Indian calling to far away towns

Indian calling to far away towns 1 Introduction With the development of economy, call centres have played an important role in the companies operation (Patel Broughton, 2002). However, in recent years, the economic challenges have made the increasing number of corporations which from developed countries moved their call centers to developing countries (Keith, 2001). This paper will evaluate the journal article of Taylor and Bains â€Å"India calling to the far away towns: the call centre labour process and globalization† critically. This paper is organized as follows: firstly, it will have a comprehensive understanding of the authors aim, and evaluate in terms of the research methods briefly. Secondly, it will use a series of research method literatures to find the drawbacks or limitations of the journals research design and approach. Furthermore, a number of studies in the literature of call centre will be presented to strengthen the authors claims. The essay will conclude by giving some suggestions about any other alternative research methods that can prove the authors ideas. 2 Research design and methods used Taylor and Bain (2005)s article argues that the increasing number of prominent UK-based companies have migrated operations to India. Scotland and India both were main call centres in the world, but now â€Å"there would not be a call centres in Scotland in five years† (Donoghue, 2003).The authors attempt to though an investigation of the Indian call centre labour process to prove the assumption that the offshoring of call centre is unproblematic. Furthermore, the authors provide a range of adequate academic literatures for the proposed research, and reveal a clear framework though the study of Indian development (Taylor Bain, 2005). Several issues that authors reported in the research had been raised in the critical review. The central one is tensions of operators that because of the Indian context, all employees from call centre must be both customers-oriented and cost-efficient. As Korczynski (2002) says customers-oriented and cost-efficient are two main logics that should be infused by operators. Another issue is comparing with British, Indian has different culture and working style, whether can Indian operators accept the routinized workflow has become a question. In order to solve those questions, the authors use a series of research methods to explore that situation about offsourcing practices, including: case study, semi-structured interview, formal and informal interview, sectoral audit conducted by questionnaires analysis (Taylor Bain, 2005). Basing on collecting the quantitative data, the authors mainly use the qualitative methods to tackle the issues. Qualitative research methods are valued in concept understanding (Hodges et al, 2007), and combining the quantitative research methods, the research study will be more convictive (Saunder et al, 2009: 151). The authors access seven call centres in Indian by virtue of National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM). Nasscom presents that as third-party operations, call centres have become various sectors of companies, and Nasscom also provides several useful materials about Indian call centre to authors. It cannot deny that using the secondary date which from other organization is really helpful, because of it is hard to search information of other countries. However, relying on Nasscom, the information that authors can select and evaluate is limited. Taylor and Bain (2005) get the detailed information such as recruitment, culture capability, and workflow about call centres by having semi-structured interviews with senior management. Semi-structured interview is one of the greatest methods to obtain specific qualitative information from a person, and gain insight into specific issues (Davis, 1990). And the interviews will be recorded by audio-recording (Saunder et al, 2009: 321) in order to provide convenience to further researchs. Additionally, the authors have formal interviews with Nasscom senior personnel, industry leaders and trade union officials. Authors also find opportunities to communicate with personnel from across the industry though participating in three industry conferences (Taylor Bain, 2005: 266). Researchers may gain unexpected achievement from informal interview. The authors also can learn more information that cannot be directly observed by using the interviews. Scotland provides useful materials for evaluating UK trends to complement the Indian data which extracting from questionnaires. The questionnaires were distributed to 290 call centres, and conducted between February and July 2003. Finally, 250 full questionnaires were collected (Taylor Bain, 2005: 267). The questionnaire is one of the most widely used methods to collect data, and â€Å"it provide an efficient way of collecting responses from a large sample prior to quantitative analysis† (Saunder et al, 2009: 361). Saunder et al (2009) also says comparing with face to face interviews, questionnaires can give people deep impress. It is very useful in large sample size and wide areas data collection. Questionnaires are easy to analyze and easy to complete. It is familiar to most people. And the most important advantage is the respondents will not be influenced by the researchers ideas. 3 Literature review, discussion and findings Having a critical review of Taylor and Bains journal, it is can clearly find that Indian has advantaged factors to become a major region of call centres. The key advantage is India has cheap labour forces. In order to reduce cost, the increasing numbers of companies remove their call centres to India. A study by McKinsey, Indian can ahead of China, France in call centres rely on the labour pool, costs and skills. And Indian operators also have high-quality in professional knowledge. According to Keith (2001), Indian can catch the computer skills faster than any others because India has large resource of computer technologies. Indian can think independently and critically. Another similar study by O2I (2009) says that comparing with China, Philippines, Malaysia and other Asian countries, most of international companies choose India for their call centers, because of â€Å"Call centres in Indian offer cost-effective customer support services without compromising on quality† (O2I , 2009). With low-cost in labours, and high-quality call center outsourcing services, Indian call centres can save half cost that if performed in the US or UK. In addition, Taylor and Bain (2005: 268) say â€Å"Indian government commitment to economic reform and the tenets of the Washington consensus liberalization, privatization and globalization have facilitated migration†.The Indian government has raised some policies to support the offshoring, such as reducing the tax of companies. The Indian government also helps compaies to build facilities and infrastructure in order to make India become the worlds most preferred call center (O2I, 2009). Taylor and Bain (2005: 272) mention that comparing with UK counterparts, Indian operators work in more pressurized environment. And Indian workers cannot have normal sleep because of the time different. Furthermore, working in a narrow space and breathing foul air under a long time, Indian workers will have healthy problems. Other researchers have similar findings in this field. A research by Patel and Broughton (2002) presents that people work in call centres will has a risk of hearing damage, the noisy from headsets will higher than regular level. A survey by Boyce et al (2007) reveals that the operators who have worked in call centres for 8 months gain the same average weight for males and females at 5.1 kg. Obesity has become another healthy problem for call centres workers. Indian call centres also encounter such problems: denial of