OVERVIEW OF

THE BPO
OBJECTIVE

At the end of this chapter, you will be able to:

 understand future potential in the BPO

industry
 identify importance of documentation

 recognize regional accent and grammar

modification
 1.1 INTRODUCTION
BPO stands for Business Process Outsourcing. It means
outsourcing of business processes from developed
countries to the developing or third-world countries to
get faster results and bigger profit margins. The BPO
buzz started in India in the mid nineties. Very few people
explored this field in the beginning and ever since it has
undergone a sea change. The scenario today is markedly
different from what it was a few years back. People
were unsure about the future of the industry. Even
those who opted to be a part of the industry took their
job as a gap option than a progressive career option.
 However, today the same industry has
established itself as one of the pillars of the
Indian economy. It has actually given a kick-
start to our economy. More and more
aspirants are not only joining the industry but
also consider it a preferred option today.
Many qualified doctors, lawyers, engineers,
teachers and business professionals are
steadily joining BPOs and KPOs due to flexi
work-hours and options to be able to work
from home.
1.2 BPO EXPLAINED, IMPORTANCE
AND TYPES OF SERVICES

 Outsourcing is usually defined as “an

organization entering into a contract with
another organization to operate and
manage one or more of its business
processes.” BPO in a broader sense
means employing an external agency or a
third-party vendor to get a job done to
attain maximum accuracy at a
comparatively lesser cost.
These business transactions could range
from customer service, sales, collections
and data processing to high-end
technical support, maintaining HR
payrolls, predicting market trends and
so on. There are different types of
services rendered by BPOs. These can
be either voice-based or data -based
(non voice). Companies that outsource
their services usually look for contact-
centres with the best of services and
infrastructure.
 The second decisive factor is availability of
skilled manpower at competitive rates. When
these two conditions are met the host
company and the outsourced centre sign a
contract and the project moves to the next
stage. These days the concept of KPOs
(Knowledge Process Outsourcing) and LPOs
(Legal Process Outsourcing) is also
maturing. The telephone, e-mail and internet
chat are the communication means for the
trained professionals in these centers who
assist their customers sitting overseas. KPOs
and LPOs are subsets of BPOs.
1.3 TYPES OF SERVICES RENDERED BY
BPOS
BPO offers various types of services, some of them
are explained below:
 Customer support services: These services are
voice, e-mail or chat based. The related call-centres
operate 24/7 • throughout the year. Typical examples
include resolving customer queries related to
customer’s bank-account status, order status, product
information, etc.
 Technical support services: These services are also
depending on voice, e-mail or internet-chat. The
technicians • at the outsourced centre work round-the
clock to resolve customer queries pertaining to
computer hardware, software, peripherals and the
internet. The queries handled include installation,
product support, trouble shooting and usage support.
For example, if a customer is unable to connect to the
internet it is the online technician who troubleshoots
the issue.
 IT helpdesk support: The IT professionals assist
the internal customers (corporate employees)
troubleshoot • issues related to password reset and
other vital functions, Avaya phone non-functionality,
or issues with MS Outlook/Outlook express.
 Data-entry services: It includes entering data at a
fast pace taking care to maintain a high degree of
accuracy. • Examples for this service include
maintaining data related to sales, purchase,
mortgage, etc.
 Accounting services: This includes services related
to maintaining general ledger, financial statements,
balance-• sheets, bank reconciliation statements,
assets and liabilities, etc.
 Internet/Online services: This includes online
sales and purchases, e-booking and e-ticketing. This
is one of the • fastest modes to reach out to a
majority of the customers worldwide in the shortest
span of time.
1.4 JOB PROFILE IN BPOS
It is presumed by some that working in a BPO is
like doing an odd-job to meet your education
and other incidental expenses. However, BPOs
can provide some serious career options and
give a competitive edge to your career. A typical
call centre is either voice or non voice based. A
voice-based call centre usually requires direct
interaction with some clients or customers via
phone. A non voice based call centre doesn’t
require a direct interaction via phone but you
may still be interacting with the client through
internet-chat and e-mail. In terms of hierarchy,
almost all BPOs look alike with a few essential
differences that give each a distinct profile. The
structure more or less looks like this:
 Customer-service representatives: This
is also known as level 1 or entry level
workforce. Customer service •
representatives are primarily the front-line
and the most important workers in a BPO.
This is because they are the face of the
company to international and other clients.
They have the most critical and vital job
profile.
 Technical support: This is usually
specialized support. However, in most of
the cases it is generic and doesn’t •
require a specialized degree or diploma.
 Hardware support: You can be a graduate in
any discipline with a diploma in computer-skills
and with a basic • know-how of computer-
applications. If you are technically inclined the
companies train you on their hardware before
getting you on-board.
 Software support: Specialized technical
support where you are expected to be a degree
holder in computer • application or a technical
graduate with knowledge of software
applications like C, C++, Java or any other
language that is being used.
 Network support: It is another specialized
field. People supporting servers are referred to
as network engineers. • CCNA is a good course
to begin with a career in networking field.
1.5 OTHER ROLES IN BPOS

