Of Mice and Men Essay

From reading Of Mice and Men sections one and two we know that George and Lennie’s relationship is a bit confusing as George mainly covers Lennie’s back. We also see that George can put Lennie down at times when George is annoyed at Lennie. Although from reading section three I can tell that their relationship is slowly becoming closer and a kinder one. Firstly, George is starting to make Lennie seem a little happier and to show him that he is not all bad at things. We can see this on page 43, line 4, ‘he’s sure of a good worker. Strong as a bull.’ This shows that George is at least trying to make Lennie feel good about himself. Another example of this can be seen again on page 43, line 11,’ he can do anything you tell him, said George. He’s a good skinner.’ This quote could mean that George really does deep down love Lennie as a friend. Secondly, the other hand George can be harsh to Lennie on the odd occasion where George is trying to be funny. A quote for this can be found on page 45, line 5,’ I wasn’t kicked in the head with no horse, was I, George? Be a darn good thing if you was, George said viciously. Save ever’ body or hell of a lot of trouble.’ We can tell from this that George tries to make himself laugh by saying bad things about Lennie. Thirdly, Lennie seems that he does not really seem to make a matter of that he is being treated badly by George sometimes. We can see this on page 43, line 7, ‘George scowled at him, and Lennie dropped his head in shame.’ This shows that he is upset by how he drops his head but doesn’t say anything back to try and defend himself. Shows that he is getting bullied by George a bit. Fourthly and finally another way their relationship builds up is how they always dream of the future and how they both want the best for each other also how they sort of know that it will be all good. I’m guessing that they will talk about the future a couple more times later on in the book. So from reading section 3 we can see that their relationship is very slowly getting better and their bond is getting tighter but George sometimes slows the relationship down, but can say good and positive things about Lennie on the odd occasion.

Is the Media Biased? Essay

What is media bias? Media bias is the one-sided perspective of the broadcasters and journalists of the news. I believe that major broadcasts and newspapers can be biased because the opinions of journalists and newscasters can influence the way people view information based on the way it is presented. If we base our views on what’s reported in the media, it can affect our outlook on national and global issues. As I observed news broadcasts between FOX and CNN, I’ve noticed that FOX seems to have a more conservative perspective while CNN and other news broadcasts have a more liberal or balanced way of reporting the news. One of my observations between FOX and CNN was how they reported the CIA scandal of General Petraeus. FOX news seems to place more emphasis on the White House knowing about the scandal but covering it up until the election was over. They show bias towards the Republican Party and seem to illustrate favoritism toward their own political views. CNN focused more on the relationship between General Petraeus and Paula Broadwell and how the FBI began its investigation. Another national issue where there appears to be bias in the reporting was Hurricane Sandy. FOX news analysts felt like White House should have received more criticism on the response of Sandy, as the Bush administration did for Hurricane Katrina. CNN focused more on interviewing victims of Sandy that were affected in this disaster. CNN also questioned several people on the response of the Red Cross assistance. The overall goal of media outlets is to generate revenue and increase viewers, but being bias can sometimes hurt those goals. Media in the format of television, radio, newspapers, and also the internet, are in the business of providing information as well as entertaining viewers, readers, and listeners. The truth of the matter is†¦ Goldberg says â€Å"there is no greater sin than to bore the audience†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Government in America 227) That uninteresting information and honest facts is not always what attracts a huge audience. â€Å"Ratings are the reason television people do almost everything. (Goldberg 213)† Goldberg states that liberal networks such as CNN, NBC, and CBS, control most of the news market. FOX news has increasingly become more popular over the last years because of the controversial views and bias opinions. This has turned out to be an excellent news marketing concept because viewers that may not agree with FOX news will watch just to hear what the other side has to say. I believe that media can bore people unless there is some sort of controversy, conspiracy theory, or conflict of interest. A media outlet that has become one of the strongest forms of media is the internet. The internet has opened the floodgates to the world which allows anyone to express their opinions. â€Å"The internet is certainly changing the nature of our media system.†(Oligopoly 283) With the rise of the internet, people are able to express their bias opinions using social media, such as Facebook, Twitter, and blogging. Broadcast news does not always report the important issues or what is factual in daily society. The worldwide web has become a more dependable source of daily news where people can find information that may favor their own views. It gives anyone the ability to blog, post content, or videos about our own bias opinions on politics, our government, and other global issues. It also provides us a platform to speak out against the bias news media to whoever wants to listen to our side in our individual way of thinking. There are tons of bias videos on YouTube, such as 9/11 conspiracy theories, President Obama being a terrorist, or the Tea Party being racist against blacks. Even though media outlets can come off as being bias, it is more profitable for networks, and newspapers to have more open-minded journalists that will attract more viewers and readers. The news should be based on real-life incidents and facts but there always appears to be distorted information from different media broadcasts. When the 9/11 attacks occurred, there were many conflicting stories about bombs going off in the streets, more airplanes that were possibly hijacked, and whether or not U.S military fighter jets shot down civilian aircraft. Do interest groups strengthen democracy? An interest group is an â€Å"organization of people with similar policy goals who enter the political process to achieve those aims.†(Government in America 325) They allow particular interests and causes to be heard and to use influence in public decision and decision-making. I think that without these groups, our democracy would be weaker and many voices would not be heard. A theory that strengthens democracy would be the pluralist theory. It claims that interest groups do well to Democracy by â€Å"bringing representation to all† (Government in America 325) and it can increase participation and access to the political system; where it can make democracy stronger. These interest groups want to help the voice of the minorities to work with the political parties and influence them. It gives a voice to many that may feel excluded from the political process. Interest groups represent various social issues from women’s rights, saving the environment, the NRA to Mom’s Against Drunk Drivers. They place emphasis on issues such as economics, the community, and the constitutional rights of all people. The government’s aim should always be to please the public, or to do the best for the state so that these groups can show the government what their group wants to change. In some ways, interest groups can also weaken American democracy because if there are several different factions, no specific interest group will have more power than the other. One positive aspect I see in interest groups is that they encourage more political participation. Some people believe that interest groups can become too powerful causing the general public to suffer as a result. For example, the NRA promotes gun ownership and a right to bear arms while other interest groups are fighting for stricter gun laws to decrease the murder rate in the country. Interest groups are a necessary part of our free society; however the influence of some interest groups may not be the common good for everyone. The 1st Amendment of our Constitution encourages freedom of speech, and the assembly to petition the government, which is what interest groups are based on. It is important to understand that these interest groups can be both helpful and damaging for democracy. Today, I believe that the problem of our government is that they pay more attention to special interests more than the public interests. People are becoming more disappointed in our political system. Instead of people in these groups having an equal say in this process, some organizations are giving an unfair advantage than others. These organizations may have more power and influence to support their issues; however the other groups may not able to fully support their cause due to lack of funds, and also influence. Interest groups can help the democratic process, but only if our lawmakers in Washington listen and fight for these groups. If we want our democracy to be stronger, our citizens must have political power to be shared by all. We should all have a voice in determining our policies in the government, because that is the main goal of democracy. As said by Lincoln in the Gettysburg Address, (â€Å"government of the people, by the people, and for the people.†) If the interests of the people become a major concern across the nation, our government will take action to give the country what they need to move forward towards a united nation. Works Cited Goldberg, Bernard. â€Å"Bias† Faultlines: Debating the Issues in American Politics. Ed. David T. Canon, John J. Coleman, and Kenneth R. Mayer. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 2004. 209-212. McChesney, Robert W. â€Å"Oligopoly: The Big Media Game Has Fewer and Fewer Players.† The Enduring Debate. Ed David T. Canon, John J. Coleman, and Kenneth R. Mayer. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 2003. 282-287 Fox News – Latest News Headlines. 16 November 2012. Television. CNN Newsroom. 16 November 2012. Television. Edwards, George C., Martin P. Wattenburg, and Robert L. Lineberry. Government in America: People, Politics, and Policy, Twelfth Edition.United States: Pearson, 2006. Print.

The Origins of American Exceptionalism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Origins of American Exceptionalism - Essay Example There are a number of arguments that have been developed that aims at explaining the history of the exceptionalism in America (Holland 53). Hector, a renowned historian, claims that the idea of exceptionalism in America did not occur because of power that America had. According to his view, America started from a very humble background. He claimed the history of America is very ironic as compared to that of the Europe. He claims that America had no great lords who possess everything, no great manufacturers employing thousands, and no great refinements of luxury. Principally, according to Hector, America did not had the kind of power it possess in the present time. However, because of its spirit of industry and work, America began to expand and grow economically, socially and other aspects of life began improving. According to hector, the phenomenon of exceptionalism came about due to the ability of America to accept the emigrants from other countries. Their elusively commercial habit s seem to divert the pursuit of science, proximity to Europe, literature, and arts, which allows them to neglect these pursuit without even relapsing into barbarism. American education, wants, and everything about him unites in drawing the native of the United States earthward. Farming was the initial economic activity that enabled most of the Americans to develop (Holland 63). Franklin is another great historian who made great effort towards finding out the source or history of exceptionalism. Most of his arguments were because the increase in the population of America is one of the main reasons making an American exceptionalism. He attributed the concept of exceptionalism to the fact that plenty of cheap land encourages people to have children and hence enhances the population of people. Franklin summarizes his argument by concluding that employment and better crop production techniques were some of the main factors that made America reach the current level (Ignatieff 13). He furt her states that there were extra foods that could b used to feed Americans and hence resulting in a strong nation that can rely on its own. Idea of diversification is also another element of exceptionalism. Franklin argues that prospect of good subsistence is another factor that played a role in making America an exceptional state as far as power is concerned. It is clear that most of the arguments made by Franklin are inclined to the means of earning a living. This means that the ability to provide for the children and the family is directly proportional to the power of the America. This is justified by the quote he made that state that America would not improve unless the new comers are more industrious and have mid frugality than the native. This statement means the main source of power in America is the hard work and industrious nature of the American. Unlike Hector, Franklin believed that increase in population compounded by hard work is the main source of exceptionalism (Holla nd 53). Drummer, another historian claims that the principle of exceptionalism can be traced back to the time of charter colonies. the reason why drummer fought for the charter colonies to remain is the fact that this colonies were from New England, which despite the fact that it didn’t produce sugar, it helps other islands that do, and without their assistance they could not make it to produce sufficient quantities and cheap enough to answer the markets in Europe. They was

