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

Comparing Two Charity Advertisements Essay

In this essay I will be comparing the advertising leaflet for Christian Aid with the leaflet produced by The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA). This essay will be analysing how the different charities try to persuade us, the audience to change our views, make the people want to do something to help them and the difficulties these charities face. I will be examining and commenting on the effectiveness of these adverts. The RSPCA are a charity organization set up to help animals in Britain and Christian Aid helps out people and children Worldwide. We need these charities because they help people in need and they also support communities. We need charities to help people who cannot support themselves because everyone deserves to have a life of their own which they can enjoy. We give to charities for many reasons, but the main reason we give to charities is because we feel guilty. We feel guilty because we are so well off and we take our houses, Television and having food and water for granted. However, people in third world countries can not even afford to have a roof above their head and in some extreme cases of poverty they can not afford food and clean water. Some people give for compassion. This is when they sympathise with these people and animals and they feel sorry for them so they give money because they want to help them. However, some people give because of their religious belief. Muslims give to charities because of Zakat, one of the pillars of Islam. It reminds Muslims of the fact that whatever wealth they may possess is due to the blessings of Allah and it should be spent according to the His commands. Some people give to charity because they believe it is their moral duty to give to charity. In addition some people give to charities because they want people to think they are generous and they want to be recognized as that and get praise for it. There are hundreds of different charities which help out in different ways. These different charities include charities that support animal rights, environmental agencies and pressure groups, humanitarian charities, medical charities and child protection. The spectrum of human emotion can be manipulated visually and imaginatively. Pictures can be formed mentally from descriptive words or even statistics. Charities use this to their advantage, this works extremely well. It is their greatest technique for persuasion. Charities constantly need to advertise due to competition. There are hundreds of charities which help different causes and this is why there are so many different charities to give to which shows there is so much competition. On top of this there is the National Lottery. Since the national lottery there has been a decrease in the number of people giving to charity. The National Lottery is a huge profit making organisation and out of this they profit they do give to charity. However they only give a small proportion of their money to charity and recently there has been some controversy on which charities they give to. Most charities also do not get government funding which means they rely on the public to donate money to keep their charity running. Charities advertise in various ways. These include the broadcast media which could be television or Radio, Print Media which consists of billboards, posters, newspaper (tabloids and broadsheets) and magazines; we can also include advertising on the internet. Advertising is very important in our culture and is always around us. Everything is advertised varying from houses to the clothes we wear and films we watch. Advertisements are a way to persuade people to do what you want them to do, whether it is to donate to tour charity or to buy your product. Advertisements have been around for centuries, one of the first advertisements was in a newspaper in 1704. This shows how long they have been around and how long people have had to learn how to manipulate them to their advantage. Charities mainly use the print media option because it cheaper than television and radio advertisement. Also print media is more easily accessible to everybody unlike radio and television. This may also be advantageous because instead of having to write out a cheque the print media will probably have a tear off slip which can be more convenient to send off. This has been used in the RSPCA leaflet. Charities target people who are financially stable and socially and globally aware of the problems people face in the world. This is because these sorts of people are more likely to give because they are likely to feel guiltier than others and if they know about global issues then are also likely to empathise with these people. Charities can target their audience by advertising in certain newspapers such as broadsheets for example ‘The Guardian’ or’ The Telegraph.’ The type of people who read these sort of papers are more likely to give than people who read ‘The Sun’ or ‘The Daily Sport’ because they are probably more likely to be globally aware and they are probably better educated, so they have better jobs and would therefore would have a more disposable income to give to charities. The main purpose of the RSPCA is to prevent cruelty to animals. We know this because it says ‘The aims of the RSPCA are to prevent cruelty and promote kindness to animals.’ The main purpose of Christian Aid is to help people, regardless of their race or religion, to tackle the causes of poverty and injustice. We know because the information inside the leaflet shows us that they are trying to help people like ‘Valliamma and Shashore have a life before Death.’ From the name ‘Christian’ Aid people tend to believe that this charity only helps people who are Christian but this is not true, this name was made centuries back when this was not a multi-cultural society, as it is today, but it had to the name because they were to well known to change it. The Christian Aid leaflet uses an image of a canned drink on the front cover. This is a red colour, with the title ‘Fresh Air’. The words ‘Fresh air’ are very strong as their slogan and also very emotive, as it makes us think of those people in undeveloped countries, who do not have anything but air. This image of a can is very effective because it reminds people of ‘Coca Cola’ and western culture and capitalism. It shows how our culture has dominated the world, and how unfortunate some people are. The colour red is very effective because it has negative connotations of blood and death which reminds us of what is happening out in the world and makes us want to donate money. On the back of the can there is a box titled ‘Nutritional Information’ which is written in a