 Some of the other roles which BPO plays are listed

below:
 Business analyst: Professionals working in this
field are necessarily post graduate degree holders in
finance, • statistics, economics or mathematics. It
includes market predictions and business or
financial analysis of companies. This profile is
usually related to KPOs (Knowledge Process
Outsourcing).
 Medical transcription: Professionals working in
this field are known as Medical Transcriptionists.
One usually • needs to be a science graduate to be
a MT. Though there is no client interaction one
needs to interpret and transcribe medical-related
data that requires good listening skills, English
writing and good typing skills.
 Technical writing/ instructional designing:
Here we are talking of the art of designing
instructions for learners • to make the learning
process effective. Many institutes have
mushroomed with courses in ID (Instructional
Designing). It is also referred to as content
development.
 Language specialists: Foreign languages like
Chinese, Spanish, French and German, etc., are
also in great • demand. These languages help
one find a suitable placement with the leading
BPOs.
1.6 KEY SKILLS REQUIRED FOR BPOS
To crack a BPO selection interview one needs to add
a reasonable presence of mind to a focused thought-
process as well as good communication skills:

 1.6.1 The Voice

Voice plays a key role in getting a placement with a voice-based
call centre. The areas covered under voice are grammar,
pronunciation and rate of speech. It is necessary to speak
grammatically correct sentences and the key to this is to speak
really short and simple sentences. Open your mouth wide and
pronounce each word carefully. You may sound loud at times but
the whole idea is to be able to speak normally without any
affectations. You may also need to learn the skills of referring
online dictionaries, e.g., www.m-w.com. Be careful about your
rate of speech. You should neither be too fast nor too slow. You
should speak at a fairly comprehensible pace for instance, at 100-
120 words per minute
1.6.2 The Thought Process

