Effective Human Resource Management - Warbings Office Systems Plc Case Study

Effective Human Resource Management - Warbings Office Systems Plc - Case Study Example The essence of having SMART objectives at Warnings Office Systems Plc is important for the success of the business. First, goals and objectives enable the achievement of the company’s mission and vision statements; in this case, they are supposed to ensure that they are stated to reflect the mission and vision statements of the company. By helping employees create their SMART objectives, Warnings Office Systems Plc can easily follow up by motivating these staff. In this case, they can evaluate the effectiveness of these objectives, ensuring that they are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound as expected. These objectives ensure that the employees are always working out their activities according to the requirements of the business, thus achieving success. According to findings from the company, Warnings Office Systems Plc has been suffering from the problem of cohesiveness. It is important to understand that the business environment is always dynamic. This is with respect to the methods of management, development of products and services as well as marketing practices Training of line manager is essential at Warnings Office Systems Plc in order to enhance its success and effectiveness. By training its line managers, the company can equip them with the latest trends in human resource management, marketing, and other important company practices. This training can be done at a place identified, far from the business, or when the resources are not enough, the company can organize an in-house training. Whether done within the business or away, training of line managers is effective if it achieves the stated goals and objectives. For this reason, Warnings Office Systems Plc should ensure that it develops the most effective way of how to conduct such training on a continuous basis.

Alessandro Boticelli's The Birth of Venus Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Alessandro Boticelli's The Birth of Venus - Essay Example As David Alexander Scott maintains, the woman playing the role of the live nude goddess is assumed to have the properties of the image, i.e. substantially gratifying and monolithically sexual and the art of the period after the close of the medieval age has particular importance. "In the Western history of the Renaissance is the designated watershed that loosened the political power of the Christian church and allowed Eros a renewed, although circumspect, presence in art. Perhaps there is no greater icon of this age than Botticelli's painting The Birth of Venus in which the goddess, nude and unsure of herself, is blown to shore by the winds of change after an eternity of exile. The painting signaled a major breakthrough in one aspect of the medieval public policy on Eros, that of the inherent sinfulness of the naked body." (Scott, 197) Significantly, once the body as image had shed its ecclesiastical garments, the body's sensuality - the more heinous sin - was able to emerge by degre es in successive generations of renderings. Therefore, a reflective analysis of Alessandro Botticelli's painting The Birth of Venus brings out the obvious relationship between art and sexual values in the background of the society. In a reflective analysis of Botticelli's The Birth of Venus, one recognizes that the sexual values found in the society of the artist find expression in the popular art of the society and the painting brings out the obvious relationship between art and sexual values. Significantly, Venus is the goddess of love and beauty and she exemplifies physical perfection. She, lacking the quirky, individual features that distinguish one woman from another, looks like no one in particular but familiar nevertheless. "In the ancient Greek tale, Venus is both sexual and divine, flesh and spirit. However, in Botticelli's painting, she appears neither sensual nor seductive and far too chaste to be erotic. Having just been born, she exists apart from the real world of human experience. Even the landscape setting, with its pale green sea, mathematically scalloped waves and serrated shore, supports this impression of her as an abstract ideal." (Cohn, 73) Therefore, it is obvious that the sexual values f ound in the society of Botticelli had an essential influence on the painting and Botticelli has been careful in representing these particular values. It was in the background of the middle of 1480s that the famous painting by Botticelli was painted and there is apparent relationship between the painting and the sexual values of this period. In the painting, Venus is standing in the centre of the picture on a seashell floating in the water, in accordance with the classical mythology which says that she sprang from the floating waters of the sea. "The figure of Venus appears in Botticelli's painting almost like a classical statue. Botticelli has gone over the contours of the figure with a black line, causing them to stand out sharply from the surface of the picture and emphasizing their curious clarity and coldness." (Deimling, 52) The depiction of the goddess of lo

