Toyota Kirloskar Motor, Bangalore
Our visit to Toyota Manufacturing was focused on the Technical Training Institute. This is a CSR initiative that involves bringing rural village boys (aged 16) who lack skills that would be needed for technical education in India's school system and would therefore be destined for a life of poverty. Toyota houses and feeds boys for three years as they learn how to repair equipment on the manufacturing line.
When we first arrived, they boys were in the parade ground assembled like a military unit. It was interesting watching the precision drills and solutes. They were addressed by speakers on a podium who were providing life lessons and exposing them to English. Today's word was "laborious."
After a tour of the institute, we watched a powerpoint on Toyota's CSR initiatives that are based entirely on needs of the local community and aren't mandated by Japan. While all India manufacturing is done in Bangalore, Toyota has programs across the country. They included road safety for children, 250 new sanitary facilities for girls in schools, and water filtration systems for villages in addition to the post-secondary training we saw at the Institute.
Dell Call Center
How many of us have felt their blood pressure rise when we realize our phone call about customer support was being directed to a call center in India? That's why we asked to visit Dell's largest call center in the world - so we could see what it was like on the other end of the line. What is it like to spend every day dealing with customers around the world who are annoyed?
Dell employs over 4,000 (evenly split between men and women) in Bangalore. Unlike most workplaces we've visited, call center representatives (who are taught to speak in "global English;" they don't talk to Americans with a different accent than they do to the English or Australians) come to work in jeans and tee shirts. There is a law in India prohibiting women from working between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. (for safety reasons) but the call center industry is exempted. Dell provides auto service to female employees providing transportation from their front door to the office door.
As a professor of business, I understand the business logic for outsourcing to India. However, my question is "what are you doing to make the lives of those in India better?" Are you using India to lower your cost or is it a win-win for all? Clearly, Dell is making the lives of their employees better. While wage rates might be lower than their American counterparts, their benefits packages are "western" and they offer careers and opportunities that might not be possible otherwise. Additionally, their focus on CSR is admirable. More detail about that is provided by Morgan below.
Thoughts on Dell (from Morgan)
This evening we visited Dell's Bangalore Call Center. At Dell we learned about one of their Corporate Social Responsibility projects, which provides funds to girls from rural villages to continue their educations. We also learned about Dell's strides towards equality in the workplace. Dell provides women and men with paid maternity leave, so new parents can spend time with their new born. In addition, the company also has Smile and Wise, a program that helps educate men on the delicate balance that women have between work and family. Dell also provides extra safety features for women. I was so impressed with Dell and all of the work they have been doing! During our visit I had the pleasure of being able to speak with one of the women mangers, she told me how excited she was with the work that Dell has been doing.
View from the front row of the coach
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