TERROISM UNIT 9 Essay Example

TERROISM UNIT 9 Essay Terrorism Name: Course: Institution: We will write a custom essay sample on TERROISM UNIT 9 specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on TERROISM UNIT 9 specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on TERROISM UNIT 9 specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Tutor: Date: Terrorism The Impact of Terrorism on the Police Mission Terrorists attacks in the U.S have made a significant different in many departments of the federal. The security department is the most affected. The police department in specific has had to come up with several policies and make a few changes in order to make the significant impact. Concerning the police mission, they are now more careful and more analytical in every case or suspicion they handle (The Council of State Governemnts, 2005). They are no longer only analytical with the immigrants only, but now they are also analytical on the citizens. This is because some attacks have been made by the U.S citizens. To the police, every body is a suspect and capable of either carrying out or facilitating a terrorist attack. Although the terrorist attacks are more serious than the local deaths as they lead to more deaths and casualties, the crimes performed in the neighborhood or locally are taking longer to solve. The police are paying too much attention to the big crimes and overlooking some things that lead to the small crimes. Unlike in the past decades, today, special units have been set aside to specialize in terrorist activities, which include terrorist, groups, threats and those countries that are hosts to terrorist groups such as the Middle East countries (Bayley Perito, 2010). Nowadays, the police department has put it upon itself to monitor the immigrants more critically than before. The monitoring is more critical on the immigrants from the Arab countries or countries that are considered a threat to the U.S. The police mission is to protect all the people of the United States. For this case, there are security issues that have been emphasized as compared to other issues especially after the 9/11 attack. There are more security check-ups, more scrutiny on immigrants and through follow-up on the slightest suspicion of any terrorist threat or activity. Appropriate Law Enforcement Behavior The immigration policy is one of the most prominent arguments relating to the terrorism issues in the United States. The disagreements concern the extent at which the immigrants’ privacy and activities should be monitored. The president argues that the immigrants should be given the same freedom and treatment as the other American citizens, while the other opposing parties argue that there should be stricter policies governing immigration and the immigrants. These include limiting the number of immigrants who are being granted the American citizenship, putting more security at the borders, more scrutiny and vetting at the American embassies before people are given visas to come to the United States amongst other policies ad regulations (Bayley Perito, 2010). It is true that some precautions and regulations interfere with the people’s liberty. For example, the American streets, roads and buildings are filled with cameras. Although it is a protection measure, there are those who argue that too many cameras are interfering with the people’s privacy. In other cases, the concerned federal authorities in charge of security listen to the phone conversations, read the emails and text messages of the people. These extreme measures are more applied on the immigrants who are from the countries hosting terrorist organizations and those being suspected of engaging in suspicious activities. Since the 9/11 attack, stricter measures have been taken (Schulhofer, 2002). However, there are those who argue that these strict measures are affecting particular groups as compared to all the people. Immigrations policies are stricter, limiting the level of legal migration as much as they can, in order to lower the risk of terrorists entering the country. The strict monitoring of the borders and the limiting the level of legal immigration is beneficial. However, these policies should not interfere with the privacy and the liberty of the people of America. This is what the president is putting across. Social Stigma and Police Ethics The social stigma on immigrants from the Arab countries or the people of the Muslim religion has made the police department more careful of their ethical conduct especially after the 9/11 attack (Schulhofer, 2002). Although the police may be tempted to suspect any person from Muslim countries thus being more critical with them as compared to the other countries, it is unethical for them to have legally acceptable reasons when conducting any surveillance or for invading any form of their privacy. There is also a social stigma on the immigrants especially with the ongoing debates concerning the level of legal migration that should be allowed. This area touches on the ethical values of the people. It is ethically required of the police to treat all people, no matter the background, origin, gender or race, in line with their rights, even though they have enough evidence connecting them with a particular criminal act. It is also required of them to follow the right procedures when follow up on a lead concerning a terrorist activity or a suspect (Bayley Perito, 2010). Social stigma has played a role in reducing police corruption. For example, any suspicion of any terrorist activity is being taken seriously as compared to the previous years. In the past, one had to have concrete evidence before any suspected terrorist activity was given the concentration it deserves (The Council of state Governments, 2005). The checks in the airports, train stations and other transport stations were on as severe as it is today. Police were not as careful as they are today. All the immigrants are being fully searched despite their country of origin. Ethical Forces and Police Corruption The ethical forces behind the police corruption are not different with the ethical forces behind the use of police force. The ethical forces concerning police corruption are a matter of how the police conduct themselves. Similarly, the ethical forces behind police force concern the police treatment of the public. Both ways concern the public. For example, the police are required to treat every situation with the seriousness it deserves. The police are asked not to accept any bribes or tokens form the public as a way of motivating them to act. This ethical force requires them to follow the right procedures whether they are dealing with a terrorism case or a case concerning the local crimes (Bayley Perito, 2010). If a member of the public comes in with a claim that he/she has been molested and then another member comes in with a claim that he/she is suspecting a terrorist activity, both cases should be attended. Leaving one case unattended and putting all the concentration on the othe r is not in line with ethical forces. However, the suspicion on terrorist activity may be allocated more resources as compared to the former. Individual Conscience and Police Assignments Police are people who have a conscience just like the rest of the public. Like any other people, they are tempted to act in accordance with their conscience. However, this is against their ethical and professional requirements. For example, they are cannot just start searching someone (invading privacy) because they ‘feel’ that something is not right. They must have tangible evidence. A police officer cannot stop a Muslim citizen or an immigrant from an Arab country because they suspect that he is engaging in terrorism activity. There must be evidence to prove this ‘feeling’ (Bayley Perito, 2010). The individual conscience should not interfere with a police officer’s assignment. The right procedures should be followed and when any arrests or searches are made. This is despite the fact that a police officer may have a few ‘hunches’, connecting the suspect with the activities (Schulhofer, 2002). If they are not legally acceptable, the police officer cannot act entirely on the conscience. However, a police officer can follow up on a lead or a suspicion without interfering with the rights of the individual. If the police find legal reasons warranting of other extreme measures, then they can be taken. Police training on Ethical Dilemmas Police encounter and will continue to encounter ethical dilemmas in the field or in their assignment. This is because there are situations that come where one needs to take either of the extreme measure. If a one fails to know hoe to handle an ethical dilemma when in training, it might harder for the individual to handle it when he/she comes across such a situation. It is therefore significant ethical dilemma training be done before one is released to take up the real life assignments. This can be done by preparing the officers that they will come across cases where they have to choose between bad and good (Bayley Perito, 2010). For example, one might come across a situation where he/she has to shoot a relative, friend, or close family member in order to save victims of a perpetrator. This is if the family member or the relative is the perpetrator. In many cases, people in the police department may be forced to make many sacrifices. Sometimes, these sacrifices involve choosing the public over ones family. It also involves risking the life of one in order to save many. Although this is easier when being theoretically taught than when one practically experiences it, the training prepares the officers psychologically. It is also good for the department to have professional councilors or psychologists so that these officers are well taken care of when such situations come up (Bailey Perito, 2010). References Bayley, D. H., Perito, R. (2010). The police in war: Fighting insurgency, terrorism, and violent crime. Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers. Schulhofer, S. J. (2002). The enemy within: Intelligence gathering, law enforcement, and civil liberties in the wake of September 11. New York: Century Foundation Press. The Council of State Governments. (2005). The Impact of Terrorism on State Law Enforcement. Eastern Kentucky University, April.