large font to show that is the title, then the writing inside is a smaller font size. When we first open the poster our eyes are immediately led to the picture on the lef t. This is because we read from left to right so the left hand side is the primary optical area for us. The writing above the picture is in bold and in red. This is more eye-catching and we are more likely to read this before we read any of the other text because the bright red and the dominance in the size of text will probably strike our attention before the other text would. There is a caption below the picture which is in a smaller font than the one which is used for the rest of the writing. This has been deliberately made small because this information is not as important as the other text. On the right hand side, there is another photo and below it there is a caption and in an even smaller font than this there are the Christian Aid contact details. This has been put at the bottom of the page because it is the last thing that has been out on the page so it memorable. The biggest writing on this page is at the top of the page on the right. This is used to make sure that everyone reads this, even if they do not read the other text because this is the most important text. It also is the centre page of the three flaps, so it is also been put there as a big centre point. The right hand flap can then be pulled open to show more writing in the middle and on the right there are two small pictures surrounded by writing. The writing is broken into paragraphs so it seems easier to digest instead having big chunks of text which some people may find off putting. The text is split in the middle with alternating bold red text then normal text. On the right hand side each paragraph starts off in bold with the words ‘Just à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½24’ or ‘à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½36’. This is used to emphasise the amount of money, which for us is not a lot but for people in Africa is enough to build a life on. At the bottom again we have big, red, bold text, to stand out against the rest of the text as it is asking us to give us money and the CA do not want us to miss this. At the bottom we have the Christian Aid logo and below the slogan ‘We Believe in Life before Death’. This has been put here because this is the terminal optical area as it is the last thing we read on the right-hand side when we read from left to right so we will remember this. The RSPCA leaflet shows a cat on the cover, sitting on a doorstep and staring at us. This scene seems absolutely normal. The heading is in a bold white font which gives positive connotations as it makes us think of peace. At the bottom of the page on the right, we have the RSPCA logo in the terminal optical area which is effective because it makes it more identifiable and memorable. Then if we lift out the flap underneath, we see an image of what seems to be a normal house. There is a cat sitting on top of the sofa. The title on the top is written in a big black bold colour. This black colour gives negative connotations compared to the white heading on the first image because it is shows darkness. Below there is white writing which is smaller but is still in bold. It is now that we see the next picture which instantly gives very negative connotations from just looking at it. There are faeces on the floor, it looks like a very neglected area and there are tins of cat food as well. Using black and white to contrast between negative and positive features is a very clever way to easily give the effect you want. The RSPCA advert has very little text compared to the CA advert and big pictures. They have also printed their advert in black and white whereas on the other hand the CA advert has been printed in colour. This was probably printed in black and white because it is cheaper so more leaflets can be printed within their budget, informing more people of their charity. Nowadays, charities are using more and more shocking images in their adverts in order to make the audience empathise and feel sorry for these people. For example, a recent Barnardos advert showed a baby with a cockroach and a syringe in its mouth and this was banned because it was thought to be too shocking for the British public. This however is very effective, and if people were to believe that this kind of thing was happening then they would be more likely to give. However, this could have been made very shocking purposefully, to grab attention and to get publicity. When we first see the RSPCA advert we are confronted by a rhetorical question asking us whether this cat is happily watching the world go by. This makes us start to think whether something is going on and leads us to read on to see if there is anything going on. Then, when we open up the leaflet this question is answered, but in the form of another rhetorical question and in the background there is an image of a room. Then below this tile is writing. This writing is telling us what actually happened in this room. It talks about the cat ‘Boots’ being ‘soiled with faeces’. They have used the name ‘Boots’ to make it seem more personal to us. The ‘faeces’ could have been replaced with ‘excretion’ or ‘pooh’ but ‘faeces’ is used to make it sound more technical and scientific. This helps to make it more shocking and give the text more of an impact. Short sentence structure is used to make the reader remember, short sentences are also more effective than long sentences, which helps the reader remember what is said. Then on the back we have a zoom in on what has happened. It has information of an advice line and national cruelty helpline places next to a phone. At the end the text ‘This was just one’ is placed in the terminal optical area which makes the sentence stay in the persons mind. Moving back to the middle section there is a photograph of three kittens staring at us. It seems as if they are asking for help when they look at us. This is called the ‘look to camera’ technique. The title uses an opinion which is made to look like a fact when it is not necessarily true that ‘Boots ahs found a loving new family’. Below the picture there is a black box which is used to draw our attention. The writing inside this box uses triadic structure and repetition of ‘à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½3 a month’ in bold then what this can do to help being listed three times. At the end it says ‘Please help.’ This is a polite request. This is used because it is harder to decline a polite request than it is a normal request. Again in the last section we have the cat using the look to camera technique which seems as if the cat is asking us ‘Please be my friend?’ The title uses emotional blackmail when it says â€Å"I’ll be a friend for life to defenceless animals suffering from cruelty.† This is effective because it makes us want to be their friend, and protect them from cruelty. This advert uses many examples of rhetorical questions, because they are thought evoking and make us want to read on, until we reach the end, where we meet the sponsor form. ‘Dying for a drink? Imagine if this was all you had to drink today.’ This opening question is a rhetorical question and has alliteration. It persuades you to imagine, a natural reaction is to do so. It gives a vibrant picture and feeling, making you sympathize with these people. There is a lot of detail given in the first sentence, which is a very good way to draw in the reader to move forth into the leaflet. On the back of the can there is a box titled ‘Nutritional Information’. Inside this box are facts. These facts are shocking but interesting and lead us to read on inside the leaflet. This is the purpose of the front cover of the Christian aid’s leaflet. As we open the leaflet at the top we are given the title ‘How one well helped save a community from extinction’. The word extinction seems very powerful and this title amazes us to know that ‘just’ one well could make such a difference. Below the picture we see more facts about how they helped so many other people in Mali by building ‘500 concrete wells’. The first paragraph tells us what is happening in Mali and the problems. In the second paragraph we are told about what they did about it. The chief of tonsogou, Abdoulaye Togo, is described as ‘dynamic’ and ‘determined’. This is used to make people think that he is a good person and that we should send money to help him. Also, using the persons name makes it seem more personal. The third paragraph tells us the effects of them helping this village. The word ‘flourished’ is used because it gives off very positive connotations. There is a quote from one of the villagers saying that now they have more time to spin cotton. This is also very positive because it shows now that they have clean water and they can work, and sell their products so they will get more money. The next flap uses a quote right at the beginning. This quote is very emotive and moving, and makes us think again, of the image we thought of from the first rhetorical question. This gets us thinking again and we empathize with these people. This next paragraph uses the word ‘Imagine’ at the beginning of each sentence. This is used to involve us and to again make us empathize with these people. It uses statistics such as ‘1.1 billion people’ and ‘one- sixth of the worlds population’ to shock us. The flap is then opened up and we see the centre page which is carried on talking about people like Yalaya and how they have helped the village become more ‘self-sufficient’. This makes us realize that by us helping them, we are helping them help themselves. The next part talks about how after building the well ‘the people of tinsogou got together with 14 other villages and between them built their own health centre’. This is very impressive to us and it makes us think that it is worth helping these people because they can help other people by making a health centre. It also says that they have made a school. This is good because then the future generations can be educated and may not have to struggle in life as that village once did. The next paragraph consists of the quote ‘†When we realized what we could achieve we didn’t want to stop at the well. We wanted to go on and make other things happen for the village.†Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ This quote shows that CA is a charity that is very determined to help people out in every way they can. The rest of the flap says that so much was achieved by just one gift of water, and that today we can be part of these achievements by donating. This makes us want to be part of these achievements and helping other people out. It says ‘the battle against poverty’. This is a very powerful, effective sentence, full of strong words such as ‘battle’, and ‘poverty’ to persuade us to give money, so that we do win the ‘battle against poverty’. It also talks about this being a difference we can make and it says please do. This is a polite request because it asks us nicely but in a way it is also telling us to do it. The last flap informs us that ‘Just à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½24’ buys eight bags of cement, to help a ‘community like Valiamma’s in Sri Lanka’. It makes it very personal now when it almost introduces her by saying she has seven children and that she ‘only’ earns twenty pence a day selling rice flour. It is very emotive because she uses twenty pence to feed seven children and herself and we spend twenty pounds going out to a restaurant, eating what we want. The use of the word just is also very effective because for in a commercialized, developed country like ours twenty four pounds is not a lot of money. The same thing is repeated in the next paragraph but this time it is thirty six pounds for Shashore in Ethiopia to give money so that she can grow her own trees, because the food that she grows only lasts for five months. This also makes us think how lucky we are that we can have as much food as we like, and more whenever like as we are constantly surrounded by shops and restaurants. The last paragraph asks us to help ‘Valliamma and Sahashore have a life before death.’ This is a clever way to use their slogan ‘A life before death’. This slogan is very effective because religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism, believe in re-incarnation and even Christianity believes in heaven and hell which is life after death, but CA wants people to have a life before they die. Both adverts are very effective. However, I believe that the RSPCA leaflet is more effective because they have used more persuasive devices and emotive language where as the Christian Aid leaflet mainly states facts and when it uses persuasive devices it is very blatant so it is not as effective. An example of this from Christian Aid is ‘Please give whatever you can today and help more people like Valliamma and Shashore have a life before death.’ The images used in the RSPCA advert is very emotive when it has the animal looking at you, especially in the last image, because it seems as if the cat is asking for help. I believe that the RSPCA would get more support from the public because of the fact that Britain is well known for caring about animals. For example we only have a National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children but we have a Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Therefore I believe that more people would give to the RSPCA than to Christian Aid.

