NEW YORK, MAY 04, 2005
IANS
Growing interest among US students in business process
outsourcing (BPO) has encouraged an Indian-American
professor in the University of Arizona to introduce
a course on the subject.
"I was in the office of former dean Lester Thurow
at MIT Sloan School about 18 months ago. He received
a call from (TV programme) '60 Minutes' on outsourcing.
I told him that I had received a similar call. We
discussed and decided to work together in the area
of outsourcing," Amar Gupta, professor of entrepreneurship,
Eller College of Management at the university, said.
In spring 2005, a week into the semester, several
students had enquired about a course in outsourcing.
"He (Thurow) said that MIT (Massachusetts Institute
of Technology) should start a course on the subject
and that we could begin one a year later. I said the
students were looking for something shorter to which
he suggested that we teach the course in the coming
fall," Gupta said.
"Finally, he agreed to my idea to teach the
course in the spring term itself. It was an unprecedented
gamble –to launch a new course more than a week
after the beginning of the semester with no syllabus
at all."
Gupta's course on outsourcing touches strategic,
organisational, technical and economic issues.
About half his students have a business background.
The rest are from computer science, economics and
medicine streams. Gupta received six enquiries from
other US universities over the past year for a syllabus
on outsourcing.
"I am aware that some have started new courses
on the subject. The one at New York University has
some similarities to mine, for example in terms of
heavy emphasis on course paper," said Gupta,
who is also the senior director for research and business
development at the university.
Gupta holds a bachelor's in electrical engineering
and is a PhD (computer science) from the Indian Institute
of Technology (IIT).
He also completed a degree in management from MIT.
Asked if he faced any hostility given the opposition
to outsourcing in the US, Gupta said: "I got
a hate mail at MIT. I invited each of the individuals
who gave their names and contact information to send
their bio so that we could consider inviting them
to address our students. Not one responded. The same
occurred here (at Eller) this spring."
"The students raise insightful questions covering
technical, business, economic and political aspects
of outsourcing."
On whether the curriculum factors in the cultural
aspects of outsourcing in a country like India, where
the BPO industry employs thousands, Gupta said: "We
have had several guest speakers of Indian origin.
At MIT, I also taught a parallel course on business
in India."
"The students were required to spend 10 days
in India and we arranged meetings at all levels, including
with Indian President (A.P.J.) Abdul Kalam. I expect
to teach the latter course again during the spring
of 2006."
