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Copyright of Zeszyty Teoretyczne Rachunkowości is the property of Stowarzyszenie Ksiegowych w Polsce Rada Naukowa and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

With the expansion of Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) in the Philippines, this study was initiated to understand the effect of illnesses on absenteeism and productivity among employees. The secondary data, from January to December 2022, from the onsite clinic of AMAZON was used in this study. The top three illnesses, aggregated illnesses, namely Upper Respiratory Tract Infection, Nervous System Illnesses and ENT Illness data collected, were statistically tested. As a result, it was noted that aggregated illnesses increased the effect on employee productivity based on absenteeism. Also, among the top three illnesses, Nervous System Illnesses increased the effect on absenteeism of employees in the company. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Business & Projects / Revista de Gestão e Projetos is the property of Revista de Gestao e Projetos and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The COVID-19 pandemic caused a prolonged and intensified telecommuting arrangement that raised a number of unprecedented concerns regarding its implications on employees’ job performance (JP) and work-life balance (WLB). This study primarily aimed at determining the relationship between telecommuting intensity and employees’ JP and WLB. Further, it sought to know if there was a significant difference in employees’ productivity when working at the office and at home. Lastly, it assessed whether previous frameworks on JP and WLB were still valid during the COVID-19 crisis.

Information-technology-enabled services (ITES) has become a sector of promise for many low- and middle-income economies seeking to leapfrog industrialization and build knowledge-intensive economies. Yet as a sector defined by accelerating processes of commodification and skill elimination, its long-term developmental promise must be carefully scrutinised. Analysing the development of the sector in India, the Philippines and Kenya the paper reveals both the contextual nature of past successful ITES policies and their developmental vulnerabilities. Drawing on literature on industrial policies and global value chains and production networks, the paper critiques the existing policy approaches by arguing that they are largely focussed on enabling value and employment creation and that they pay insufficient attention to questions of value capture and long-term socio-economic transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: This paper presents an iterative mathematical decision model for organizations to evaluate whether to invest in establishing information technology (IT) infrastructure on‐premises or outsourcing IT services on a multicloud environment. This is because a single cloud cannot cover all types of users’ functional/nonfunctional requirements, in addition to several drawbacks such as resource limitation, vendor lock‐in, and prone to failure. On the other hand, multicloud brings several merits such as vendor lock‐in avoidance, system fault tolerance, cost reduction, and better quality of service. The biggest challenge is in selecting an optimal web service composition in the ever increasing multicloud market in which each provider has its own pricing schemes and delivers variation in the service security level. In this regard, we embed a module in the cloud broker to log service downtime and different attacks to measure the security risk. If security tenets, namely, security service level agreement, such as availability, integrity, and confidentiality for mission‐critical applications, are targeted by cybersecurity attacks, it causes disruption in business continuity, leading to financial losses or even business failure. To address this issue, our decision model extends the cost model by using the cost present value concept and the risk model by using the advanced mean failure cost concept, which are derived from the embedded module to quantify cloud competencies. Then, the cloud economic problem is transformed into a bioptimization problem, which minimizes cost and security risks simultaneously. To deal with the combinatorial problem, we extended a genetic algorithm to find a Pareto set of optimal solutions. To reach a concrete result and to illustrate the effectiveness of the decision model, we conducted different scenarios and a small‐to‐medium business IT development for a 5‐year investment as a case study. The result of different implementation shows that multicloud is a promising and reliable solution against IT on‐premises deployment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Orientation: Currently no integrative model exists that can explain the phenomena contributing to agent performance in the South African contact centre industry. Research purpose: The primary focus of this article was to develop a theoretically derived human capital predictive model for agent performance in contact centres and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) based on a review of current empirical research literature. Motivation for the study: The study was motivated by the need for a human capital predictive model that can predict agent and overall business performance. Research design: A nonempirical (theoretical) research paradigm was adopted for this study and more specifically a theory or model-building approach was followed. A systematic review of published empirical research articles (for the period 2000–2009) in scholarly search portals was performed. Main findings: Eight building blocks of the human capital predictive model for agent performance in contact centres were identified. Forty-two of the human capital contact centre related articles are detailed in this study. Key empirical findings suggest that person– environment fit, job demands-resources, human resources management practices, engagement, agent well-being, agent competence; turnover intention; and agent performance are related to contact centre performance. Practical/managerial implications: The human capital predictive model serves as an operational management model that has performance implications for agents and ultimately influences the contact centre’s overall business performance. Contribution/value-add: This research can contribute to the fields of human resource management (HRM), human capital and performance management within the contact centre and BPO environment.