 Logical thinking is an asset if you aim to crack a BPO

interview. The subsets here are listening, organized
thinking, fluency and knowledge. The ears listen to the
information and the brain processes it to formulate an
impression. Listen carefully to help your brain develop.
Do not interrupt the speaker. Do not jump to
conclusions. Do not carry preconceived notions about
anything or anyone. Think before you speak. Practice
organized thinking. Brainstorm one question at a time.
First try to put simple ideas and then move on to
complex ones. Try to maintain lucid speech by using
short and simple sentences. Avoid foghorns and fillers
like ‘hmm’ ‘uuh’ I mean’ ‘it’s like’, etc. Also keep
yourself abreast with the latest developments and
updates in your area of operation. Try to follow at least
one news channel as awareness alone gives you the
flexibility
1.6.3 Future Potential in the BPO Industry
 The BPO industry in India is growing at a fast pace. Off-shoring of more and more
business processes is gaining momentum in the global arena. According to the
NASSCOM and McKinsey report, India has been the leading off-shore destination
during the last decade. It accounts for 65% of the global industry in off-shore IT
that accounts for 46% of the BPOs here. Other sources indicate that the global
market for offshoring exceeds US $300 billion. India can still continue to grow at
an annual rate of more than 25% and generate export revenues worth US $60
billion by 2010. Most of the business comes from traditional industries like retail
banking and cross industry functions like human resources, finance and
accounting. The following factors have helped India emerge as a global hub for off-
shoring:
 Talent pool•
 Good infrastructure•
 Operational excellence in terms of quality and leadership•
 Conducive business environment including policy interventions like telecom
reforms•
 Declaration of IT and ITES as essential services to keep them out of political
turbulence•
 Continued growth in the domestic IT sector•
 Given continuous support from state and central governments, IT and ITES
industries will continue to grow and generate more and more employment
opportunities to our educated youth.
1.7 CHALLENGES AND THREATS FACING
THE BPO INDUSTRY
The following are some more challenges that the
industry faces today:

 Shortage of skilled workers: Despite the fact that

English is treated with respect and is also the medium of •
instruction in many of the public schools, yet only 25% of
the technical graduates and 10-15 % of college graduates
from other streams are suitable for jobs in IT and BPO
industry. Undeniably, English takes a front seat when we
talk about outsourcing but other languages like Spanish,
French, German and Chinese, etc., have an equally large
scope in the BPO industry.

 Stringent government laws: There are a few state

governments having a policy that is either not in favor of •
a flourishing BPO industry or seeks to hold back its
encouraging development or growth. The attitude of the
unions and lobbying in West Bengal are examples of this.
 Demand growth will slow down: Countries like
Philippines are wary of transferring business
process to off-• shore locations as their customers
do not approve the initiative of outsourcing
processes to far-flung areas. They perceive these
initiatives as a risk to their data security. It is
often difficult for the companies to monitor
business processes outsourced other locations
outside their countries as both profit margins and
customer-satisfaction tends to ring alarms. Thus,
with the ‘demand’ slowing, the ‘market’ is inclined
to shrink for India.
 Competition: India faces competition from many
countries in terms of cost. Other English-speaking
countries • have now become serious competitors by
enabling these services at lower costs. They may, however,
be compromising on the quality and standards that are
vital. Similarly, China is marketing it’s excellence in terms
of infrastructure. Other countries who have joined this race
are Vietnam, Mauritius and France.

 Language and accent: Internally, most of the IT and

ITES Companies are concentrated down south for example,
• Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Vizag and so on in
India. However, experts find it is easier to mould or
neutralize the accent of aspirants in northern India. That is
a major reason why DELL decided to set up it’s facility in
Chandigarh. Despite the fact that companies have invested
a lot in southern India, they have failed to tap the talent
pool available down south due to a comparatively inflexible
accent
 Cost-cutting and attrition: Companies resort to cost-
cutting to offer competitive prices to their clients. As a •
result, salary slabs also tend to decrease and may lead to
employee dissatisfaction and a mind-set that is in a
perpetual flux. These factors lead to employee
dissatisfaction and hence attrition.

 Cultural differences: There is a marked difference

between the culture that we experience in India as
compared • to the one that exists in the US and the UK.
Most of us find it tricky to relate to the way they interact
with the customers for example, we may not understand
their expression of sarcasm which generally leads to
customer-dissatisfaction. The other important factor is
the real-time difference which means that BPO
assignments involve working in odd-shifts. Such entry
and exit times that involve travelling through deserted
streets in the dead of night, do not find many eager
female aspirants. Thus, because of our conservative way
of life many of us in India remain restless to find our
wards, especially girls, opting for jobs with call-centres.
Though this perception is evolving, it remains a major
challenge for the BPO-industry.
1.8 COST/QUALITY MODEL RESULTING
IN OUTSOURCING