Balanced Scorecard Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Balanced Scorecard - Essay Example Although the first Balanced Scorecard was designed by Art Schneiderman in 1970, the concept of Balanced Scorecard was extensively developed and widely popularized by Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton. According to them, a Balanced Scorecard â€Å"defines the set of near-term objectives and activities, the drivers that will differentiate a company from its competitors and create long-term customer and shareholder value, the outcomes.† (Kaplan & Norton, 2001, p.76). The most fascinating feature of a Balanced Scorecard is that a set of financial and non-financial tools are presented in a single succinct report by comparing each tool to a ‘target’ value. This strategic performance management tool was developed with intent to replace traditional operational reports and to present a concise summary that includes the most relevant information. The first versions of Balanced Scorecard held the view that its relevance was greatly related to corporate strategy and the pr oposed design methods. As noted by Kaplan & Norton (2001), during the initial stages, it was believed that this tool would most fit the needs and requirements of mid-sized firms and hence the model was mainly employed to measure aspects like customer, internal business processes, and learning and growth (pp.76-77). This tool was periodically modified and it became popular across the globe by the end of the 20th century. However, modern management experts argue that this model is not sufficient enough to manage complex strategy implementation processes. This paper will critically analyze the potential limitations of the approach while comparing it with the emerging approaches to organizational strategy. Limitations of the Balanced Scorecard approach It is identified that the Balanced Scorecard model of Kaplan and Norton is not really effective. In the modern complex business environment, setting right objectives and following them properly is extremely essential to ensure the sustain able development of any organization. In order to follow the objectives properly, it is absolutely vital to monitor every action with a more strategy focused measurement system. Today’s scholars opine that the Balanced Scorecard model is not so optimal and strategy focused; and therefore, this system cannot ensure a sustainable business environment. In the view of Rillo (2004), one of the most noticeable limitations of the Balanced Scorecard model is that it could not effectively connect cause and effect relations time-wise. The author continues that an important strength â€Å"that the Balanced Scorecard is claimed to possess is the strong causal interrelations between the different elements that are mapped using the core strategy of an organization as a source as the financial measures have been considered merely a reflection of past activities already taken place† (Rillo, 2004). Critics argue that this model is not supported by the Hume criterion for cause and effec t relationship, which states that one activity leads another in time and there exists a causal connection between these two activities. Furthermore, it seems that this concept does not give necessary emphasis on time factor, which is vital to ensure the success of a strategy execution process. Likewise, Kaplan and Norton (2001) tell that strategic objectives must be categorized into budgetary measures so as to be pursued on predetermined basis (pp.294-296). As per this view, different objectives cannot be monitored until predetermined intervals and the measurement method is capable of providing relevant information for analysis. Many of the modern theorists do not know whether or not there exists a causal interrelation between customer, internal business processes, and learning and growth in

Self-awareness and Career Management (2) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Self-awareness and Career Management (2) - Essay Example I will undertake the MBTIÂ ® Step I Programme and take the applicable courses from ICA in order to get closer to my goal of being a highly competent accounting person. Measurable Immediately after my graduation I will seek to find employment in the accounting function of a small organization while in the accounting graduate program. I lack work experience in accounting, therefore, the chances of a large multinational organizations declining my application would be very high. I will apply to small or medium sized organizations in the capacity as a trainee or junior or staff accountant in the accounting department. After working for a period of 12 to 18 months in a small or medium sized organization while sharpening my skills in accounting, I would venture out in search of employment in a multinational organization in the capacity of Accounting Manager or Senior Accountant. I would also strive to attend at least 6 public workshops during the next year in order to gain exposure and und erstanding of the accounting process and how to maintain accounts ledgers. Attainable The immediate goal would be to find work experience in the field of accounting with a long term goal to establish a career path within the accounting area at Qatar Petroleum Co. Within the first three months after graduation my goal will be to equip myself with suitable work experience and then work within the accounting field for a minimum of 12-18 months. Additionally, my skills in writing and speaking English need to be improved. Another skill that needs improving is proficiency with excel spreadsheets as it would be important in maintaining a large database of accounts and presenting charts and diagrams on project schedules. I will join the Brookes Entrepreneurs club and also the Oxford Entrepreneurs club in order to expand my network with both compatible and diverse individuals, thereby increasing my prospect of navigating myself into accounting function. Darling (2005) discusses the importanc e of networking. Networking with others who have had similar experiences will be helpful to me as I investigate relocating to the UK and then relocate to the UK. Realistic During the holiday break, I will purchase a CD that teaches how to use Microsoft Office tools more proficiently in order to be armed at managing databases of accounts. I will do more research on the current accounting job market; make an appointment with the Careers and Advice centre; and speak with a career advisor on making my CV more attractive to prospective employers. My interview skills will need to be reviewed with my Career advisor. Upon graduation, I will venture out in search of employment in Accounting Management as a graduate manager-trainee level or even at a staff level. Timely I would aim at improvement of my information technology skills with Microsoft office tools during the next holiday break (2010-1011). I will also join the Brookes Entrepreneurs society and the Oxford Entrepreneurs society imme diately. I will find employment in the capacity of an accounting graduate trainee or an accounting manager – trainee within the first three months after graduation. To summarize, I have goals established to take the MBTIÂ ® Step I Qualifying Programm

Assessment of the Current Economic Condition in the USA Research Paper

Assessment of the Current Economic Condition in the USA - Research Paper Example During the last two years employment level in the country continuously declined and as such the pace of economic growth has slowed down. As such the overall role of FED becomes relatively more critical because of the monetary policy regulator of the country. A critical assessment of the overall economic situation of the country is therefore of critical importance as it will allow a better policy formulation as well as provide a broader understanding of how the different variables are acting together to create this sort of economic crisis. The basic purpose of this report is to assess the overall economic conditions of the country, an assessment of the steps undertaken by FED so far and to produce set of policy recommendations which may be considered by FOMC in its next meeting. In order to discuss and assess the current status of the economy, it is important that the background information must also be provided in order to assess the core issues faced currently faced by the US economy. During 2008, the Bureau of Economic Research publically announced that the US economy is in a deep recession. This announcement was just a mere acknowledgment of the fact that the country’s economy was already under a threat from going into the recession and probably depression also. If one attempts to trace the origins of the current economic crisis, it will emerge that the situation started to get worse when the financial sector as a whole was gradually de-regulated by the authorities. The de-regulation of the financial sector allowed banks and other financial institutions to engage in the practices which were relatively risky for the long-term survival of the firms. As such the focus was on the achievement of short-term results rather than ensuring that the long-term stability is achieved.

The Experiment Setup and Economic Theory Assignment

The Experiment Setup and Economic Theory - Assignment Example Microeconomics theory puts into account the total of quantity demanded by the consumers and the supplied quantity by the producers. The aim of microeconomics is to analyze mechanisms of the market that put in place the relative prices amongst services and goods, and allocation of scarce resources amongst substitute uses. It also analyzes market failure. In a monopolistic competition, there are some assumptions that the producer has to make concerning the demand and supply as they assume there is a perfect competition in the market. This shows that there are many consumers and producers in the market as one does not require the entry and exit fee to qualify to be the member of that firm. In the monopolistic firm, the prices are controlled by the producer. That is why they are termed as the price controllers as they are the ones who determine the price of a given product. And since they make decisions themselves, they are the ones who determine the prices of the commodity that they sell to the consumers. When the prices are high, the demand goes down as the consumption of the commodity reduces. Due to higher prices, the consumers do not satisfy their needs and wants. As a result of low consumption, the supply of the product goes down in the market. On the other hand, when there are low prices in the market, the product demand increases as the consumers are able to purchase the commodity at a lower price, and due to high consumption rate, the supply also increases. In the first session, one is interested in determining the price of the commodity, thus known as price determination. When the producer lowers the price below the ones shown in the first session, the quantity of the commodity will increase as the demand is high. The result is low prices and low profits. And if the seller increases the price of a product, the demand for that product will decrease as the buyers will be unwilling to purchase the product, thus decreasing the quality of the commodity.  Ã‚  

