article Outsourced causes thoughts about technology and culture in The Next Big Thing

Outsourced causes thoughts about technology and culture

Charlie Bess — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 21:08:28 GMT

Fair warning...this post is a bit longer than most for me.

I was reading Aubrey Daniel’s blog the other day where he was discussing the new sitcom Outsourced and the challenge of managing people in different cultures/globally. I called him up and we talked about the intersection of technology, culture, behavior and globalization.

Re: Outsourced causes thoughts about technology and culture

judi.cardinal — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 19:56:22 GMT

I watched the first episode last evening (on demand) as I was curious how they would depict outsourcing in general; but more specifically the culture differences. My first impression was it was "exactly as I expected".

In the 90's (I know that was a long time ago) my role was to train Help Desk Consultants on how to conduct a help desk analysis and I presented at many of the Help Desk Conferences. One of the key area's I focused on was "Culture" & in the 90’s offshore resources were not a big topic. That has certainly changed!

Did you know that even within the United States we have different cultures? You may be surprised where the dividing line is! Any guesses? Even though we probably intuitively know that the US has different cultures - it was an "ah ha" for me... One of the key resources I used to prepare my training was a book "Rules of the Game: Business Protocol" by Nan Leaptaott. This book outlines the key differences; but the 3 primary questions I continue to think about globally about different cultures are:

1) How do they interact with others?

2) How do they learn?

3) How do they approach the issue / problem?

Now to add offshore and all the new technology this continues to be a fascinating area to be involved in. Will I watch the show again? Will you?

Re: Outsourced causes thoughts about technology and culture

Charlie Bess — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 11:18:27 GMT

Yes, there is no doubt there are different cultures in the US -- by region, profession and sport. When you begin to interact with individuals within a culture it is helpful to understand its effect on their perceptions.

Re: Outsourced causes thoughts about technology and culture

judi.cardinal — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 15:20:09 GMT

What an interesting observation - different cultures by sport? This could start a lively conversation on how the culture is different if you are a Red Sox Fan vs. a New York Yankee Fan. I would love to understand this further if you have some suggested articles or books.

So - what sport / team is your culture?

Re: Outsourced causes thoughts about technology and culture

Charlie Bess — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 15:23:09 GMT

I had one link in the post about a golf culture.

Sport culture wise... I grew up in Indiana so high school basketball is king (yes, you do have assigned seats for high school games -- at least when last I was in town for a game). Now I am in Texas, so high school football is king. It is interesting to observe the similarities and differences.