach call center workers to talk like Brooklynites.

• 6. Josh Hickman  |  December 24th, 2008 at 1:41 pm

  I felt a little uneasy about the segment. Watching something like this makes me wonder if we will have any jobs left in the U.S. by the time our kids are entering the work force. If India is doing our taxes and business functions, China is doing our manufacturing, and labor costs are 30-50% less overseas, what will we have left in 30 years? The U.S. definitely has some work to do in terms of education reform and technological advances so we can stay competitive in this global economy as well as the suggestions that Zakaria laid out in The Post American World. I am generally an optimist, but I am a little concerned for America’s future and this clip just stuck the knife in deeper. After our studies at Cal Poly and acting as CEO, wouldn’t you all also cut costs by sending jobs overseas?

• 7. Chris Carr  |  December 24th, 2008 at 6:30 pm

  Good comments thus far.

  Let me jump in with something to think about as you watch this clip and reflect on it …

  One of our job expectations as scholars in academia are to research questions that many assume have already been answered and are a given. Yet, when captured and measured, the data actually show that our fears and/or assumptions are greatly misplaced.

  See, e.g., today’s Wall Street Journal article and book review on this book, Globalization: The Irrational Fear That Someone In China Will Take Your Job, by a Columbia University business school prof and one of his colleagues who is a historian.

  Their research and book argue, among other things, that the data (which we all know is different then we we each speculate and say, “Well, it seems to me …”) show that job losses due to higher productivity — often the result of improving technology — greatly outnumber those lost to globalization.

  Yet, let’s be honest — too many Americans are intellectually lazy and continue to believe the contrary. They often pin the blame on people and workers from countries with slanted eyes (Chinese) and/or dark skin (Indians). Said blame game makes it easy to shift responsibility from themselves and their own shortcomings to another, and plays right into “I am a victim” mentality. Each of you are one of the lucky few in this world — you are able to receive a graduate level education from an accredited, well-respected school and hence have the skills, ability, training and knowledge base to separate fact from fear mongering in this regard.

  Since the beginning of time the world has been about change. Many, not all, of the winners in said environment are those people, firms and countries that are able to welcome and adapt to said change. Those that do not and fight to maintain the status quo are likely relegated to the dust bins of history.

  If you wish to read the above book for your Spring quarter book review, I will add it to the approved list, and I look forward to your commentary and strength and weakness analysis of said book.

• 8. Nick Chamness  |  January 11th, 2009 at 6:28 pm

  I guess if I was in India I would also try and get on board with one of these jobs. They pay very well compare to the rest of the country’s average income. The amount of tax returns they were talking about is astounding. I had no idea. It highlights how quickly these call centers really are growing overseas.

  I could not believe how happy the people were to be in these jobs. When interviewed they were so enthusiastic. After watching this segment it made me realize how big a business this really is. They really cater to the American pallet by taking on pseudo names and learning how to speak (or act) in a way that all Americans would like. I knew that the outsourcing was going on, but this video really showcases the magnitude of these operations. It would be awesome if we could check one of these out when we are over there.

• 9. Amy Cook  |  January 16th, 2009 at 10:41 am

  It seems to me after watching the film and reading the related articles that outsourcing call centers to India would be a very understandable move for a company. Not only are you getting cheaper labor, but a college-educated person who is happy to have the position and is dedicated to their job. In my last position, I was working with an online survey generator which was not very user-friendly and I had to call their call center in India twice a day for awhile. Every time I did so I got someone who spoke good English, was patient, polite and extremely knowledgeable about the software. I can’t even get that kind of service when I call my local cable company. Also, these companies are taking great care to make sure their employees (who often work late at night), are getting to and from their job safely and that they and their families are feeling “taken care of” in their call-center positions. They care about retaining their trained employees and I am sure it makes outsourcing even more efficient.

  One interesting prediction in the video was that once India’s businesses and economy grow large enough, they will begin outsourcing to China. I wonder at what level that would have to be with so many Indians vying for these call-center positions.

  I thank Dr. Carr for adding the WSJ article and review of Globalization: The Irrational Fear that Someone in China Will Take Your Job. It helped keep my focus off of the “poor Americans who are losing their jobs to globalization”.