Issues with Offshore Call Centres

Issues with Offshore Call Centres Advancements in communications, software development and other technologies have enabled practically every type of business to expand its services to off-shore locations with the probable choices of countries where both the infrastructure and specific needs of the clients can easily be met. Examples of such services include but are not limited to call-centers, as also the subject of our present dissertation, back office operations, insurance claim processing, revenue accounting as well as web/digital development. Indeed one of the successful areas have the disciplines which involve information technology (IT) related services, making it a crucial element and part of a value chain for present day businesses.  These IT enabled services and business processes are generally sourcedfrom a location where the end-user are not located, hence the remoteprovision of such set of services. The concept behind this phenomenonis to deliver services from off-shore locations using the state of thea rt technologies in communication, also called data networks which mayinclude wireline or wireless. Thus, clients or customers are providedthe same set of services or business processes from workers or subsidiaries based in offshore locations. An example to this respect is that of serving the clients of a multinational in the United Kingdom,where as the individuals involved in serving these clients are located in far off region such as India. In such an environment, there is noneed for the British clients to know about the whereabouts of the individuals serving their particular needs, nor is it necessary for theworkers to divulge such information to the British clients. The gap between the clients and the workers in such a situation is fulfilledthrough the modern forms of communication software. These software enable a British caller for example to place a call to India, withoutrealizing that the call has actually been made to India and in responsean Indian worker will respond to the said query of the British callerrespectively. The objective behind the entire exercise of outsourcingand running an offshore facility by a business operating in the UnitedKingdom or the United States of America is truly economical. As theparent company has to spend only a fraction of the amount otherwiseneeded to run and operate the same set of services in their homecountry (UK or the United States of America). As the global businesses move ever closer to globalization and spreading their business wings in practically every corner of theglobe, outsourcing or setting up off-shore facilities has indeedemerged as one of the fastest and perhaps most successful modes ofaspects of a business value chain. Some of the primary reasons for the immense popularity of the outsourcing include increasing levels ofproductive through measures that are both cheap as well as efficient.Above, all where companies maintain their level of excellence in theservices and businesses processes offered to their clients, the phenomenon of outsourcing has added tremendously to their pool of revenues. One of the first aspects business seek in setting up an offshorefacility is the requisite level of skilled manpower, which is todayavailable in huge quantities in a number of third world countries. Thisskilled manpowers primary and basic requirements include individuals who can speak excellent English, are highly quality conscious, as wellas computer literate. These criteria are found in ample quantify incountries such as India, which has attained the status of being thenumber one choice for companies the world over. Another importantcriteria which business organizations in the Western countries seek arethe factor of cost, as also the largest and most important element inthe entire outsourcing decision. A brief comparison of the wages ofqualified personnel in the United Kingdom or for that matter in theUnited States of America with qualified personnel in India shows thatthere is a huge difference ranging from 70-80 percent. This hugedifference automatically calculates into a net savi ng of 50-60 percentfor the company based in United Kingdom or the United States ofAmerica. Then there is the aspect of customer service and delivery,which accounts for a major element in any business. This particularaspect has been more than emphasized by majority of the businessorganization with their headquarters and principle offices in thewestern countries. The maintenance of exceptional standards and qualityin both the deliveries of services and business processes ensures thatclients and customers alike remain content. It is these set of reasonsthat more than serve as potentials and viable options for setting upoff-shore facilities for products and services for companies, inparticular those with principle bases in the western countries. A briefsurvey of the Fortune 500 companies revealed that more than 200companies from this elite list had already set up their off-shorefacilities in a country where the availability of the above set offacilities had more than provided for their continued and progressivesuccess over the years. (Youndon, 2004) As reiterated in the above lines, the outsourcing phenomenon andsetting up of offshore facilities in a more economical and professionalenvironment is increasingly revolutionizing the entire mode of runningand operating businesses. This is not only in the United Kingdom, theUnited States of America, but in a number of countries of the Europe aswell. The majority of the focus is however limited to the countrieswhere English is the first language spoken, and where the entireclient/customer base is English speaking. It is precisely thiscriterion of the English language that both the United Kingdom andUnited States of America have found third world countries where Englishhas reached the standard and status equal to or nearly equal to thestandards found in the said western countries. The fact that Indiabecame a number one choice in approximately a decades time isprecisely the reason as Indian government and the public both havefocused on making their populations excel in the English langua ge, aswell as the various basic forms of computer literacy. Youdon, E., writing in his book Introduction to Outsourcing printedby Prentice Hall quotes studies carried out by an American surveygroup, Cutter Consortium notes that outsourcing has become amainstream phenomenon in the period between 2000 and 2004. The samesurvey also revealed that, unlike the dot.com bubble of the 1980s, thisphenomenon shown no signs of recession. On the contrary the high-techboom initiated by the outsourcing phenomena will more than likely takeon the shape of a permanent trend, one which will keep on increasingwith the passage of time.   (Youndon, 2004) The survey by Cutter Consortium also showed that the rising trends ofoutsourcing has led to extremely high levels of unemployment in thecomputer industry of the United States of America, and in additionthere has been a gradual shift of tens of thousands of IT related jobsto countries such as India, the Philippines, Russia, and China. Thus,one may note that though setting up of offshore businesses has led to atremendous boom for companies and organizations in the UK and theUnited States of America from every practical perspective. The sametrend has resulted in the rising levels of unemployment, particularlyin the US, as also mentioned in the preceding paragraphs. A brief into the not so recent history, say the decade of the 1990swould reveal that even the largest of multinational companies couldnever have imagined, and for some it was a radical thought to moveentire departments from hub of US cities to for example the city ofBanglore in India or to Moscow in Russia. However, the age-old conceptof savings and down-right economics led the path to seekinglower-paying employees, yet this was truly difficult as the advances intelecommunication technology and requisite levels of computer literacywas still a far-off dream for countries such as India and Russia. However, only a decade later, in 2002, there have been such tremendousdevelopments and rising levels of computer literacy, as well as commandover English language in the said countries. This has been combinedwith the simultaneous advances in technology, which duly raised thedemand for offshore facilities. The same offshore facilities has nowreached some 28 percent of the entire IT budget for Europe and theUnited States, a mark reached within two years from 2000 to 2002. Asalso confirmed by the findings of Forester Research in their 2002survey, the allocation of major IT budgets for offshore facilities willlikely increase by a significant percentage in the coming years. Asimilar survey carried out by Gartner Group showed that by year 2004,some 8 out of every 10 CIOs in American organizations had receivedorders to set-up a part, if not entire technology service department tooffshore facilities. The same studies also confirmed that 4 out 5companies would already have taken the step by t he end of year 2004. To name only some of the famous American names who have already set upshop in the different cities of India, Russia, Eastern Europe and Chinainclude computer giants such as IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, Unisys6, andDell. Also included in the list of companies who have established callcenters in above said countries are a number of banks, firms based onthe New Yorks Wall Street, insurance companies, as well asmultinationals such as General Electric who serve their clients with atruly information-intensive network and IT departments. Credit-cardcompanies, consumer appliances companies as well as a number of otherindustries have also established offshore call centers. (Robinson andKalkota, 2004) The offshore facilities of business organization, irrespective of theirorigin in the United Kingdom or the United States of America haveattained the status of the principal phenomena, as also reiterated inthe above paragraphs. Majority of these who have set up shop asoffshore facilities are those involved in software development,maintenance, project management, and it is these particular segments ofIT industries that are earmarked to witness tremendous growth in thecoming decades. Unlike the dot-com bobble of the 1980s decade, thereare no signs that these phenomena of outsourcing, including callcenters will likely see a period of recession in the near future.However, there are questions put up by economic pundits, such as thelikelihood of leveling off, say at 10 15 percent or at a higher levelof 50 percent with the focus on overall employment within the sameindustries. The answers to such queries are the same, which is thecontinued growth and competition will remain and serve as the principletrigger for this spate of continued growth. Taking an insight view of the number of industries which haveestablished call centers in far off and remote regions/countries, itwould be evident that majority of them fall in the category ofknowledge based industries. The phrase of knowledge based industriesis coined precisely to make a distinction with other industries as callcenters are providing just this. They are providing services withstrong points in just two areas of expertise; first is their computerliteracy and second is their command of English language. Thus, one maynote that these two aspects are the core, and perhaps the pivotalreasons for the tremendous success of the call centers, aside from thecost factors for the parent companies based in the United Kingdom orthe United States of America. A brief on the US companies in search of setting up call centers asoffshore facilities shows that they are deemed as innovators in thisparticular phenomenon of outsourcing. In doing so, these companies takeinto account three principle aspects, which also serve as potentialconflicts with the consumers. One of the first aspects which assists these businesses is theeconomics and high speeds offered in the telecommunication and Internetfacilities for call centers, as compared to similar facilities say adecade ago. Examples to this effect include mortgage-approvaldepartment of a business which wishes to set up a call center facility,as the business would be least concerned whether it is a technologicalpioneer or not. Similarly such businesses need not worry about the highcosts incurred in advanced telecommunications which may otherwise wipeout any savings achieved from strategy of employing low wage employees.(Youndon, 2004) Second aspect which serves as a conflict between the businesses settingup call centers through outsourcing and their consumers the widespreadknowledge about the phenomena of call centers and outsourcing. Even ifone were to compare the increasing awareness and knowledge about callcenters with that of, for example a decade ago, it would be evidentthat little was known. For example call centers now include in theiragenda conferences held amongst the various call centers throughvideo-phone, or even video conferencing; the increase use and knowledgeof consultants for call centers who assist in such processes asselection of vendors, negotiation of contracts, and management ofadministrative and financial details. In this context, the overwhelmingwave of information at the disposal of these new breed of consultantsin the call center business may not necessarily guarantee the successof the respective call centers. However, they do enjoy an edge in areasof advice and guidance as compared to th eir counterparts in the ITarena (for example data entry operators/pioneers), say a decade ago. The third aspect which serves as the conflict between the businessesand their consumers over the call centers and outsourcing is theincreasing pressure to investigate into the affairs of the outsourcebusiness, or the call center in our case study. A decade ago, the casewas somewhat opposite, as there was little or no pressure toinvestigate the activities of the outsource businesses. One may notethat the decade of the 1990s was indeed a boom time for a number ofcompanies, and the general atmosphere was one of generous wages and asteady growth of employment. This trend was augmented by competition atthe global level, which also witnessed a steady growth of outsourcingbusiness the world over. Yet, the single most factors that perhapsserved to halt this growth was outgrowth and rising global demands forgoods and services, which outstripped supply. It would take a decade,when this rising demand of goods and services was be somewhat matchsupply, a phenomenon which we presently witness in e ntire outsourcingincluding call centers in the third world countries. Thus, present conditions on the call center arena the world over showthat supply is more than the demand for goods and services. It isprecisely this reasoning, that majority of the companies wishing to setup a call center now have a greater choice to select workers andregions where workers are least expensive. This is more commonlyobserved in the knowledge-based industries, which also includes thecall centers of India, Russia, Philippines, and China. As also a stateof conflict between the companies and their consumers, the first(businesses) are now more pressurized to cut back on costs due tofierce global competition, hence the search for ever more cheaperknowledge based labor force with less demanding working conditions andlow-paying employees respectively. The above section has briefly discussed the phenomenon and trends thathave become a mainstream for call centers, as also some of the businessperspectives from the point of those companies wishing to set up callcenters for economic reasons, competition, and growth of theirrespective organizations. However, the segment of consumers too is ever important and perhapscrucial element of a call center business. As it is the presence ofconsumers for whom the call centers emerge in the first instance.Since, majority of the consumers belong to countries where Englishlanguage is the first language, the emergence of call