Outsourcing refers to the migration of non-core operations

from internal production to an external entity specializing
in the management of that operation. The trend towards
outsourcing is a manifestation of several developments
which have radically altered the business landscape:
 Technology: The advent of information technology
and its various applications have dramatically lowered
the • cost of communication. There was a time just a
few years back when phone calls to the US cost nearly
Rs. 100 a minute. Today, with technologies like VOIP,
the calls may be made for less than Rs. 2 a minute,
which has made it financially possible to carry out
business activities from not just India but any part of
the globe.
 Emergence of a ‘Service Driven Economy’:
Today, customer is the King. The success of any
business depends • on unparallel customer
experience. This has led to the emergence of a
trend for companies to offer personalized
customer service. In turn this has led to a spurt
in demand for businesses like call-centres and
transaction processing.

 Cost-cutting: Organizations world-wide are

grappling with cost-cutting pressures which has
led them to look • at low-cost countries like
India and China to carry out some of their
business activities.
1.9 COST/QUALITY MODEL
 The decision to outsource is often made to lower costs,
redirect or conserve energy directed at the competencies
of a particular business, or to make more efficient use of
labour, capital, technology and resources. The concept of
‘outsourcing’ has its genesis in the theory of ‘competitive
advantage’ in basic economics. According to the principle
of competitive advantage, it is beneficial for two countries
to trade if one has a lower relative cost of producing some
good or services. In other words, according to this theory
a country should specialize in products and services in
which they have a comparative advantage. It is preferable
for a country to trade where there is a comparative
advantage. In the process both countries benefit from
such a trading practice. India is one of the youngest
nations in the world with a big pool of talented and English
speaking workers. It is estimated that by 2010, India will
have the highest number of English speakers in the world.
The availability of skilled English speaking manpower
encourages and enables organizations to carry out various
business activities in India.
1.10 GETTING FAMILIAR WITH NON
VOICE/ TP/ BACK OFFICE
 The BPO industry operates in two domains. The first is
the voice-based process and the other is non-voice based or
data process.
a. In a voice based process the front line agents or
technicians interact with the customers directly over the
phone.
b. Compared to this, the interaction in a non-voice process
is based entirely on e-mail or chat. An additional form of
a non-voice process is a data process. Data-process often
involves maintenance of customers’ data, records and/ or
other confidential information. It also involves data
conversion. In simple terms data-processing is converting
data into information. Hence it is also referred to as
information services
 Unlike traditional data-entry jobs that were more
clerical in nature and involved less of attention, out-
sourcing data-processing or back office support jobs
enables companies to concentrate more on their core
competencies like sales, collections, banking, etc.,
while there is a third-party vendor to manage all
their data. The BPO governance model enables the
BPO to take ownership of the process and adhere to
service level agreements thus decreasing cost and
improving efficiency. Generally, the outsourced
processes are featured by low complexity, high
interdependence and low strategic importance.
However, the trend is changing day by day and more
and more complex processes are being outsourced to
different call centres
1.11 FAMILIARISATION ON HIGH-
VOLUME DATA REQUIRING PROCESSING
 Outsourcing data-processes has become an increasingly
popular way to reduce cost and concentrate on the core
competencies. However, most of the companies manage
these needs in-house though they can execute them
better and economize if they outsource these jobs. In the
past, these offices, factories, companies, etc., had to
maintain a lot of flies as most of the data were stored in
black and white or hard-copies. It needed more space to
store and protect those files. Creating back-ups was also
difficult as photocopies of the documents or records were
as fragile as the originals and they required as much
more space as the originals. Thus there was a need to
implement a method to enable handling a lot of data
with lesser data-loss risks. The emergence of computers
as a tool to save these enormous amounts of data
happened as a timely boon!
1.12 UNDERSTANDING CONVERSION OF
PAPER TO IMAGES
 In simple terms, conversion of paper files into
computer files is referred to as paper to images.
There are various levels of such a conversion.
According to Advanced Computer Innovations, Inc,
there are four levels of this conversion sequence.

 a. Level 1 (Viewable)-Convert as images only.

