The implications for UK service sector firms Essay Example for Free

The implications for UK service sector firms Essay Discuss the implications for UK service sector firms that have off shed IT or administrative functions to low cost economies, such as India. The relocation of certain industries or functions from the UK to other low-cost economies abroad has raised a number of issues over the years. From a management perspective, it is seen as a great way of reducing overheads. However, customers have identified this as a drawback in most industries today. Firstly, transferring parts of a business to a low cost economy decreases overall expenses as mentioned earlier. This could be that, the value of the pound is much stronger than that of the currency in these low cost economies so businesses have to pay much lesser total overheads. As these firms receive their revenue in pounds sterling, they would rather pay out their expenses such as electricity in Indian rupee which is about 0.01% of a pound. This is an ideological tool in exploiting different economies efficiently. It helps businesses to keep their costs very low but rather increase their profit margins. This may not always be the case though, since economic factors are very much unpredictable. Such firms are likely to have a huge loss should there be any increase in the value of the Indian currency. This could create potential instability in the business thus causing them to relocate into the UK service sector. Also, firms relocating in low cost economies are able to benefit from cheap labour costs. The increase in young, well educated workers in such economies have caused these industries to enter such markets since they are rather skilled labour that have the right skills and expertise but rather tend to demand less wages. According to statistics from the work foundation in 2004, software engineers in India received about à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½5000 to à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½15000 per annum which is a staggering 15-17% of what employees with the same position in the UK receive. This explains the use of highly skilled workforce which potentially increases productivity rate however keeping expenses such as wages at a reduced rate. Furthermore, service sectors which may have offshore are likely to gain from greater economies of scale because of the increase in the demand for the firms services. This may lead to a reduction in unit costs such as computer systems. Lower average costs should help such firms to be able to expand into different markets and to be rather competitive. However, the extent to which these firms can increase demand for their services depends whether it can meet its business objectives and attract customers since it has different departments of the business in different parts of the world. Without driving in enough customers through quality business management, the firm will certainly fall short of demand thus diseconomies of scale. Moreover, service sector firms might transfer parts of its business to places such as India to be able to benefit from cheaper land. Since in the UK, there are many restrictions to the acquisition of land, different taxes and legal permits to be able to acquire a location, it is a much wiser idea to locate in places where there are much fewer red tapes or barriers which could reduce costs. The difficulty however, could be the maintenance of quality customer services since these functions are nowhere near close to the department responsible for maintaining good customer relationships. Having mentioned all these positive implications, there may be some negatives attached to transferring a part of a business to another location. Critically, there may be some difficult ethical issues involved with this process. It may not be of good benefit to the economy if businesses were to shut down and create employment in another part of the world since employment is one of the main boosts to the economy. An increase in unemployment creates a decrease in consumer confidence which effectively means that customers would not purchase any items therefore; the government would therefore not receive huge amounts of tax. This does have a huge impact on the position of the economy and position of individuals. Another ethical issue could be; is it right to pay much lower wages abroad than in the UK? Certainly, the answer should be No. Another potential problem of off shoring is the language and cultural differences between the UK and places such as India. Communication is one of the key tools for any successful firm. Lack of understanding between colleagues might hinder the success of the firm since information will not be passed on correctly. The TalkTalk group was the most complained about provider of landline and broadband services between October 2010 and February 2011. This was majorly due to the fact that most of its customer service assistants were based outside the country which made communications between the two parties i.e. customers and customer assistants difficult. Practically all UK firms based in India have had to train their staff there, to increase their fluency in English. Certainly, this comes along with certain costs which again increase their total overheads. There might also be differences in working practices between countries, including the working hours, which can have great impact on the performance of the business. Offshoring also has an impact on the public image or reputation of a firm. A number of UK service sector companies have attracted the media over allegations of worker exploitation in low cost economies on order to reduce costs. Such media representations might reduce demand for a firms services or might also make workers feel unsafe at the workplace. These could directly have links with the mobility of demand for the firms services. Also, it is seen as a way to avoid competition in the market which then again, ruins the public image of the firm. Overall then, offshoring is a great business technique which exploits different markets but at the same time reduces costs effectively. However, it brings about some ethical issues such as the impact on the economy and also could be seen to be very costly in terms of training staff in other parts of the world because of language barrier. Also, does not take the interest of its customers who are a great asset to every firm, into concern. It is therefore with no doubt that most businesses are moving back to the UK since it has been discovered that the negatives of offshoring do outweigh the positives.

Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller Essay -- American History

Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller; Captains of industry, or robber barons?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  True, Andrew Carnegie and John D Rockefeller may have been the most influential businessmen of the 19th century, but was the way they conducted business proper? To fully answer this question, we must look at the following: First understand how Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller changed the market of their industries. Second, look at the similarities and differences in how both men achieved domination. Third and lastly, Look at how both men treated their workers and customers in order achieve the most possible profit for their company.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Let us first look at Mr. Andrew Carnegie. Carnegie was a mogul in the steel industry. Carnegie developed a system known as the vertical integration. This method basically cut out the ‘middle man’. Carnegie bought his own iron and coal mines (which were necessities in producing steel) because purchasing these materials from independent companies cost too much and was insufficient for Carnegie’s empire. This hurt his competitors because they still had to pay for raw materials at much higher prices. Unlike Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller integrated his oil business from top to bottom. Rockefeller’s system was considered a ‘horizontal’ integration. This meant that he followed one product through all phases of the production process, i.e. Rockefeller had control over the oil from the moment it was drilled to the moment it was sold to the consu...

Participatory Notes †Concept Essay

Participatory notes are issued by FIIs to their unregistered clients who want to invest in the Indian equity market but do not want to meet the disclosure requirements to do so. Thus the modus operandi they opt for is to invest their money with the fund companies (FIIs), who will invest in Indian market on their behalf. The fund company is registered with SEBI in India and issues participatory notes to these investors as a proof of their investment. Participatory notes are instruments used by foreign funds not registered in the country to trade in the domestic market. SEBI’s Concern and rulings regarding these notes: Participatory Notes have always been a bone of contention for SEBI as the identity of the investors is not known. In 2003, there was a boom in the stock market mainly due to a lot of foreign funds. This also led to a lot of volatility in the Indian market because a lot of Investment was done through Participatory Notes. So in 2003, SEBI amended regulations relating to foreign institutional investors to incorporate a new 10 point code of conduct and inserted a clause seeking disclosure of information with regard to participatory notes. The code seeks compliance to good corporate governance standards and SEBI regulations. SEBI has clarified that there is no change in the rules relating to FIIs except for the strengthening of KYC Norms. They have also given a ruling which states that from Now on, The PNs can only be issued to Registered Entities. The actual investing parties must be registered with the regulator of their country of Incorporation. In addition, to facilitate the process of transition, derivative instruments already issued and outstanding against un-regulated entities will not be required to be terminated immediately. It has been decided that the said contracts will be permitted to expire or to be wound – down on maturity, or within a period of 5 years, whichever is earlier.

The Events Of World War 2 - 2008 Words

World War 2 was undoubtedly one of the most important events in history not only for what happened throughout the six years of war but also the aftermath of the war. Beyond the casualties and deaths this devastating war would open new doors for technology advancement, medicine innovations and creations also changes in music ,art ,sports and culture. Furthermore back home in the United States the role of women was beginning to shape up during the conflict at the other side of the world . Previous verbal arguments between countries escalated and led to previous physical encounters.Such as that of the first world war which took place from July 28, 1919 until November 11,1918 with an estimated 16.5 million deaths in both military and civilian†¦show more content†¦A war that would last from 1939 to 1945 six years of breathtaking battles tense and suspense not knowing whether or not that day would be your last wearing the uniform that represents the country you defend. To illustra te even further this war was divided into two groups the allies and the axis. The allies were composed of the United States, France, England and the U.S.S.R (Soviet union) led by Franklin D.Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin also known as â€Å"the big three† and behalf of the axis powers countries such as Italy, Japan and Germany which were led by some of the most gruesome leaders of all time such as Benito Mussolini , Hideki Tojo and undoubtedly the mastermind behind the start of World War 2 the german dictator Adolf Hitler. A leader like Adolf Hitler who used his aggressive speeches, driving force and central point amongst the faith crowd that believed in all he said thinking that he would bring back the great germany and make germany a super power but instead blinded people of what was really going on during the war the germans were killing jews creating a mass genocide of the race of jews killing almost 7 million civilians this included kids,adults,and elders this being done in the concentration camps in a span of only six years from 1933-1939 where people would be detained or confined, usually under harsh conditions and without regard to legal norms of arrest and imprisonment many