Cyberjaya is one of a long line of aspiring science and technology parks in the Asia- Pacific region that have attempted to create a successful technopole, and in doing so become the ' Silicon Valley of Asia'. The paper attends to the place-making strategies through which Cyberjaya was positioned as a new 'global hub' for information communication technology and multimedia industries, framed as an extremely 'sticky place' ( Markusen, 1996 ). That is, a place within a global economic system where local skills, infrastructure and capital attracts and makes research and development and corporate headquarters reluctant to leave. The paper considers that despite considerable infrastructural investment and state-led urban boosterism to 'sell' Cyberjaya to prospective investors, more than 10 years after its completion in 1999 the development has become little more than a zone of disconnected business process outsourcing industries comprising low value-added outsourcing activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As more and more companies explore business opportunities across borders, they tend to seek out staffing options beyond traditional expatriation. This leads to the emergence of multiple forms of Intercultural Work Assignments (ICWA), including virtual teams and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO). These types of ICWA are relatively under explored in the literature. The present study attempts to address this gap. It provides a conceptual framework to classify ICWA on two dimensions that are more aligned to the nature of intercultural interactions in today's world. Our study demonstrates, through empirical research, that the nature of preparation required for these two alternative contexts is different. For the BPO, preparatory practices focused on knowledge have a significant positive impact on performance. Conversely, for expatriation, the study demonstrates that preparatory processes focused on attitudinal aspects have a significant positive impact on performance. The corresponding effects are not seen in the alternative sector, and thus there are systematic differences in the recommended preparatory focus across sectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study examines the nature, manifestations and causes of communication problems in international outsourcing engagements. Specifically, it explores a case of business process outsourcing (BPO), which is the transfer of a number of business processes, such as payroll, supply chain management, and customer relations to an external supplier. In this case, a company based in the US outsourced its business processes to a company in India. Research questions: (1) If widespread proficiency in English is the reason for India's predominant position in outsourcing, then why do we hear about communication problems? (2) What are the causes of such problems? (3) In what forms and situations do they manifest? (4) How could technical communication offer solutions to ameliorate or minimize some of these communication problems? Situating the case: Similar cases studied include previous studies of call centers in the Philippines and outsourcing relationships in software companies have identified challenges in those relationships to problems of intercultural communications, such as language use and differences in culture. Three areas of inquiry informed this study. Intercultural communication theories provide frameworks and touch points for assessing the role of culture in communication. Previous studies of outsourcing and offshoring provided definitions of the broad range of arrangements that comprise outsourcing. Although these studies all concluded that communication is a crucial factor in the success of outsourced projects, they offered few details of communication problems, their causes, manifestations, and possible solutions. Accounts of India represent India as a rapidly-growing, dynamic economy with certain typical communication problems. Methodology: The study was designed as a mixed-methods, single-case study with a mix of quantitative and qualitative methods. Quantitative data were gathered through surveys that helped develop a picture of patterns in areas such as communication problems, preferred methods of communication, and patterns of escalation while qualitative data from 45 personal interviews and one group interview provided insights into the nature and resolution of communication dissonances. About the case: The case studied ABC Corporation, a captive Indian company that performed BPO for a major American corporation. Communication problems that arise in the outsourcing relationship include differences in corporate culture and differences in linguistic and rhetorical choices. Issues causing these problems include differences in education and training. Conclusions: Ongoing training in cross-cultural communication is needed at all stages of the outsourcing cycle, with an emphasis on communication skills in the early stages of the process, especially the hiring stage. Technical communication can offer solutions to these problems because our field can help structure suitable training applying theories such as Cross' Theory of centripetal and centrifugal forces, which provide frameworks for assessing and addressing communication problems. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study intends to capture in essence the challenges and the opportunities that might arise while implementing a Knowledge Management (KM) system in an outsourcing environment. The objective of this study is to emphasize the significance of KM in an outsourcing environment, thereby trying to reduce manpower turnover and knowledge loss, thus saving time, funds and effort while training and setting up similar processes, or ramping up an existing process or project. The significance of KM is upheld in the fact that most organizations, including the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) sector, has come to realize the importance of KM adoption and implementation. However, most of these face a challenge in collating and assimilating all information and experiences, which, if done, would create a 'knowledge pool'. Even if knowledge is captured, getting people to contribute and utilize stored knowledge assets is a challenge. They are not cognizant of the benefits of such an exercise that 'people can empower people' by means of a robust KM system, which in turn would lead to the development of service intensity, improved quality, standardization of processes and globalization, further leading to a better understanding of the organizational goals by employees, effective learning processes, improved responsiveness, employee retention, minimized costs, knowledge asset creation, initiatives, innovation and above all, operational excellence which benefits the organization as a whole. The study is the first of its kind and investigates the awareness levels of KM in outsourcing environment and the scope of effective implementation of a KM strategy in the workplace of these organizations. Primary data was collected by means of a comprehensive questionnaire and analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper explores the lived experiences and aspirational social constructions of call centre work and employment in India’s high profile IT Enabled Services–Business Process Outsourcing (ITES–BPO) industry; the ways in which they differ from those previously documented amongst call centre workers in the Global North (specifically the UK); and the consequences of that geographical reconfiguration of offshored call centre work for the replicability in India of workplace collective bargaining strategies successfully developed in some UK call centres. These issues are analysed using new empirical evidence from a regional survey of 511 non-unionised ITES–BPO workers and 42 in-depth interviews in India’s National Capital Region. Based on this analysis, the paper then discusses the operation, outcomes and ongoing challenges faced by the newly formed ‘Union for ITES Professionals’ (UNITES Pro) in developing an alternative occupational organising model better suited to the particular needs, motivations and preferences of India’s young, mobile, call centre workers. The empirical analysis presented in the paper is located, therefore, within wider debates on the role of geographical context in shaping possibilities for organising white-collar service workers at different ends of global service chains in the new economy. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The outsourcing of services, often from developed countries to their developing counterparts, has been one of the main engines of global growth in the 21st century. Growth and expansion, the necessary next step for many thriving enterprises, may prove to be a key factor for ensuring the continued existence of the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry in the Philippines — an industry that spans many sectors and forms the backbone of the entire economy. BPO encompasses a wide range of specialised skills, including voice-assisted customer service, finance and accounting, human resources, IT tasks, software development, IT and data centre operations, engineering design, architectural design, gaming and animation, to name but a few. Since the BPO industry began to take off in 2000, the number of firms involved in the Philippines has grown to at least 500. As of 2008, the industry employs some 400,000 skilled professionals from various disciplines and has earned total revenues of US$6.8bn. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on data from a survey of 342 employees from three BPO organizations in Mumbai (India), this study examined whether cultural variables of individual cultural orientation and organizational culture, and their interaction were predictive of employees’ attitudes toward union membership in BPO organizations in India where unionization has hitherto not taken place. Using regression analysis, the researcher found that over and above the effects of demographic and job-related variable, and work stress and job satisfaction, horizontal individualism could predict union attitudes significantly and negatively whereas vertical individualism and collectivism could predict the attitudes significantly and positively. Similarly, organizational collectivism could predict employees’ attitudes toward union membership significantly and negatively. Using the univariate analysis of variance, the researcher found that the contrast between personal value and organizational culture of an individualist working in a collectivistic organizational culture or collectivist working in an individualistic culture are found to have stronger influence on union attitudes compared to the congruence of an individualist working in an individualistic culture or collectivist working in a collectivistic culture. The results and implications of findings are discussed in the paper with reference to the literature on role of cultural and attitudinal variables in relation to organizational outcomes like union membership. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The advent of the internet has spawned a burgeoning cyber-proletariat, with armies of online workers, dispersed globally, collaborating in the development of online products and services. In the wake of the success of the Call Centre phenomenon, global corporations were quick to avail themselves of cheap (yet highly skilled) low-level computing practitioners in developing countries, handling millions of online operations daily, yet receiving much lower wages than their western counterparts. This work investigates the cyber-workplace and its populations, the interactions between cyberworkers and non-working internet surfers, the new phenomenon of tele-commuting, and the effects on electronic democracy of the appearance of a "cyber-lumpen-proletariat". The emergence of BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) allows global corporations to outsource a huge volume of low-level computing (mostly updating of client databases for banks, insurance companies and health-care institutions) to developing countries (primarily India and the Philippines) where labour costs are considerably lower than in western countries, and where workers are often less protected (sometimes not protected) by legislation or trade unions. This in effect creates a "live-in diaspora" of cyberworkers who are working abroad but living at home. As with the industrial revolution which produced a proletariat and a lumpen-proletariat, this cyber-revolution has created a cyber-proletariat populating cyber-sweatshops and even a cyber-lumpen-proletariat, or a reserve pool of unemployed cyber-workers. This paper will use a Foucauldian perspective to investigate concepts of electronic democracy applied to cyberspace as a new global working environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

More organizations are entering the global marketplace and are now faced with managing a global workforce. Confronted with the disparate HR systems and processes typically used across international offices, it can be hard for companies to pull together even the most basic information about employees. This prevents them from leveraging their global workforce, a powerful strategic business asset. Two of the keys to solving this problem are data consolidation and the adoption of processes that will allow organizations to make the best use of this data while delivering HR services effectively and efficiently. Conceptually, these steps may seem simple, but many organizations find that implementing the technologies and structures to meet these goals on a global scale can quickly become complicated. As a result, companies are turning to business process outsourcing to provide the tools and expertise needed. This in turn allows the HR department to manage more strategic processes and become a partner to other parts of the organization, developing workforce strategies that align with corporate strategies to move the business forward. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The traditional monolithic biopharmaceutical company is being replaced by the 'New Pharma' - Pharma 2.0 - the Fully Integrated Pharmaceutical NETwork (FIPNET) - an ecosystem of agile partners working collaboratively to deliver benefit to patients and value to financial stakeholders. Many important but nonetheless commodity operational services are being outsourced. Should pharmacovigilance be one of them? Some argue that 'pharmacovigilance is too important to be outsourced' yet the regulations constraining biopharmaceutical companies are the same for all, as are the legal and societal constraints. Furthermore, as pharmacovigilance software vendors consolidate (there will soon be just two) pharmacovigilance software functionality will almost all be the same too. The New Pharma must become focused on the advanced analytics of pharmacovigilance and signal detection, rather than dissipating its energies on the 'handle turning' of adverse drug event collection and regulatory reporting. Whether this is best achieved in-house or out-of-house is now an important decision for New Pharma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]