If you need to transfer paper documents to
computer files for archival storage and occasional
viewing, simply scanning them as images is usually
sufficient. This is the least expensive option, but the
converted flies are not searchable for text and can
neither be updated nor edited.
 b. Level 2 (Searchable)-Convert as images and
add text content for searches
 This is a suitable option for transferring paper
documents to computer files for archival storage and
viewing and also to enable a search for any text
content. The paper documents are saved as image
files, which is what you see when you view them.
However, an unformatted text layer is added to each
image. This layer is not viewable, so it need not be
formatted. However, it contains searchable text that
can be used to index, categorize and search your
converted files.
 Level 3 (Web Publishing)-Convert to web pages for
internet publishing
 This option is for converting paper-based information to
computer files for publishing on the internet or the web. The
paper documents are first scanned to images. Then, using OCR
and layout extraction software, the text and layout of the
scanned images is interpreted to produce HTML files for web
publishing. This involves several considerations, such as:
 interpreting and dealing with layout elements•
 handling multiple columns, text-boxes and insets•
 analyzing and converting tabular material•
 special processing of images and graphics•
 recognizing lists and auto-numbering•
 judicious hyper-linking•
The converted HTML files may then be additionally organized
or encapsulated into an integrated e-book, e-learning
application or other web-based resource depending on your
requirement and the nature of the information.
 Level 4 (Revisable)-Convert to fully formatted, revisable and
functional documents
 This, by itself, is a complete option. Your paper documents are scanned into
images and converted to text, but with the following additional
considerations:
 convert to editable text with formatting and layout•
 accurate conversion of multi-column layout•
 proper conversion of text-boxes and insets•
 correct layout and matching of tables and tabular material•
 font matching for your target requirements•
 proper formatting of lists and numbered paragraphs, with true auto-
numbering•
 correct interpretation and placement of headers and footers•
 true insertion of footnotes, endnotes and references•
 individualized attention to images and graphics•
 correct entry of equations, formulas and scientific/technical material•
In addition to the special considerations and requirements, a professional
completion may also need functioning table of contents, index and cross-
references. For example, paper documents containing technical drawings
may require those drawings to be produced for a particular software
platform to provide the highest level of usability and functionality
1.13 CONCEPT OF SPLIT-SCREEN

 Gone are the days when people struggled to multitask

using their PCs. In developing countries like India,
computer literacy still remains a challenge due to
economic constraints. Often the number of people who
want to use computers is more than the number of
computers available. This is also one of the major
challenges for our schools. A multi-point enables children
to use a computer simultaneously with each child having
his/ her own computer mouse and an on-screen cursor.
Split-screen technology enables a second user to plug in a
second mouse and keyboard and spilt the screen into two
sections. Thus both users can operate from a single
computer simultaneously and independently. This may
not be relevant for generic applications but works well for
data-entry, look-up and simple data-processing given
that it splits the user’s hardware cost into half.
1.14 IMPORTANCE OF DOCUMENTATION
 Documentation means maintaining records. All that is
done needs to be documented for future reference for use
as well as revisions. This future reference material can
be used by you as well as others who may want to
continue the same task for addition or revision.
Documentation also assists mandatory legal obligations.
For example, when we go to a bank branch or call the
branch, they ask for details such as our name, date of
birth, address, last few transactions, etc., for verification
to ensure the safety and security of our accounts. This
verification is based solely on the documentation of
previous interactions that the branch has had with us.
Thus this stored information is not only reliable but can
also be used repeatedly. Documentation is no-doubt
expense intensive but is a better alternative than
starting something from the beginning. It is often useful
in medical and legal documentation and supports well as
a lifeline to the cases concerned.
1.15 RULE SET DATA ENTRY