Lisao of the Lyrics of Chu Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Lisao of the Lyrics of Chu - Essay Example It has a lofty ideal and contains his determination to fight for its realization. His poem aims to discuss the various historical themes combined with legends and myths. (Stephen Owen). In terms of form, the Lisao is a first person monologue which is rich in imagery and skillful metaphor. The Lisao is a long lyrical poem permeated with romanticism and moving fairy tales. Lisao deals with calumny and slander of a sordid political reality, and the more general burden of the constraints of human existence, prompt the poet to undertake an "upward journey" (shangzheng). In Lisao, the enactment of other realms is self-conscious, almost self-reflexive: it is an extension of the poet's "declaration of intent." Summoned through an act of sheer will, the other world can be a precarious illusion-hence the poet's disappointments, doubts, and hesitations during his aerial journeys in "Encountering Sorrow."(David Schulman and Guy Stroumsa 37). In terms of content, the poem deals with search, sorrow and disappointments of an exiled prince. The poem also represents stages in Quan's life. It also laments his misfortunes and declares his virtue. In this poem, Qu Yuan attacks those who have defamed him and goes on a cosmic quest for a worthy lord. Moreover, the Lisao counterchange at poetic peaks; chiastic rhetoric highlights and fulfills central cultural and literary values. It shows the reciprocal relations between lord-vassal, heaven-human. Reciprocity pervades and underpins so ourselves to illuminating the dual nature of Chinese songs: requital and retribution. Qu Yuan's life reveals the paradigmatic of the double-edged relation of the Confucian intellectual to the structures of state power. 1 He is part of China's tradition literary martyrdom. To claim to be witness to a higher moral truth while remaining subject to those holding absolute power, is the kind of situation particularly conducive to producing martyrs. Chiastic genealogy marks Qu Yuan as a noble hero of a poem that will repeatedly counterbalance misunderstood nobility against blind depravity. "Encountering Sorrow" deploys counterchange distinctively; throughout, Qu Yuan consistently uses chiasmus not to bind together and suggest but to deny it and enforce separation. He laments that none at court can appreciate true nobility, usually metaphorized as "beauty" or fragrance, as in this upside-down counterchange (36): They gather dung and muck to stuff their sachets; Claim ginger and pepper have no fragrance! Jiu Ge ("Nine Songs"), also attributed to Qu Yuan, is the first example of what could be called shamanic literature in China. Qu Yuan fights against olfactory oppression by marshalling a shaman's arts and lore to undertake a magic itinerary seeking divine powers, divine aid, divine love. His "shaman's way" metaphor enlivens Lisao, e.g. at 16: Regretting I had scanned my path inexactly, After long pause I turned about. I turned my chariot round to retrace the road, Before my path had strayed too far." Here a transition from direct lament to metaphoric presentation spins another binding thread; not only do "not deep" and "shallow" form a frame for quickly and rapids, they sound similar: dzivm and tsien (tsien). Our shamanic poet then continues with a metaphor that inverts things from their proper places (62): I've tried to pluck creeping ficus in the waters, Pick lotus-blossoms in the treetops. The poet laments

The purpose of this study is to investigate correlation between Research Paper

The purpose of this study is to investigate correlation between adolescents that watch television more than 4 to 5 hours per day - Research Paper Example Apparently, the California Department of Public Health found that out of every nine children, one is obese (Hennesy-Fiske, 2011; Lee, 2006). In fact, other authors even pointed out the fact that obesity amongst children is more prevalent in California than anywhere else in the United States (Henessy-Fiske, 2011). The following are the main causes of sedentary lifestyle in the said state: (1) having a sedentary lifestyle which is characterized by lack of exercise and excessive computer use for non-academic matters; (2) popularity of fast-food options and the lack of fresh fruit and vegetables; and finally, (3) excessive consumption of calories. In studying obesity (cite) in the State of California, it was noted that obesity is higher in low income areas suggesting that the African American as well as the Hispanic population are more exposed to this problem than the others (News Information Bureau, 2005). Recognizing the seriousness of the problems related to obesity, authors (cite) su ggest the following measures to be able to address the said matter at hand: (1) the promotion of active lifestyle; and (2) cutting down the intake of calories by fifty percent. Research Aims The purpose of this study is to investigate correlation between adolescents, aged 13-17 who watch television more than four to five hours per day and childhood obesity in Southern California. Research Objectives In particular, the following objectives are pursued: 1) To have a baseline assessment of the extent to which 13-17 years olds in California practice sedentary lifestyle habits; 2) To ascertain the prevalence of obesity among this age group in California; 3) To determine if a child’s family environment is associated with childhood obesity. 4) To establish if there is a significant correlation between sedentary lifestyle habits and obesity in this age group; 5) To recommend interventions that may lessen the prevalence of obesity among them. Literature Review This portion of the prop osal presents pertinent literature which the researcher considers paramount in establishing the conceptual, theoretical and empirical underpinnings of this study. Parenthetically, the researcher deems the literature review of paramount importance to provide the answers to the questions enumerated in the preceding chapter. Without a doubt, obesity is one of the most common problems experienced in the United States of America. The prevalence of this problem has been brought about by the preponderance of sedentary lifestyle as well as too much consumption of fast food. Nevertheless, it has been argued that aside from the above mentioned, obesity is also caused by the environment wherein a child lives in. In this regard, once again, this chapter focuses on the above mentioned topics in order to gain a better understanding of the topic at hand. Correlation between Sedentary Lifestyle and Childhood Obesity This section of the literature review has then been devoted to the discussion of st udies, journals and articles earlier published that look into the correlation between sedentary lifestyle and childhood obesity. These suggest that having a sedentary lifestyle is one of the most common causes of childhood obesity. Evidently, complexities arising from modernity have resulted in the prevalence of sedentary lifestyles. In fact, homes and work sites are designed in such a way that does not really promote physical movement. Thus, engaging in a sedentary lifes

How does Byron present the lovers Essay Example for Free

How does Byron present the lovers Essay Byron feels very strongly about love, believing it to be a very good thing, especially when found in the young. Thus he presents the two lovers as sweet and beautiful. A third adjective, innocent could be added to the list and in Juans case certainly should be-however, throughout the passage we find hints that it does not apply to Julia. In stanza 106 Byron says that her creed in her own innocence was immense. So she believes forcefully that what she is doing is innocent and not wrong, and yet she knows it is: . she inly swore. she never would disgrace this ring she wore. However, Byron does not damn her for thinking of Don Alfonsos fifty years, instead he justifies this behaviour in the hole of stanza 108. This is most probably because of Byrons own feelings on the matter of love he would not have backed away from extra-marital or adulterous love, believing infidelity to be a social normality. He believed that no shackles should be placed on love; it should be natural, and indeed this is how, to some extent, he does portray the love which blossoms here, though not as much as Juans later relationship with Haidei , unconsciously she leaned upon [Juan] So, Byron shows us that Julia is aware of the wrongness of her impending deed, but he does not condemn her. Indeed it could be argued that Byron presents her infidelity as sweet and innocent in itself. The evidence for this can be found in the rhyming couplet at the end of stanza 105. One hand on Juans was carelessly thrown, Quite by mistake she thought it was her own. Clearly Julia knows the hand is Juans, but the lines are very tongue-in-cheek, and seem to be actually poking fun, very gently, at Julias pathetic attempts to make it seem as if she isnt doing what she is. Byron is amused at her mock innocence and this in turn leads us to see her actions as less brazen and more innocent than they might seem. The fact remains though, that Julia is not innocent of adultery and this is conclusively shown in the lines, Yet still she must have thought there was no harm, / Or else twere easy to withdraw her waist. So she is portrayed, seemingly paradoxically as a sweet and innocent, but knowing, adulterer. Don Juan, on the other hand, being only a young boy of sixteen is portrayed as completely nai ve and innocent. His young lip thanked it with a grateful kiss And then abashed at its own joy, withdrew In deep despair, lest he had done amiss. The reader knows that he is completely nai ve, having previously read of his breeding, which was strictly moral. So it comes as no surprise then that in this, his first romantic encounter, he should be ignorant of what to do and that Byron should portray him as he does. In conclusion then, the lovers are portrayed in some ways similarly but very differently in other respects. Byron reflects his attitude to love in portraying Juan and Julia as helpless in the face of their over-riding emotions he describes love as strengthening the weak and trampling the strong. This conclusion will suffice in the case of Juan but Julia is helpless in a different way. She is more worldly wise than Juan, having been married, and thus, almost certainly, sexual intercourse. She is portrayed as one caught in the middle of two pulling forces her own honour, virtue, truth and love for Don Alfonso, and her love for Juan. She knows that to display this love physically would be wrong, but she does it anyway And whispering, I will neer consent consented. Byron, however, does not condemn her for her actions, because of his belief in the power of love, and he portrays her still as a virtuous and sweet young woman, despite her immoral conduct. A little still she strove and much repented, at the end of the passage shows she is still a woman of integrity, rather than one of loose morals. This is how Byron portrays the individual lovers. Together, they are depicted as a beautiful couple how beautiful she looked, full of the initial exuberance of first love. Byron emphasizes the purity and goodness of their love over its illegitimacy in the eyes of the world and society, justifying it as much by describing its beauty as by showing why Julias marriage with Alfonso is not pure and good in stanza 108. In this respect Byrons portrayal of the lovers in this passage is a continuation of the general theme of the hypocrisy of society in Don Juan. Ironically, Byron shows us, Julias legitimate marriage is un-natural and not really that good, whereas her illegal relationship with Juan is described with beautiful poetry, and is clearly more natural and proper than that of the former.

