Financial Relevance of Call Centers to Graduate/Undergraduate Students in the Philippines

 

 

 

 

1.0 
Background of the Study

As one of the fastest growing industries
worldwide, the BPO, or business process outsourcing, industry is no longer at
its infancy. The Philippines is considered to be the location of choice mainly
due to less expensive operational and labor costs, not to mention the spoken
English literacy and IT skills competency. The BPO boom in the Philippines is
currently led by the demand for offshore call centers making possible the
establishment of the call center community because of the high demand in the
call center-related jobs. There are several reasons to account for. First, the
American English proficiency was perceived to be the biggest advantage. Second
is the availability of highly-skilled IT graduates. The third is realized on
having a strong work ethic.     

Since 2000, the call center industry has seen a
rapid growth in terms of revenue and employment. A significant number of working
Filipinos found a new career in the call center industry. In fact, the industry
has been, and is continuously, the fastest growing provider for Filipino college
graduates and undergraduates. Most Filipinos viewed working in a call center as
a long-term profession as it provides opportunities in career advancement.
Another thing, the industry offers attractive compensation. A fact is that the
average monthly salary of a call center representative in the Philippines is
US$300. Such amount is twice the amount of that of an individual in
minimum-paying jobs.

This research intends to investigate the extent
of financial benefits the call center industry can provide its Filipino
employees whom the majorities are part-time college students and fresh
graduates. How the financial aspect of working in a call center can be
considered plausible will be addressed. Working in a call center to many is a
mutually beneficial endeavor – for the agents and the call center. Nonetheless,
there are specific occupational risks factors including work conditions, health
and safety. How the pecuniary features contribute to or compensate with the
risks and challenges of working in this industry will be explored.

 

2.0 
Objectives of the Study

The main aim of the study is to conduct an
in-dept analysis on the financial importance of working in this sunshine
industry in light of all the tradeoffs for the students. The research purports
on answering the key question: How the call center industry impacts the graduate
and undergraduate students financially? To answer this, the study will seek to
answer the following specific questions:

1)                         
How do students perceive the call
center industry? How do they perceive working within this industry?

2)                         
What are the financial benefits
students could acquire from working in the call centers? Do students perceive
their financial earnings to be enough?

3)                         
How the financial benefits of
working in a call center affect their working attitude towards the work itself
and their co-agents?

4)                         
Do the financial benefits of
working in a call center alter their lifestyle?

5)                         
Are the quality of work life and
the work-life balance achieved? How the financial benefits contribute to such?
 

 

3.0 
Research Methods

The research will be descriptive in nature as it
intends to to present facts concerning the nature and status of a situation, as
it exists at the time of the study and to describe present conditions, events or
systems based on the impressions or reactions of the respondents of the research
(Creswell, 1994). Being descriptive, the study also concerned the
relationships and practices that exist, the beliefs
and processes that are ongoing, the effects that are being felt, or the trends
that are developing (Best, 1970).

Since the research is a study of a
particular phenomenon at a particular time, the design will be cross-sectional.
Cross-sectional studies often employ the
survey strategy, and they may be seeking to describe the incidence of a
phenomenon or to compare factors in different organizations.

This study will also employ
qualitative research method because it will try to find and build theories that
will explain the relationship of one variable with another variable through
qualitative elements in research. Through this method, qualitative elements that
do not have standard measures such as behavior, attitudes, opinions, and beliefs
within the organizational domain will be analyzed. 

Primary and secondary research will be both
incorporated to be able to provide adequate discussion for the readers that will
help them understand more about the issue and the different variables that
involve with it. The primary data for the study will be represented by the
survey results that will be acquired from the respondents. On the other hand,
the literature reviews to be presented in the second chapter of the study will
represent the secondary data of the study.
The secondary sources of data will come from
published articles from journals, newspapers and magazines in addition to books,
theses and related studies and the Internet.