centers withEnglish language speaking employees is indeed a pre-requisite. The highwages prevalent as well as demanded by employees in the Englishspeaking countries including Canada, the United Kingdom, and the UnitedStates of America has forced large number of companies to outsourcetheir businesses, in part if not in whole to regions and countrieswhere is ample availability of less paying employees, yet havingcommand of the English language and are computer literate. For this theprobable choice falls on countries such India, the Philippine, theRussia and China. However, the standard and expertise of language orcomputer literacy are not the only factors, which make an ou tsourcingorganization successful. In this respect, the consumers as the principle beneficiaries of callcenters have a rightful demand to obtain services and products that areof optimal quality; a set of factors that has been somewhat left out bythe companies operating call centers in remote regions of the world. Aprime example to this effect can be observed from a complaint from agroup of consumers against call center operators and their employees,which duly resulted in a ruling from a court of public opinion with thefollowing wordings; You have no right to bother us and leave us dangling. And if we dobusiness with you, your word isnt good enough. You have to prove it. Though the above ruling is only a hint at the prevalent unease on thepart of consumers, yet this more than provides for call centeroperators and businesses to polish up their role in the provision ofgoods and services from offshore facilities, and through the use ofemployees with a little different accent, and perhaps little knowledgeon the actual complaint or command when calling up potential clients. The consumers at the end of call centers have also found strongfootings from both the laws and regulations, which have more, thanrestricted the activities of operators of, call centers. This can beobserved in the new set of US Federal regulations which place a limiton call abandonment rates, caller ID blocking, as well as demandinbound upsetting agents to ask consumers for their account IDs, andabove all to record those calls. A similar act favouring Th consumersis the Do-Not-Call or (DNC) registry which may become effective in thevery near future. The DNC is said to have a very strong support fromboth the US Congress as well as the US public. Though the registry hasyet to become fully effective and become a law, there are already morethan 50 million US phone subscribers who have filed for the DNCregistry. All these regulations and acts that are deemed to assistconsumers from the operators and businesses of call centers are perhapshuge hurdles from the perspective of the businesses. As theseregulations and laws, also termed as outbound rules will not onlyrestrict call center operations, but also serve to cost huge job lossesboth within the countries where call centers are operating, as well asthe offshore facilities which have been set to gain economic and othercrucial business advantages. A survey carried out by the American Teleservice Association (A.T.A.)revealed that the outbound rules could mean job losses to the tune ofsome 2 million individuals in the United States alone. As one of thefirst steps taken against the levy of such laws by the US government,legislators and public prosecutors, the A.T.A. has filed suits againstthe DNC regulations. Another aspect to be noted vis-a-vis the consumers at the end of callcenters is that the implementation of regulations and laws benefitingthe US consumers will have a direct affect on the US employees of callcenters, in turn forcing businesses to give importance and focus onoutsourcing and offshore facilities for call center businesses. Thus,even if and when there is a likely shift in the call centers, the joblosses for US employees will probably be effective even without suchlegislations. To satisfy the consumers, the call centers will thushave to comply with such regulations, even if these results in huge joblosses as also mentioned in the preceding paragraph. Yet another set of incentives and benefits for the consumers which alsoserve, as direct conflicts with the businesses are the marketingmethods employed by respective businesses. For example, businesses whenfaced with such strict measures and legislations as stated above mayturn to options such as direct mail, direct response, and inserts inpublications to prompt inbound calls, emails, and chat sessions. Inresponse to such changes in regulations and calls from publicofficials, the call centers at home will have to undergo and bringabout changes. These may include modifications in predictive dialersincluding their complete replacements, replacement of modern callrecording equipments and bring about changes in the mode of sellingfor both inbound and outbound agents, in turn positively affectivityand raising the standard of phone calls to consumers. The call centerson the other hand In contrast, the call centers operating in remote andfar-off locations with advantages in lower costs for both employees andinfrastructure will be least affected from such measures at homegrounds. In this context there are two particular regulations which directlyaffect the call center operations and which also serve as potentialconflicts with the businesses as well. The first is the TelemarketingSales Rule (TSR) which is administered by the US Federal TradeCommission (FTC). The second is the Telephone Consumer Protection Act(TCPA) which falls under the US Federal Communications Commission(FCC). Under the workings of both the FTC and the FCC, businesses are allowedto place calls to consumers who have given prior consent, and who haveenjoyed previous business relationships with the respective firms.There is also a time factor involved in such calls according to whichthere has to be a transaction within the last 18 months, and similarlya period of 90 days must have passed since the last inquiry was placed.On the other hand both these regulatory authorities and theirregulations become ineffective if and when a consumer refuses to accepta call, even if there was a business relationship in the recent past,and it is the obligation of the respective businesses to honor suchrefusals. The levy of and changes in the rules by both the TCPA and TSR havecalled for changes in the outbound calls for call center operations. Anexample to this respect include call abandonment rules, according towhich marketers have to connect live agents to place calls to theconcerned consumers, and this call has to have to duration of 4 ringsor a time limit of 15 seconds, and compliance of neither may result inabandonment of said call/s. A second rule of both the TCPA and TSR restricts the number of callsabandoned to just 3 percent, which are answered by live persons.However the TSR rules measure the same on a per day basis and a percampaign basis, while its sister authority, the TCPA measures the callover a months period. In compliance of such regulations and in response to the complaints ofthe consumers, the TCPA claims that no calls are abandoned if theresponse is in the form of voice messages within 2 seconds of receiptof a consumers call. Similarly the calls are not abandoned if theconsumer has previously consented to receive messages, includingexisting business relationships. (Read, 2004) Though outsourcing is being largely concentrated in areas of softwaredevelopment, maintenance, manufacturing, logistics, and adding thelatest area of knowledge based industries, one may note thatoutsourcing has perhaps been there for the last nearly 2 decades.However, the changes that have perhaps revolutionized the entire out-sourcing business, in particular the emergence of call centers includessuch disciplines as customer, transaction processing, finance andaccounting, human resources, desktop support and software development. The core reason, and perhaps the strongest factor to force theemergence of such huge numbers of call centers in remote regions of theworld such as India and China as prime examples are cost-cuttingstrategies by making earnings look all the more attractive. Included inthe cost-cutting strategies was the wages and salaries of theemployees, truly a major chunk of operating costs, which was dulyreplaced with employees hired at a fraction of what would otherwise bepayable for example within the United States of America or UnitedKingdom. This was amply found in the offshore labor, who were bothcomputer literate as well as well suited to serve the English speakingconsumers on the North American continent, and the United Kingdom. A brief comparison with other process-improvements innovationsincluding but not limited to Total Quality Management, Re-engineering,and Six Sigma, the offshore outsourcing too is predicted to facesomewhat similar consequences, and for arriving such a conclusion, itis only imperative that one studies the cycle of the above saidinnovations measures taken by business organizations. Included in this management drive innovation cycle are 4 principle steps, through each business organization has to undergo. The first is the slope of hype, and one may note that outsourcing, inparticular the emergence of call centers are passing through what maytermed as the honeymoon period, as also evident from the tremendoussuccesses achieved by majority of the organizations setting up callcenters. The duration of the hype period has witnessed a large numberof organizations somewhat copying or initiating projects based on thepresent forms of innovation. This is done to gain experience from thecurrent and ongoing process management techniques, without the need toinvest in experimenting. Another feature of such a tactic is a merepursuit of a competitor within the same industry. An example to thisrespect can be observed in the trends of e-commerce and e-business inthe later part of the 1990s decade. Thus, it was observed thatpractically every business organization was in pursuit of an e-commercestrategy, often without a detailed insight or logical reasons for doingso. A wave of e-commerce companies thus e merged offering best ofservices, and searching for a place in the market as a trustedadvisor in their endeavours to compete win offshore contracts. Suchcompanies were duly aided by venture capitalists that fueled the hypethrough a number of attractive financial instruments. The second principle of process management is that of despair, orrather the slope of despair. As the business enters the slope ofdespair, it is evidence that the honeymoon era, as also described inthe preceding paragraph has come to abrupt end. The offshore projectsinitiated in rather haste, including initiation or blindly following acompetitor with the same industry will witness a failure as noconsideration was given, nor any wieghtage given to the decision ofsetting up an offshore facility, or call center. The result of taking adecision in such haste is that promises to consumers remainunfulfilled, in turn triggering a possible backlash from within theorganization. Recent examples to this respect can be observed in thedecisions to call back and close shop decision taken by famous namessuch as Dell and Lehman Brothers. It is also observed that during thisslope of despair, a large number of organizations that are not seriousin operating offshore facilities would opt for closing down theiroffshore facilities. Further, such companies would either go for acomplete re-evaluation of their principle strategies, while those whoare truly serious in pursuing and benefiting from their offshore plans,continue to excel and strive to maximize their earnings from thetremendous set of advantages hidden in the operation of offshorebusinesses, including call centers. The third important aspect in the process management innovation measureis that of consolidation and assimilation. This step is immediatelyproceeded after that of despair where serious contenders stay on, andthose who step in the market without serious considerations eitherere-evaluate their strategies, or completely fall back and retreat totheir home grounds. The business of e-commerce witnessed similar trendsand behaviors. Having undergone the crucial step of consolidation, abusiness more often than not enters the slope of profit era. As alsoevidenced in majority of the businesses involved in e-commerce, mostorganization have today realized that e-commerce is not a merenecessity, rather a pre-requisite for their businesses. A similar spateof events awaits the offshore business, where call centers arepredicted to reach levels of extra-ordinary profits for their parentorganizations, a likelihood prediction for the end of the presentdecade. The study of the above 4 principle aspects of process managementinnovations shows, as also evident from recent corporate history, thatit is the home countrys economy, which by and large dictates thesuccess or failure of a corporate strategy. Thus, if economy is movingtowards recovery, not only will other businesses suffer, but theoffshore business including call centers will too face the same fate.Similarly, if the home economy is failure, and is continuouslywitnessing a fall, offshore outsourcing as well as all other businesseswill bound to see an acceleration and growth with significant profitmargins who can sustain the ups and falls of offshore businesses.However, there are more than likely chances for the IT sector, inparticular the knowledge based industries which include the callcenters will witness a similar migration as has happened with themanufacturing from the North American and European continents to moveto the Pacific Rim countries. (Gore, 2003) The above section of the dissertation has briefly discussed some of theaspects of offshore call centers including the businesses as well asthe consumers and the conflicts between them. The above section hasprimarily focused on the US businesses as they enjoy the single largestsegment of the global offshore call centers. The is followed by UnitedKingdom enjoying a second place, and which will constitute thefollowing section of our dissertation. The following part will thustake into account a brief history of outsourcing, and move on todiscuss businesses and consumers from the European perspective, with aparticular attention on the implications on the British businesses,British consumers, and the British job markets with respect to callcenters. Having briefly touched the US perspective of outsourcing businesses,the following section discusses the businesses, consumers and theirconflicts from a British point of view. A survey carried by M/s Outsourcing Insight Ltd., Harvard, M., showedthat the year 2000 was a record period for Britain as it witnessed theemergence of some 35,000 call center related jobs, and establishment ofsome 88 call centers. This tremendous growth pattern in the outsourcing business in theUnited Kingdom proved a number of points. For example, it showed that arecord number of businesses had chosen to shift and expand towardsoutsourcing. It also proved that the consumers had a wider choice. Itwas also evident that each call center was offering a more diverse setof services, a more specialized version and an ever-competitiveenvironment to offer for their customers. (Harvard, 2000) However, with the tremendous growth pattern viewed in the expansion ofcall centers, British businesses also realized that there was a crucialneed for an approach that would provide for needed end results andoptimization of their outsourcing objectives. For example, theselection of an outsourcing partner was one such area, which requiredneeded diligence and an equally cautious approach. It was largelyobserved that in their endeavours to increase their market share andcompete in their respective industries, majority of the Britishbusinesses failed to recognize that competition and offering truly highstandards of services and products called for an equally high standardsof capabilities and services. This was only possible in the appropriateselection of an outsourcing partner who fulfil Issues with Offshore Call Centres Issues with Offshore Call Centres Advancements in communications, software development and other technologies have enabled practically every type of business to expand its services to off-shore locations with the probable choices of countries where both the infrastructure and specific needs of the clients can easily be met. Examples of such services include but are not limited to call-centers, as also the subject of our present dissertation, back office operations, insurance claim processing, revenue accounting as well as web/digital development. Indeed one of the successful areas have the disciplines which involve information technology (IT) related services, making it a crucial element and part of a value chain for present day businesses.  