Challenges to Managing Business Process Outsourcing (BPO)

Challenges to Managing Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) One of the major challenges facing Human Resource Management is the introduction and management of Business Process Outsourcing (BPO). In dyads or tryads produce a group briefing paper for either; Directors of a company or a specific trade union, of your choice, regarding the changes taking place in the UK labourmarket and economy regarding the impact of outsourcing and/or offshoring. INTRODUCTION The current economic climate is forcing organizations to explore tactics to remain competitive. According to the traditional ‘make or buy decision framework, the fundamental value proposition behind BPO is cost reduction. The recent economic downturn forced HR departments to do more with less. Many HR organisations were asked to increase the scope of their capabilities without increasing overall headcount. As a result, some organisations viewed outsourcing as a way of combating current economic situation and achieving competitive advantage. In spite of the recent economic slowdown, Gartner Group stated that, the worldwide business process outsourcing (BPO) market, is continuing to grow by approximately 9.5. Organisations are increasingly seeking standardization as part of a re-emphasis on strategic business initiatives. They realise that they need to standardize HR processes and policies as a first step in their HR transformation. Business process outsourcing of certain functions is becoming an increasingly popular way to improve basic services while allowing HR professionals time to focus on issues vital to the businesss strategic initiatives, instead of being burdened with HR administration. Chaffey (2003) defines BPO as â€Å"the contracting out of specified services to a third party with a controlled, flexible relationship†. Lee (2002) refers to BPO as the ‘outsourcing of different managerial and operational functions. Specifically in HR, BPO is designed to ensure that a companys HR system is supported by the latest management information systems, with self-access and HR data warehousing options. The Business Issues (1995) further views BPO as ‘the delegation of one or more business processes to an external provider, who then owns, manages and administers the selected processes based on defined and measurable performance metric. The CIPD defines off-shore as ‘the process of outsourcing business activities or services overseas, as a direct or indirect employer. Off-shore does not always involve the services of an external provider . According to the Oxford Dictionary it means: ‘made, registered or situated abroad. The concept of outsourcing centres on David Ricardos theory of Comparative Advantage (cited in Mullins 2001) which states that even if a country could produce everything more efficiently than another country, it would still reap gains from specialising in what it was best at producing and trading with other nations. AIM OF BRIEFING The aim of this briefing is to brief the Directors of Name of our company the effect of outsourcing the HRM function and will encompass its influence on organisational performance and culture; and concurrently its impact on the UK Labour market and economy. The team will carry out a case-study on BT and will critically evaluate, analyse and highlight the advantages and disadvantages of HR outsourcing with the intention of reviewing the outcomes and where necessary suggest solutions where likely problems can be encountered. An analytical review will be carried out of the major HRM problems which can arise from organizational change and where required recommendations made. The team will use British Telecommunications as a case study to establish the impact of BPO. This briefing aims to provide a reasoned critique of existing literature based on surveys, textbooks, journals and official trade data. BACKGROUND British Telecommunications (BT) is a wholly owned subsidiary of BT Group Plc, a public limited company registered in England and Wales and listed on the London and New York Stock Exchanges . BT is one of the worlds leading providers of communications solutions and services operating in 170 countries. It principal activities include networked IT services, local, national and international telecommunications services, and higher-value broadband and internet products and services.Its main activities are web hosting, IT solutions, Internet services, telecommunications and broadband networks. In the fiscal year ended 31 March 2007 BT had a net turnover of  £9,499 billion. In the UK alone it has pool of 87,000 employees and 180,000 pensioners, whilst on a global scale it has 10,000 employees spread over the countries it operates within. For years, British Telecom ruled the UK market as a monopoly. It was the British Telecommunications Act of 1981 that brought this to an end and put in its place a duopoly, where BT competed with Mercury. The company was formed in 1981 as a subsidiary of Cable Wireless, mainly to challenge the monopoly of British Telecom. The privatisation of British Telecom in 1984 opened the industry to full competition and in 1991, this effectively brought the duopoly share by BT and Mercury to an end. With the liberalisation and opening up of the phone market to global competition came renewed pressure on BT from the telecoms watchdog Oftel to open up more of its network to competitors and cut its prices. The pressures on BT became greater than ever. The stiff competition in the telecoms market, the huge cost of paying for third-generation (3G) mobile phone licences, pressure from the industry regulator Oftel to lower its prices and informed, discerning customers meant BT had to deliver even higher levels of quality and service, at competitive prices in order to stay afloat. All these pressures necessitated mindset change and BT was forced to review its business processes. In order to meet up with the arrival of new competitors and the quickening pace of technological change in the industry, speed of action and reaction became critical success factors. With the competition that flooded the UK market in the 1990s, BT started considering cost reduction that will maximise efficiency without compromising quality. One of the major steps taken was to outsource the transactional side of its human resources operation to Accenture HR Services, which in turn off-shored to its India branch. BT believed that the competitive edge for any global communications provider is human capital and to survive and thrive, it requires world-class human resource (HR) competencies and the processes for managing them. Youndt et al. (1996) highlights that a HR system focused on human capabilities is directly related to multiple dimensions of operational performance. Huselid and Becker (1997) describe that a firms effectiveness is associated with HR capabilities and its attributes. ADVANTAGES OF OUTSOURCING / OFFSHORING Outsourcing enables an organisation to improve its focus on its core values allowing it to remain competitive on the market (Morello, 2003) . Prahalad and Hamel 1990 state that firms must concentrate on core competencies to gain competitive advantage. Through outsourcing specialist skills can be drawn out from a pool of expertise when and where needed whilst opportunities for enriched career development exist for the remaining staff. Organisations are able to turn over certain classes of risks to their suppliers, such as demand variability and capital investments. Unlike the buyer, the outsourcing buyer can spread these risks over multiple clients. Profitability can be achieved as outsourcing increases a businesss cashflow by creating cost reductions through cheap labour and reduced operational expenses i.e. office space, utility. Funds which would have been used for large capital investments can be released for other uses. Contracting out operational functions reduces the competition on capital as the outsourcing company provides the capital investment as part of its overheads. Companies can create an integrated market as it is a cost effective way of globalisation particularly when it selects the best available resources and labour. Figure [rumbi insert appendix] reflects the changes to operational costs which BT experienced when it outsourced. According to Som Mittal, former Managing Director of Compaq India has claimed that payroll processing to countries like India companies can achieve a 20-25% gain in productivity. Outsourcing can increase the service level given to clients. With offshoring an organisation has the ability to have a 24-hour a day workforce resulting in a more timely service which would not be possible if the organisation operated in once country. BT gained flexibility through outsourcing to Accenture as agility or quick response to business demands was made. Competitive advantage can be attained through cheaper prices. When the product prices cannot come down further operating in a highly skilled, low-wage labour area will be advantageous. (Frubel, Heinrichs and Kreye 1980) . As the product price falls consumers are willing to demand a larger amount of goods. The off-shored countries receive economical benefits. Nasscom Chairman Som Mittal remarked ‘Its a win win situation for countries which allow outsourcing and the countries which receive outsourcing (Ahmed 2004) . DISADVANTAGES OF OUTSOURCING/OFFSHORING: When outsourcing to a third party resentment can occur between permanent and contracted staff. Contract/temporary staff may fail to have a sense of belonging whilst permanent staff can remain aloof in order to protect their works hindering teamwork. Offshoring particularly on the outsourcing of work to India as the UK labour force believes that they are losing out on career opportunities. However the McKinsey Global Institute Report states that there are actually too many jobs and not enough people in the UK to fulfil them. Therefore fears of a widespread unemployment are unlikely and thus this resentment could be seen as unnecessary (Lander 2006) . The lack of direct communication between the organisation and the client can hinder the development of solid relationships and can result in the main organisation lacking control of the outsourced project. One of the key aspects of motivation is social interaction and self actualisation (Maslow cited in Mullins, 2001). Another perceived drawback of off-shoring is the decrease in levels of communication. When English is not the native language of the source area, poor command of the English Language leads to prominent resentment of offshored services (Ahmed,2004). Results of a survey carried out by the Nationwide building in 2005 reflected that 91% of UK adults would prefer their calls to be handled by UK-based call centres (Lander (2006). A major drawback is the expense of regaining a customer once lost, because it could cost up to 6 times more in marketing costs to gain a replacement. Cultural differences can be a disadvantage of offshoring i.e. Ryan Kinzy of K3 Group a large outsourcing company states that there are 3 months which are viewed as the most auspicious time for weddings in India, for example half the staff are out of the office. Ryan highlights that building up teamwork is a difficult challenge as employees may lack intuition due to their culture, Indian workers require a lot of direction. Their relationships are hierarchal, family and caste dependent and they have an educational system that emphasises routine learning over independent research. Outsourcing can prove expensive as payment of redundancy packages for the laid off staff can be a major drawback. As the number of companies offshoring to India rises, employee retention becomes a challenge due to the fact that as market competition increases, salaries are required to be competitive. Organisations will have to decide whether the cost-savings outweigh the revenue generated. Risks can be encountered due to the socio-economic conditions which can hinder the progression of operations i.e. maintaining trade risks. The chance of off-shore fraud also exist as the use of funds can be diverted. There is also the risk or data loss. BT faces the risk of fraud emanating from HR outsourcing as off-shore workers have full access to personnel details ranging from bank account numbers, home addresses and other personal details. Non-automated transactions and processing responsibilities enable off-shore workers to have access to highly confidential information. There is an increase in foreign organised crime groups who have targeted foreign off-shore enterprises to gain access data which they process. Organisiations can face compliance risks and their reputation being damaged due to negative publicity resulting from the third party being inconsistent in meeting ethical standards and internal policies. The organisation needs to carryout thorough audits to ensure control . Expertise levels need to be measured to ensure that required service levels of service are met. {Figure xxRumbi to appendix 2} reflects results of problems faced by several companies which have off-shored. The main problem met appears to be low control of performance and data. Offshoring has the limited disadvantage in that the core function of an organisation cannot be accomplished if passed onto an external source . A business which outsources a department still requires in-house technical experts to monitor activities (Greco 1997) Political infrastructure such as changes in government can affect can impact the outsourcing company. Shortly after the election of Sonia Ghandi stock markets plummeted on fears that her leftist allies would roll back fundamental economic reforms. Erratic power grids inexperienced officials and unmotivated employees can also prove to be a disadvantage. ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE BTs management believes organisational culture is innovative with teams that are strategically aligned to BTs operations. Advances in technologies have been applied to benefit BT and its customers to improve processes. Culture can be an object which is manipulated to achieve productivity and organisational improvements, and change over time (Tran, 2008) . In this context, culture is the character of an organisation. However if culture is accepted as being â€Å"†¦.the basic, taken- for- granted assumptions and deep patterns of meaning shared by organisational participation and manifestations of these assumptions†¦Ã¢â‚¬  ( Johnson, 2007) then in this respect culture can be difficult to change. In order to explain the content of cultural context in BT after HR outsourcing, the cultural web will be used. The table below shows the content of the organisational culture with HR outsourcing. Rumbi to appendix 1] According to the above table the organisational culture hinders collective learning in the organisation. Individuals see each other as rivals, rather than a partners. This paradigm creates various obstacles for learning within the organisation, that usually arise due to rivalry, power conflicts and absence of network communication channels (Mullins, 2001). The disadvantage of this power structure is explained by Mullins (2001) who claims that such approach decrease the effectiveness and efficiency of operations management, as participants are detached from the decision-making. BTs new organisational structure is bureaucratic, with the emphasis on standard procedures and operational routines. It might slow down the communication process, with the absence of feedback channels and unnecessary layers that might increase obstructions and cause various distortions in the communication process( Graham Bennet, 1998) . BT has placed its employees after revenues. The management has failed to take into account individual needs of each employee hence developing a coercive rather than participative approach. Within this approach people are being treated as liabilities rather than the core elements of the operations management process, where people become the primary determinant of the outcome quality (Armstrong, 2003) . The organisational culture implies for traditional type of performance appraisal system, which utilises various types of monetary techniques. Wright (2007) argued that the utilisation of monetary tools does not provide the development of a higher level of effective commitment or higher degree of intrinsic motivation and provides a blurred understanding of the relationship between their performance and corresponding appraisal. The communication component forms an important of the above mentioned changes. According to McGregor (1960, cited in Mullins, 2001) in order to get people to direct their efforts towards organisational objectives, management must tell them what to do, judge how well they are doing and reward or punish accordingly. There is also an informative and a motivational purpose. He claims that a clear and thorough description of individual duties and rights within the framework of the organisation may prevent the rise of unmet expectations. As it shows on the table, the communication in the company is of a top-down nature, without proper feedback. This type of communication scheme is good for conveyer-type organisations and not ideal for innovative market-led companies. CHANGE MANAGEMENT The new requirements for adaptation made it necessary for the company to undertake the reengineering of the whole business process, including both â€Å"hard â€Å"and â€Å"soft† elements. According to Senior (1997) â€Å"hard system† change implies â€Å" an attempt to use the benefits of a scientific method whilst recognising that in the real world of business where thing are happening fast, there may not be time to be as scientific as one would like†. In BTs case, â€Å"hard system† change referred to the introduction of new operations management systems, equipment and business facilities, designed to speed up existing operations and reduce the cost per a single transaction. It was designed to maximise the efficiency of every single operation within the business process. Senior (1997) indicates that â€Å"Soft System† changes imply for the change of the organisational culture. The main idea of this approach is listening to the organisation, good communication, developing a shared, vision, gaining real commitment to the change and the vision, education and training, and understanding the tools and techniques for the process. William et al.(1993) indicates that to facilitate effective adaptation of the employees to new working conditions, managers shall reduce restraining forces and reinforces driving forces. However, it shall be considered, that not all measures are equally effective. As Hetzbergs maintainance theory ( cited in Mullins, 2001) shows , the presence of certain factors may act as a powerful motivating factors, while the absence of other elements may produce slight dissatisfaction. At the same time strategic priorities shall reflect the current organisational aims. Under such conditions in order to improve the situation and meet objectives (create a better customer focus) the high involvement of senior managers, who acts as a link between operational and business levels of the organisation, is required. Senior managers shall act as major change agents. Taking the role of change agents, it is important for senior managers not to ignore employees natural resistance to new systems, but to create appropriate incentives to fasten the transactional process from resistance to commitment (Graham and Bennet, 1998). The ignorance of or resistance to changes will introduce different open conflicts, which will significantly worsen the organisation environment affecting its performance level and flexibility. This could result to failure to raise performance and attract or retain customers, which may lead to significant costs and even reduce the companys chances to survive and succeed in changing market conditions. According to Mintzberg Quinn and Ghoshall (1995) the overall rationale for any outsourcing activity is that outsourcing provides, greater economies of scale, flexibility, increase in levels of expertise, cost effectiveness, reduced costs and added value to any organisation. The rationale of BT outsourcing its HRM functions were to increase shareholder value, sustain progress and cope with the pace of change. Outsourcing of parts of the HR function has become more common. Lonsdale and Cox (1998) argue that outsourcing decisions can be classified under the following three headings: 1 outsourcing for short-term cost and headcount reductions; 2 core-competence-based outsourcing, where peripheral activities are passed to third parties and core activities are retained in-house; 3 iterative and entrepreneurial outsourcing, where periodic reviews of critical market activities are undertaken, with subsequent decision to retain or outsource. IMPACT ON UK LABOUR FORCE Human capital is emphasized as the most valuable asset of the 21st century business. The primary effects of outsourcing/offshoring on HR and Labour Relations are related to managing transition in HRM such as personnel changes, managing layoff, downsizing issues, and the costs/dynamics of actually managing an off-shore contract. The laying off of UK employees as a result of restructuring to effect the outsourcing contracts can have a negative impact on employees. Layoffs cause major morale problems among in-house ‘survivors and may lead to dissatisfaction and reduced delivery speed. Some UK companies experienced productivity dips and potential legal action from laid off employees resulting in costs of severance, retention bonuses and retraining being encountered. According to a survey by Deloitte and YouGov (2006) revealed that fear of job losses was prevalent in the UK with 82% of public perceiving offshoring as a threat . 1 in 3 people stated that UK companies should be forced to bring back jobs to the UK. Chief economist of the Work Foundation, Ian Brinkley commented ‘Fears have been stoked by claims that the Chinese and Indians are coming to get your lunch to describe the insecurity that offshoring has caused. With regards to knowledge transfer there is concern that some of the job experience is being exported. If low-level skill tasks are sent off-shore then so is the experience gained from performing those tasks. When the time comes to perform higher-level tasks where previous experience is mandatory, there is no alternative than to go off-shore because that is where the experience will available. In some instances company plans imply that higher-level tasks will remain performed on-shore, the lower-level tasks are performed miles away. The knowledge and experience of those ‘low-level jobs will be gone forever, and may impact the proper development of the ‘higher-level jobs. Forrester a US research group released a study that by 2015 Europe will have lost a collective number of 1.2 million jobs to off-shore locations increasing its reliance. Alan Blinder a US economist and former advisor to Bill Clinton has supported this thesis by stating that offshoring will lead to a ‘third Industrial Revolution. He views that off-shore is now a man-made comparative advantage and that workers will be forced to seek employment in personal services which remain non-tradable. There is a long-term impact on the types of jobs that people are training for, as well as the ‘transfer of knowledge relating to many job structures in the workplace such that there is a ‘domino effect. Steve Loy feels that these ‘outgoing tide of jobs could threaten fundamental technology research as well as jobs. The astute students will recognise the rapidly dwindling job opportunities in HRM and will choose other programs of study thus loss will be encountered in HR leading to a labour-force that has inadequate HRM knowledge to compete in a high knowledge based economy. The evaluation of the impact of off-shore is mainly based on estimations of collective data. Jobs most at risk are non-client facing and low knowledge content jobs those which use a lot of Information technology, creating outputs that can be transmitted via IT. An analysis by the CPRP concluded that 20% of non-client facing jobs are likely to be moved abroad. The potential is apportioned as a function of international trade and investment, the industrial structure of the economy, human capital, employment indicator, product market regulations indicator. Not all jobs created off-shore by UK companies automatically translates to job losses in the UK labour market. Employees are increasingly demanding services hence time difference plays a role in off-shore, offering them extended services. The lower price makes it possible for instance to offer services which would not be available otherwise i.e. 24 hr call centres. The information collated by the European Restructuring Monitor (ERM) s hows that job loss due to offshoring is in fact very small. During the first quarter of 2007 ERM recorded 420 restructuring cases in Europe. They announced 137,762 job losses and 184,511 job gains. Only 5.5% of all jobs lost were due to offshoring activities. For the year 2005 the percentage of job losses due to offshoring was only 3.4% of the total job losses. To measure the extent of job loss due to restructuring we can use redundancy notification, the effects of offshoring does however vary with the country. In France, national Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies estimates in its 2007 report on the French economy that offshoring has been responsible for the destruction of 15,000 jobs per year between 