Question

#12: A computer manufacturer is considering outsourcing its technical support call center to India. Its current technical support call center is located in Delray, Ohio. The current call center is one of the top employers in Dellroy and employs about 10% of the townspeople in Dellroy. The town has experienced high unemployment rates in the past two decades, and often the call employees are the sole breadwinners in their households. If the technical support call center were to be moved to india, the company would be able to pay about 50% less per hour than it currently pays in Dellroy, Ohio. From a triple bottom line perspective (people, profit, planet), what factors are relevant to the company’s decision to outsource its technical support call center? What would be your recommendation?

Answer 1

The relevant factors to the decision will be people and profit rather than the planet since the call center activities that incur use of resources will almost be similar be it in the US or India. The most relevant factor here is profit since outsourcing will bring down the cost to half while producing the same quality of service currently that the company provides to its customers. The people factor is what has to be considered primarily by the company on a humanitarian ground rather than solely deciding based on saving costs. The call center is the only source of income for many families in the town and since unemployment rates have been high in the past years , taking out their only source of livelihood is certainly not a decision that will do good for the society and economy at large. The company must act to further the interests of the society at large than always further its own self interest.

In this situation, I would certainly not recommend shifting the call center entirely to India since it acts against the society's interest. Also, the company can renegotiate wages with the existing in case it believes it is essential to reduce costs or probably hire newer staff at lower rates.