These IT enabled services and business processes are generally sourcedfrom a location where the end-user are not located, hence the remoteprovision of such set of services. The concept behind this phenomenonis to deliver services from off-shore locations using the state of thea rt technologies in communication, also called data networks which mayinclude wireline or wireless. Thus, clients or customers are providedthe same set of services or business processes from workers or subsidiaries based in offshore locations. An example to this respect is that of serving the clients of a multinational in the United Kingdom,where as the individuals involved in serving these clients are located in far off region such as India. In such an environment, there is noneed for the British clients to know about the whereabouts of the individuals serving their particular needs, nor is it necessary for theworkers to divulge such information to the British clients. The gap between the clients and the workers in such a situation is fulfilledthrough the modern forms of communication software. These software enable a British caller for example to place a call to India, withoutrealizing that the call has actually been made to India and in responsean Indian worker will respond to the said query of the British callerrespectively. The objective behind the entire exercise of outsourcingand running an offshore facility by a business operating in the UnitedKingdom or the United States of America is truly economical. As theparent company has to spend only a fraction of the amount otherwiseneeded to run and operate the same set of services in their homecountry (UK or the United States of America). As the global businesses move ever closer to globalization and spreading their business wings in practically every corner of theglobe, outsourcing or setting up off-shore facilities has indeedemerged as one of the fastest and perhaps most successful modes ofaspects of a business value chain. Some of the primary reasons for the immense popularity of the outsourcing include increasing levels ofproductive through measures that are both cheap as well as efficient.Above, all where companies maintain their level of excellence in theservices and businesses processes offered to their clients, the phenomenon of outsourcing has added tremendously to their pool of revenues. One of the first aspects business seek in setting up an offshorefacility is the requisite level of skilled manpower, which is todayavailable in huge quantities in a number of third world countries. Thisskilled manpowers primary and basic requirements include individuals who can speak excellent English, are highly quality conscious, as wellas computer literate. These criteria are found in ample quantify incountries such as India, which has attained the status of being thenumber one choice for companies the world over. Another importantcriteria which business organizations in the Western countries seek arethe factor of cost, as also the largest and most important element inthe entire outsourcing decision. A brief comparison of the wages ofqualified personnel in the United Kingdom or for that matter in theUnited States of America with qualified personnel in India shows thatthere is a huge difference ranging from 70-80 percent. This hugedifference automatically calculates into a net savi ng of 50-60 percentfor the company based in United Kingdom or the United States ofAmerica. Then there is the aspect of customer service and delivery,which accounts for a major element in any business. This particularaspect has been more than emphasized by majority of the businessorganization with their headquarters and principle offices in thewestern countries. The maintenance of exceptional standards and qualityin both the deliveries of services and business processes ensures thatclients and customers alike remain content. It is these set of reasonsthat more than serve as potentials and viable options for setting upoff-shore facilities for products and services for companies, inparticular those with principle bases in the western countries. A briefsurvey of the Fortune 500 companies revealed that more than 200companies from this elite list had already set up their off-shorefacilities in a country where the availability of the above set offacilities had more than provided for their continued and progressivesuccess over the years. (Youndon, 2004) As reiterated in the above lines, the outsourcing phenomenon andsetting up of offshore facilities in a more economical and professionalenvironment is increasingly revolutionizing the entire mode of runningand operating businesses. This is not only in the United Kingdom, theUnited States of America, but in a number of countries of the Europe aswell. The majority of the focus is however limited to the countrieswhere English is the first language spoken, and where the entireclient/customer base is English speaking. It is precisely thiscriterion of the English language that both the United Kingdom andUnited States of America have found third world countries where Englishhas reached the standard and status equal to or nearly equal to thestandards found in the said western countries. The fact that Indiabecame a number one choice in approximately a decades time isprecisely the reason as Indian government and the public both havefocused on making their populations excel in the English langua ge, aswell as the various basic forms of computer literacy. Youdon, E., writing in his book Introduction to Outsourcing printedby Prentice Hall quotes studies carried out by an American surveygroup, Cutter Consortium notes that outsourcing has become amainstream phenomenon in the period between 2000 and 2004. The samesurvey also revealed that, unlike the dot.com bubble of the 1980s, thisphenomenon shown no signs of recession. On the contrary the high-techboom initiated by the outsourcing phenomena will more than likely takeon the shape of a permanent trend, one which will keep on increasingwith the passage of time.   (Youndon, 2004) The survey by Cutter Consortium also showed that the rising trends ofoutsourcing has led to extremely high levels of unemployment in thecomputer industry of the United States of America, and in additionthere has been a gradual shift of tens of thousands of IT related jobsto countries such as India, the Philippines, Russia, and China. Thus,one may note that though setting up of offshore businesses has led to atremendous boom for companies and organizations in the UK and theUnited States of America from every practical perspective. The sametrend has resulted in the rising levels of unemployment, particularlyin the US, as also mentioned in the preceding paragraphs. A brief into the not so recent history, say the decade of the 1990swould reveal that even the largest of multinational companies couldnever have imagined, and for some it was a radical thought to moveentire departments from hub of US cities to for example the city ofBanglore in India or to Moscow in Russia. However, the age-old conceptof savings and down-right economics led the path to seekinglower-paying employees, yet this was truly difficult as the advances intelecommunication technology and requisite levels of computer literacywas still a far-off dream for countries such as India and Russia. However, only a decade later, in 2002, there have been such tremendousdevelopments and rising levels of computer literacy, as well as commandover English language in the said countries. This has been combinedwith the simultaneous advances in technology, which duly raised thedemand for offshore facilities. The same offshore facilities has nowreached some 28 percent of the entire IT budget for Europe and theUnited States, a mark reached within two years from 2000 to 2002. Asalso confirmed by the findings of Forester Research in their 2002survey, the allocation of major IT budgets for offshore facilities willlikely increase by a significant percentage in the coming years. Asimilar survey carried out by Gartner Group showed that by year 2004,some 8 out of every 10 CIOs in American organizations had receivedorders to set-up a part, if not entire technology service department tooffshore facilities. The same studies also confirmed that 4 out 5companies would already have taken the step by t he end of year 2004. To name only some of the famous American names who have already set upshop in the different cities of India, Russia, Eastern Europe and Chinainclude computer giants such as IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, Unisys6, andDell. Also included in the list of companies who have established callcenters in above said countries are a number of banks, firms based onthe New Yorks Wall Street, insurance companies, as well asmultinationals such as General Electric who serve their clients with atruly information-intensive network and IT departments. Credit-cardcompanies, consumer appliances companies as well as a number of otherindustries have also established offshore call centers. (Robinson andKalkota, 2004) The offshore facilities of business organization, irrespective of theirorigin in the United Kingdom or the United States of America haveattained the status of the principal phenomena, as also reiterated inthe above paragraphs. Majority of these who have set up shop asoffshore facilities are those involved in software development,maintenance, project management, and it is these particular segments ofIT industries that are earmarked to witness tremendous growth in thecoming decades. Unlike the dot-com bobble of the 1980s decade, thereare no signs that these phenomena of outsourcing, including callcenters will likely see a period of recession in the near future.However, there are questions put up by economic pundits, such as thelikelihood of leveling off, say at 10 15 percent or at a higher levelof 50 percent with the focus on overall employment within the sameindustries. The answers to such queries are the same, which is thecontinued growth and competition will remain and serve as the principletrigger for this spate of continued growth. Taking an insight view of the number of industries which haveestablished call centers in far off and remote regions/countries, itwould be evident that majority of them fall in the category ofknowledge based industries. The phrase of knowledge based industriesis coined precisely to make a distinction with other industries as callcenters are providing just this. They are providing services withstrong points in just two areas of expertise; first is their computerliteracy and second is their command of English language. Thus, one maynote that these two aspects are the core, and perhaps the pivotalreasons for the tremendous success of the call centers, aside from thecost factors for the parent companies based in the United Kingdom orthe United States of America. A brief on the US companies in search of setting up call centers asoffshore facilities shows that they are deemed as innovators in thisparticular phenomenon of outsourcing. In doing so, these companies takeinto account three principle aspects, which also serve as potentialconflicts with the consumers. One of the first aspects which assists these businesses is theeconomics and high speeds offered in the telecommunication and Internetfacilities for call centers, as compared to similar facilities say adecade ago. Examples to this effect include mortgage-approvaldepartment of a business which wishes to set up a call center facility,as the business would be least concerned whether it is a technologicalpioneer or not. Similarly such businesses need not worry about the highcosts incurred in advanced telecommunications which may otherwise wipeout any savings achieved from strategy of employing low wage employees.(Youndon, 2004) Second aspect which serves as a conflict between the businesses settingup call centers through outsourcing and their consumers the widespreadknowledge about the phenomena of call centers and outsourcing. Even ifone were to compare the increasing awareness and knowledge about callcenters with that of, for example a decade ago, it would be evidentthat little was known. For example call centers now include in theiragenda conferences held amongst the various call centers throughvideo-phone, or even video conferencing; the increase use and knowledgeof consultants for call centers who assist in such processes asselection of vendors, negotiation of contracts, and management ofadministrative and financial details. In this context, the overwhelmingwave of information at the disposal of these new breed of consultantsin the call center business may not necessarily guarantee the successof the respective call centers. However, they do enjoy an edge in areasof advice and guidance as compared to th eir counterparts in the ITarena (for example data entry operators/pioneers), say a decade ago. The third aspect which serves as the conflict between the businessesand their consumers over the call centers and outsourcing is theincreasing pressure to investigate into the affairs of the outsourcebusiness, or the call center in our case study. A decade ago, the casewas somewhat opposite, as there was little or no pressure toinvestigate the activities of the outsource businesses. One may notethat the decade of the 1990s was indeed a boom time for a number ofcompanies, and the general atmosphere was one of generous wages and asteady growth of employment. This trend was augmented by competition atthe global level, which also witnessed a steady growth of outsourcingbusiness the world over. Yet, the single most factors that perhapsserved to halt this growth was outgrowth and rising global demands forgoods and services, which outstripped supply. It would take a decade,when this rising demand of goods and services was be somewhat matchsupply, a phenomenon which we presently witness in e ntire outsourcingincluding call centers in the third world countries. Thus, present conditions on the call center arena the world over showthat supply is more than the demand for goods and services. It isprecisely this reasoning, that majority of the companies wishing to setup a call center now have a greater choice to select workers andregions where workers are least expensive. This is more commonlyobserved in the knowledge-based industries, which also includes thecall centers of India, Russia, Philippines, and China. As also a stateof conflict between the companies and their consumers, the first(businesses) are now more pressurized to cut back on costs due tofierce global competition, hence the search for ever more cheaperknowledge based labor force with less demanding working conditions andlow-paying employees respectively. The above section has briefly discussed the phenomenon and trends thathave become a mainstream for call centers, as also some of the businessperspectives from the point of those companies wishing to set up callcenters for economic reasons, competition, and growth of theirrespective organizations. However, the segment of consumers too is ever important and perhapscrucial element of a call center business. As it is the presence ofconsumers for whom the call centers emerge in the first instance.Since, majority of the consumers belong to countries where Englishlanguage is the first language, the emergence of call