• 10. James McMillan  |  January 18th, 2009 at 11:39 pm

  My only real complaint that I have when I call about a technical problem with my Dell computer is that I usually don’t have the patience to try and understand the person on the other end of the line. By the time I get connected with them I am already pretty frustrated. I found it reassuring after watching this clip that things will likely only get better on my future calls. I thought it was very interesting how the call center employees had to repeat what seemed to be silly statement that taught them how to speak more like an American. This really shows the dedication these companies have to make the customer service experience as good or better than that of someone in the US with the big difference of it being much cheaper to do.
  To those that complain and disagree with the amount of jobs that are being lost overseas, they seem to forget why businesses exist…to make a profit. Sure businesses have an obligation to operate their business in a manner that does not ill effect the community or environment (e.g. pollution, environmental hazards, worker exploitation, etc) but there is a limit. There is no obligation for them to create more jobs for American workers. It’s great if a company does but they should not feel as though they have to have their profit margin squeezed and risk being out done by a competitor just so they can help out with the American unemployment rate. The implications of globalization can be scary but it here and if you don’t accept it and adapt to the changes ahead then you will be left in the dust with all the other complainers.

• 11. Justin Miller  |  January 19th, 2009 at 1:40 pm

  That was a really interesting video. The part that really got me was the pseudo names that they all have. I can understand why they take the fake names, but whenever I’ve called one of those places I’ve never really thought that the name that they give me wasn’t their real name. I guess I should have known, I don’t think there’s too many Jacks in India. I was also impressed by the amount of work it takes to learn how to speak like an American. I never think of myself having an accident, but to someone in India, every American has an accent.

  As for the amount of jobs moving overseas, I think many people loss sight of the benefits of this process. Businesses are always finding ways to save money, it’s the only way to continue to be profitable. While some people are losing their jobs, many others are keeping their jobs because the company they work for still exists. Additionally, as the Indian economy continues to grow, we will have another market in which to sell our products. There isn’t a one way flow of money into India, some of that money comes back as they purchase things from the U.S.

• 12. Patrick Johansing  |  January 21st, 2009 at 5:47 pm

  Sounds like we’ve been talking to the best and the brightest. That makes sense considering the training those guys get. What struck me most was how much this clip was focused on America. I think its purpose was to scare Americans about how many jobs are leaving the country. The interviewer talked about how many American jobs have been lost, and how this off-shoring trend is accelerating at an alarming rate. I would’ve been interested in seeing how much Americans benefit from off-shoring.

• 13. Mark Polydoris  |  January 22nd, 2009 at 6:35 pm

  I think the “controversy” over outsourcing was summed up perfectly in the opening of the segment: It has cost hundreds of thousands of American jobs, but it’s made American products more affordable. I truly wonder what the final ’score’ is on something like that. Is America better (or worse) off because of this????

  Additionally, it is clear (much like our buddy Fareed said) that ‘the rest’ is literally beating us at our own game. Not only can Indians speak our language, but they can do it in our own accents! This kind of thing makes us Americans look outdated, uneducated, and greedy. Meanwhile, the Indians are attaining the American Dream, pulling their country out of poverty. India is the land of opportunity, for both Indians AND us Americans.

  I have to admit that I am SO excited about going to India, even more so than China (China seems to get top billing on this trip), and I loved this 60 Minutes segment. For as big as China is and for all mystique that surrounds China, this video emphasized that we can no longer ignore India.

  I’m psyched for it.

• 14. Jessica Harris  |  February 6th, 2009 at 10:33 am

  Wow, I had no idea how many jobs were being outsourced to India. Call centers I had heard about, but taxes and other business practices really caught me off guard. I agree with so many of the above comments about the controversy of affordable goods versus American jobs, but when I look at it from a consumer standpoint I see that we are getting a more quality service at a lower price. Looking at the selection process of a call center associate (5 applications accepted for every 100 received!!!) and the wages that are being paid (over 8 times the average per capita income in India) companies really have no choice but to outsource in order to stay competitive in their market.

  I find it amusing yet genius on the training that is given to the call center employees in regard to speaking English. That women does a better Brooklyn and Southern accent than most Americans! Great segment to see before we head overseas!

