Outsourced (2007) is a comedy about Todd Anderson, VP of customer relations at a phone-order company in Seattle. One day Todd learns that the work of his entire department is being outsourced to India where salaries are much lower. Todd is expected to go to India, train the workers there, and find a replacement for himself. When he reaches India, Todd finds himself in a country that is vastly different from where he grew up, a culture that he can not connect to, and a language he can not understand. Todd soon learns that the only way to be comfortable in his new life in India is to not resist the Indian culture, but assimilate with it. Todd’s funny (and sometimes aburd!) adventures in India are the story of this movie.
You would have to be living on another planet not to have heard about some poor worker in the US (or another western country) who was asked to find and train his or her (usually his!) replacement in India or China. One such story becomes the starting point of the movie Outsourced. Though the movie relies heavily on stereotypes about U.S. and India, it does present a hilarious (though fictionalized) account of an American’s first visit to small-town India.
The movie is certainly worth watching for a first-time visitor to India, a westerner who wants to join an Indian company for job or internship, and people interested in cross-cultural issues.
42 responses so far ↓
Zach Schwartz // March 18, 2009 at 9:33 pm
The movie “outsourced” is an entertaining film which tackles the topic of outsourcing from an alternative point of view than it normally is seen from. The movie follows Todd, whose job in “order fulfillment” is being outsourced to India. He has been asked by his boss to fly to India and train his replacement. While in India he discovers a lot about the Indian culture and the people there who are now doing his job for a sliver of the salary he used to do it at.
This movie highlights the controversy that surrounds the topic of outsourcing. Americans have generally reacted in a negative manner to the idea of speaking to someone overseas when they call an 800 number for assistance. Therefore, Todd has been instructed to reduce the time the Indian workers spend on the phone with the customers. Part of this process includes helping the local workers understand American culture, American terminology, and speak with a “neutral” accent which helps to convince Americans that they are in fact speaking to someone in their own country.
Todd’s journey through India was very inspiring; he started out being completely oblivious to Indian ways and bordering on horrified by some of their customs. As time progressed he became much more open minded and quite assimilated into their culture, even falling in love with an Indian woman. I think this exemplifies the fact that American companies merely see India as a way of cutting their costs, but Todd was able to see deeper into their culture and what made them good workers and good employees for the company. In the end their jobs get outsourced to China, also demonstrating the focus on the “bottom line” which most American corporations have, with disregard to the quality of their existing capabilities in lieu of lowering their costs. With certain aspects of operations, cost is the only consideration.
This movie helped to a more personal face on foreign call centers, something which American society generally becomes frustrated with. It was fascinating at how much effort is put in to catering towards the American consumers’ needs down to the detail of how certain words are pronounced. The people who do this are quite bright and hard working, and it is a harder job to do than most people give them credit for.
Wei-Yoan Cheng // April 1, 2009 at 4:02 pm
In the movie “Outsourced,” Todd Anderson, the VP of an American phone-order company that decides to outsource its jobs, is sent to India to train the company’s new employees and his replacement. It was interesting to see Todd’s transition during the film. When he first arrives in India, he experiences culture shock when he realizes that the Indian culture and language is much different from that of the U.S. Todd did not seem like he wanted to be there. However, as the movie progresses, he learns what makes the Indian employees happy at work as well as other aspects of their culture (eat with your right hand and not your left, color festival, etc.) He even falls for Asha, an Indian woman he works with. At the end, Todd was a completely different man from the man he was at the beginning, one who was very wary and reluctant to going to India.
Many Americans, like the old Todd, are absolutely against outsourcing. However, this film shows that even people in other countries are just like anyone else and they need to make a living as well. For example, Purohit (Todd’s replacement), says that if he loses his job, he cannot get married. The job was very important to him and $11,000 could have changed his whole future. The film also shows how hard working the new employees were as opposed to Todd (who can be considered the face of many American workers), who we see playing Solitaire on his computer even when his boss is right behind him.
Ken Jacobi // April 7, 2009 at 9:39 pm
“Outsourced” deals with two major themes. The first and more obvious one is the issue of outsourcing. What seems like a good idea for both the customer and the company can also be a bad thing for many other people. American jobs are lost in a time when unemployment levels are already high and a huge responsibility is given to foreigners.
The other issue that struck me in the film was the difficulty of doing business in a foreign land. Everything there is so different and until you realize that the two worlds do not function the same, your bottom line will continue to suffer. Todd finally begins to realize that you have to adapt to the new culture. He couldn’t just yell at the employees, instead he had to figure out a different way to motivate them. He found this in their attraction to American Novelties.
The part that I remember the most from the film was the call about the guy who wanted to buy an American Eagle but complained that he was buying it from India. As soon as he heard how much cheaper this doll was though he dropped all his complaints. That is the problem with outsourcing. We love to fight it and say it is unethical and wrong, but at the end of the day we still would rather pay the cheaper price.
James Wilhelm // April 9, 2009 at 4:31 am
I’ll admit at the outset that I was on the fence about what I was expecting from this film. I chose it over Gung Ho because we as business students get bludgeoned over the head with the differences between doing business in Japan and here in the US. While India is often mentioned in business classes, it’s frequently along the lines of, “Yeah, India’s an huge and upcoming market…investigate whether you can make a ton of money there.” End of story. With that thought in mind I thought this film might be an interesting change of pace. After having seen it, I’m glad I made the choice I did as it was quite entertaining.