centers withEnglish language speaking employees is indeed a pre-requisite. The highwages prevalent as well as demanded by employees in the Englishspeaking countries including Canada, the United Kingdom, and the UnitedStates of America has forced large number of companies to outsourcetheir businesses, in part if not in whole to regions and countrieswhere is ample availability of less paying employees, yet havingcommand of the English language and are computer literate. For this theprobable choice falls on countries such India, the Philippine, theRussia and China. However, the standard and expertise of language orcomputer literacy are not the only factors, which make an ou tsourcingorganization successful. In this respect, the consumers as the principle beneficiaries of callcenters have a rightful demand to obtain services and products that areof optimal quality; a set of factors that has been somewhat left out bythe companies operating call centers in remote regions of the world. Aprime example to this effect can be observed from a complaint from agroup of consumers against call center operators and their employees,which duly resulted in a ruling from a court of public opinion with thefollowing wordings; You have no right to bother us and leave us dangling. And if we dobusiness with you, your word isnt good enough. You have to prove it. Though the above ruling is only a hint at the prevalent unease on thepart of consumers, yet this more than provides for call centeroperators and businesses to polish up their role in the provision ofgoods and services from offshore facilities, and through the use ofemployees with a little different accent, and perhaps little knowledgeon the actual complaint or command when calling up potential clients. The consumers at the end of call centers have also found strongfootings from both the laws and regulations, which have more, thanrestricted the activities of operators of, call centers. This can beobserved in the new set of US Federal regulations which place a limiton call abandonment rates, caller ID blocking, as well as demandinbound upsetting agents to ask consumers for their account IDs, andabove all to record those calls. A similar act favouring Th consumersis the Do-Not-Call or (DNC) registry which may become effective in thevery near future. The DNC is said to have a very strong support fromboth the US Congress as well as the US public. Though the registry hasyet to become fully effective and become a law, there are already morethan 50 million US phone subscribers who have filed for the DNCregistry. All these regulations and acts that are deemed to assistconsumers from the operators and businesses of call centers are perhapshuge hurdles from the perspective of the businesses. As theseregulations and laws, also termed as outbound rules will not onlyrestrict call center operations, but also serve to cost huge job lossesboth within the countries where call centers are operating, as well asthe offshore facilities which have been set to gain economic and othercrucial business advantages. A survey carried out by the American Teleservice Association (A.T.A.)revealed that the outbound rules could mean job losses to the tune ofsome 2 million individuals in the United States alone. As one of thefirst steps taken against the levy of such laws by the US government,legislators and public prosecutors, the A.T.A. has filed suits againstthe DNC regulations. Another aspect to be noted vis-a-vis the consumers at the end of callcenters is that the implementation of regulations and laws benefitingthe US consumers will have a direct affect on the US employees of callcenters, in turn forcing businesses to give importance and focus onoutsourcing and offshore facilities for call center businesses. Thus,even if and when there is a likely shift in the call centers, the joblosses for US employees will probably be effective even without suchlegislations. To satisfy the consumers, the call centers will thushave to comply with such regulations, even if these results in huge joblosses as also mentioned in the preceding paragraph. Yet another set of incentives and benefits for the consumers which alsoserve, as direct conflicts with the businesses are the marketingmethods employed by respective businesses. For example, businesses whenfaced with such strict measures and legislations as stated above mayturn to options such as direct mail, direct response, and inserts inpublications to prompt inbound calls, emails, and chat sessions. Inresponse to such changes in regulations and calls from publicofficials, the call centers at home will have to undergo and bringabout changes. These may include modifications in predictive dialersincluding their complete replacements, replacement of modern callrecording equipments and bring about changes in the mode of sellingfor both inbound and outbound agents, in turn positively affectivityand raising the standard of phone calls to consumers. The call centerson the other hand In contrast, the call centers operating in remote andfar-off locations with advantages in lower costs for both employees andinfrastructure will be least affected from such measures at homegrounds. In this context there are two particular regulations which directlyaffect the call center operations and which also serve as potentialconflicts with the businesses as well. The first is the TelemarketingSales Rule (TSR) which is administered by the US Federal TradeCommission (FTC). The second is the Telephone Consumer Protection Act(TCPA) which falls under the US Federal Communications Commission(FCC). Under the workings of both the FTC and the FCC, businesses are allowedto place calls to consumers who have given prior consent, and who haveenjoyed previous business relationships with the respective firms.There is also a time factor involved in such calls according to whichthere has to be a transaction within the last 18 months, and similarlya period of 90 days must have passed since the last inquiry was placed.On the other hand both these regulatory authorities and theirregulations become ineffective if and when a consumer refuses to accepta call, even if there was a business relationship in the recent past,and it is the obligation of the respective businesses to honor suchrefusals. The levy of and changes in the rules by both the TCPA and TSR havecalled for changes in the outbound calls for call center operations. Anexample to this respect include call abandonment rules, according towhich marketers have to connect live agents to place calls to theconcerned consumers, and this call has to have to duration of 4 ringsor a time limit of 15 seconds, and compliance of neither may result inabandonment of said call/s. A second rule of both the TCPA and TSR restricts the number of callsabandoned to just 3 percent, which are answered by live persons.However the TSR rules measure the same on a per day basis and a percampaign basis, while its sister authority, the TCPA measures the callover a months period. In compliance of such regulations and in response to the complaints ofthe consumers, the TCPA claims that no calls are abandoned if theresponse is in the form of voice messages within 2 seconds of receiptof a consumers call. Similarly the calls are not abandoned if theconsumer has previously consented to receive messages, includingexisting business relationships. (Read, 2004) Though outsourcing is being largely concentrated in areas of softwaredevelopment, maintenance, manufacturing, logistics, and adding thelatest area of knowledge based industries, one may note thatoutsourcing has perhaps been there for the last nearly 2 decades.However, the changes that have perhaps revolutionized the entire out-sourcing business, in particular the emergence of call centers includessuch disciplines as customer, transaction processing, finance andaccounting, human resources, desktop support and software development. The core reason, and perhaps the strongest factor to force theemergence of such huge numbers of call centers in remote regions of theworld such as India and China as prime examples are cost-cuttingstrategies by making earnings look all the more attractive. Included inthe cost-cutting strategies was the wages and salaries of theemployees, truly a major chunk of operating costs, which was dulyreplaced with employees hired at a fraction of what would otherwise bepayable for example within the United States of America or UnitedKingdom. This was amply found in the offshore labor, who were bothcomputer literate as well as well suited to serve the English speakingconsumers on the North American continent, and the United Kingdom. A brief comparison with other process-improvements innovationsincluding but not limited to Total Quality Management, Re-engineering,and Six Sigma, the offshore outsourcing too is predicted to facesomewhat similar consequences, and for arriving such a conclusion, itis only imperative that one studies the cycle of the above saidinnovations measures taken by business organizations. Included in this management drive innovation cycle are 4 principle steps, through each business organization has to undergo. The first is the slope of hype, and one may note that outsourcing, inparticular the emergence of call centers are passing through what maytermed as the honeymoon period, as also evident from the tremendoussuccesses achieved by majority of the organizations setting up callcenters. The duration of the hype period has witnessed a large numberof organizations somewhat copying or initiating projects based on thepresent forms of innovation. This is done to gain experience from thecurrent and ongoing process management techniques, without the need toinvest in experimenting. Another feature of such a tactic is a merepursuit of a competitor within the same industry. An example to thisrespect can be observed in the trends of e-commerce and e-business inthe later part of the 1990s decade. Thus, it was observed thatpractically every business organization was in pursuit of an e-commercestrategy, often without a detailed insight or logical reasons for doingso. A wave of e-commerce companies thus e merged offering best ofservices, and searching for a place in the market as a trustedadvisor in their endeavours to compete win offshore contracts. Suchcompanies were duly aided by venture capitalists that fueled the hypethrough a number of attractive financial instruments. The second principle of process management is that of despair, orrather the slope of despair. As the business enters the slope ofdespair, it is evidence that the honeymoon era, as also described inthe preceding paragraph has come to abrupt end. The offshore projectsinitiated in rather haste, including initiation or blindly following acompetitor with the same industry will witness a failure as noconsideration was given, nor any wieghtage given to the decision ofsetting up an offshore facility, or call center. The result of taking adecision in such haste is that promises to consumers remainunfulfilled, in turn triggering a possible backlash from within theorganization. Recent examples to this respect can be observed in thedecisions to call back and close shop decision taken by famous namessuch as Dell and Lehman Brothers. It is also observed that during thisslope of despair, a large number of organizations that are not seriousin operating offshore facilities would opt for closing down theiroffshore facilities. Further, such companies would either go for acomplete re-evaluation of their principle strategies, while those whoare truly serious in pursuing and benefiting from their offshore plans,continue to excel and strive to maximize their earnings from thetremendous set of advantages hidden in the operation of offshorebusinesses, including call centers. The third important aspect in the process management innovation measureis that of consolidation and assimilation. This step is immediatelyproceeded after that of despair where serious contenders stay on, andthose who step in the market without serious considerations eitherere-evaluate their strategies, or completely fall back and retreat totheir home grounds. The business of e-commerce witnessed similar trendsand behaviors. Having undergone the crucial step of consolidation, abusiness more often than not enters the slope of profit era. As alsoevidenced in majority of the businesses involved in e-commerce, mostorganization have today realized that e-commerce is not a merenecessity, rather a pre-requisite for their businesses. A similar spateof events awaits the offshore business, where call centers arepredicted to reach levels of extra-ordinary profits for their parentorganizations, a likelihood prediction for the end of the presentdecade. The study of the above 4 principle aspects of process managementinnovations shows, as also evident from recent corporate history, thatit is the home countrys economy, which by and large dictates thesuccess or failure of a corporate strategy. Thus, if economy is movingtowards recovery, not only will other businesses suffer, but theoffshore business including call centers will too face the same fate.Similarly, if the home economy is failure, and is continuouslywitnessing a fall, offshore outsourcing as well as all other businesseswill bound to see an acceleration and growth with significant profitmargins who can sustain the ups and falls of offshore businesses.However, there are more than likely chances for the IT sector, inparticular the knowledge based industries which include the callcenters will witness a similar migration as has happened with themanufacturing from the North American and European continents to moveto the Pacific Rim countries. (Gore, 2003) The above section of the dissertation has briefly discussed some of theaspects of offshore call centers including the businesses as well asthe consumers and the conflicts between them. The above section hasprimarily focused on the US businesses as they enjoy the single largestsegment of the global offshore call centers. The is followed by UnitedKingdom enjoying a second place, and which will constitute thefollowing section of our dissertation. The following part will thustake into account a brief history of outsourcing, and move on todiscuss businesses and consumers from the European perspective, with aparticular attention on the implications on the British businesses,British consumers, and the British job markets with respect to callcenters. Having briefly touched the US perspective of outsourcing businesses,the following section discusses the businesses, consumers and theirconflicts from a British point of view. A survey carried by M/s Outsourcing Insight Ltd., Harvard, M., showedthat the year 2000 was a record period for Britain as it witnessed theemergence of some 35,000 call center related jobs, and establishment ofsome 88 call centers. This tremendous growth pattern in the outsourcing business in theUnited Kingdom proved a number of points. For example, it showed that arecord number of businesses had chosen to shift and expand towardsoutsourcing. It also proved that the consumers had a wider choice. Itwas also evident that each call center was offering a more diverse setof services, a more specialized version and an ever-competitiveenvironment to offer for their customers. (Harvard, 2000) However, with the tremendous growth pattern viewed in the expansion ofcall centers, British businesses also realized that there was a crucialneed for an approach that would provide for needed end results andoptimization of their outsourcing objectives. For example, theselection of an outsourcing partner was one such area, which requiredneeded diligence and an equally cautious approach. It was largelyobserved that in their endeavours to increase their market share andcompete in their respective industries, majority of the Britishbusinesses failed to recognize that competition and offering truly highstandards of services and products called for an equally high standardsof capabilities and services. This was only possible in the appropriateselection of an outsourcing partner who fulfil