• 15. Jimmy Spann  |  February 6th, 2009 at 4:35 pm

  This video was pretty interesting. It is apparent that English is becoming more and more prevalent around the world. Many of these Indian workers have perfected speaking English with certain US dialects. Will this become the norm? Will English become the global language? I hope not. It is nice to have diversity and keep traditions from your won culture.

  I do think that this craze is taking off and I am not sure if I really like it. I also do not like the new phone services where you call in and talk to a machine to help direct your call. I have a hard time understanding the machine or call center technician, and they have a hard time understanding me as well. And this is the worst time for difficult communications. The most common reason that a client will be calling a company’s call center is because there is a problem. During these times, we (the general public) do not want to have difficulties getting our messages across or our problems solved. It can exponentially escalate the frustration level of a person.

  I do like that it is saving money and therefore making products cheaper in the United States. But I am curious how much we (the general public) are saving. I know that the companies are saving money, but are they really passing all of those savings down to the consumer. I would be not, because then that leaves fewer profits for them. So it is taking away jobs and discounting prices at 2 different rates, which doesn’t sound too good in the long run. Even though outsourcing seems to be the way of the future, I am not sure if it will be good for the country as a whole in the long run.

• 16. Matthew Neal  |  February 13th, 2009 at 12:31 am

  Now if only the people i talked to on my calls to companies sounded like they did!!! Most people have already stated it, but my biggest problem is understanding the people im trying to get technical information from. But in any case…

  This video was very interesting, I thought it was funny seeing them doing “American English” lessons. I though it was also interesting to see the kind of preparation and prestige that went along with becoming a technical operator. I think it is really cool for the Indian people they are able to offer this service and what it has added to their economy. My biggest issue is with regards to the taxes. It makes me uneasy to see some of the stuff that the government is sending over seas for citizens of other countries to take care of. I think there at least need to be strict regulation on any government documents that are being sent elsewhere. At the very least, they should set up standards for data encryption and confidentiality agreements for any government issues being handled. I have to agree with some of the prior statements as well. I know there is a benefit for sending jobs across the pond, but do we the consumers really get the benefits and at what true cost?

• 17. Michael Mossman  |  February 13th, 2009 at 4:06 pm

  Indian workers and companies are highly motivated, well educated, and positioning themselves to be a global player. I was impressed by the focus and professionalism which was apparent in the companies featured in the 60 Minutes clip. It seems like American companies can’t go wrong by outsourcing to India; an equivalent employee cost about one-tenth of an American wage. America is loosing some jobs to outsourcing, but to compete in the global market it is essential for American companies to keep operations lean in order to stay competitive with new international competitors. For example, Dell and HP are now going head to head with the Chinese computer manufacturer Lenovo. In order to keep up with Lenovo’s low cost, Dell and HP must outsource some jobs to places like India.

• 18. Andre Ourthiague  |  February 15th, 2009 at 6:55 pm

  “Geography is history, distance doesn’t matter.” Unless of course you are discussing the blog post regarding manufacturing coming back to the states due to increasing oil costs. However, in regards to the outsourcing of technology based needs (call centers, tech support, etc.), the increasing level of global competition makes outsourcing a necessity. As Michael stated above, companies MUST outsource to keep up with the competitions ability to offer much lower prices.

  Dr. Carr’s comment regarding the “us versus them” mentality surrounding outsourcing is extremely important. “Too many Americans are intellectually lazy … They often pin the blame on people and workers from countries … to shift responsibility from themselves and their own shortcomings to another, and plays right into “I am a victim” mentality.” Approaching outsourcing with fear and anger will only guarantee that any opportunities that exist will be overlooked. It is unfortunate that certain jobs are not even considered feasible in the US anymore due to the financial benefits of sending them overseas. However, adapting to change is necessary, and any individual or company that fails to identify ways to capitalize on an increasing “economic pie” is doomed. Its been a common theme regarding Chindia all year, and it bears repeating; the “rise of the rest” does not signal the demise of America.

• 19. David Caldwell  |  February 21st, 2009 at 12:55 pm

  I really enjoyed watching this segment - it was a nice overview of a brief history of outsourcing, current operations, and projections about the future. I sure take it for granted now that when I call tech support, I’m more likely to get someone from Bangalore than Boston, but I hadn’t ever thought about what kind of a massive shift in operations and thinking transitioning from the US to India must have been. Can you imagine the kind of corporate inertia you would have to overcome? I can definitely see how this kind of savings (30-50%) would make even the most stick-in-the-mud executives rethink keeping operations at home.