identity, working in tensions, and long commuting distance. Cornell (2009) mentions that distance and isolation between clients and workers is a main problem of call centres, so that operators must adapt the culture of west countries. Indian call centres provide a range of activities to avoid those problems, selecting workers in attitudinal characteristics: positive attitude, personal skills and the work efficiency under the high pressure. And providing training to operators to improve their skills and English pronunciation (Taylor Bain, 2005: 274). In order to avoid the risk of hearing damage, call centres hold trainings about using the headset and how to protect their ears regularly (O2I, 2009) 4 Limitations and drawbacks This research by Taylor and Bain achieves success. However, there still have some limitations and drawbacks. The information that authors gain from Nasscom may be limited and unuseful. Secondary data may not be accurate, and the data maybe out of date (Borders et al, 2000). The authors are hard to find valued information from the limited data. This research also has drawbacks in the interviews of Nasscom supervisor, industry leaders and trade union officials. The number of interviewees is unknown, and the detailed questions are not mentioned. In order to get the information the researchers want, interviewees will be asked some directedness questions (Wimmer and Dominick 1997:162). And validity and reliability of the interview data may also be influenced by interviewees consideration (Breakwell et al, cited in Oatey, 1999). Considering the relationship of other companies, the interviewees will give optimistic information rather than objective information. And it cannot reflect the information fully because of usually the sample size is small. The questionnaire is directed to different cases has different types, including self-administered questionnaires, interviewer-administered questionnaires, and telephone questionnaires (Saunder et al, 2009: 363). However, in Taylor and Bains essay, which type of the questionnaires is not mentioned. And the truth of the questionnaires might be doubted. In a similar survey (Boyce et al, 2007), the researchers distributed 1100 questionnaires to workers of the call centres, unfortunately, only 393 employees completed the questionnaires. The low response is in expectation, because employees had to find time during the work shift to complete the questionnaire. This research also not provides the detailed questions in the questionnaire. It has no strong data to persuade people to believe this analysis. 5 Conclusion In conclusion, Indian have become the major call centre in the world, more and more companies remove their call centres to India, because of the low-cost, customer-orientated, the government supporting and the high-quality of Indian operators. However, Indian call centres also encounter difficulties. Indian workers must to adapt the western customer and work in tensions. And healthy problems have become the main emergency of call centres. From taking a brief look at other researches, the qualitative research methods such as interview, case study are suitable methods in doing researches. Combining with qualitative and quantitative methods together is the best way to do researches. In most cases, researchers fall into researches because of only rely on one research method. Researchers like to use questionnaires but have not do a clear analysis, or only use qualitative methods. Most of readers are not experts, cannot understand the rationalistic analysis. Quantitative research methods are designed to ensure objectivity and reliability. The researcher uses this method to survey the external environment, and record the first data to further research. Qualitative research methods are designed to give the researcher with a clear view about the situation and result. Researchers also use this method to have a deep interaction with people who take part in this research. â€Å"Integrating quantitative and qualitative research m ethods lends depth and clarity to do researches† (Weinreich, 1996). This combination of approaches is necessary because of the range of data can help researchers have a deep impress of this situation. And then researchers should use qualitative methods to analyze the data in order to extract more useful information to support the arguments. In this journal, the authors use both quantitative and qualitative research methods to analyze the issues. Taylor and Bain gain the secondary date from Nasscom, and have interviews with supervisors, analyze the questionnaires of call centres. The achievements should be acknowledged, however, it cannot deny that this research has a lot of limitations. There are several suggestions that can improve further researches. Firstly, the secondary data should be checked, in the case study, authors did not mention that whether the data has selected. Because of some of the information from other organizations may not true. Secondly, authors should provide the data of how long the interviews lasted, and the details about the interviews. Thirdly, the researchers should give more data or tables of the research. With numerous data, the results of researches will more convincing. Furthermore, in the final of the research report, the authors should give more information about the difficulties they encountered when they did the researches, and how they overcame the difficulties. References Borders, T. F., Rohrer, J. E., Vaughn, T. E. (2000) ‘Limitations of secondary data for strategic marketing in rural areas, Health Services Management Research : an Official Journal of the Association of University Programs in Health Administration / HSMC, vol. 13, no. 4, pp. 216-222. Boyce, R. W., Boone, E. L., Cioci B. W., Lee, A. H. (2007) ‘Physical activity, weight gain and occupational health among call centre employees, Occupational Medicine, pp. 238-244, retrieved December 13, 2007. Cornell, G. (2009) ‘Offshoring work is a quick fix laden with many pitfalls, NJBIZ Back Issues, 19 October, p. 2. Davis, D. (1990) The communitys toolbox: the idea, methods and tools for participatory assessment, monitoring and evaluation in community forestry, Bangkok : Regional Wood Energy Development Programme in Asia. Hodges, S., Hernandez, M., Pinto, A., Uzzell, C. (2007) ‘The use of qualitative methods in systems of care research, The Journal of Behavioral Health ServicesResearch, vol. 34, no. 4, pp. 361-368 Keith, F. (2001), India call center advantage: competitive options in a tough economy, from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3995/is_200108/ai_n8983959/ Korczynski, M. (2002) Human resource management and service work, Basingstoke: Palgrave. Oatey, A. (1999) The strengths and limitations of interviews as a research technique for studying television viewers, Retrieved April 19, 1999, from http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Students/aeo9702.html O2I (2009) Call centers in India, from http://www.outsource2india.com/why_india/articles/call_centers_india.asp Patel, J. A. Broughton, K. (2002) ‘Assessment of the noise exposure of call centre operators, The Annals of Occupational Hygiene, vol. 46, no. 8, pp. 653-661.Retrieved March 8, 2002, from Oxford Journal. Saunders, M., Lewis, P. Thornhill, A. (2009) Research methods for business students fifth edition, Harlow: Pearson Education Limited Press, pp. 321, 361-363. Taylor, P Bain, P. (2005) ‘India calling to the far away towns: the call centre labour process and globalization, Work, Employment and Society, vol. 19, no. 2, Retrieved June, 2005. Weinreich, N. K. (1996) Integrating quantitative and qualitative methods in social marketing research, Retrieved Winter, 1996, from http://www.social-marketing.com/research.html Wimmer, R. D. Dominick, J. R. (1997): Mass media research: an introduction. Belmont, MA: Wadsworth.

