Nowadays, what is happening to the world seems irreversible. America is challenged by China as the world’s economic superpower. Thousands of jobs are outsourced in several parts of the world. Those are just some of the cold facts we face today.
One evening, I watched a sitcom that talks about an American call center in India. The show, entitled Outsourced, is not as funny as I expected. On the show, the lone American call center manager deals with a predominant Indian workforce. Another noticeable thing about the show is the cultural differences.
Try to imagine a puzzled American dumbfounded by Indian culture, while the Indians are also dumbfounded about the American culture. This is one of the areas of unexpected comedy, which could be either funny or offensive – depending on a particular situation.
Managing a call center that handles worldwide outsourcing is neither an easy task nor a clumsy joke. Beyond the confines of the TV sitcom, dynamism inside a BPO (business process outsourcing) provides various solutions to their clients and customers – which is not a laughing matter.
Inside the cubicles and the air-conditioned office, different marketing strategies are executed. Some of the best in outsourcing provides companies efficient results. Clients and customers are meticulous in this part, that’s why only the best will make it in the competitive outsourcing environment.
The TV sitcom likely portrays some of the best outsourcing companies in India. If my memory serves me right, there was even a scene that they even compared themselves with the business process outsourcing in the Philippines (with an added statistics to it). Of course, the comparison is not without lame jokes.
That scene could be regarded as the start of global outsourcing warfare, with China, Malaysia and other European (and African) countries emerging as the new players. But despite that, it proves that outsourcing is a growing competitive global industry.
Market forces will drive competition and economic efficiency to the outsourcers. This means a long-term positive effect on the parent companies and the third-party providers.
As the potential growth for global business seems to be optimistic, I do hope that TV shows and sitcoms will be smarter, funnier, and discerning. I honestly did not find Outsourced funny and entertaining. Well, I will find another humorous show on TV tonight.


