Different Worlds
I have been reading lots of documents and websites on offshoring over the past few days. There is something very interesting in these documents. The articles authored by western authors present the point of view that only low-end ("code-monkey jobs and grunt work" as one article described) jobs are offshored and the high-end intellectual jobs still remain with them. The ones written by Indian or any Asian author claim that though offshoring was started off as a means of exporting low-end work, it has now developed into a means of getting any kind of work done through alternate geographic regions - including the intellectual work. Which of these claims is true? Frankly, I'm not sure. I see some amount of intellectual work coming to India like the R&D labs of IT firms and the equity analysis work of investment banks. But the bulk of the work that is coming to us is still on application maintenance.
Leaving the issue of what is actually offshored, let us ponder over why different people claim different things. There should ofcourse be some primary motive for these people to be so different at looking at the same fact.
The Americans have to state that they have the high-end jobs, or else the opposition to offshoring will rise enormously. When people are already into calculating the number of jobs lost and other statistics, if we are going to tell them that even the jobs that are left are only of administrative nature, then for sure hell will be left loose. From the offshoring vendor's side (the Indian side in our case), people have to state that they get high-end jobs, or else attracting good talent for the work would become tough. Imagine going to an IIT and telling the aspirants that you are there to hire the cream of the country to do the grunt work of the United States. I guess the students would then prefer the manufacturing industry over the now-famed IT.
So, I came to the conclusion that people are writing only what they are "supposed" to write and not the truth. I even wonder if the authors of these articles themselves know the truth. Is this the way to be? If this is how articles are made, then we would just be stuck with a bunch of biased reports with zero credibility. Well ofcourse, there will be people on either side of the world using these reports to substantiate their point of view and the corporate jungle is making sure that I'm one of them.
Leaving the issue of what is actually offshored, let us ponder over why different people claim different things. There should ofcourse be some primary motive for these people to be so different at looking at the same fact.
The Americans have to state that they have the high-end jobs, or else the opposition to offshoring will rise enormously. When people are already into calculating the number of jobs lost and other statistics, if we are going to tell them that even the jobs that are left are only of administrative nature, then for sure hell will be left loose. From the offshoring vendor's side (the Indian side in our case), people have to state that they get high-end jobs, or else attracting good talent for the work would become tough. Imagine going to an IIT and telling the aspirants that you are there to hire the cream of the country to do the grunt work of the United States. I guess the students would then prefer the manufacturing industry over the now-famed IT.
So, I came to the conclusion that people are writing only what they are "supposed" to write and not the truth. I even wonder if the authors of these articles themselves know the truth. Is this the way to be? If this is how articles are made, then we would just be stuck with a bunch of biased reports with zero credibility. Well ofcourse, there will be people on either side of the world using these reports to substantiate their point of view and the corporate jungle is making sure that I'm one of them.
posted by Jammy at 1:09 PM
9 Comments:
Not always but at times, the writer is asked to write something in order to prove something. For example I was asked to write one article against the introduction of FDI in the written press while most facts pointed out that introduction of FDI would be better. Came up with some specious logic in support.
But thankfully for me, the article was never published.
Jammy,
Yes as you indicate nobody who reads will really get to know what the truth is. But I think it is more to do with the political manipulations also. For example I know that few Wireless mobile companies want to shut down their operations here in San Diego and shift completely to Bangalore. They have started their offshore work 2 years ago. Started with the low intellecutal seeking jobs and now they are in the process of technology transfer and before you know they would have transferred the industry itself.
What i stated above is just one individual case.
Let us think of it this way, offshore is more prominent with the Call Centre and BPO sectors, technology & Research some of the finest centres exist here for example the TJ Watson Labs @ New York Heights. What companies have realized is the brainpower that comes to the US wants to return home in a few years so they have started setting them up in South China and India.
As you have rightly indicated people talk about the jobs lost to offshoring when actually the percentage of jobs being offshored is insignificant.
@Vetty
Yes, people are at times made to write things they don't want/know. But the issue becomes serious when the person writing the article is an analyst or a senior person who wants to protect his interests. I recently heard that we can make analysts write articles to our convenience by just paying them!!!
@Aks
"What companies have realized is the brainpower that comes to the US wants to return home in a few years so they have started setting them up in South China and India"
I never saw it in this angle. Interesting view point, but I can't make the business sense of it. Companies recruit people in the US for doing work in the US. Would they really shift their location just to satisfy the desires of a specific group of empoyees? And more importantly, do the desis really want to come back?
Jammy,
There is something called the return to home program here with the biggies such as IBM ,Qualcomm, Honeywell etc. As you are aware to hire a foreign national the companies need to sponsor him/her for an H1 / PR and so on. The companies feel they need a global presence and even Intel for that matter has the same program. They encourage some individuals who would be interested to go back home with a very decent pay packet. And Desis do want to return. I think it is in the back of almost every desis mind that they want to go back home at some point of time. A fair amount of people are seen to return almost just after a year of graduation these days. Bangalore is one big example.
One beauracratic loophole is that students can work for a year on optional training. These multinationals hire them here and get them trained for technology transfer and then place them back in their home countries. This works benefitial to both the Employer and the Employee.
tis said that therez no right or wrong in business. you do what is appropriate & benefits your business. it all then depends how convincingly you will be able to drive your point through.
all this is very unfortunate but also very true.
@Aks
That is very interesting and informative. Thanks.
@Ravi
I do believe that there is right and wrong in business. But as you say, unfortunately we don't see taht much business ethics around.
jammy- i always believed that reading the same news from more than one source helps. i dont give much importance to the editorial columns and articles because they are bound to be biased opinions. I form my own opinions based on news and just that, mostly. when am not able to make up my mind on something, that's when i rely on articles/editorials and again, on more than one of them. It's always good to take decisions yourselves rather than blindly following what "one" expert says is my belief...
@M.E.
I didn't write about newspapers. I wrote about articles from research agencies that are used by high-tech firms to gain knowledge on the market. These agencies charge a lot for their reports an still give a biased opinion.
aah...sorry. in that case again, i'd read from more than one source...
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