Verified Document

Offshore Call Center In The Research Paper

It has been noted that a combination of political pressure, economic incentives and technology change is bringing back call center work that has been offshored to the United States. The technological shift is the most interesting, because it is being driven by the same forces that took these jobs offshore in the first place. Companies have found that not only is it cheaper to have customers perform basic service functions online, but that customers prefer it. By enabling customers to handle basic service functions online, companies reduce the need for call centers altogether. When the function of the call center changes, not only do customers receive better service, but the cost savings from foreign call centers are reduced.

Foreign call centers derived their cost advantages from the high volume of calls that needed to be handled, and these advantages persisted despite the disadvantages of operating calls overseas. A smaller call center, one with the focus on high-end interactions with customers, still has the same disadvantages in training, provision of service and the same risks of doing business overseas ranging from political risk to infrastructure issues. Yet, while the costs of operating call centers overseas have remained stable, the cost advantages have diminished. Thus, the economics of using call centers is not nearly as positive as it once was. Given that even states are adopting laws to punish firms that outsource customer service jobs overseas (Semerdjian, 2012).

Conclusion

Ultimately, the case for setting up call centers overseas is not as compelling as it once was. The case was always economic, and as we have seen a combination of different factors has dramatically diminished the economic case for overseas call centers. For high-volume call centers, especially those focused on outbound calls that can be run by third-party subcontractors, there is still a relatively strong overseas call center industry. However, for inbound call centers where the agents must engage in a high level of interaction with the customers, the case for offshoring is becoming less compelling. Technological change and the idea that a company can gain competitive advantage from locating in the U.S. have reversed the tide of offshoring, bringing a lot of call center jobs back to the U.S. Firms that do this have...

Companies gain competitive advantage from doing so. In addition, American workers are still more productive than foreign workers, and this helps to account for the cost differential between the two sets of workers. The case against offshoring may sometimes be framed by politicians as a moral one, but in reality the case for bringing back jobs in the call centers to the U.S. is a pragmatic one. Company management can have more control over the service function, to the benefit of its service scores, and can have more reliable call center operations if they are located in the United States. For this, and for the other reasons stated above, it makes perfect sense to bring these operations back to the U.S., and to set up new call center operations domestically rather than offshoring them to foreign countries.
Works Cited:

Drezner, D. (2004). The outsourcing bogeyman. Foreign Affairs. In possession of the author.

Holman, D., Batt, R. & Holtgrewe, U. (2007). The global call center report: International perspectives on management and employment. Global Call Center Network. Retrieved April 11, 2013 from http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/globalcallcenter/upload/GCC-International-Rept-U.S.-Version.pdf

Jamieson, D. (2011). Overseas call centers target of anti-outsourcing bill. Huffington Post. Retrieved April 11, 2013 from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/07/overseas-call-centers-outsourcing-bill_n_1135147.html

Muir, D. (2012). Foreign call centers phone home. ABC News. Retrieved April 11, 2013 from http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/business/2012/02/foreign-call-centers-phone-home/

Semerdjian, S. (2012). States introduce bills penalizing overseas call centers. Loeb & Loeb. Retrieved April 11, 2013 from http://www.loeb.com/statebillspenalizingoverseascallcenters/

Zeitlin, M. (2012). Why call center jobs are coming back. Daily Beast. Retrieved April 11, 2013 from http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/08/28/why-call-center-jobs-are-coming-back.html

Sources used in this document:
Works Cited:

Drezner, D. (2004). The outsourcing bogeyman. Foreign Affairs. In possession of the author.

Holman, D., Batt, R. & Holtgrewe, U. (2007). The global call center report: International perspectives on management and employment. Global Call Center Network. Retrieved April 11, 2013 from http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/globalcallcenter/upload/GCC-International-Rept-U.S.-Version.pdf

Jamieson, D. (2011). Overseas call centers target of anti-outsourcing bill. Huffington Post. Retrieved April 11, 2013 from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/07/overseas-call-centers-outsourcing-bill_n_1135147.html

Muir, D. (2012). Foreign call centers phone home. ABC News. Retrieved April 11, 2013 from http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/business/2012/02/foreign-call-centers-phone-home/
Semerdjian, S. (2012). States introduce bills penalizing overseas call centers. Loeb & Loeb. Retrieved April 11, 2013 from http://www.loeb.com/statebillspenalizingoverseascallcenters/
Zeitlin, M. (2012). Why call center jobs are coming back. Daily Beast. Retrieved April 11, 2013 from http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/08/28/why-call-center-jobs-are-coming-back.html
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Offshore Financial Centers Info: Definition
Words: 3707 Length: 10 Document Type: Term Paper

Similarly, an offshore might set up a wholly owned subsidiary in an OFC to extend offshore fund administration facilities or other facilities. (the future for offshore financial centers (OFCs)) multinational corporation establishes an offshore bank to deal with its foreign exchange operations or to ease out financing of a joint venture spanning on a global basis. An onshore bank sets up a wholly owned subsidiary in an OFC to

Offshore Outsourcing Jonathan Zaun As America Continues
Words: 1177 Length: 4 Document Type: Thesis

Offshore Outsourcing Jonathan Zaun As America continues to struggle through a recession that was in many ways self inflicted, today's leading economic minds are debating the issue of offshore outsourcing with more interest than ever before. While politicians and labor unions claim that offshore outsourcing weakens the nation's economy, this view is biased and shortsighted, as it fails to take into account the many benefits derived from the transfer of jobs overseas.

Offshore Financial Centres and Their
Words: 22477 Length: 60 Document Type: Dissertation

Because the home country is not required to reimburse foreign depositors for losses, there is no corresponding financial penalty for lax supervision; there is, though, a benefit to the country with lenient regulatory policies because of increased revenues generated and the employment opportunities these services provide (Edwards 1999). Furthermore, banks seeking to conduct multinational business are attracted to countries where incorporation laws and the regulatory framework offer less regulatory oversight

Offshore Tax Havens by U.S.
Words: 3756 Length: 12 Document Type: Thesis

The other side of this is that the companies have to spend finances in areas of language training or job training when they outsource. However, over the years, many U.S.-based companies haven't been discouraged by these additional costs because the overall costs of outsourcing with the job training session and language teaching and outplacement requirements are still far less when compared to the costs that they would have to endure

Offshore IT Development to Include
Words: 623 Length: 2 Document Type: Thesis

Companies wishing to exercise discretion over consumer interactions may not be able to exercise quality control over the training of representatives servicing their valued customers, who are ill-prepared to deal with angry, confused, and technologically illiterate customers. The call center is the 'face' of the IT company and Microsoft in particular has lost customers because of its dependence upon call centers and unhelpful staff, in contrast to the people-friendly

Offshore Wind Energy
Words: 5974 Length: 20 Document Type: Introduction

Offshore Wind Energy Wind Energy (Facts and Features, Usage, Future Prospects, Strengths and Weaknesses, Recommendations) It is an undeniable fact that human activity needs energy as a basic requirement. Energy input is a fundamental need for transportation, water and food provision and mobility services. In the contemporary energy system, non-renewable fossil fuels are the principal resources that satisfy the global energy needs. They are preferred due to their dependability and low-cost. On the

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now