An Assembly Line in the Head: Work and Employee Relations in the Call by Taylor, Bain - Assignment Example

Call centers continue to receive academic attention which is considerable. Their growth has extended beyond financial services and sectors in the telecommunication industry as their initial bases. Competitive advantage has been gained through the integration of telephone as well as Visual Display Unit technologies. The provision of direct telephone-based service to customers and selling has provoked emulation widespread. Call center operations have today become the retailing norm. Transportation, telecommunications, and entertainment industries make use of call center operations. By the year 2002, 2.3% of the working population of the UK was working in the call centers. A call center is defined as an operation in which employees who utilize computers receive inbound calls or make telephone calls that are outbound. Those calls are processed by a call distribution system which is automated. Technological growth and innovation have led to the production of change and organizational form continuity. The paper relates to employment relations and organization at work. It also relates to the process of labor and control, gender, practices of human resource management, emotional labor, and unionization. It aids in the understanding of the nature of work in call centers.

The article recognizes one theme in that, despite the common aspects that integrate telephone and visual display unit technology, the call center’s work organization is not uniform. This necessitates the need to take account in relation to differences in a number of variables. The article focuses on work that embraces call centers that are within the parameters of work knowledge. Operators’ perception is examined regarding the exercise of control, the pace of undertaking work, and breaks determination. This tests the validity of regimentation as a call center work description. Employees satisfaction levels are also examined relating to the performance of tasks at work.

RESEARCH METHOD

Dedicated teams at two surveys which were conducted, engaged in the observation of the processes of work. Observations from notes from the fields, containing accounts of interviews with staff, formed the initial qualitative data set. Questionnaire schedules were conducted in both surveys. Observations and interviews led to the provision of background knowledge which aided in the construction of employee questionnaires. Questions were also formed based on consultations between human resources, call center managers, and employees. The first survey was a telephone questionnaire conducted by managers. This was done to determine data on the size of the workforce, the composition of the industrial sector, and location. The survey was continuous and extended to the full questionnaire which led to the second survey. The second survey was more detailed, where a 12- page questionnaire was to be filled out. Questionnaires were filled by 55 call centers out of the total 85 sent. Focus discussions groups were formed from eleven different call centers to enable a full examination of the questionnaires. Quantitative and qualitative aspects of the evidence which was acquired aided in interpretation of call center work nature.

Questionnaires and interviews were the major methods used for research. These methods have advantages and disadvantages. One of the advantages of questionnaires is that the gathering of responses is done in a standardized way, this makes them more objective. Another advantage is that it is easier and faster to collect information when using a questionnaire. Where the information to be collected involves a large group, it is appropriate to use questionnaires (Cotton 2003). Regarding its disadvantages, participants may forget important issues. They are standardized making it almost impossible to explain points which participants might misconstrue. Open-ended questionnaires might generate large data amounts which may be hard to analyze and process (Oster 2010). The participants might not be willing to fill out the questionnaires to reveal information. Interviewing has its advantages, in that it is motivational. Most people prefer to talk than to write. It is flexible in wording and does not limit the sequence and direction. The disadvantages of interviewing include the undermining of information confidentiality. Long queues may be a problem especially if the research involves a large group of participants. It is costly in terms of the limited available time and is prone to bias.

DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS

The full data was calculated for 108 centers and 16000 employees who worked in Scotland in the month of November 1997. Financial services had 36.9% of the total employees. Consumer products formed 17.4% and 15.4% constituted telecommunication. 48% utilized inbound and outbound calls at the same time. 48% also undertook inbound operations only and 4% performed outbound operations only. Out of ten centers, four employ not more than 50 staff, who form 8% of Scottish employment. 72.9% worked in centers that employ about 150 staff, and a third worked in centers that employed more than 500 staff. The majority of call centers are located in the two largest cities, this is due to organizational centralization. The workforce majorly constitutes the young population. 69%of employees are below 35 years while the rest are under 25 years of age. 32.6% of the total employees constitute the male while the rest are female workers. A large percentage of women are part-timers as compared to men. A greater percentage of the employees were directly hired by the call center while a smaller percentage was supplied by agencies.

CONCLUSION

The aim of the article was to meaningfully contribute to the call center literature. The research points to a different situation regarding the fledging reality. The integration of call centers has produced new developments in white-collar jobs. The labor process is demanding and stressful. Managers supervise through computer monitoring screens which make it difficult to manage all the employees. The aim of any organization is to maximize profit and call centers put their employees under pressure to perform. This kind of pressure makes employees deliver more in terms of quantity rather than job quality. Quality and quantity of work are usually in constant conflict as the staff is able to be qualitatively productive while they are not under pressure. Call center operators are active in the production process, though individual opposition and resistance are inevitable.