There are various rules set for the uniformity of

data all over the world. Following are a few rules
that must be followed while documenting data.
 Maintain an updated index as the idea of the index
is to list all the words that will give the desired
result on • initiating a search
 Spelling must be correct
 Data must be accurate as accuracy leads to best
results•
 Use upper case for the first letter of a paragraph
and sentence. What follows in the sentence has to
be in lower • case
 Refrain from punctuation unless specified to use•
 Refrain from using signs like /#/, /*/, /,/•
 Be careful with name rules i.e., use the full legal name and club two part
names together for example, Gagan • Jeet Verma as Gaganjeet Verma
 Use suitable prefix for example, Mr. for male and Ms. for female; periods
are acceptable after the use of a • title or prefix for example, Captain. , Mr.
Use suffix if it’s a part of the legal name for example, Jr. (junior), Sr.
(senior)
 In order to write the address, omit punctuation like (.), (,), (#), (/), (-).
However, when you write the address • CIO (care of) is permitted.
 Use standard postal abbreviation like St for street, Ave for avenue, Ln for
lane, St for saint, Ft for fort and Pt • for Port.
 Use abbreviation for directions for example, N for North, S for South, E for
East and W for West. NE for • Northeast and SW for Southwest.
 Phone numbers: International phone numbers consist of three parts. Enter
the international phone number in • the international country code field.
DO NOT enter the dialing prefix of 011. Country code consists of one to four
digits. City code consists of one to three digits. City code is often presented
with zero in front of it. DO NOT enter the zero.
 E-mail address: Type addresses using lower/upper case as you see them.
Make sure that you don’t leave empty • spaces.
1.16 LATENCY

 For the transfer of non-voice data, we rely on the

internet connection often through emails or by
updating web-pages. If you want to transfer a large
file over your modem it might take several seconds, or
even minutes. However, if you break the same files or
folders into smaller ones, it may take lesser time.
Irrespective of the size of the data, network devices go
by a minimum time that cannot be shortened further.
This is called the latency of the device. For a typical
Ethernet connection the latency is usually about
0.3ms (milliseconds). This factor limits the speed of
operations in non-voice processes; therefore, it is
worth paying attention to ensure maximum output.
1.17 GETTING FAMILIAR WITH VOICE
 changes when we use these consonant and vowel sounds.
For instance, the words ‘cement and sand’ start with
different letters but give us the same initial sound /s/.
However, the words ‘cement and cat’ though starting
with the same letter ‘C’ give us two different sounds /s/
and /k/ respectively. Thus the sounds exceed the number
of letters in English.
 People from all countries are now working and living in
a globalised environment where communication from
and to almost anywhere in the world may occur
practically instantaneously. The advent of IT and IT
enabled services have further heightened the
requirement of a global language and it’s usage to
communicate better. Therefore, it is of paramount
importance to learn and use language the way it is and
let it be devoid of grammatical and as well as phonetic
errors as far as possible. We will focus on some of the
essential components of voice here
1.18 INTRODUCTION OF REGIONAL
ACCENT AND GRAMMAR MODIFICATION
 Our first language often influences our second
language i.e., English. Unconsciously we start
using the sounds from our regional language
when we speak in English. This is referred to as
regional accent (RA) or mother tongue influence
(MTI). Our family, society and school play an
important role in developing the kind of accent
we possess, for example, people down south find
it difficult to pronounce the letter “H”, They
pronounce it as ‘hech’ instead of ‘eich’. They tend
to pronounce ‘honest’ instead of ‘awnest’ as ‘h’
remains silent in the word.
 In the usage of /s/ and /sh/ sounds in UP and Bihar
belt for example, the word ‘Sugar’ is pronounced with
a /s/ instead of /sh/. This poses a major
communication barrier while interacting with global
customers. Thus there is a need to know the sounds
correctly, practice them and use them effectively.
This helps in communicating better and people
across the world comprehend you without straining
their ears or misinterpreting the message.
1.18.1 CORRECT VOWEL AND
CONSONANT PRONUNCIATION
 In order to understand vowel and consonant sounds,
you must know the concept of phonetics. Phonetics is
the scientific and systematic study of speech sounds.
Languages are phonetic or non-phonetic.
 Phonetic: Where there is a one-to-one
correspondence between spelling and pronunciation
i.e., you read whatever • is written without any
disconnects. Examples are found in Hindi, Portuguese
and Russian.
 Non-phonetic: No correspondence between spelling
and pronunciation. For instance the words ‘honest’
and • ‘psychology’ in English. Other examples can be
found in French and German.
 Phonetically speaking, we are not
looking at the number of letters, but
the number of sounds needed to
vocalize what we call Standard
English. This again varies from the
number required for British English
or Indian English. American English
requires 41 sounds.
 Standard sounds: 41
 Consonants- 24
 Vowels- 17
1.18.2 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN VOWELS
AND CONSONANTS