Role and Functions of Law Paper Essays (885 words) - Legal History

Role and Functions of Law Paper Essays (885 words) - Legal History Role and Functions of Law Paper LAW/421 Contemporary Business Law Instructor: KURT LOFLAND November 9, 2015 Abstract As we all know that law plays an important role in the successful day to day operation of a business and society, it can also help keep behavior intact and regulate standards. The law in fact is put in place not only to correct criminal, or dishonest behavior, but also to protect. In todays society often times the cure for any type of wrong doing is to sue; it seems that people use suing as a means of getting what they feel is due to them for any type of discomfort or injustice. In the business world tough decisions regarding employment regulatory compliance, even interoffice regulations are decided on every day. Now in this essay I will define the functions and role of law in business and society and discuss the functions and the roles of law in my present day job. What is Law? According to Melvin law is a body of rules of action or conduct prescribed by controlling authority, and having legal binding force (2011). Many laws are enforced and some contain strict rules that should be enforced if the laws are violated or broken. In the business world the law often times has precedence on how some companies operate. For example, if a company produces paint by law it cannot dump toxic chemicals into the environment without suffering stiff federal penalties or even shout down of businesses. As business owner they must have the knowledge of what the business specializes in, therefore there can often be oversights regarding legal issues, so that their companies/ business does not suffer the penalties that comes with breaking the rules and laws that have been placed to keep people safe. Now some laws are rolled out for businesses and society to help protected the consumers. Some of these laws are in detail in the US Constructional and are classified as Criminal and Civil Law, Substantive and Procedural Law, and Public and Private Law. Criminal Law defines certain behavior as illegal and lists the elements the government must prove to convict a person of a crime. As we also aware law is an essential part of what allows business and society to be successful. Societys uses law to keep the peace, enforce standards of conduct, maintain order, facilitate planning, and promote social justice (Barnes, Dworkin, & Richards, 2011). Categories of Law There are four common types of law each have a different purpose. Constitutional law deals with the interpretation and implantation of federal and state constitutions, the Constitution is the highest form of the law. Laws must agree with the Constitution or they are unconstitutional and not upheld in federal court. The Constitution is amended only in extraordinary and extreme cases. Statutory law is written by the legislative branch and approved by the executive branch of government. Statutes at the local level are known as ordinances. Court systems designate common laws by way of a precedent. A precedent is set by a ruling in a previous case in the appropriate court of law and is later determines the outcome of another case. Administrative law authorizes the authority of the executive branch and government agencies, for example; laws created by the Food and Drug Administration. Along with the four types of law there are also three common categories of law. Each of these categories relate differently to society and businesses. However the categories of law in many cases can overlap and are not mutually exclusive. There are laws that are either criminal or civil. Criminal law deals with crime and the punishment for committing criminal infractions, and civil law deals with disputes between people and organizations to determine compensation for a perceived wrong. Procedural law is a set of rules guiding the proceedings of the court. These rules ensure due process. Substantive law is the legal relationship between people or between people and the state. To compare procedural and substantive law, procedural law is the rules and substantive law is the duties of the people. Public laws are between the people and the reigning government. Public laws are between the people. Types and categories of law are important in both society and business. Laws at My Present Job At my