Scrooge in A Christmas Carol By Charles Dickens Essay example -- Charl

A Christmas Carol By Charles Dickens Scrooge is represented from the beginning as a miserable old man being described as a "squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner!" I think this a perfect description of him in one sentence. People know Scrooge well and avoid him, this suites Scrooge because he does not like other people and not a big fan of being sociable. The name 'Scrooge' was created by Dickens and is now well known in the dictionary as someone that is mean, this is basically what Scrooge is in the novel, a symbol of meanness. It is described that the people know Scrooge well and avoid him as much as possible. Although this suites him well because he does not like other people, and is not sociable in any way. Dickens makes you dislike Scrooge from the very beginning by using a number of methods such as, the described setting and Scrooge, how he treats the poor, the language used etc. The setting he's in is just like him, cold, gloomy, small and cheap. His treatment to the poor is appalling as when he is asked to give a donation for them he replies, "Are there no prisons?" "And the Union Workhouses?" this is very harsh and selfish, because he is basically saying they should be put in prison instead of trying to get money off of him, this instantly creates bad impression on him. His counting house is described by Dickens to be like a "dismal little cell", this gives the impression that it is cheap, dark and cold because the fire he describes is so small its as if it only has one coal. Being so cheap and not wanting to spend anymore money than he has to he only employs one person Bob Cratchit (... ...ery clear that, is you are not kind to people then you will have something bad happen to you in your afterlife. This is proved clear when Marley's ghost appears, and explains to Scrooge that there is "'No rest, no peace. Incessant torture of remorse'" as he when he was living acted just as Scrooge does. Dickens portrays Scrooge in many different but excellent ways and makes you feel a real sense of hatred for him by doing this. By setting the novel in the Victorian era it helps to create an image of the destitute poor and how badly people like Scrooge treat them. The actual setting he is in is similar to Scrooges personality and features, the use of similes and other descriptive language all add to Scrooges nasty nature. To sum up what the reader is encouraged to feel in the first chapter is basic hatred for Scrooge.