2000 and 2003. This is to contrast with a job creation in the private sector of 200,000 per year . In the UK there is no significant decline as per the results of the LFS Redundancy Tables ‘Employment growth in the occupations considered susceptible to offshoring has been very strong. The redundancy levels for these occupations, although high relative to the whole economy, have been falling in the last four years. The overall employment rate for these occupations has also shown an increase showing the cost of moving low-skilled jobs abroad is either falling or positive job creation is highly prevalent in the IT enabled occup ations. This does not mean that jobs are not being off-shored, and it is entirely possible that in the absence of offshoring, employment in these areas might have been higher. The adverse impact is entirely triggered by much larger changes in domestic demand for such services, the UK in particular has been extremely successful in developing as a world leader in knowledge based international trade. Jobs created through the expansion of exports of services are likely to outweigh the contraction of jobs caused by import of services. According to a report by Amiti and Jin Wei (2005) job growth at divisional levels has not been negatively related to service outsourcing but has had a negative impact on the demand for unskilled labour. In the UK outsourcing has had no reflected effect on the labourforce. The Deloitte and Recruitment Employment Confederation Report states that both permanent and temporary staff billings continue to rise. National press recruitment advertising in the UK went down by 11.3% in July 2005 in both public and private sectors reflecting a positive direction in the labour market and no relevant changes in the economy. Outsourcing is increasing consultancy work in the United Kingdom hence is beneficial as it offers flexible working hours / days for UK employees. This is particularly favorable for women who are raising children as is allows them to earn a salary whilst at the same time having adequate time with their children. There is also the flexibility of home-working. Structural changes can occur in the economies of both the outsourced/sourcing companies and due to the debate on who is benefiting/losing racism can be allowed to rear its head. A report prepared for the Department of Trade Industry by Ovum (2006) concludes that even though the actual impacts of an increase in trade and the expansion of global sourcing have been quite modest to date, offshoring can change the skills structure of labour demand, increasing the vulnerability of low-skilled workers in particular. ECONOMIC IMPACT Concern over off-shoring has become a surrogate for wider issues about economic insecurity, said Work Foundation chief economist Ian Brinkley. An interesting corollary benefit of outsourcing is the benefit to the economy. Indias National Association of Software and Services Companies commissioned a report by Evaluserve that stated that for every $100 worth of work sent abroad by US companies, $130 to $145 will be reinvested in the US economy. Cost savings are said to create value in the UK economy. Ahead of monetary capital, knowledge economy has become a focal point in the policy of outsourcing and off-shore. Strategies have been devised i.e. the Lisbon Strategy centres to promote, research, innovation in the development of human capital. In the future, human capital is the only way that Europe can remain prosperous. The main beneficiaries in the UK are the educated high skilled workers and the losers will be semi/low skilled workers. The UK government needs to investment more in education to continue pushing towards a leading knowledge based economy to avoid vulnerability. It needs to investment in human capital and focus on domestic policy choices for the losers of rapid structural changes within the UK. As a result of off-shoring the UK government is losing funds which could possibly be raised by corporate and income tax. However, it has stated that it does not have plans in place as yet to prevent outsourcing. The Department of Trade Industry has stated ‘it is a commercial decision for companies to decide where to locate their business operations such as call centres. The absence of official statistics on off-shore outsourcing leads to speculation and there is also misinterpretation of indirect measures/evidence. The experience of an individual company may or may not select a trend in a specific sector but does not allow conclusions to be made on the economy as a whole. It is possible that the rise in rice prices caused by lower production could be a result of a shift by the working population in India from working in the agriculture moving to the services sector. A great deal of knowledge is tacit and therefore difficult to transfer. Its reproduction can be extremely costly and requires an environment in which it can be harnessed effectively. According to a recent World Bank publication India is at the bottom end ranking 98 out of 128 countries of an index that measures the ability to create, absorb and diffuse knowledge therefore its threat is minimal to the UK economy. The economy-wide measures such as a countrys balance of payments can assist us in understanding the patterns of cross border trade and establish the impact of offshoring. If the outsourcing of tasks by UK based companies to off-shore locations i.e. India is soaring then the UK should be importing more of these services from India. The CBI has stated that the UK companies have benefited from off-shore as they are now receiving improved work-force skills at a low rate making their enterprises more profitable. According to results obtained from the Office for National Statistics the redundancy rate for the three months to January 2008 was 4.4 per 1,000 employees, down 0.9 over the quarter and down 1.1 over the year. These figures on the redundancy rate reflect that though a large number of organizational services have been off-shored services this has not had a significant impact on the UK economy. The UK has emerged as a world leader in ‘knowledge services and between 1995 2005 exports of its services grew by over 100% compared to its exports of traditional service exports such as transport. India is ranked 6th for global ‘insourcing behind the US, UK, German France and the Netherlands who appear to be the top rec Challenges to Managing Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) Challenges to Managing Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) One of the major challenges facing Human Resource Management is the introduction and management of Business Process Outsourcing (BPO). In dyads or tryads produce a group briefing paper for either; Directors of a company or a specific trade union, of your choice, regarding the changes taking place in the UK labourmarket and economy regarding the impact of outsourcing and/or offshoring. INTRODUCTION The current economic climate is forcing organizations to explore tactics to remain competitive. According to the traditional ‘make or buy decision framework, the fundamental value proposition behind BPO is cost reduction. The recent economic downturn forced HR departments to do more with less. Many HR organisations were asked to increase the scope of their capabilities without increasing overall headcount. As a result, some organisations viewed outsourcing as a way of combating current economic situation and achieving competitive advantage. In spite of the recent economic slowdown, Gartner Group stated that, the worldwide business process outsourcing (BPO) market, is continuing to grow by approximately 9.5. Organisations are increasingly seeking standardization as part of a re-emphasis on strategic business initiatives. They realise that they need to standardize HR processes and policies as a first step in their HR transformation. Business process outsourcing of certain functions is becoming an increasingly popular way to improve basic services while allowing HR professionals time to focus on issues vital to the businesss strategic initiatives, instead of being burdened with HR administration. Chaffey (2003) defines BPO as â€Å"the contracting out of specified services to a third party with a controlled, flexible relationship†. Lee (2002) refers to BPO as the ‘outsourcing of different managerial and operational functions. Specifically in HR, BPO is designed to ensure that a companys HR system is supported by the latest management information systems, with self-access and HR data warehousing options. The Business Issues (1995) further views BPO as ‘the delegation of one or more business processes to an external provider, who then owns, manages and administers the selected processes based on defined and measurable performance metric. The CIPD defines off-shore as ‘the process of outsourcing business activities or services overseas, as a direct or indirect employer. Off-shore does not always involve the services of an external provider . According to the Oxford Dictionary it means: ‘made, registered or situated abroad. The concept of outsourcing centres on David Ricardos theory of Comparative Advantage (cited in Mullins 2001) which states that even if a country could produce everything more efficiently than another country, it would still reap gains from specialising in what it was best at producing and trading with other nations. AIM OF BRIEFING The aim of this briefing is to brief the Directors of Name of our company the effect of outsourcing the HRM function and will encompass its influence on organisational performance and culture; and concurrently its impact on the UK Labour market and economy. The team will carry out a case-study on BT and will critically evaluate, analyse and highlight the advantages and disadvantages of HR outsourcing with the intention of reviewing the outcomes and where necessary suggest solutions where likely problems can be encountered. An analytical review will be carried out of the major HRM problems which can arise from organizational change and where required recommendations made. The team will use British Telecommunications as a case study to establish the impact of BPO. This briefing aims to provide a reasoned critique of existing literature based on surveys, textbooks, journals and official trade data. BACKGROUND British Telecommunications (BT) is a wholly owned subsidiary of BT Group Plc, a public limited company registered in England and Wales and listed on the London and New York Stock Exchanges . BT is one of the worlds leading providers of communications solutions and services operating in 170 countries. It principal activities include networked IT services, local, national and international telecommunications services, and higher-value broadband and internet products and services.Its main activities are web hosting, IT solutions, Internet services, telecommunications and broadband networks. In the fiscal year ended 31 March 2007 BT had a net turnover of  £9,499 billion. In the UK alone it has pool of 87,000 employees and 180,000 pensioners, whilst on a global scale it has 10,000 employees spread over the countries it operates within. For years, British Telecom ruled the UK market as a monopoly. It was the British Telecommunications Act of 1981 that brought this to an end and put in its place a duopoly, where BT competed with Mercury. The company was formed in 1981 as a subsidiary of Cable Wireless, mainly to challenge the monopoly of British Telecom. The privatisation of British Telecom in 1984 opened the industry to full competition and in 1991, this effectively brought the duopoly share by BT and Mercury to an end. With the liberalisation and opening up of the phone market to global competition came renewed pressure on BT from the telecoms watchdog Oftel to open up more of its network to competitors and cut its prices. The pressures on BT became greater than ever. The stiff competition in the telecoms market, the huge cost of paying for third-generation (3G) mobile phone licences, pressure from the industry regulator Oftel to lower its prices and informed, discerning customers meant BT had to deliver even higher levels of quality and service, at competitive prices in order to stay afloat. All these pressures necessitated mindset change and BT was forced to review its business processes. In order to meet up with the arrival of new competitors and the quickening pace of technological change in the industry, speed of action and reaction became critical success factors. With the competition that flooded the UK market in the 1990s, BT started considering cost reduction that will maximise efficiency without compromising quality. One of the major steps taken was to outsource the transactional side of its human resources operation to Accenture HR