Film Discusses Fiction, Friction or Fusion

By Broadside Staff Writer Christine Blake

As part of International Week 2008, the India and Globalization Working Group and The Office of International Programs and Services presented a screening of the film Outsourced. Following this film was an informative panel discussion examining globalization and outsourcing.

Last Wednesday, April 9, The Johnson Center cinema showcased Outsourced, a movie about a man named Todd who lost his job as a manager in a call center in Seattle, Wash. His job, along with every other employee’s job, was outsourced to India. Todd experienced culture shock, because he had to train every Indian employee and the new manager to take his place. However, the tables turned when Todd had to expand his horizons and learn about the Indian culture, while forming lasting relationships. The award-winning film observed the effects of outsourcing in the global marketplace and the cross-culture conflicts that go along with it.

Following the movie was a panel discussion featuring scholars specializing in globalization and cultural studies. Pritam Banerjee, from the School of Public Policy, spoke first about white-collar offshoring.

“Internet and technology is making outsourcing much easier; anything nowadays can be done offshore,” Banerjee said.

He went on to add that India and China are growing so rapidly that they possess the skills to be easily trained in any field. This fact makes the two countries the most popular place to outsource in the modern business world.

“Take a pencil, for example,” Banerjee said, “so many different people take part in the production of a pencil, from the manager of the people who make it to people who sell it. [Much of this] can easily take place overseas.”

The next person to speak on the panel was Dr. Satyam Priyadarshy from the School of Management. He talked about how outsourcing has become more predominant in the global corporate world. He explained that outsourcing jobs to growing economies such as India and China has attracted increasing attention since the 1980s in the United States.
“Indians are the most adaptable people and are easily trained for many jobs, other cultures have a much harder time,” Priyadarshy said.

The main reason why outsourcing has become popular is mainly because it saves money. The panel discussed how India now has many highly technically skilled jobs and how now companies are more than copy-cats of U.S. companies. Also, China is known as a manufacturer and is becoming more white-collar. In the film, all the Indian jobs were outsourced to China because it’s even less expensive.

Foreigners who work for American call centers are extremely educated, Priyadarshy said. The reason they take the job is for the money.

Many interesting facts about outsourcing were presented during the discussion. For example, people today feel 45 percent less comfortable outsourcing to India than two years ago. The next panel presenter was Fan Yang, from the Cultural Studies program. She led the discussion about communication, globalization and national culture.

Lastly, assosciate professor Dina Copelman presented from the History and Art History and Cultural Studies program and gave her viewpoints on the film and outsourcing.

The film and panel discussion provided great insight in globalization and outsourcing in countries like India and China. “Arguing against globalization is like arguing the laws of gravity,” said former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan.

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