Gold Price Fluctuation Essay

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Free Essays on Late 19th Sentury Japan

In the late 19th century Japan was â€Å"opened† up by the west. The Japanese saw the advancements of the west and sought its own modern state. The process of this modernization came during the Meiji period, thus the Meiji Restoration. The Meiji Restoration completely altered the face of Japan, affecting societal, economic and political conditions. With the coming of the west and the eventual modernization of Japan, many social norms changed according to the west. In past times, formal and everyday dress was a kimono of varying niceness, depending on many variables. During the Meiji restoration, the dress changes to western formal dress, which is a suit and tie, or for the emperor and his court, Prussian military outfits. This change is in the forefront of Rough Living, Oshima’s eventual dream is to be a successful tailor with a â€Å"shop facing the main street in broad daylight† (Shusei, 138). Along with the new dress habits the structure of the army was changed as well. The new army was no longer to be dependant upon the daimyo and the samurai class, but instead the government setup a system of conscription, making it so anyone could be a warrior, which was a dramatic change from the way things had been. Without their warrior status, the samurai had no distinction nor income beyond what the government ga ve them, mostly in lump sums or bonds. This situation created much tension between the samurai and the government which eventually flowered into a rebellion, which the government was able to put down in less than a year. With the end of the feudal system and the dissolving of the Hans the central government once again placed itself in the center. Around this center huge cities grew, like Tokyo. While these cities grew with people seeking opportunities, the provinces suffered the loss of population and income, and were eventually relegated to and almost contemptible position. This is illustrated in Rough Living when Osh... Free Essays on Late 19th Sentury Japan Free Essays on Late 19th Sentury Japan In the late 19th century Japan was â€Å"opened† up by the west. The Japanese saw the advancements of the west and sought its own modern state. The process of this modernization came during the Meiji period, thus the Meiji Restoration. The Meiji Restoration completely altered the face of Japan, affecting societal, economic and political conditions. With the coming of the west and the eventual modernization of Japan, many social norms changed according to the west. In past times, formal and everyday dress was a kimono of varying niceness, depending on many variables. During the Meiji restoration, the dress changes to western formal dress, which is a suit and tie, or for the emperor and his court, Prussian military outfits. This change is in the forefront of Rough Living, Oshima’s eventual dream is to be a successful tailor with a â€Å"shop facing the main street in broad daylight† (Shusei, 138). Along with the new dress habits the structure of the army was changed as well. The new army was no longer to be dependant upon the daimyo and the samurai class, but instead the government setup a system of conscription, making it so anyone could be a warrior, which was a dramatic change from the way things had been. Without their warrior status, the samurai had no distinction nor income beyond what the government ga ve them, mostly in lump sums or bonds. This situation created much tension between the samurai and the government which eventually flowered into a rebellion, which the government was able to put down in less than a year. With the end of the feudal system and the dissolving of the Hans the central government once again placed itself in the center. Around this center huge cities grew, like Tokyo. While these cities grew with people seeking opportunities, the provinces suffered the loss of population and income, and were eventually relegated to and almost contemptible position. This is illustrated in Rough Living when Osh...

Free Essays on Getting Up Early for School

Getting Up Early In the early 1940’s the Long Branch School District voted to consolidate with the Carthage Independent School District. The Carthage school system has always provided bus tramsportation to the studnets in the rural areas of the county. One problem of this serivce was that the kids who lived a greater distance from the schools had to get up awfully early to catch the bus. Our school bus picked us up at 6:30 a.m. and we did not get to school until 8:00. We some of the first ones on and almost the last ones off the bus arriving back at the house at 4:15 p.m. We had to â€Å"ride the route† and that made for a lot of opportunities for us to misbehave. When we got home from school we were always starving. Mother usually had something leftover breakfast or dinner for us to eat. In the country, we ate breakfast, dinner and supper. I still have to think when someone invites to dinner. I lived in the country too long.... Free Essays on Getting Up Early for School Free Essays on Getting Up Early for School Getting Up Early In the early 1940’s the Long Branch School District voted to consolidate with the Carthage Independent School District. The Carthage school system has always provided bus tramsportation to the studnets in the rural areas of the county. One problem of this serivce was that the kids who lived a greater distance from the schools had to get up awfully early to catch the bus. Our school bus picked us up at 6:30 a.m. and we did not get to school until 8:00. We some of the first ones on and almost the last ones off the bus arriving back at the house at 4:15 p.m. We had to â€Å"ride the route† and that made for a lot of opportunities for us to misbehave. When we got home from school we were always starving. Mother usually had something leftover breakfast or dinner for us to eat. In the country, we ate breakfast, dinner and supper. I still have to think when someone invites to dinner. I lived in the country too long....

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