Olio Digest

Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) in Asia is Booming

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 19:16:28 -0500

Business process outsourcing (BPO) is taking the Asian business arena by storm and the countries that have opened themselves up to the wave of Western businesses have been reaping great rewards. India, the pioneering business service provider for companies who are seeking low-cost, high quality labor in Asia, has been the most to gain with a general decrease in their unemployment rate and a general upsurge in their economy.

The Philippines, one of the major global players in the business process outsourcing, has also seen a decrease in unemployment and a significant increase in the strength of the services sector. The Philippines is known as the leading provider of business process outsourcing for human resource processes, particularly in the contact centers. With the surge in business service providers, the Philippine central business districts that were deserted ghost towns after 9 p.m. are now bustling with economic activity.

Suppressing the growing need for business process outsourcing appears next to impossible. To survive in today’s global workplace requires a greater degree of responsiveness and mobility than ever before. And while the BPO phenomenon has its own fair share of detractors and the negative backlash, it has been recognized that attempting to curb it is not the way to go.

During the US elections in 2004, candidate John Kerry called the companies who engaged in offshore outsourcing as “traitors,” but in the end, admitted that outsourcing cannot be stopped as the need for global competitiveness through an increased focus on core competencies and cost-efficiency continues.

The Asian business scene stands to benefit from this BPO phenomenon and in the rate it has been going, it seems that is far from over.

For most people, the Dotcom crash spelled gloom and doom for the IT industry. What used to be the new business medium of the future crumbled before investors' eyes as they watched their stock prices fall in a dizzying spiral. Businesses folded up, many were unemployed, and the general mood when it came to the IT industry was one of wariness.

Now, it seems things are slowly changing.

Already now, online businesses are sprouting all over the World Wide Web, trying to attract customers and are succeeding. Beads shops, coin collectibles, and apparel stores proliferate the Internet. As technology adapts to the allow even more customization and features to make your life easier, it becomes more apparent that the Dotcom crash happened because those visionaries were way ahead of their time.

This was probably due to the excitement generated by this so-called "new economy" back in 1995. Naive speculators and entrepreneurs failed to make the proper studies and market research. In fact, a company who did not even have a website attracted millions worth of investments. They were selling shoes that would be viewed in 3-D.

Now, imagine 1995 with a shoe website with its proposed 3-D imaging and combine it with 56K turtle modems, then try to understand where exactly the idea failed. You probably get the picture.

Right now, however, there is so much change going on in the Internet world. It's not time to make foolish assumptions except to ask the perpetual question "What now?" and wait.

In Applying the Concepts and Reflecting on the History of Sustainability

Mon, 24 May 2010 11:46:59 -0500

Historically, according to Lozano (2007), efforts at sustainability have been hindered by the individualistic behaviors characteristic of homo oeconomicus. “[They] are human beings that are greedy and self-interested…[and] have an insatiable wish to accumulate material resources and attempt to maximize their utility while minimizing their costs” (Lozano, p. 370). These behaviors have made it exceedingly difficult to strike the balance between economic, environmental, and social considerations necessary for true sustainable development.

Lozano also provides a strong argument for the importance of collaboration i.e. “using information, divergent insights, and spontaneity to solve problems and develop new understanding of new products. It thrives on differences coming from sparks of dissent” (Lozano, p. 372). Collaboration, as exemplified in the example of the Curripaco villagers who hunt for and prepare food individually, but that aggregate the bulk of the food to the common fund in order to assure nutrition for all. This successful collaborative effort provides a stark contrast to the population of Easter Island where, according to Lozano, lack of collaboration and increased population led to “deforestation, which in turn led to tribal warfare, starvation, population crash and even cannibalism.” Clearly the approach of the Curripaco villagers would be a more viable means of achieving sustainability.

It would seem that, looking forward, we want to sustain, above all, our economic system, our way of producing our livelihoods. It is from this that flows our culture, our way of feeding ourselves, our way of pursuing happiness. We also seek to sustain our wealth---it is very painful to suffer a decrease in the standard of our living. These disparate ideas can be summarized as livelihood security, the objective of efforts on sustainability. Frankenberger and McCaston (n.d.) describe livelihood security as "adequate and sustainable access to income and resources to meet basic needs (including adequate access to food, potable water, health facilities, educational opportunities, housing, time for community participation and social integration)." Frankenberger and McCaston go on to quote two other authors (Chambers and Conway (1992)), to describe a livelihood as sustainable 'when it "can cope with and recover from the stress and shocks, maintain its capability and assets, and provide sustainable livelihood opportunities for the next generation...".'