The Value of Digital Privacy in an Information Technology Article

The Value of Digital Privacy in an Information Technology - Article Example And finally, the paper will discuss the electronic privacy laws. The VeriChip: An Implantable Chip: this is a simple technology that involves implanting an electronic chip under the skin of an individual. This chip has the capacity of storing up to six lines of text, and can function as a personal ID number. This chip emits a 125-kilohert radio signal that is received by a special receiver that reads the text signal (Hodge, 2003). The chip once implanted, can track the individual from everywhere he/she goes. The wOzNet: A wearable chip: unlike the VeriChip which is an implantable identification device, the wOzNet is a wearable chip which acts as a commercial identification device (Fortt, 2003). The wOzNet is responsible for tracking a group of inexpensive electronic tags from a central station using Global Positioning Satellite information. In this regard, the transmission of location of information from the chip to the base station is via the same 900-megahertz radio spectrum equivalent to the one used by portable phones (Fortt, 2003). In the event the wOzNet user sets the parameter for notification, the later will generate alerts via phone or e-mail that lets the owner know the position of the one being tracked. Networked Computing: Spyware and Adware: Networked computers together with networking computer programs link different millions of users through the internet. Spyware and adware are controversial computer applications that run on networked computers. Spyware for instance is a program that installs itself without the computer user’s permission, and uses the computer resources without your permission. Spyware are responsible for collecting both non-personal and personal information from networked PCs and delivering adware to specific individuals surfing the Web. Compensated Telemarketing: Listening for Dollars: This technology also allows commercialization of personal information (Foley, 2004). The proposal by Funk and Ayres enables

Science lab 3.11 Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Science 3.11 - Lab Report Example This paper outlines a procedure for cleaning up oil spills in the sea. All the four methods helped in cleaning up the water. The feather dipped in oil and water mixture was different from the one dipped in the oil spill cleaned water. There were challenges of what to do with the oils spill after it was collected from the water. The cotton balls absorbed water as well as the oil. The dish detergent only broke the oil and it does not remove the oil from the water while use of Styrofoam is time consuming, and they also act as pollutants. The home clean-up process is easier as compared to the one in the ocean since there are wind and currents in the ocean which causes the oil spill to move and at times mix with the water making the clean up difficult. Use of paper towels in cleaning up oil spills is more effective as compared to other methods. They absorb the oil without absorbing water as compared to the cotton balls. They are also faced with the challenge of what to do with the collected oil spills, which may be broken down using the dish detergent. Oil spill in oceans and seas is a universal tragedy that is causing environmental pollution and death of marine creatures. There is a need to adopt an oil cleaning procedure that will clean oil spills as soon as they occur and prevent their adverse impacts. I would recommend modification of the paper towel to enable application in large ships and water vessels to enable clean up which will not only be cheap but also