 Vowels are known as free sounds as while

voicing them there is no obstruction in. All
vowels are voiced when the vocal chords
vibrate as they produce these sounds.
Consonants are produced when the air
stream mechanism is obstructed;
sometimes the vocal chords vibrate,
producing a voiced consonant and
sometimes the vocal chords do not vibrate,
resulting in a voiceless consonant sound.
1.18.3 THE INTERNATIONAL PHONETIC
ASSOCIATION
 The IPA is the association that has
designated a certain number of
symbols called the IPA symbols,
which are used to represent the
various sounds. These are standard
symbols to ensure uniformity in
their usage across the world. These
symbols find place in any standard
dictionary for pronunciation.
1.18.4 THE VOWELS

 There are 17 vowel sounds in English. The vowel

sounds are those that are produced with no
obstruction to the passage of air. The air escapes
unimpeded through the mouth. The tongue and
lips change positions to produce each vowel
sound, but they do not come into contact with one
another. These different positions of the tongue
and the mouth differ very slightly and the
difference can sometimes be hard to detect.
Vowel sounds are the most important and they go
on to determine the dialectical differences in
English. The rule to pronouncing vowel sounds
correctly is to open your mouth as far as possible.
1.18.5 THE VOWEL SOUNDS

The Vowel sounds are:

 //-This is the smallest vowel sound also called the
‘schwa’. This is as small as someone punching
your belly • and your instantaneous verbal
reaction to that ‘uh’. It could occur in the
beginning, middle or end of a word. Examples:
about, around, milkman, token, the
 /^/- This sound occurs in the medial position in
words. Examples: brother, hut, mud, supper•
 /æ/- This sound is an elongated vowel sound. The
‘a’ is stretched to say ‘ae’. It occurs in the initial
and in the • medial position in words. Examples:
apple, attitude, bat, hammer
 /a:/- The /a/ is a long vowel that occurs usually in the
initial and medial position in words. Examples: Fast,
• father, arm
 /I/- This is a short vowel sound which occurs in the
initial and medial positions in words. Examples:
interest, • impede, bitten, hit, pity
 /i:/-the long /i:/ sound occurs in the initial and medial
position. Examples: eat, ego, Egypt, bee, sea•
 /u/-This vowel sound occurs in the medial position in
words. Examples: put, wood, could, good•
 /u:/-This vowel is the longer version of the vowel /u/.
It usually occurs in the medial and final position in
words. • Example: fool, moon, few, ado, feudal
 /Ɔ:/- This vowel sound occurs in the initial and in
the final position in words. Examples: organ,
ornament, pour, • door, gore
 /e/-It occurs in the medial and final positions in
a word. Example: get, metal, speculate, hesitate
and bend•
 /ɚ/- This is an ‘r shaded vowel that usually occurs
in the final position. Examples: bother, gather,
maker, • wither
 /3:r/- A longer version of the I<J1.1 is the l3:rl
sound. It usually occurs in the initial and medial
position in • words. Examples: urge, urgency,
turn, fern and bird
1.18.6 DIPHTHONGS
 Diphthongs or vowel-glides are a
combination of two vowel sounds. Two
vowels glide into one another that they
almost seem like one unit of sound. This is
a concept seldom practiced by the Indian
English-speaking population. Diphthongs
are stretched out when they are
articulated and the Indian tendency is to
substitute these with pure vowels.
American English has 5 diphthongs:
 /eI/- A combination of the /e/ and the /I/
sounds it occurs in words like gate, make,
wait, vain , able
 /aI/- This diphthong is a combination of the /a:/
and /I/ sounds and it occurs in words like fine,
kind, bright, • guide, die
 /ƆI/- A more commonly used sound it occurs in
words like boy, oil, ploy, voice, point
 /au/- A combination of /a:/ and the /u/ sound it
occurs in words like cow, plough, fowl , down,
couch•
 /ou/- A typically American sound, it occurs in
words like go, toad, ghost, post and moan•
Alphabet Phoneme Examples
a // about, around, astound, bottle
a /^/ cut, butter, abundance, supper
a /æ/ apple , fascinate , hammer, attitude
a /a:/ father, Last, farmer
a /ɚ/ killer, sister, farmer, wither
a /3:r/ urgency, curd, fern, bird
e /e/ get, metal, speculate, hesitate
i /I/ interest, impede, input, hit,
i /i:/ feel, eat, ego , sea
o /Ɔ:/ oregon, Orange, or, mandatory
u /u/ put, wood, should, full
u /u:/ Fool, school, few, ado
1.18.7 CONSONANT SOUNDS

