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12 Jul 2003
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Choosing a career: facing the cultural dilemma (II)

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Dear Friends,

We are continuing an article by R Ravichandran, COO, ELICO
Limited, Hyderabad, on the issues facing Indian youth on the
verge of making a career choice.
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What the influencers need to understand?

One distinct characteristic of the "Knowledge Era" is the
recognition that it is ultimately human knowledge that contributes
to the success of business and industry. Intangible assets have
come to be recognized in business and industry, as "intellectual
capital", whose possession and development have became a more vital
area of interest, as compared to tangible and financial assets
traditionally held by a business entity.

Thomas A. Stewart, in his book entitled Intellectual Capital,
defines intellectual capital (IC) as "intellectual
material-knowledge, information, intellectual property,
experience-that can be put to use to create wealth." Intellectual
capital enables enterprises to deliver enhanced value to the
customer by incrementally adding "intelligence" to products and
services, in place of physical material, energy, and routine human
involvement. Intellectual capital consists of three components:
human capital, structural capital, and customer capital. Sustaining
a profitable rate of conversion of intellectual capital to
financial capital requires a balanced strategic focus on all three
components of intellectual capital, and the fostering of a business
culture that promotes creativity and innovation at all levels of
the enterprise.

Differentiating "Knowledge" vis-à-vis "Skill":

The "Influencers" need to differentiate between "Knowledge" and
'Skill". While knowledge is related to a "Domain" or multiple
Domains, Skill is only a tool to work on a Domain. The process of
assimilation of knowledge using the skill within the domain
separates the men from the crowd. This enhances the "intellectual
capital" of the individual that results in the overall benefit to
the organization. The service industry requires following this
route and "secure" their Associates' future.

So much has been talked about the profession of Medical
Transcription that it is best that a right perspective is given to
understanding the future in this profession. The "Influencers" need
to understand why their siblings choose this profession without
getting influenced by what others have to say about this industry.

..concluded.
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Cheers!!!

Maj (Dr.) Amit Chatterjee, SM
Strategist / Founder ~ mailto:amit@...
MT India ~ www.mtindia.org
"The Community of MT Professionals"
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NEWS AND VIEWS :
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1) US economy gained $16 bn from outsourcing to India: Nasscom

The US economy benefitted to the tune of $16.8 billion last
financial year as India's code writers exported $8.5 billion worth
software and services to the country's largest IT market, according
to Nasscom. Indian IT professionals contributed $500 million to US
Social Security and paid another $500 million as income tax,
besides spending over $1.8 billion during their visits.

Quoting an analysis by leading consultancy firm McKinsey and Co, it
said the ITeS market is likely to touch $142 billion in 2009. "This
is against the current cost of $532 billion for these services. The
difference of $390 billion is the net saving the US economy can
expect from offshoring. This will have a huge economic impact of
tangible dollar savings leading to value creation for shareholders
and ultimately affect the common man," said Nasscom.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/html/uncomp/articleshow
?msid=62657

2) Security concerns in US haunt BPO firms

The question being asked is: How can information on issues such as
personal medical details, financial data and government records be
sent to a third country for being processed? While this remains a
matter of concern, the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry
in both the US and India are seeking to allay fears, saying all the
companies have already put in place a stringent security protection
standard.

"We follow an extremely stringent security standard for physical
security, network security and data security," Kumar Mahadeva,
founder and president of Cognizant Technology Solutions, said.

"We make too much of that legislation (on outsourcing)," said Vivek
Paul, vice-chairman of Wipro Technologies. "The reality is that
there will be voices that you will hear. But business will
continue," Paul added.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/html/uncomp/articleshow
?msid=50155

3) Apollo Health to merge with parent as BPO lifts fortunes

An entry into medical business process outsourcing (M-BPO) appears
to have changed the fortunes of Apollo Health Street which has made
a cash profit of Rs 30 lakh for FY03. "Apollo Health Street has
recently bagged a multi-year contract business processing order
from a large New York-based hospital. This has helped the company
to attain a cash-breakeven. The company would merge with Apollo
Hospitals Enterprises eventually," Dr Prathap C Reddy, chairman,
Apollo Hospitals Enterprises said.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/html/uncomp/articleshow
?msid=70167

4) Has the BPO backlash been contained?

On the macro-level yes, but individual companies need to play a
more pro-active role as well, says Kiran Karnik, President, Nasscom

Our area of activity in the US is centred on a few basic issues.
First, outsourcing is an activity that has arisen out of business
necessity and perfected by US corporations. Now, the US companies
are depending on outsourcing to stay competitive and cut costs.

We would like to highlight the fact that outsourcing is not a
political issue but an economic issue and it is not an India-US
issue. We believe that this outcry is a result of depressed
economic conditions in the US and not a concerted backlash directed
against India as it is being perceived.

Outsourcing has been the preferred business response in the wake of
the enormous pressure that businesses worldwide are faced with and
we believe this trend will continue, given the tangible benefits in
terms of cost savings, quality and productivity.
Outsourcing to Indian vendors has been recognised as creating
wealth for US corporations and in turn for the US economy, offering
lower prices and better service to US consumers and enhancing the
competitiveness of the entire economy.

We have been able to educate the US policy and decision makers
about the benefits of outsourcing. We have pointed out that jobs
cuts would have been higher in the US, if US companies did not
outsource.

http://www.nasscom.org/artdisplay.asp?Art_id=1911

5) Calling the shots

This is a pie that will continue to swell, despite downturn
elsewhere!

"It is this outsourced or cross-border ITES that is big business
today, receiving greater attention world wide and especially in
India," says Christopher R. Kirchoff, Executive VP (Telecom and
Media), Infinite Computer Solutions.

India, with a low-cost manpower, a large pool of skilled
English-speaking workforce, a virtual 12-hour time zone difference
with the US and other major ITES markets, is emerging as a
preferred destination for outsourced services. Says Christopher
Gentle, Director, Deloitte Consulting, "Considering that labour
costs represent as much as 20-30 per cent of a typical client's
business, India's low-cost skills are attractive. Indeed, the
salary of a database manger in India might be as low as a fifth of
that in the US."

As for 'hot' jobs in the ITES domain, areas like e-commerce, call
centres, medical transcription, billing and coding, back office
operations, revenue claims processing, legal databases, content
development, payroll, logistics management, GIS, HR services, CRM,
supply chain management, web services etc, have already become
potential minefields of employment opportunities.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/2003/Apr/01/674_221517,00310003.htm
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The MTIndia Team
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