Cold War Essay -- essays research papers

War is normally associated with destruction and death to end a conflict or some sort of disagreement but that is not always the case. After World War II the United States and the Soviet Union began a war that would span decades yet there would be no direct battle between the two nations. This time is called the Cold war because of its lack of battle between just the two nations. Even though it was never the soviets verse the Americans the Soviets often fought the Americans. What could have went so horribly wrong that two nations who at one point were fighting on the same side can suddenly disagree so violently that they aid others to fight each other? The reasons are many and in-depth but it all started at the end of World war II. When the smoke cleared after the last battle of World War II two powers arose. One a democratic society the other a socialistic society neither wanting one to be better than the other. Central Europe, mainly Germany, was the center of the disturbance at the end of the war. The reason that Germany became such a volatile area is because the Soviets controlled one half while the Allies controlled the other and neither was willing to cooperate with the other. As Germany was being divided most of the other European countries were suffering and in need of aid. The United States gave as much aid as they could but there was no possible way to relieve everyone. All over south eastern Europe Communist and socialist parties were rising and gaining power blam...

Media in the Arab World

Al-Jazeera is an independent news network functioning from Qatar, which has been steadily gaining attention since its inception in 1996. The network has been fairly controversial in its choice of topics and very unconventional as well which would explain why more Arabs and Westerners alike gravitate to it for information about the current state of the Middle East. It first became popular when the network acquired a videotape containing Osama bin Laden’s message regarding the 9/11 terrorist act. In the subsequent months, Al-Jazeera became the exclusive recipient of what came to be a series of bin Laden’s messages. Al-Jazeera is characterized by its bold actions of bringing to the public issues that were previously considered sensitive or even taboo to be discussed on-air. Some of these topics include politics, corruption, terrorism, issues on gender and sexuality, religion and family values. Previously, societal dictates make discussions about topics like these only possible behind closed doors, never for the public audience.   Because of the strict censorship that Arab governments have of the media, it has been pretty hard to come up with or relate an accurate and objective description of what’s happening in the Middle East but fortunately, the network Al-Jazeera changed all that. So what are its impacts to the known world? For one thing, Al-Jazeera served as one wake-up call to the Arab world. If before, the Middle East is left in the dark about things that concern them directly, it isn’t so now. Also Al-Jazeera encouraged a lot of Arabs to get involved with present issues regarding politics, security or even religion. Since Al-Jazeera began its popularity boom, its viewer’s frequency has been uncontested. People in the Middle East are as enthused now as we are when it comes to keeping up with all of the crucial happenings in the Middle East. (El-Nawawy Mohammed, 2002) Their most popular program is called â€Å"The Opposite Direction†. With this, Al-Jazeera invites proponents of both sides to discuss a particular issue. The show is very popular that a lot of political officials and experts are willing to appear on it. This lively discussion sometimes turn into hot debates between opposing parties resulting in very controversial airings where guests walk off the stage or yell at each other at the top of their voices. Scenes that have been previously non-existent in Middle East television. Because they are independent, the Qatari government imposes little, if at all, restrictions on the network. Another fact that contributes to its growing popularity no doubt. (Mohammed el-Nawawy, 2002) Aside from impacting Arabs in the Middle East, Al-Jazeera has also established quite a name in the western world. Al-Jazeera effectively challenged the monopoly of western news networks like CNN and NBC on coverage about Middle East events, a change that most Arabs welcomed because accusations about western networks portraying them (Arabs) in a bad light are numerous. Even within Middle East networks themselves as well as international ones, there is a recognition that Al-Jazeera’s always ahead especially when it comes to groundbreaking news in the Middle East. In fact, the network is so noteworthy that it helped put the Qatari government in the map. It also helped a lot of Arabs who are living in other parts of the world. For the first time, they are now shown an accurate picture of how it is like in their hometowns that further strengthens their ties to their respective, to use Benedict Anderson â€Å"imagined communities†. This helps them relate to important matters that concern them which would provide them enough opportunity to act on it. In a certain level, Al-Jazeera helped a lot in bridging geographical gaps and bringing the Arab consciousness closer and closer. Today, if one wants to know what’s happening in the Middle East, Arabs and Westerners alike turn to Al-Jazeera for news. The Al-Jazeera network certainly created a significant impact to the power of media everywhere. I’d like to think that what Al-Jazeera represents most is the epitome of what freedom of expression means. The right to express themselves, the media’s, should not be repressed whether in the Middle East or anywhere else. In this respect, Al-Jazeera serves as a beacon that proves that no matter what restrictions are imposed on speech whether culturally or socially, its freedom can still be attained. References El-Nawawy Mohammed, I. A. (2002). Al-Jazeera: How the Free Arab Networks Scooped the World and Changed the Middle East. Cambridge, MA: Westview Press. Mohammed el-Nawawy, A. I. (2002, April 15). Al-Jazeera: How the Free Arab News Network Scooped the World and Changed the Middle East . (J. J. Myers, Interviewer)      