  I had heard a bit about language classes for Indians to sound more like Americans (props for learning “stop yanking my chain”), but there was something unsettling about all of the operators having “pseudonyms” and learning their speaking styles from American movies - it just feels like they’re giving up their Indian identity to make me feel a bit more cared for when I call up to complain about my service. I understand that it’s more about adapting to environments and learning skills to make yourself the most successful worker you can be, but it just feels weird to hear them adopt the different regional accents in the US. I suppose that’s one of the reasons no one wants to invest in video calling

• 20. Scotty Hayes  |  March 1st, 2009 at 5:32 pm

  After viewing the clip, I was amazed to see just how quickly the industry had developed in India. Maybe I am missing something, but to me it feels like the rest of the world is just hungrier. Hungrier for knowledge, hungrier for work, hungrier to get ahead. Other countries feed of what we consider not to be worth our time, yet our unemployment rates keep climbing. I am glad India can capitalize on our laziness. We are not victims. As the world turns we must continue to stay on the cutting edge and compete where we need to compete and outsource where it makes sense to. The world is continually getting smaller and smaller.

  On another note, it was interesting to see Indian business catering to parents. It actually brought a smile to my face. I was imagining a corporation trying to win over my mom. I think it’s great. Unfortunately, it seems if we have slowly moved away from family values in this country. Oddly enough, I believe my mom still makes better decisions for my life, than I do.

• 21. Eric White  |  March 2nd, 2009 at 10:36 pm

  Why didnt I think of that!! Outsourcing tax returns! What a brilliant idea. No one likes to do their taxes first because it sucks to be shelling out a good portion of your paycheck to a not so frugal government, second they are just boring, and third no one understands the thousands of pages of tax law. So, with so much disdain for having to do such a mundane task, it seems the perfect candidate to be outsourced. I wish I just thought of it first.

  What do you think the next area/industry/job type will be a good candidate for outsourcing? Any good business propositions?

• 22. Jenna Healy  |  March 4th, 2009 at 4:18 pm

  It was interesting to see the call center workers training their accents and the tactics they are taught. Also, the fact that they work during the night is interesting.

  I love Raquel’s post recently about her experience with a call center:

  http://calpolymbatrip.com/2009/china/customer-service-how-can-i-help-you/

  To me, it may seem that a person working a call center job in the U.S. would be disappointed with their job, due to our sense of entitlement, yet in India, I would bet workers are stoked to be call center operators. Thoughts? Their income goes farther than a call center worker in the states.

• 23. Mark Wegemer  |  March 7th, 2009 at 4:05 pm

  Wow. This was a cool video. I had a general idea about some of the training protocols for the Indians because I personally have had to deal with them as a customer for my job and for other services. Most of the time I am surprised of the fact how well a lot of them are able to speak to me. Now, watching this video I understand how much training they go through in order to perfect their accent.

  It was also interesting how the lady talked about Brooklyn accents and Southern accents. After watching Dr. Whitaker’s video about the different tongues of the United States, it’s interesting to think how difficult it really is for someone to learn an English language to talk to its citizens.

  The average annual salary of $500 is just unfathomable. These callers are receiving $5000? No wonder they are so willing to train for this process and no wonder why the United States are turning towards India for this process.

  I see it as 4 different parts are effected: Amercian companies, Americans, Indian Companies, and Indians. The only one out of those 4 that are at a loss are the Americans that are losing jobs to the Indians. However, I have always thought outsourcing to India is a good thing because it increases customer service without adding to much cost.

• 24. Victoria Rodriguez  |  March 9th, 2009 at 8:33 am

  In the early days of this widespread outsourcing I was concerned with the job loss. Today, I can understand that outsourcing makes businesses more competitive. My only real concern is with privacy and security issues - although I have not heard of nor had any such issues occur with an outsourcing firm.

  I did not realize that due to India’s unsteady infrastructure, these outsourcing companies have to build their own generators and satellite systems. So there is a high capital cost which must quickly get covered with the savings in lower wages (a person in the video estimated around 30-50% in savings).

