Anurag Jain's Blog
Wednesday, June 11, 2003

BPO's Social Effects: -ive vs +ive

This whole Indian BPO-ITES boom is quite interesting. But I have been thinking about the young fresh-out-of-college grads who man/woman these servicehouses. My concern is: Are we making young people limit their imagination to a typical 'aspirational' lifestyle? The counter argument, which is obviously quite strong, is: Whats wrong with people getting nice jobs? Did we even have jobs for these guys b4 BPO happened? Especially at the salaries that they can manage at callcenters? Agreed. No contradictions there. But thats not my point. My point is probably enunciated a lil more by these two very nice articles which I came across in Business Today, today. Only, I am not as acidic as Mahesh Murthy. Reckon, Prof Subramonia Sharma (ISB) reflects my point of view accurately:
--------------------------
Business Today: April 27, 2003
THE SOCIAL COST

India, detractors say, is encouraging the creation of a race of under-achievers.

Meet Samir Desai, a 22-year old who signed on at a multiplex last year. He was to function as its cashier, would earn Rs 10,000 a month, and the hours were good. He maintains that he "basically wanted a job that would pay well, have fixed hours and that wouldn't require too much brainwork." Nothing wrong with that. Only, as Subramonia Sharma, the director of entrepreneurship development at Hyderabad's Indian School of Business, puts it, "Once into these jobs, the achievement goal undergoes a change; the kids stop aiming for specific career goals and get caught up with the lifestyle trappings this money can bring-beer, bikes, and whatever else is in vogue with the peer group." In most jobs of this nature that have been created, says Purva Misra, a senior consultant at hr consulting firm Hewitt Associates, "there is no growth beyond three levels." The presence of MBAs from second-tier B-schools, chartered accountants, engineers, even doctors in call centres, frontline sales, and customer-interface positions proves that Sharma isn't far off the mark in his assessment. Still, what's the option?


Business Today: MARCH 30, 2003
Of Indians And Cowboys: We may be a third world nation. Should we behave like
one? 

By Mahesh Murthy 

I sit here, a broad spattering of themes around me.

Item #1: First New Jersey, then Minnesota, now Washington. Each is enacting laws to make outsourcing of menial jobs to India difficult, if not impossible.

I have two points of view on this, seemingly contradictory. The US is being as protectionist about jobs as our PSUs. With their higher personal tax rates, social security, and medicare, the US may be behaving more like a socialist state than we are. I oppose these US restrictions, just as I'd oppose our own welfare state-driven policies.

Yes, we should work to have these laws repealed-we have as much right to take their services jobs away as the Chinese who stole their manufacturing jobs.

But why on earth should we want to? I am appalled that our biggest companies think all we're capable of are third-rate jobs like answering phones, transcribing prescription and doing the accounts. It fills me with sadness to see Sumos laden with our hopes for tomorrow driving the night shift to Gurgaon: is this really the tomorrow we're hiring global pr agencies to fight for? Have we built our education system to create a nation of receptionists? How do I convince a generation of youngsters that this is an evil set of jobs?

Update June 12th, 2003 1900 hrs
Found another strikingly similar point of view at the other side of BPO

Also see:
Call centre hours pose a health hazard
Call centre employees don't see it a long term career: study
Call centres find ways to tackle high attrition rate
Taking a call

Update July 4, 2003
In a nice counter-view, this is what Swati Gangaraju, HR Exec, Nipuna Services had to say on this issue:
Swati Gangaraju writes:
Well, thanks for the message. views are easier to give, i don't know if they would answer/address any of the issues raised though...

I am told industry avg for attrition is 11 months. People get paid anywhere between 5000 to 10000 depending on where they are working. and yes most of the work is low end processing at the moment. yeah graduates hav few options to choose from. yeah they do get sick and tired of this monotony in BPO/call centres after a particular point. it effects their health, it effects their growth.

so what can/will anybody do about it?
some are captive BPOs in which case shipping high end work here makes business sense, tht's wht US junta is worried abt. so high end jobs aren't out of que. some companies like wipro, infosys, satyam...which hav BPOs can tafind them as breading grounds for software talent if they want to, because these are already part of their system culturally, and most of these hold some computer skill or other and can cause some substantially saving in recruitment cost at entry level when time comes with little invst in training. though being at call centre for long may hav blurred their ambitions and skills (which at the moment has no substantiation).

lot of people here want to pursue MBAs or are looking for career in s/w dev. the major part of rest tell me they wouldn't hav done anythingelse anyways. so we think wof giving them stay for long to be eligible to get sponsored for MBA program option.
yeah, monotony and odd hours make stress a very real thing to deal with. but odd hours is the very thing tht gets business. so nothing much is done about it. hmm,,..monotony can be broken by shifting people fro one process to other, some are even lucky to go and visit abroad to study process at client place. that's another thing why some people hang around even when things are tough.
what can employee do
continuously keep learning either to become a subject mater expert in a domain, process expert, imrpove education level to move across function,or into managerial role. unless he does these, since this is a typical skill set so it doesn't prepare him for any other job. hence his options are almost non existant, in terms of growth.

Update : Sep 02, 2003
Call centres dangle degrees to retain staff, Times of India, Bangalore Sep 02, 2003

1 comments                                                                                              

Comments:
IT and ITES are fast growing field and the HR people require modern and dynamic creative ideas. Your write up on this is excellant. In this modern world the art of Management has become a part and parcel of everyday life, be it at home, in the office or factory and in Government. In all organizations, where a group of human beings assemble for a common purpose irrespective of caste, creed, and religion, management principles come into play through the management of resources, finance and planning, priorities, policies and practice. Management is a systematic way of carrying out activities in any field of human effort. Management need to focus more on leadership skills, e.g., establishing vision and goals, communicating the vision and goals, and guiding others to accomplish them. It also assert that leadership must be more facilitative, participative and empowering in how visions and goals are established and carried out. Some people assert that this really isn't a change in the management functions, rather it's re-emphasizing certain aspects of management.

Its task is to make people capable of joint performance, to make their weaknesses irrelevant, says the Management Guru Peter Drucker. It creates harmony in working together - equilibrium in thoughts and actions, goals and achievements, plans and performance, products and markets. It resolves situations of scarcity, be they in the physical, technical or human fields, through maximum utilization with the minimum available processes to achieve the goal. Lack of management causes disorder, confusion, wastage, delay, destruction and even depression. Managing men, money and materials in the best possible way, according to circumstances and environment, is the most important and essential factor for a successful management.
 
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