Services, which in turn off-shored to its India branch. BT believed that the competitive edge for any global communications provider is human capital and to survive and thrive, it requires world-class human resource (HR) competencies and the processes for managing them. Youndt et al. (1996) highlights that a HR system focused on human capabilities is directly related to multiple dimensions of operational performance. Huselid and Becker (1997) describe that a firms effectiveness is associated with HR capabilities and its attributes. ADVANTAGES OF OUTSOURCING / OFFSHORING Outsourcing enables an organisation to improve its focus on its core values allowing it to remain competitive on the market (Morello, 2003) . Prahalad and Hamel 1990 state that firms must concentrate on core competencies to gain competitive advantage. Through outsourcing specialist skills can be drawn out from a pool of expertise when and where needed whilst opportunities for enriched career development exist for the remaining staff. Organisations are able to turn over certain classes of risks to their suppliers, such as demand variability and capital investments. Unlike the buyer, the outsourcing buyer can spread these risks over multiple clients. Profitability can be achieved as outsourcing increases a businesss cashflow by creating cost reductions through cheap labour and reduced operational expenses i.e. office space, utility. Funds which would have been used for large capital investments can be released for other uses. Contracting out operational functions reduces the competition on capital as the outsourcing company provides the capital investment as part of its overheads. Companies can create an integrated market as it is a cost effective way of globalisation particularly when it selects the best available resources and labour. Figure [rumbi insert appendix] reflects the changes to operational costs which BT experienced when it outsourced. According to Som Mittal, former Managing Director of Compaq India has claimed that payroll processing to countries like India companies can achieve a 20-25% gain in productivity. Outsourcing can increase the service level given to clients. With offshoring an organisation has the ability to have a 24-hour a day workforce resulting in a more timely service which would not be possible if the organisation operated in once country. BT gained flexibility through outsourcing to Accenture as agility or quick response to business demands was made. Competitive advantage can be attained through cheaper prices. When the product prices cannot come down further operating in a highly skilled, low-wage labour area will be advantageous. (Frubel, Heinrichs and Kreye 1980) . As the product price falls consumers are willing to demand a larger amount of goods. The off-shored countries receive economical benefits. Nasscom Chairman Som Mittal remarked ‘Its a win win situation for countries which allow outsourcing and the countries which receive outsourcing (Ahmed 2004) . DISADVANTAGES OF OUTSOURCING/OFFSHORING: When outsourcing to a third party resentment can occur between permanent and contracted staff. Contract/temporary staff may fail to have a sense of belonging whilst permanent staff can remain aloof in order to protect their works hindering teamwork. Offshoring particularly on the outsourcing of work to India as the UK labour force believes that they are losing out on career opportunities. However the McKinsey Global Institute Report states that there are actually too many jobs and not enough people in the UK to fulfil them. Therefore fears of a widespread unemployment are unlikely and thus this resentment could be seen as unnecessary (Lander 2006) . The lack of direct communication between the organisation and the client can hinder the development of solid relationships and can result in the main organisation lacking control of the outsourced project. One of the key aspects of motivation is social interaction and self actualisation (Maslow cited in Mullins, 2001). Another perceived drawback of off-shoring is the decrease in levels of communication. When English is not the native language of the source area, poor command of the English Language leads to prominent resentment of offshored services (Ahmed,2004). Results of a survey carried out by the Nationwide building in 2005 reflected that 91% of UK adults would prefer their calls to be handled by UK-based call centres (Lander (2006). A major drawback is the expense of regaining a customer once lost, because it could cost up to 6 times more in marketing costs to gain a replacement. Cultural differences can be a disadvantage of offshoring i.e. Ryan Kinzy of K3 Group a large outsourcing company states that there are 3 months which are viewed as the most auspicious time for weddings in India, for example half the staff are out of the office. Ryan highlights that building up teamwork is a difficult challenge as employees may lack intuition due to their culture, Indian workers require a lot of direction. Their relationships are hierarchal, family and caste dependent and they have an educational system that emphasises routine learning over independent research. Outsourcing can prove expensive as payment of redundancy packages for the laid off staff can be a major drawback. As the number of companies offshoring to India rises, employee retention becomes a challenge due to the fact that as market competition increases, salaries are required to be competitive. Organisations will have to decide whether the cost-savings outweigh the revenue generated. Risks can be encountered due to the socio-economic conditions which can hinder the progression of operations i.e. maintaining trade risks. The chance of off-shore fraud also exist as the use of funds can be diverted. There is also the risk or data loss. BT faces the risk of fraud emanating from HR outsourcing as off-shore workers have full access to personnel details ranging from bank account numbers, home addresses and other personal details. Non-automated transactions and processing responsibilities enable off-shore workers to have access to highly confidential information. There is an increase in foreign organised crime groups who have targeted foreign off-shore enterprises to gain access data which they process. Organisiations can face compliance risks and their reputation being damaged due to negative publicity resulting from the third party being inconsistent in meeting ethical standards and internal policies. The organisation needs to carryout thorough audits to ensure control . Expertise levels need to be measured to ensure that required service levels of service are met. {Figure xxRumbi to appendix 2} reflects results of problems faced by several companies which have off-shored. The main problem met appears to be low control of performance and data. Offshoring has the limited disadvantage in that the core function of an organisation cannot be accomplished if passed onto an external source . A business which outsources a department still requires in-house technical experts to monitor activities (Greco 1997) Political infrastructure such as changes in government can affect can impact the outsourcing company. Shortly after the election of Sonia Ghandi stock markets plummeted on fears that her leftist allies would roll back fundamental economic reforms. Erratic power grids inexperienced officials and unmotivated employees can also prove to be a disadvantage. ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE BTs management believes organisational culture is innovative with teams that are strategically aligned to BTs operations. Advances in technologies have been applied to benefit BT and its customers to improve processes. Culture can be an object which is manipulated to achieve productivity and organisational improvements, and change over time (Tran, 2008) . In this context, culture is the character of an organisation. However if culture is accepted as being â€Å"†¦.the basic, taken- for- granted assumptions and deep patterns of meaning shared by organisational participation and manifestations of these assumptions†¦Ã¢â‚¬  ( Johnson, 2007) then in this respect culture can be difficult to change. In order to explain the content of cultural context in BT after HR outsourcing, the cultural web will be used. The table below shows the content of the organisational culture with HR outsourcing. Rumbi to appendix 1] According to the above table the organisational culture hinders collective learning in the organisation. Individuals see each other as rivals, rather than a partners. This paradigm creates various obstacles for learning within the organisation, that usually arise due to rivalry, power conflicts and absence of network communication channels (Mullins, 2001). The disadvantage of this power structure is explained by Mullins (2001) who claims that such approach decrease the effectiveness and efficiency of operations management, as participants are detached from the decision-making. BTs new organisational structure is bureaucratic, with the emphasis on standard procedures and operational routines. It might slow down the communication process, with the absence of feedback channels and unnecessary layers that might increase obstructions and cause various distortions in the communication process( Graham Bennet, 1998) . BT has placed its employees after revenues. The management has failed to take into account individual needs of each employee hence developing a coercive rather than participative approach. Within this approach people are being treated as liabilities rather than the core elements of the operations management process, where people become the primary determinant of the outcome quality (Armstrong, 2003) . The organisational culture implies for traditional type of performance appraisal system, which utilises various types of monetary techniques. Wright (2007) argued that the utilisation of monetary tools does not provide the development of a higher level of effective commitment or higher degree of intrinsic motivation and provides a blurred understanding of the relationship between their performance and corresponding appraisal. The communication component forms an important of the above mentioned changes. According to McGregor (1960, cited in Mullins, 2001) in order to get people to direct their efforts towards organisational objectives, management must tell them what to do, judge how well they are doing and reward or punish accordingly. There is also an informative and a motivational purpose. He claims that a clear and thorough description of individual duties and rights within the framework of the organisation may prevent the rise of unmet expectations. As it shows on the table, the communication in the company is of a top-down nature, without proper feedback. This type of communication scheme is good for conveyer-type organisations and not ideal for innovative market-led companies. CHANGE MANAGEMENT The new requirements for adaptation made it necessary for the company to undertake the reengineering of the whole business process, including both â€Å"hard â€Å"and â€Å"soft† elements. According to Senior (1997) â€Å"hard system† change implies â€Å" an attempt to use the benefits of a scientific method whilst recognising that in the real world of business where thing are happening fast, there may not be time to be as scientific as one would like†. In BTs case, â€Å"hard system† change referred to the introduction of new operations management systems, equipment and business facilities, designed to speed up existing operations and reduce the cost per a single transaction. It was designed to maximise the efficiency of every single operation within the business process. Senior (1997) indicates that â€Å"Soft System† changes imply for the change of the organisational culture. The main idea of this approach is listening to the organisation, good communication, developing a shared, vision, gaining real commitment to the change and the vision, education and training, and understanding the tools and techniques for the process. William et al.