BPO in Jamaica: Allegations of Unproductivity Examined - Essay Sample

Introduction

The Business Process Outsourcing sector in Jamaica has been allegedly termed as unproductive. Such allegations have been trending over social media platforms with no tangibility. Commonly known as the global service sector, this industry is one of the most lucrative sources of revenue for the Jamaican government. The essence of this assignment is to understand and give a response to the case study provided. It represents defenses on call center jobs by Alando Terrelonge, the state minister in the ministry of Education, Youth, and Information.

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Question 1

There are critics on the impact of call centers on the lives of the agents. In as much as call centers contribute largely to the economy, workers are somehow mishandled. For instance, research shows that Jamaica is a low-wage nation, and therefore call center agents to receive $2 per hour. In developed countries, call-center agents are paid $4 or more per hour. As a result, the pay could be discouraging to the workers. Additionally, research also shows that most Jamaican companies make discouraging incentive deductions on workers, thus making their wages insufficient. It has also come out that most companies do not offer proper leadership and agents uncomfortable whenever working in such companies. In my response to these examples of exploitation, I agree that workers suffer in the hands of cruel managers. However, there is hope for this to change if managers pay more attention to the welfare of workers. Call-center agents need to be motivated towards giving their best short. In as much as they need the jobs to cater for their needs, it is vital to make them comfortable while working.

Question 2

The establishment of call-centers and globalization as a whole has brought numerous benefits to the Jamaican economy. For instance, there has been the creation of more job opportunities in the country. The 2013 BPO report shows that there were only 13,500 jobs in this sector. However, many investors have ventured into this sector by establishing more companies. The 2018 BPO report now shows that there are 38,000 jobs in this sector. The number is set to increase in the coming years. More jobs for the Jamaican people imply a positive impact on the Gross Domestic Product. For instance, the 2018 BPO report shows a six percent growth of the economy as a result of globalization. In my opinion, I agree that globalization has largely benefited the Jamaican economy. The economy has grown five times better than it was in 2013, according to the 2018 report.

Question 3

There is stronger evidence of the impact of call-centers on the Jamaican economy rather than the exploitation of workers. According to the case study, there are many graduates who could not find jobs in their field of study and end up as call center agents. Therefore, it is recommended that the Jamaican government creates more call center jobs to kill unemployment. High school graduates can only apply for these jobs if they do not qualify to proceed to college or lack the funds for the same. University graduates who fail to get jobs in their field of study are eligible to apply for these jobs. Call center jobs will easily kill idleness among the jobs by making them busy. Other than the impact on the economy, youths are likely to shun from crimes by finding readily available jobs in the BPO industry.

Conclusion

Conclusively, the merits of globalization in Jamaica overrun the demerits. Apart from the exploitation of workers, there are several benefits, such as improving the GDP, creating employment, and reducing crimes, among others.