Is death denied in contemporary Australian society Provide examples to Essay

Is death denied in contemporary Australian society Provide examples to support your argument - Essay Example The emergence of hospices and palliative care teams has done much to improve this difficult area of healthcare. Nursing and hospice care professionals, rather than doctors and surgeons, are more routinely faced with dilemmas which related to the dignity of the person, and the way that psychological and social factors can impact positively or negatively on the experiences of patients, relatives and medical staff. This is an area which is less well researched, and the present paper considers the widely held assumption that Australian society generally denies death, and seeks to protect its citizens from facing up to the emotional consequences of death for themselves and their close relatives. At the present time there are heated debates about the ethical and moral issues surrounding death, ranging from support for medically assisted deaths, to vehement opposition of any intervention that could potentially hasten death. These are important issues which Australian society must tease out and openly examine if it is to provide the kind of end of life care that patients expect. The alleged tendency of Australian society to deny death could be seen as endangering attempts to improve end of life care. If people prefer to distance themselves from death, and to avoid talking or thinking about it then it is very difficult to work out what kind of treatment or care would be their ideal preference. For this reason it is important to consider attitudes and cultural values on a wide scale when considering medical and social processes. A medical service which is out of tune with the prevailing culture is unlikely to provide a sensitive and appropriate level of care. A closer look at this intriguing area of healthcare studies reveals that the whole â€Å"death denying† label may not be quite as accurate an assessment as it appears on first sight. Historians such as Jalland (2002) and Davis and George (1990) trace the evolution of Australian beliefs and customs from the ab original concepts of â€Å"The Eternal Dreaming† to the experiences of Australian soldiers in the First World War who were taught to repress the horrors of mass warfare with the so-called â€Å"stiff upper lip,† (Jalland, 2002, 306) and to a much more mixed modern situation where multiple ideologies and customs struggle for prominence. Despite a very evident diversity in modern Australia, this notion that the country is a â€Å"death denying† nation persists into the present day. Evidence for this â€Å"denial of death thesis† is found in the ideas of social scientists in the period from 1955 to 1985. (Zimmermann and Rodin, 2004, 121). Certain traditions such as elaborate funerals and mourning rituals for bereaved families were noted as being important markers of the transition from life to death, in earlier historical periods. In traditional Catholic societies, for example, it was usual to hold a wake to mark the departure of a beloved family member, fol lowed by commemorative mass celebrations. In Jewish societies there are similar commemorative events, and these rituals are deliberately communal and inclusive, providing a supportive framework for bereaved families to lean on while experiencing the first painful stages of loss. (O’Gorman, 1998, 1131-1132) The community as a whole took part in these rituals, and death in such a context

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

Dulce et Deorum Est Essay -- English Literature Essays

Dulce et Deorum Est Wilfred Owen wrote Dulce et Decorum Est about the first World War, in which he had personally fought. It was addressed to Jessie Pope, a writer of other poems concerning the War. Specifically he wrote the poem to counteract her poem â€Å"Who’s For The Game?†. Owen felt that Pope did not comprehend the seriousness of the war in her portrayal of the battle as a rugby game. Pope conveyed the participants of the ‘game’ were admirable and those who sat on the sidelines shunned and disregarded. His poem seems very depressing and gloomy, particularly in comparison, but is it not more realistic? Owen was a soldier himself, would he not know more about the horrors that war brings than the female poet, who could only be permitted to watch from the outside of her competitive yet carefree game of rugby? Personally, I think he would. At the time, Owen was put into a psychiatric hospital because the war had so badly affected him, broken his character. It was there that he met Siegfried Sassoon, who had been put into psychiatric care for writing poems that the authorities thought put the war into a negative light. It was Sassoon who encouraged Owen to become a poet, and they became good friends. The way Owen writes is very much sane and some would say he was quite an influential character. So how does Owen compare the horrors of war? From the very first line you become aware that the poem is not likely to be as light and cheerful as Pope’s poem. The line is; Bent double, like old beggars under sacks which is already a rather miserable tone. We see how Owen has begun to set the mood for his piece already. He describes the soldiers’ crooked stance and compares them to old beggars, uncomfortable and undesirable. In the second line he goes on to say that the men are knock-kneed and compares their coughs to those of hags. Again the undesirable, slightly unpleasant note is illustrated through the diction. The soldiers sound unwell, probably due to their harrowing lives in the trenches, which makes them dirty, sodden and more prone to illness. In the third line the poet describes flares, long flames often used for signalling, as ‘haunting’ to the soldiers. This suggests that they are sick of the war and hate the constant reminders of it. Obviously they cannot get away from the war and the monotonous, dire lifestyle they faced every day in the ranks. E... ...e grotesque lines he has just written, saying that the woman would not tell of the war with enthusiasm if she had experienced it first hand or had witnessed such loathsome episodes. His last two lines are the main subject of the poem and include the title itself. Although these lines are not separated from the rest like the ones discussing how the man reappeared in his dreams every night, they are the most memorable as they are the last and the finality is extrusive within them. The final lines are: The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est Pro patria mori ‘The old Lie’ is connected to how he views Jessie Pope’s impression of the war, which he feels is captured in the Latin expression. The Latin itself translates directly as ‘It’s sweet and glorious to die for your country’. Pope’s entire poem is focused on the accuracy of this statement, whereas Owen’s entire poem is focused on contradicting the statement. The poems are in sharp contrast to each other, but Owen’s holds first hand experience and in my view is far more impacting. The lines are a relevant end to the poem and leave the reader with the thought in their mind that perhaps war really isn’t as glorious as they’ve been told.