Decision Science for Business

BUSI 508 MIDTERM EXAM PREPARATION – General Information: – Exam counts as 20% of your overall grade – Exams are 100% individual effort–discussions among classmates are prohibited. All reference materials (books, notes, etc. ) shall be closed while taking the exam – There are 48 multiple choice questions: — (General Knowledge) 33 questions which will test your basic knowledge of history, importance of operations research/management science techniques, model terminology, etc. These questions are worth 1 point apiece – (Applications) 15 questions that will require you to analyze screen shots/graphics from Microsoft Excel and interpret information regarding an applied problem. These problems will be very similar to the work you have done on the Excel Exercises and Cases however will not require you to actually use Excel, simply be able to interpret information from the screen shots/graphics. Most of the applied-type problems will be worth 2 points, though some are only worth 1 point depending on the level of difficulty – Once the availability period opens, you will have 2 hours to complete the exam.Your clock starts as soon as you open the exam so you must submit the exam within 2 hours of opening it – Content: – General knowledge on the background of operations research/management science – Value of operations research/management science – Modeling basics (types, applications, etc. ) – Linear programming/Integer Linear Programming basics (difference between the two, building an LP/ILP model, integration of the model into Excel, optimal solution, feasible region, establishing constraints, bounded/unbounded solutions, sensitivity analysis) Network Modeling basics (the Transshipment Problem, nomenclature associated with the visual network model, establishing the model, basic forms of constraints depending on the type of problem – How to Prepare (**Suggestions**): 1. The readings from the textbook are imperative! Simply using the notes that have been provided in the course is not sufficient; this exam assumes you have completed and have a solid comprehension of the assigned readings from the textbook. . This exam assumes you are capable of developing and interpreting Linear/Integer Linear Programming models, sensitivity analysis (as it applies), and network models (both the development of the model and understanding the graphic representation of the model showing the nodes and arcs). If you have successfully completed the Excel Exercises and Case problems, you should be adequately prepared for the applied portion of the exam.

Free Essays on Advertising To Todays Customer

Advertising to Today’s Consumer There is no dispute over the power of advertising to inform consumers of the various available products. In today's economy effective advertising is essential to a company's survival. The purpose of advertising is to convince people that a particular company's product is better than their competitor's product. Advertisers must carefully aim the product to the appropriate audience, and this is often obtained many different techniques. One technique is sex or sexual innuendos. Unfortunately, this can be a double-edged sword. While sexual advertising is extremely powerful and effective when aimed at one gender, it is often done at the social expense of the other. Normally, the men and women we see in sexual advertisements do not actually depict the average person. Instead, advertisers create a stereotype that will appeal to the opposite gender's needs and desires. Sexual appeal is one of the strongest psychological appeals used in advertising. The first question that pops into the head is â€Å"Why?†, and the answer is simple, â€Å"because it works.† Sexual desire is instinctive and when an individual’s ideal mate is perceived with a product, it is obvious that the individual will be intrigued with the accompanying product. It is possible to find a connection between sex and a product for almost all products advertised. Often, if a connection can not be found, one will be invented. However, th is connection is much easier to be created with a much higher success rate for men because the basic element needed to create sexual desire for a man is simply a woman’s sexy body. As long as a women is young and healthy, she can be desirable. Unfortunately in advertising, it is quite simple to get a man’s attention. Use a woman’s body and associate the possibilities of getting that type woman if he has the product. In advertising for women, it is a much more difficult process to get her attention wi... Free Essays on Advertising To Today's Customer Free Essays on Advertising To Today's Customer Advertising to Today’s Consumer There is no dispute over the power of advertising to inform consumers of the various available products. In today's economy effective advertising is essential to a company's survival. The purpose of advertising is to convince people that a particular company's product is better than their competitor's product. Advertisers must carefully aim the product to the appropriate audience, and this is often obtained many different techniques. One technique is sex or sexual innuendos. Unfortunately, this can be a double-edged sword. While sexual advertising is extremely powerful and effective when aimed at one gender, it is often done at the social expense of the other. Normally, the men and women we see in sexual advertisements do not actually depict the average person. Instead, advertisers create a stereotype that will appeal to the opposite gender's needs and desires. Sexual appeal is one of the strongest psychological appeals used in advertising. The first question that pops into the head is â€Å"Why?†, and the answer is simple, â€Å"because it works.† Sexual desire is instinctive and when an individual’s ideal mate is perceived with a product, it is obvious that the individual will be intrigued with the accompanying product. It is possible to find a connection between sex and a product for almost all products advertised. Often, if a connection can not be found, one will be invented. However, t his connection is much easier to be created with a much higher success rate for men because the basic element needed to create sexual desire for a man is simply a woman’s sexy body. As long as a women is young and healthy, she can be desirable. Unfortunately in advertising, it is quite simple to get a man’s attention. Use a woman’s body and associate the possibilities of getting that type woman if he has the product. In advertising for women, it is a much more difficult process to get her attention wi...

The Malibu adverts Essay Example

The Malibu adverts Essay Example The Malibu adverts Essay The Malibu adverts Essay These variables will affect the answer, as each person is different so these variables help to conclude an answer for each person. Examples of how advertising leads people into debts are : 1. ) QVC and other shopping channels tell you the product is useful and is needed. They advertise it well and tell you, you can afford it whatever your economic situation. People also dont realise how much they are spending on their credit card until its too late and they are in debt. They will then go to a bank and will fail to pay back the money there as well, once people get into debt they get further and further unless they get out early. 2. ) DFS adverts entice you in, you pay a little each month and you get a sofa or 3s of these are : 3. ) Baines and Ernst, they pay off your debts and then you pay them so much each month, they sort out all of your economic problems and are a strong reputable business. However the same can apply for them, but they can adjust your payments if you have changed in 6 months time. Although sometimes you can fall in debt here, they are meant to help. The adverts on TV tell you 9/10 people say this service had a positive effect on their life. 4. ) Lombard Direct will give you a loan for anything from i 8,000 to i 15,000, this can help you pay off debts and only pay back one company, this helps as you can then get on with your life. Although this can also lead you into further debts but is there to help you. Their adverts on TV are on all the time and are easy to remember. The problem with debt is you have to have a secure job and house first before you even consider borrowing money, also put some away before even considering borrowing money off big company or bank. This way you will not be drawn into debt. There is no definite answer as all people are individual economically as well. Advertising reflects the sort of society we live in. This again is a question based on a few principles, they are : Which advert it is What a persons view of our society is These views matter when it comes to answering a question like this. If the advert is stupid like the Andrex one then it will not reflect the kind of society we live in, if like the Baines and Ernst one then it may reflect the kind of society we live in. It also depends on what peoples perception of our society is, OAPs will probably have a totally different view of society from someone in their 30s or a teenager. Examples of adverts that reflect the kind of society we live in are : 1. ) The Army adverts show that the army needs people to join, this shows the society we live in is one with a great need or a military power still. The same can probably be said for the navy and the air force. It shown that our society reaches for fists first, talk later. This was the Israeli Palestinian wars still going on, and also the Afghanistan conflict against the Taliban and Al-Queda forces. This in a way symbolises that people have no patriotism. 2. ) The various debt adverts offering people money also reflect the society we live in, they show people get into debt problems easier and now have much higher materialistic needs now then ever before. Shopping channels dont help this situation either, they only add to peoples materialistic needs by offering them things cheap and easy, this may have people overdrawing their credit cards. However not all adverts reflect what sort of society we live in, examples of these are: 3. ) The Imperial Leather advert which has the dancing duck doesnt reflect the sort of society we live in but tells you that Imperial Leather is a rich soap with lots of lather. Therefore this advert shows nothing about the sort of society we live in but that Imperial Leather is a good soap. 4.) Adverts on the radio for cheap conservatories are another example of how our society is not always reflected by adverts, this just tells you, you can get a cheap conservatory, however it does in a way show the materialistic side of our society. Overall adverts will try to represent our society because if they dont then they advert becomes unbelievable and people cant relate to it. Adverts that are not unbelievable will represent our society, in some cases even the unbelievable ones can as they show that our society is comical and can take jokes now more freely than before. Advertising ignores black people and people from ethnic minorities. This question can not be yes or no as life isnt black and white, so neither can this question be, as it deals with life deeply. Life isnt that simple and the answer to this question cannot be either. Some adverts will, some will not, you can have no definite answer. It is dependant on a few variables, these are : What kind of audience the advert is shown to Whether or not the audience finds the advert offensive Which place it is shown in Whether or not the advert was meant to be racist or ignore ethnic minorities These affect the outcome of the answer greatly, one of the major problems here is that in Folkestone black people may be a minority, but in London they are probably not, this will also affect whether or not people feel the advert is racist or not. Examples of adverts that do ignore black people and people from ethnic minorities are : 1. ) The Oxo advert with the family contains only white people and totally ignores those from ethnic minorities and black people. However if you were a white person watching this you may feel nothing, but to a black person this could be very racist. However I dont think they meant for it to be a racist advert, but it does ignore ethnic minorities. 2. ) The Kingsmill advert with Mel and Sue ignores black people and people from ethnic minorities and shows a family only with white people. A lot like the Oxo advert it probably didnt mean to be racist and people may find it racist but probably not as it was not intentionally racist. However both of these show families which is probably why they ignore people from ethnic minorities and black people. Not all adverts ignore black people and people form ethnic minorities though, some adverts will go out of their way to include black people in their adverts, examples of these are : 3. ) The Malibu adverts, these are supposed to be set in the Caribbean so they feel they must include black people and ethnic minorities. They show all black people and not a single white person in sight. The audience may see this as racist as it stereotypes black Caribbean people. Although it meant to do this it did not mean for it to be hurtful to anyone. 4.) The adverts for ER on Channel 4 include both black people and white people, however since this is set in New York, black people are not an ethnic minority, but if screened somewhere in England where they are this advert may have a differing effect. This is not racist and does not mean to be so there is no controversy. Again this advert is dependent on variables so there can be no right or wrong, no yes or no. You cannot give an answer to this question, for a whole race on just yes or no, you cant do it as each person is individual and different. Advertising is entertaining This is different to Advertising if Irritating, as an advert can be entertaining, but if shown/spoken too much it can be irritating, so adverts can be both irritating and entertaining. It is also dependant on a few variables, these are : How many times the advert is shown/spoken Which media it is The person listening/watching the advert The time of day/night the advert is shown/spoken at These factors will affect whether or not an advert is irritating or not, and whether it is entertaining or not. Examples of adverts that are entertaining are : 1. ) The Imperial Leather duck advert, this always makes me laugh and is not shown to the extent that it is annoying. The advert is shown at various times throughout the day as well and does not become boring. If it was on radio it would not work, neither would it work on any other format, only TV. However other people may feel the advert is irrelevant and annoying, as this is just my opinion. 2. ) The Siemens C45 advert with the man inside the phone repeating the ringtone, this is funny and is not played too much either and is shown at various time during the day. The added advantage of this advert is that it would work on other types of media, like radio or the Internet, but to still ones EG newspaper. However other people may feel it is irrelevant and annoying. However not all adverts are entertaining, some started as entertaining and are not played too much so become annoying over time, some are just annoying. Examples of adverts that are not entertaining and annoying are : 3. ) The advert with the horses and the surfers for Guinness I found extremely irritating, as it was irrelevant, played too much and useless. Although a good example of computer graphics altogether it was annoying. I remember this advert being on over and over and becoming very frustrating. 4. ) The Hovis adverts started off funny but were played too much and still are, and have become extremely annoying and are really irritating. They are shown at all times of the day over and over again and are becoming increasingly annoying with every time I see them. Overall you cannot say that all adverts are either annoying or entertaining as they depend on variables and most importantly the person watching as each person is different and individual and has differing views on what is and what isnt entertaining.