(1993) indicates that to facilitate effective adaptation of the employees to new working conditions, managers shall reduce restraining forces and reinforces driving forces. However, it shall be considered, that not all measures are equally effective. As Hetzbergs maintainance theory ( cited in Mullins, 2001) shows , the presence of certain factors may act as a powerful motivating factors, while the absence of other elements may produce slight dissatisfaction. At the same time strategic priorities shall reflect the current organisational aims. Under such conditions in order to improve the situation and meet objectives (create a better customer focus) the high involvement of senior managers, who acts as a link between operational and business levels of the organisation, is required. Senior managers shall act as major change agents. Taking the role of change agents, it is important for senior managers not to ignore employees natural resistance to new systems, but to create appropriate incentives to fasten the transactional process from resistance to commitment (Graham and Bennet, 1998). The ignorance of or resistance to changes will introduce different open conflicts, which will significantly worsen the organisation environment affecting its performance level and flexibility. This could result to failure to raise performance and attract or retain customers, which may lead to significant costs and even reduce the companys chances to survive and succeed in changing market conditions. According to Mintzberg Quinn and Ghoshall (1995) the overall rationale for any outsourcing activity is that outsourcing provides, greater economies of scale, flexibility, increase in levels of expertise, cost effectiveness, reduced costs and added value to any organisation. The rationale of BT outsourcing its HRM functions were to increase shareholder value, sustain progress and cope with the pace of change. Outsourcing of parts of the HR function has become more common. Lonsdale and Cox (1998) argue that outsourcing decisions can be classified under the following three headings: 1 outsourcing for short-term cost and headcount reductions; 2 core-competence-based outsourcing, where peripheral activities are passed to third parties and core activities are retained in-house; 3 iterative and entrepreneurial outsourcing, where periodic reviews of critical market activities are undertaken, with subsequent decision to retain or outsource. IMPACT ON UK LABOUR FORCE Human capital is emphasized as the most valuable asset of the 21st century business. The primary effects of outsourcing/offshoring on HR and Labour Relations are related to managing transition in HRM such as personnel changes, managing layoff, downsizing issues, and the costs/dynamics of actually managing an off-shore contract. The laying off of UK employees as a result of restructuring to effect the outsourcing contracts can have a negative impact on employees. Layoffs cause major morale problems among in-house ‘survivors and may lead to dissatisfaction and reduced delivery speed. Some UK companies experienced productivity dips and potential legal action from laid off employees resulting in costs of severance, retention bonuses and retraining being encountered. According to a survey by Deloitte and YouGov (2006) revealed that fear of job losses was prevalent in the UK with 82% of public perceiving offshoring as a threat . 1 in 3 people stated that UK companies should be forced to bring back jobs to the UK. Chief economist of the Work Foundation, Ian Brinkley commented ‘Fears have been stoked by claims that the Chinese and Indians are coming to get your lunch to describe the insecurity that offshoring has caused. With regards to knowledge transfer there is concern that some of the job experience is being exported. If low-level skill tasks are sent off-shore then so is the experience gained from performing those tasks. When the time comes to perform higher-level tasks where previous experience is mandatory, there is no alternative than to go off-shore because that is where the experience will available. In some instances company plans imply that higher-level tasks will remain performed on-shore, the lower-level tasks are performed miles away. The knowledge and experience of those ‘low-level jobs will be gone forever, and may impact the proper development of the ‘higher-level jobs. Forrester a US research group released a study that by 2015 Europe will have lost a collective number of 1.2 million jobs to off-shore locations increasing its reliance. Alan Blinder a US economist and former advisor to Bill Clinton has supported this thesis by stating that offshoring will lead to a ‘third Industrial Revolution. He views that off-shore is now a man-made comparative advantage and that workers will be forced to seek employment in personal services which remain non-tradable. There is a long-term impact on the types of jobs that people are training for, as well as the ‘transfer of knowledge relating to many job structures in the workplace such that there is a ‘domino effect. Steve Loy feels that these ‘outgoing tide of jobs could threaten fundamental technology research as well as jobs. The astute students will recognise the rapidly dwindling job opportunities in HRM and will choose other programs of study thus loss will be encountered in HR leading to a labour-force that has inadequate HRM knowledge to compete in a high knowledge based economy. The evaluation of the impact of off-shore is mainly based on estimations of collective data. Jobs most at risk are non-client facing and low knowledge content jobs those which use a lot of Information technology, creating outputs that can be transmitted via IT. An analysis by the CPRP concluded that 20% of non-client facing jobs are likely to be moved abroad. The potential is apportioned as a function of international trade and investment, the industrial structure of the economy, human capital, employment indicator, product market regulations indicator. Not all jobs created off-shore by UK companies automatically translates to job losses in the UK labour market. Employees are increasingly demanding services hence time difference plays a role in off-shore, offering them extended services. The lower price makes it possible for instance to offer services which would not be available otherwise i.e. 24 hr call centres. The information collated by the European Restructuring Monitor (ERM) s hows that job loss due to offshoring is in fact very small. During the first quarter of 2007 ERM recorded 420 restructuring cases in Europe. They announced 137,762 job losses and 184,511 job gains. Only 5.5% of all jobs lost were due to offshoring activities. For the year 2005 the percentage of job losses due to offshoring was only 3.4% of the total job losses. To measure the extent of job loss due to restructuring we can use redundancy notification, the effects of offshoring does however vary with the country. In France, national Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies estimates in its 2007 report on the French economy that offshoring has been responsible for the destruction of 15,000 jobs per year between 2000 and 2003. This is to contrast with a job creation in the private sector of 200,000 per year . In the UK there is no significant decline as per the results of the LFS Redundancy Tables ‘Employment growth in the occupations considered susceptible to offshoring has been very strong. The redundancy levels for these occupations, although high relative to the whole economy, have been falling in the last four years. The overall employment rate for these occupations has also shown an increase showing the cost of moving low-skilled jobs abroad is either falling or positive job creation is highly prevalent in the IT enabled occup ations. This does not mean that jobs are not being off-shored, and it is entirely possible that in the absence of offshoring, employment in these areas might have been higher. The adverse impact is entirely triggered by much larger changes in domestic demand for such services, the UK in particular has been extremely successful in developing as a world leader in knowledge based international trade. Jobs created through the expansion of exports of services are likely to outweigh the contraction of jobs caused by import of services. According to a report by Amiti and Jin Wei (2005) job growth at divisional levels has not been negatively related to service outsourcing but has had a negative impact on the demand for unskilled labour. In the UK outsourcing has had no reflected effect on the labourforce. The Deloitte and Recruitment Employment Confederation Report states that both permanent and temporary staff billings continue to rise. National press recruitment advertising in the UK went down by 11.3% in July 2005 in both public and private sectors reflecting a positive direction in the labour market and no relevant changes in the economy. Outsourcing is increasing consultancy work in the United Kingdom hence is beneficial as it offers flexible working hours / days for UK employees. This is particularly favorable for women who are raising children as is allows them to earn a salary whilst at the same time having adequate time with their children. There is also the flexibility of home-working. Structural changes can occur in the economies of both the outsourced/sourcing companies and due to the debate on who is benefiting/losing racism can be allowed to rear its head. A report prepared for the Department of Trade Industry by Ovum (2006) concludes that even though the actual impacts of an increase in trade and the expansion of global sourcing have been quite modest to date, offshoring can change the skills structure of labour demand, increasing the vulnerability of low-skilled workers in particular. ECONOMIC IMPACT Concern over off-shoring has become a surrogate for wider issues about economic insecurity, said Work Foundation chief economist Ian Brinkley. An interesting corollary benefit of outsourcing is the benefit to the economy. Indias National Association of Software and Services Companies commissioned a report by Evaluserve that stated that for every $100 worth of work sent abroad by US companies, $130 to $145 will be reinvested in the US economy. Cost savings are said to create value in the UK economy. Ahead of monetary capital, knowledge economy has become a focal point in the policy of outsourcing and off-shore. Strategies have been devised i.e. the Lisbon Strategy centres to promote, research, innovation in the development of human capital. In the future, human capital is the only way that Europe can remain prosperous. The main beneficiaries in the UK are the educated high skilled workers and the losers will be semi/low skilled workers. The UK government needs to investment more in education to continue pushing towards a leading knowledge based economy to avoid vulnerability. It needs to investment in human capital and focus on domestic policy choices for the losers of rapid structural changes within the UK. As a result of off-shoring the UK government is losing funds which could possibly be raised by corporate and income tax. However, it has stated that it does not have plans in place as yet to prevent outsourcing. The Department of Trade Industry has stated ‘it is a commercial decision for companies to decide where to locate their business operations such as call centres. The absence of official statistics on off-shore outsourcing leads to speculation and there is also misinterpretation of indirect measures/evidence. The experience of an individual company may or may not select a trend in a specific sector but does not allow conclusions to be made on the economy as a whole. It is possible that the rise in rice prices caused by lower production could be a result of a shift by the working population in India from working in the agriculture moving to the services sector. A great deal of knowledge is tacit and therefore difficult to transfer. Its reproduction can be extremely costly and requires an environment in which it can be harnessed effectively. According to a recent World Bank publication India is at the bottom end ranking 98 out of 128 countries of an index that measures the ability to create, absorb and diffuse knowledge therefore its threat is minimal to the UK economy. The economy-wide measures such as a countrys balance of payments can assist us in understanding the patterns of cross border trade and establish the impact of offshoring. If the outsourcing of tasks by UK based companies to off-shore locations i.e. India is soaring then the UK should be importing more of these services from India. The CBI has stated that the UK companies have benefited from off-shore as they are now receiving improved work-force skills at a low rate making their enterprises more profitable. According to results obtained from the Office for National Statistics the redundancy rate for the three months to January 2008 was 4.4 per 1,000 employees, down 0.9 over the quarter and down 1.1 over the year. These figures on the redundancy rate reflect that though a large number of organizational services have been off-shored services this has not had a significant impact on the UK economy. The UK has emerged as a world leader in ‘knowledge services and between 1995 2005 exports of its services grew by over 100% compared to its exports of traditional service exports such as transport. India is ranked 6th for global ‘insourcing behind the US, UK, German France and the Netherlands who appear to be the top rec