 The basis for any speech-sound is air and its free

passage or obstruction in the mouth by different
parts of the mouth like the teeth, tongue, lips,
upper palate and the soft palate, etc. We exhale
air from our mouth while we speak English. The
air that rushes out of the lungs and emerges from
the mouth undergoes various modifications
before it assumes the form of a speech-sound.
There are three systems or stages through which
the air passes before it emerges as a speech
sound.
SUMMARY

 BPO stands for Business Process Outsourcing. It

means outsourcing of business processes from
developed • countries to the developing or third-world
countries to get faster results and bigger profit
margins.
 Outsourcing is usually defined as “an organization
entering into a contract with another organization to
operate • and manage one or more of its business
processes.”
 The telephone, e-mail and internet chat are the
communication means for the trained professionals in
these • centers who assist their customers sitting
overseas.
 Technical support services depend on voice, e-mail or
internet-chat
 A voice-based call centre usually requires direct interaction
with some clients or customers via phone.•
 Customer service representatives are primarily the front-
line and the most important workers in a BPO.•
 Voice plays a key role in getting a placement with a voice-
based call centre.•
 Off-shoring of more and more business processes is gaining
momentum in the global arena.•
 Outsourcing refers to the migration of non-core operations
from internal production to an external entity •
specialising in the management of that operation.
 The concept of ‘outsourcing’ has its genesis in the theory of
‘competitive advantage’ in basic economics.•
 India is one of the youngest nations in the world with a big
pool of talented and English speaking workers.•
 Generally, the outsourced processes are featured by low
complexity, high interdependence & low strategic •
importance.
 In simple terms, conversion of paper files into
computer files is referred to as paper to images.•
 For the transfer of non-voice data, one rely on the
internet connection often through emails or by
updating • web-pages.
 The advent of IT and IT enabled services have further
heightened the requirement of a global language and
it’s • usage to communicate better.
 Vowels are known as free sounds as while voicing
them there is no obstruction in.•
 Vowel sounds are the most important and they go on
to determine the dialectical differences in English.•
 Diphthongs or vowel-glides are a combination of two
vowel sounds.•
 The basis for any speech-sound is air and its free
passage or obstruction in the mouth by different parts
of the • mouth like the teeth, tongue, lips, upper
palate and the soft palate, etc.