  What I did not get was whether the applicants for these positions had a college education. Also, what was the turnover rate for these jobs?

  It is good to see that the jobs are helping people prosper.

• 25. Jamie Hastings  |  March 9th, 2009 at 5:07 pm

  It makes good business sense. I was a bit dumbfounded when I learned why it all this takes place in India. It’s obvious, Educated people who speak english and work for near nothing. Also, no infrastructure needed. Just a satellite hookup and a backup generator. Where else could this be done? Probably most British colonies I am guessing.

  The book that Dr. Carr recommends will be the one I am going to read in the Spring. I would be very interested in seeing the data as previously I am of the people who initially disliked outsourcing.

• 26. Raquel Rusing  |  March 11th, 2009 at 8:43 am

  I’m getting close to finishing these blogs and I’ve been noticing the same thing… most of the blogs aren’t about India. I didn’t know much about either country prior to doing these blogs, but nonetheless, I feel much more comfortable referencing or discussing China over India because I feel like I’ve gained a better understanding of this country due to the abundance of information we’ve received. Thus, I found this video very refreshing. It was an entirely different perspective.

  I often forget that India is an English-speaking, educated and stable democratic country because all I can remember hearing or seeing from the news or internet is their overwhelming poverty levels.

  When I did my central blog about Indian call-service out-sourcing, I didn’t think that I would have the pleasure to watch a video that could serve as an excellent follow-up. But within what I’ve taken for granted… this amazing customer service… I didn’t know the technological difficulties they could face setting up something so simple to Americans as a working telephone. They needed extra generators? They have to work at night? These simple things, like time zones, that I don’t think about when I need a problem solved, make me realize how out of tune I am with the reality of certain businesses.

  Also, the fact that the telephone agents go through a training process to de-Indianize their agents is incredibly interesting. They are taught to sell and push to some degree and the jobs are coveted and competitive… for $3000-$5000 a year, which is a coveted salary. As much as I appreciated the service I received and I feel good knowing that India has increased the job market and their job opportunities (even if only for a small percentage of the population), I feel like I am taking advantage of their need for growth by exploiting the people for lower wages than they deserve. It hurts to also see the man who created this business model exploit the people for a lower wage to remain competitive. This is my sensitive side.

  On the business side, the entrepreneur who founded SurePrep is another one of those silent geniuses. And it’s incredible that people in the United States, including myself, have no idea that Indians are filing my returns even though I’ve gone through an American tax agency. I think if this information was more available, the Americans might “freak out” over the possibility of identity theft. I would like 60 minutes to do a follow-up on outsourced tax returns and the higher security measures that the entrepreneur alluded to.

  I’m now hungry for more India information, which I’ll admit I didn’t think I’d want more of.

• 27. Chris Carr  |  March 11th, 2009 at 9:29 am

  Yes, good point by Raquel. We are light(er) on the blog posts here for India than China.

  Reason: we have not been doing India on this trip as long.

  In time, this will change.

• 28. Raquel Rusing  |  March 11th, 2009 at 10:00 am

  Completely understandable. I’m just amazed by how much more interest I’ve generated towards this country because of China’s dominant amount of information.

  So, essentially, thank you for you efforts of integrating another country. It can only benefit all of us in the future by having such diversity.

• 29. Ashley Breneman  |  March 14th, 2009 at 10:29 am

  Great video…I think this changed my mind a lot on the way I will deal with call centers in the future. Like the video said, many of the top companies in the U.S. have their call centers out of India, and due to the training process these people go through to “lose” their accent, many of us may not even know that we are talking to someone in India.

  I used to get really frustrated with some of these operators and could sometimes be rude. Knowing what I know now, I am going to try much harder to realize that I most likely am not talking to someone from the company and should not take it out on the operator. It amazes me how much these Indian people know about our language and culture and actually makes me feel very ignorant. Hopefully through our trip I will learn a lot more about their culture and the way they do business.

• 30. Logan J Travis  |  March 15th, 2009 at 1:04 pm

  I’ve had the pleasure of making many a 1-800 call due to my work. What I find rather funny is that most of the time I’m calling because a customer came to the store out of frustration with trying to complete the same call themselves! So, from a cost-savings perspective it might make more sense to pay a local phone operator rather than pay a foreign operator and also me to act as a “translator.”