Huffman Trucking system Inventory Essay

Material System Inventory Select and complete one of the following assignments: Option 1: Virtual Organization System Inventory Option 1: Virtual Organization System Inventory Select one of the following Virtual Organizations: Smith Systems Consulting Huffman Trucking Kudler Fine Foods Complete the following chart, filling in information for each system used at that Virtual Organization. Add rows to the chart as necessary. System Name Brief Description Department to Use the System Purpose of the System Connects With Development Details Corporate Intranet This system supports the Business Infrastructure consisting of 72 clients with 15 printers and 1 plotter. The phone system is a Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) with 68 stations throughout the company. Executive offices, Marketing, Sales Dept. , HR, Accounting departments This system allows the company to communicate, run the business, update HR information and accounting Full mesh WAN, running an OC-2 encryption, fiber based dedicated VPN- Ohio Office, Remote Administration, Remote IT operations, Remote Trucking Operations, Hub facilities in Cleveland, OH, Los Angeles, CA, St. Louis, MO, Bayonne, NJ Huffman Trucking is a native of Cleveland Oh. and was founded in 1936. The growth of the company was due to the WWII and the demand for carriers services from the factories to the ports. Mission statement: To be a profitable, growing, adaptive company in an intensively competitive logistical services business environment. Vision Statement: To be a model company to our stockholders, employees, customers and all stakeholders. System Name Brief Description Department to Use the System Purpose of the System Connects With Development Details SAP ERP This system supports the financial systems that are used in the accounting department, inventory management, HR, CRM, Accounting, HR, Trucking operations Allows the corporation to record the financial aspects, Human Resources, Benefits, trucking operations Corporate Intranet Huffman employees over 1,350 personnel, supports over 800 road tractors, 2,100 trailers and 260 â€Å"roll on/off units. This system can adapt to a medium to large corporate infrastructure and meet all financial needs as well. 50 KVS A UPS This is the backup power supply for the corporations computer mainframe, servers Corporation IT Operations To provide power to the IT operations in event of a power outage, failure Corporation Network This system can be updated to support a larger network if needed and additional or larger UPS systems can be installed. Trucking Operations: MTC Fleet Maintenance Pro 12 The MTC Fleet maintenance keeps the corporation with a schedule of maintenance, and repairs for the individual vehicles Trucking operations To keep a schedule of maintenance for all corporate vehicles, Corporation Network This system allows the company to track and conduct the preventive maintenance for the 800 plus tractors and additional equipment at an interval of 25,000 miles. SW Package for MTC Fleet Maintenance Used for management of the warehouses Warehouses Allows the company to keep track of the inventory at any given time or place Corporation Network Motorola MC 9090-C RFID / Bar code scanner system Used for tracking the location of all vehicles owned by the corporation Operations employees Allows the company to keep the inventory up to date for parts Satellite locator and monitoring comm. ystem SW package for traffic management Traffic management Truck drivers Allows the company to track the trucks and to assign bar codes to the Motorola 2 way radios Satellite locator and monitoring comm. System, Motorola VC 6096 Network Backup system Used for backup of all computer systems configurations and information Administration and IT department Allows the company to restore their records and transa ctions performed on a daily basis Corporation Network System Name Brief Description Department to Use the System Purpose of the System Connects With Development Details

International Business Essay - 3115 Words

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