Certifications and IT jobs/Salaries - Outsourcing has a new critic

Author

Outsourcing has a new critic

Rosetower

2004-06-12, 2:38 pm

Call Centers Fuel Social Change in Traditional India

Wed Jun 9, 8:26 AM ET

By Maria Abraham

BOMBAY, India (Reuters) - Cranky U.S. talk-show hosts, John Kerry (news - web sites) and powerful British union leaders have all had their say. Now it's the turn of a Catholic priest in India's money capital, Bombay.

Outsourcing has a new critic.

From a church pulpit in a middle-class suburb one sultry Sunday morning, Father K.T. Emmanuel spelled out the biggest danger facing the city's young men and women: call centers.

In the congregation were scores of 20-somethings who spend their nights fielding calls from the customers of U.S. multinational giants such as General Electric and Time Warner.

"The lure of money is making youngsters drop out of college to take up call-center jobs," Emmanuel said in his sermon.

"They blow money on the latest cars and cell phones, while their middle-class parents struggle to save money," he added, as several parents nodded vigorously in agreement.

At a Bombay call center at about 1 a.m., 21-year-old Reema darts out of work during a break to share a smoke with her male colleagues, looking forward to a late night out at a disco -- all shocking behavior for some conservative Indians.

"My family life, social life, health ... Everything is screwed up because I work nights," she said. "But the money is so good that I'm willing to compromise."

These Indian "customer relations executives" (CREs) are part of an outsourcing industry expected to employ more than one million people and account for $25 billion in exports by 2008.

They may well force a tradition-bound country to rethink its age-old social mores.

"In this age of globalization, where young women step out of homes to work at night, the attitude of Indian society will have to change," said sociologist Myrtle Barse. "Otherwise, it will lead to plenty of conflict between the generations."

The change has already fueled a conflict half-way across the globe. After a U.S. political backlash, it has become a prominent issue in the presidential campaign. In Britain, bank and telecoms unions have led fierce protests against jobs going to India.

But four-fifths of the world's 500 largest companies already outsource some work to India. With so many English speakers and 1.5 million university graduates each year, it makes sense for Western companies seeking new ways to cut costs.

WANT TO BREAK FREE

Graduates entering the industry earn between 8,000 and 10,000 rupees ($175 to $220) a month, only a tenth of their U.S. counterparts, but a decent sum in a country where the average annual income is about $500.

So each night, while the rest of India is fast asleep, thousands of young men and women wearing headsets talk to customers around the world in call centers in New Delhi, Bangalore and Pune. Most are hip dressers and drink in pubs until dawn after their shifts.

"Youngsters in call centers have big spending power and this gives them the sort of independence young people in India usually do not have," said psychiatrist Anjali Chhabria.

Reuben Fernandes, 20, earns 13,000 rupees a month, and says he will settle for nothing but the best. His shopping list includes the latest mobile telephone, a car and the best liquor.

"And now, I want to live on my own," he said firmly.

This is rebellious talk in India, where the family is considered the bedrock of society and young people are often expected to live with their parents until they get married.

"Indian parents tend to be doting and demanding," said 23-year-old Lakshmi, who works in a call center in the country's technology hub, Bangalore. "Parents threaten to commit suicide or jump off buildings, but in the end they come around."

Call-center bosses insist their offices are hardly hotbeds of revolution. "Software and back-office centers have brought in a world-class approach to work in India," said Raju Bhatnagar, chief operating officer of ICICI OneSource, part of financial services giant ICICI Group.

DON'T NEED NO EDUCATION

But for students barely out of their teens, the money is great, so many wonder why they should "waste time" getting a university degree.

"No other job in India offers this kind of money to graduates and undergraduates fresh out of college," said Harmeet Singh, a 23-year-old car-owner whose father has never owned a vehicle.

Middle-class Indians have traditionally scrimped and saved for decades to send their children to the best universities, but 19-year-old Karen Fernandes managed to convince her parents it was a good idea to drop out of university after a year.

"She (Karen) is earning a good amount and taking care of all her expenses, so I won't insist on her going back to college," said Wanda Fernandes, her mother.

Father Emmanuel, in the suburban church, takes a longer-term view, however.

"A good college education is vital in the long run for career growth," he told his congregation.

"What if the call center bubble bursts one day?"

Kasor

2004-06-13, 1:18 am

That is wrong.....

DaDnDe

2004-06-16, 11:36 am

wrong maybe...

but they are going for the brass ring just like any other human being. i am all for getting as much education as you can but to a teenager, 4 years can be eternity and at least they are doing something with their lives. Also i suspect that many simply were not cut out to be college grads and didnt want to disappoint their parents or waste their money.

you want to talk about wrong, what about the thousands of qualified students here in the US that dont go to college because of strict entrance requirements while the same school shuffles star players through their sports programs for four years paid for by the general population and they dont learn a thing in 4 years or more. (nearly every major college football program has 5th year seniors)

Then to reward them for taking advantage of the school (or not taking advantage of the education) we idolize a select few and give them enough money for 100 lifetimes in one year.

India is simply coming out of the dark ages and realizing there is actually a world out there. that idea of struggling to subsist is for the birds and cows not humans. Are they making mistakes because they arent following the religious dogma or are you complaining that they are taking the jobs out of english speaking countries. being a mixed race person myself, i for one admire people who take the initiative to learn more than their native language. that alone shows an active and productive mind and that is what this world needs more of.

TrailBossNJ

2004-08-14, 8:56 am

I agree DadnDe...and the proponents of outsourcing are trying to justify it by pushing the idea that (sooner or later) the indians will be making the same as we WERE making and things will level off...

But thats BS...that wont happen for about 30 years!

What are we supposed to do till then?

And again, you are right: isnt it great how we reward and idolize some idiot because he can throw a ball really well? Meanwhile the scientists trying to cure AIDS or save the planet are laughed at and called wimps...

Indians arent "taking jobs from english speaking countries" ...they are taking whats offered...nothing wrong with that. Nothing wrong with trying to better yourself.

The jobs are offered to them because we, as Americans, have come to expect too much: and to expect it as a birthright.

Add to that the cost, to a company, for healthcare, unions, litigation...it all adds up...Our economic climate here has swelled up artificially...it was bound to crash

Sponsored Links