  I suspect the number of instances like these is comparatively small. However, firms could consider a small collection of local operators to take calls from customers disgruntled by classroom linguistics as a type of quality-control for their outsourcing partner. They might even seek to negotiate a contract with bonuses and/or penalties based on comparative call volumes.

  Alternatively, a firm like Wipro could benefit from offering internships to college students like us. If the naysayers have their way, we’ll all need to become expats to secure jobs so why not start with a summer in India answering phone calls or teaching American slang?

• 31. Cece Reyes  |  March 15th, 2009 at 6:17 pm

  I don’t recall if it was the same video or another one that I had seen several years ago, but I had been aware of the competitive nature of the call center positions. The positions have become a status symbol with the pay being so high.

  The article I found to be an interesting side note. It is great that these American companies are willing to invest time and energy into satisfying the worried parents, an important obstacle of Indian culture. That probably seems strange to us here, I have never had my parents invited to check out my workplace, but family is much more involved in the lives of their adult children in India. It is also nice to hear that the companies are investing in the safety of their workers since a graveyard shift can be dangerous.

• 32. Matt Eves  |  March 18th, 2009 at 1:58 pm

  The more I learn about India the more it fascinates me. Hearing them talk about business, opportunity, and seeing their dedication and willingness to learn was inspiring. I have never been to India, and only recently begun to study and learn about their culture. My brothers in Chicago have gotten hooked on Indian food and Bollywood films that they buy from the owner of an Indian market… when I visited this last thanksgiving it was what I remembered most about Chicago.

  I think others have touched upon outsourcing of jobs and the content from the video, but I really found the WSJ article interesting about the employee recruitment in India. Taking International Business with Dr. Frayne this quarter has opened up a whole new world of challenges and I think the company handled their HR really well by getting the parents involved. There is so much more to think about when going to conduct business in a foreign country, and I this article pointed out some different issues companies have to consider when going abroad.

• 33. Andrew Welborn  |  March 19th, 2009 at 9:35 am

  This was an interesting segment about the first true globalization of the knowledge industry. This may have profound impacts to our economy in the future if we continue to outsource both manufacturing and knowledge based industries. The cost savings are evident, 30-50 percent is huge, especially with the level of sophistication in place. I do think it is somewhat sad that they are essentially losing their local dialects to become “actors” for the American public. The firms that are succeeding in India are very aware of the family’s impact on their worker base. I was very impressed by the efforts they have in place to appease the parents even though they are so selective in their hiring.

  I was astounded by the level of growth in tax return outsourcing. I would be very wary because there are so many issues with personal information and accountability for any errors. The company did seem to have some checks in place, but never mentioned the threat of those documents being lost or misplaced in cyberspace, only that there was checks on employees actually writing down or printing information. I found it especially surprising that even the government is outsourcing.

• 34. Xiaofei Song  |  March 19th, 2009 at 1:35 pm

  This is a very interesting movie to watch. It is amazing to dial the number for the Dell’s customer service and an India tech pick up the phone in the other side of the world. When I read the comments from the other students, everybody agree this is an amazing idea for the company to save 30% to 50% of the cost. However, nobody mention anything about how they using the cheap labor cost in India. Same as using cheap labor in the manufactory in China, Americans outsource services to cheap India labors. If everything is outsourcing in this country, what we should do? Probably just like the Wal-Mart to build up the global supply chain and let customers to enjoy the cheap price.

• 35. Alex vanDalen  |  March 19th, 2009 at 4:35 pm

  We can really thank the British for mandating the teaching of English through India during their colonial exercise. Most Indians seem to be so adept in using English that they use it when talking to each other as well. This is convenient given the fact that India has 22 official languages and hundreds more unofficial ones. It makes me wonder if India would have been able to develop into the modern powerhouse that it is today without the use of a foreign language as a standard throughout the country.
  Today India is so adept in handling all of the dirty work of America and the West in large part because they have been overwhelmingly exposed to the language and culture for a long period of time. Of course this cultural knowledge has only come to Indians through education, which is in turn only available to families that have the resources to educate their children. While we think of these outsourced jobs as being undesirable and tough, it is interesting to see that they are actually some of the more sought after positions in a country where jobs can range to the ultimate lows of rat catch and sewer cleaner.

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