Educational Media Reviews Online

This film offers a very personal assessment of an instance of outsourcing. A telemarketing office in Hyderbad, India has been charged with soliciting US companies for ads for the American Yellow Pages. The office’s manager estimates that a similar operation on US soil would cost at least 5 times as much in labor and facilities. Generally, the Indians are quite pleased with this growth industry. Many, however, are struggling with the job due to thick accents, poor English grammar, and lack of etiquette. The office goes through constant and rigorous repetition to enable the workers to clearly speak key words and phrases.

There is a sharp (and nearly Marxist) contrast between the management and the workers. Callers are constantly pressed and threatened with termination. The film follows several individuals as they work, struggle, and at times fired. The film offers interviews with workers, managers, and “sneak peeks” into meetings in which workers are admonished and threatened.

This dramatic work has a very personal appeal, but at times has a distinct “reality –TV” feel to it. This not truly a fault, as this sense may be ascribed to the attention drawn to the tension between the managers and callers. The great success of this documentary comes in its generating a great deal of sympathy for these workers. They are hard pressed by their superiors and by the cost conscious U.S. businesses. This is a fine example of the local impact of globalization. Viewers should be aware that there are episodes of rough language in this film.