Essay on Women and Men in the US

Essay on Women and Men in the US Essay on Women and Men in the US Example essay: Major issues facing women and men in the U.S. today There are very many issues that are facing both men and women in the U.s today. The effects are far reaching although others do not have very significant outcomes. Gender disparity is mong the major issues that are known to affect people in the U.S. The population in the United States has been established to be having many women than men. However, this is not depicted in the public area. The Supreme Court for instance has a higher male population than women. The country? presidents from Regan to Obama have tried to eliminate this disparity by making special appointments of females judges into the Supreme Court. Another issue that is facing men and women in the U.S is the one that pertains to abortion. Facts, information and statistics about abortion and pregnancy in the U.S place a lot of evidence on teens being the most affected. There have been increased cases of sexual assault, rape, prostitution and domestic violence. In one way or another, either a man or a woman is being victimized. In many occasions, it is women who fall victim due to the notion by the society that they are a weaker sex. There are facts, statistics and stories that surround abuse and survival together with the appropriate ways that can be adopted to reduce these forms of abuse. In all creations, all people seek for love and intimacy. Yet, it is becoming evident that neither of them is a certain thing. People are different; some seek for soothe and stability while others have the desire for excitement and experimentation. As humans, we may know one another, but it is also a fact that it takes two to tangle. Currently, the issues that pertain to women? reproductive rights and the diverse forms of contraception are widely and legally accessible to all women in the U.S. Other issues that have been seen to affect people in the U.S are those that are linked to pay equity, healthcare, and leadership, feeding habits, obesity and citizenship. All these factors have a way in which they affect the people. What is important though is how the society approaches and tries to find solutions towards solving them in a more amicable manner. I would say that there are many problems that face men and women in the United States just like any other country of the world whether developed or not developed. In comparison to the less developed countries and more specifically those that are non-democratic, America is more dwarfed in the way her people are faced with the problems. Some of the problems are as a result of the religious doctrines that permeate abuse and pose subservient regulations on those who are linked to social problems. Sometimes, it becomes very hard to contemplate on the traditional, feminist issues and think of obtaining a female president in the U.S unless more women and men start cherishing diplomacy endowed with more actions and soft power. Such issues can also be overcome if more women get involved in business activities and political positions so that their voices, votes and plans can be felt. An opinion I have held over time now is that gender issues will always continue to be factors in social interactions. This is due to the loopholes that the society has allowed to prevail. For instance, the feminist issues that are still being talked about in the current society are majorly applicable to those who are aware and relish freedom. It is also appropriate for those who want a gentler and comfortable society. Although the U.S is in pursuit of these key factors, it is none the less faced with issues of gender disparity and discrimination. To make sure that gender issues are eliminated, then it is imperative that all of us exert positive influences that will terminate the undercutting on one another. It is also very vital that the society learns to have faith on one another. It should also develop an innate belief in the ability of women to lead in a diligent way. The society should also make sure that it rises up an entity and extends its hand throughout the aspects of develo pment in the spirit of change that will impact positively on the lives of our sisters, not only in the United States but also to the rest of the world. At you can easily buy essay online on Women and Men related topics. Our custom essay writing company will help with writing your essay, term paper or research paper on any topic.

African-American family sitcoms Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

African-American family sitcoms - Assignment Example The Jeffersons showed that poor, uneducated blacks could make a great success of themselves with some hard work and pluck, and this show, too, showed good family values. The Cosby Show was a show that did not really reference the black experience, but their family values were also excellent. Their message was that blacks can be well-educated and wealthy. This essay will examine each of these shows. The first black sitcom that will be analyzed will be Good Times. The particular episode is titled Black Jesus.The basic premise of Good Times is that it follows a struggling black family who are living in the ghetto – Michael, who is the youngest child and eventually is a militant black man, but,in the early days, he was a young boy who was very much into black power and black rights; JJ, the oldest child who was a gifted artist and a wisecracker;Thelma, the middle child, who's identity was somewhat nebulous, although she did seem to be into black rights as well, but not as much as Michael; Florida,the mother, who is very religious and had an iron will and was intelligent and kept her family in line;and James, the father, who was struggling for work and could sometimes be temperamental and dominant,but was also very loving.This episode was a typical episode – the jokes came from various aspects of what it meant to be poor and black. This was a sitcom in the 1970s, but its jokes still seem fresh and relevant and timeless today. In this episode, JJ was working to enter an art contest, and his topic was a pimp who lived in the neighborhood. Thelma didn't think that this was an appropriate thing to paint, but JJ pointed out that this pimp made a lot of money not doing much of anything, and that he was the â€Å"same dude who got shot and ran seven miles to the hospital† (Good Times). This line was good for a laugh. JJ also showed that he painted a portrait of Jesus who was black, and this Jesus was based upon â€Å"Ned the wino,† a local alcoh olic who everybody knew. Michael loved the idea of a black Jesus, so he put the picture on the wall in place of the real Jesus. Florida, the Christian woman, didn't like the idea of the black Jesus, until Michael pointed out that The Bible indicated that Jesus had â€Å"hair like wool, and eyes like fire,† which means that Jesus might have really been black. At that point, Florida changed her mind about having the painting on the wall. Then, everybody in the family started to experience luck. James' bet on the horses paid off, and he went to the IRS for an audit and found that they owed him money. Thelma was asked out by somebody she liked. Winona, the neighbor, who had a disastrous date, but it turned out that the guy was rich. James decided that it was black Jesus who was bringing the family luck, so he wanted to keep it on the wall. In the end, JJ entered the black Jesus in the art contest, but lost, but the black Jesus was hung on the wall alongside the traditional Jesus. This was a typical episode of Good Times. JJ had most of the cracks, and these cracks were jokes that reflected the ghetto black experience. The crack about the pimp being the same guy who got shot and had to run 7 miles to the hospital got many laughs. Another crack came when the family debated on whether Jesus really was black, and Michael pointed out that Jesus was lost in the desert, and JJ said â€Å"that makes sense. If ever people were lost, we are it.† This shows the type of gallows humor, where people who are oppressed make light of their situation, which is often seen in black sitcoms that focus around poor blacks. Other jokes make light of the