The individual's role in sustainability is varied: we can play active roles in government, by voting, by exercising whatever rights we have; we can seek to be educated and to understand the livelihood system that we live in and its vulnerabilities; we can seek to develop consensus with our neighbors about what can be done locally to promote sustainability; we can develop coping strategies and plans to deal with livelihood stresses (Frankenberger and McCaston); and we can diversify our income stream (Frankenberger and McCaston).

The beginning of the GR made agriculture one of the most important “players” in the growth of the population. Basic crops like corn, wheat and rice became essentials to many cultures, and today these are still an important part of their everyday food consumption. The results for the first GR were outstanding in Mexico as wheat yield per acre rose fourfold from 1944 to 1970. Mexico, which had previously had to import wheat, became a self-sufficient cereal-grain producer by 1956 (Answers.com)." These results were the driving force for Norman Borlaugh trials in Asia. After 10 years of wheat breeding, Borlaug had plants that resisted rust and other diseases. Because they were insensitive to the length of daylight, they had the potential to grow in a wide variety of climates (AgBioWorld.org). However, the failure of the first green revolution in terms of the environment is an example of the interdependence of social, economic, and environmental issues on overall sustainability. The sole objective of the First Green Revolution was “to increase total food production to save people from starving.”

While the program produced more food, in the process it also increased the number of landless laborers.” (Rogers et al, 2009, p. 74). Thus economically, there was a disproportionate gain for the large farm owners who were able to purchase government-subsidized diesel fuel, while the smaller farm owners were not allowed to do the same and therefore had to rely on private vendors for the same fuel at a significantly higher price. This led to, among other things, decreased genetic diversity in food crops and increased vulnerability of crops to pathologies (Thompson 2007).

Per Wahlberg (2008) the GR coincided with drastic increases worldwide in beef production, increasing the amount of animal protein in our diets. Animal protein is environmentally stressful, for it is very energy-intensive to produce by comparison to plant protein. Answers.com (2010) also notes that the GR greatly expanded industrial agriculture, which is an intensive user of water, often times from fossil sources. The same source notes that some fertilizer and pesticide inputs are made with significant inputs from non-renewable

{{Knowing|Learning} How to Change a Tire Can Really Get You Out of a {Jam|Difficult Situation}|Being {Able to Change |Capable of Changing} a Flat Tire Is {a Very|an Extremely |an Incredibly} {Useful|Helpful|Practical|Valuable|Handy} {Skill|Ability} to {Ha

Fri, 27 Aug 2010 19:08:34 -0500

If you're driving down the freeway and you blow a tire it can be a major inconvenience to say the least. For a lot of people a quick phone call to AAA is all it takes to get them back on the road in a relatively short period of time. However, knowing how to change a tire yourself can be a very useful skill if there is not anyone else willing and able to come to your rescue. The first thing you want to do if you have a blowout is to pull to the right side of the road. If at all possible it is best to avoid blind corners to reduce the risk of being struck by oncoming motorists. It is also best if you can pull your car onto a hard, level surface avoiding hills or soft ground. If the ground is soft or if you're on a hill, jacking up your car can be very dangerous. Once you have pulled over it is also important to use road flares or reflective triangles to make yourself as visible as possible to avoid being struck by oncoming motorists. Once you have pulled over and done everything possible to ensure your safety it is time to start changing your tire. You want to start by losing the lug nuts. Using your lug wrench turn the nuts in a counterclockwise direction to loosen them. Loosen the nuts in a star pattern, one nut across from the other. At this point you are loosening the nuts but you're not completely removing them. Next you'll want to jack up the car. You can place your jack on the car's frame near the tire that needs to be changed. Different cars may have different spots to place the jack but you can consult your owner's manual to find the best position for jacking up your car. Once your car is jacked up it is time to finish removing the lug nuts and then remove the flat tire. Once you have removed the flat it is time to place the spare on the hub and put the lug nuts back on. Tighten the lug nuts by hand until they are snug. Then, using your lug wrench tighten the lug nuts in a star pattern. Once the lug nuts are snug lower the car back to the ground but do not put all of the car's weight on the ground just yet. Finished tightening the lug nuts as much as possible and then you can lower the jack the rest of the way. At this point it is time to remove the jack, put the flat tire in your trunk, and pick up your reflective triangles. You have successfully changed your flat tire and you're ready to get back on the road.