Offshoring and Working Conditions in Remote Work

Cover......Page 1
Contents......Page 6
List of Tables, Charts and Boxes......Page 9
Preface......Page 13
Acknowledgements......Page 17
Notes on Contributors......Page 19
List of Abbreviations......Page 21
1 Introduction......Page 24
1.1 Rationales for outsourcing and offshoring business services......Page 26
1.2 Potential impacts of offshoring and outsourcing on working and employment conditions......Page 31
1.3 Origins of outsourcing and offshoring in the services sector......Page 32
1.4 Business start-up and government follow-up: The emergence of ITES–BPO in developing countries......Page 35
1.5 The focus of the book......Page 37
2.1 Introduction......Page 40
2.2 Global Service Delivery......Page 41
2.3 Multinational Service Companies......Page 42
2.4 Global ‘Captive’ Companies......Page 43
2.5 Indian Companies......Page 44
2.6 Unevenness of Global Sourcing......Page 45
2.7 Linguistic Capability and Cultural Compatibility......Page 46
2.8 Underlying Economic, Geographical and Locational Dynamics......Page 48
2.9 ‘Taylorism’ Through Relocation and ‘Rising Up the Value Chain’......Page 49
2.10 Political Economy, Global Regulation and Governance......Page 50
2.11 Labour......Page 52
2.12 Offshoring, Nearshoring and Onshoring......Page 53
2.13 United States......Page 55
2.14 United Kingdom......Page 64
2.15 Canada......Page 74
2.16 Conclusions......Page 79
3.1 Introduction......Page 83
3.2 Research Methodology......Page 84
3.3 The Indian ITES–BPO Sector......Page 86
3.4 Profiling the Indian ITES–BPO Workforce......Page 94
3.5 Recruitment and Training......Page 98
3.6 Work Systems......Page 102
3.7 Work–Life Balance......Page 112
3.8 Human Resources Practices......Page 114
3.9 Attrition......Page 117
3.10 Collectivization and Union Formation......Page 118
3.12 Recommendations......Page 122
4.1 Introduction and Objectives......Page 124
4.2 Business Environment in the BPO Industry......Page 125
4.3 Research Methodology......Page 126
4.4 Overview of the Labour Market......Page 127
4.5 The BPO Employers......Page 128
4.6 Employee Characteristics......Page 129
4.7 Education......Page 130
4.8 Work Experience......Page 131
4.10 Legal and Regulatory Framework......Page 132
4.11 Working and Employment Conditions......Page 135
4.12 Conclusions......Page 153
5.2 Research Methodology......Page 158
5.3 The Business Environment for Outsourcing and Offshoring ITES Functions......Page 160
5.4 The Labour Market in Brazil......Page 163
5.5 The Labour Law in Brazil......Page 166
5.6 The BPO Industry in Brazil......Page 168
5.7 Working and Employment Conditions in the BPO Industry in Brazil......Page 170
5.8 The Financial Services Industry in Brazil......Page 171
5.9 The Telecommunications Industry......Page 172
5.10 Call Centres and Customer Service Centres in Brazil......Page 173
5.11 Conclusions......Page 182
6 Remote Work and Global Sourcing in Argentina......Page 185
6.1 Methodology Used for This Study......Page 187
6.2 Recent Trends in Trade in Services in Argentina......Page 188
6.3 Working Conditions and Employment in Light of the New Trends in Services Exports in Argentina......Page 197
6.4 Conclusions......Page 214
Annex: Interviews Conducted for This Chapter......Page 216
7.1 Introduction......Page 219
7.2 Global, National and Organizational Environments of BPO Companies......Page 220
7.3 An Analysis of Job Quality in RWAs......Page 232
7.4 Conclusion: Summary of Job Quality in the BPO Industry......Page 256
8.1 Introduction......Page 259
8.2 Key Factors Affecting Employment Conditions and Possible Responses......Page 261
8.3 Concluding Remarks......Page 267
Bibliography......Page 269
Index......Page 283