A couple of points struck me about this film. The first and probably one of the more obvious is the language barrier, not in terms of actually being able to speak English or Hindi or Swahili or whatever, but in terms of the idioms that grow up around a language. It’s quite possible that English is one of the worst languages in existence for that sort of thing as the language was basically cobbled together from pieces of a bunch of other languages. An example is in the beginning of the film when Todd has to explain the words kitsch and schmuck, both of which were in the same sentence, one of which is German, the other of which is Yiddish. I did like the way Todd handled the idiom problem however. Instead of just using bland English he explained (well, sort of…) what he meant as questions arose, which I think builds a sense of understanding rather than one of exclusion.
At some stage when one of the callers was complaining about having to talk to people from outside the US, I wondered if there would be similar complaints if it were Indian customers having to call a call center that had been outsourced from India to the US. I’m sure that most people from Tennessee probably speak Hindi with an accent and don’t understand that rubbers are erasers.
Finally, I really thought the end of the film was an interesting switch, where the jobs outsourced to India were outsourced to China. We don’t normally think about how things change down the line for the jobs that were moved from this country to someplace else. The other interesting thing about that was that Todd had been in India for like a month, maybe, and the call center was being closed. It made me wonder how that could possibly have been cost effective regardless of how many heads for one you could buy in China. I think management sometimes thinks of outsourcing as an “obvious” means of cost-savings whether it actually is or not.
Lucy Gonzales // April 12, 2009 at 12:33 am
Outsourced directed by John Jeffcoat allows the viewer to comprehend the many issues that come about with outsourcing, bottom line profits for a company, and cultural differences brought about by globalization. The movie does a great job of portraying such concerns in a lightly comedic way. Throughout the movie the theme of irony seems to stand out. The ironic fact that Todd has been laid off and has to go train his replacement; the ironic fact that many Americans complain about outsourcing however very few are willing to pay the price for a “non-outsourced” item/service; and the ironic fact that at the end the workers in India are also outsourced.
I found the writing and plot of the story to be somewhat realistic and in tune of the problems faced by those outsourcing, those being outsourced, and those that partake in the generalized concept of globalization. As business students looking at the movie from an entrepreneurial view, outsourcing has become a norm in order to cut costs. Yet, there are plenty of reasons why this subject is one of great controversy- specifically the ethics involved with it. Part of the movie which addressed such an issue was when Todd’s boss travels to India to let him know they are now moving that department over to China. “China is the new India,” he states. The movie continues to demonstrate the emotional effects of such a decision on certain characters- particularly Puro whom now can’t marry the girl he wants. Although such demonstration seems a bit silly and it only truly affected Puro, it allows the viewer to feel and consider the effects outsourcing has on a person emotionally, mentally and financially.
There were several scenes throughout the movie that literally made me laugh out loud and consider the different ways people view outsourcing, and the different effects it has. For example, the scene of the eraser where as to those in India they called it rubber; Puro’s reaction to Todd’s recommendation of Asha for assistant manager; the various calls of upset customers about purchasing American products and having the call center in India; Todd attempting to explain why people buy the products they sell; and the certain attempts at Todd teaching the new employees about the English language as well as the pronunciation. Overall a very entertaining movie, with a defined message to viewers.
Matt Vivona // April 12, 2009 at 7:20 pm
For an executive, Todd gets portrayed as a naïve and dumbfounded American who can’t navigate and adapt to the ways of the Indian culture. I’ve never seen an executive as soft as Todd in a movie before. He gets screwed in every direction by his boss. Finally Todd is smart enough to walk away from it at the end. It’s funny how we as Americans hate outsourcing, but all the products we buy are from China. When it comes down to sticking to your principles, ultimately the patriotic American will choose the cheaper product as illustrated in this movie. It was also surprising to see the ironic twist at the end of the movie where the Indian jobs are outsourced to China. At least they get to feel what Americans have felt for the last twenty years. You hear the argument that you would rather outsource a division and lose 200 jobs in order to save the company. This ethical dilemma lies within the personal beliefs of management. Do they see the world as on big market, or do they have a responsibility to the community in which they operate? All you have to do is look at Endicott, NY, the birthplace of IBM, and see how the drugs and crime moved in after the jobs went out.
Outsourcing only confirms the notion that there is no loyalty in business. You are only as good as your last deal and that is why people are constantly changing jobs. Companies like Microsoft want to increase the cap for h1-b visas so they can hire more people from India and pay them $20 an hour and fire the American workers who are making $50 an hour. It’s as if Bill Gates doesn’t have enough money or maybe he just hates the country that gave him his fortune.
SoJin Han // April 14, 2009 at 5:26 pm
The director, John Jeffcoat, describes the conflict of outsourcing through the character, Todd Anderson, VP of customer relations. The film starts out with Todd Anderson sent to India to train local Indians for a new call center for his company. Since Todd feels strongly negative about outsourcing, he doesn’t even try to accept/understand Indian culture. After the visit to McDonalds, he gradually starts to truly accept Indian culture and comes up with good solution to fasten the call time.
Outsourcing is a serious topic, however, this film portrayed the outsourcing from the normal person’s point of view, rather statistics. When Asha talked to the American customer, who complained about layoffs due to outsourcing, she simply gave him a solution to pay more for 100% American products or pay cheaper price. It is true that Americans lost their jobs due to outsourcing but they also need to know that they’re saving money through cheaper products that are made in elsewhere.
Grace // April 14, 2009 at 8:18 pm
This movie reminds me of my favorite book from high school, A Passage to India by E.M. Forster. Basically, Todd starts out thinking that Indians need to learn American culture, but is turned by other Americans who have lived there awhile and by his Indian friends to realize that the Indian way of life has something that cannot and should not be changed, and that Americans could benefit from learning. It amuses me because this is the same theme embodied in Forster’s book, although the copyright of the book is 1924 while the copyright of the movie is 2007.
I love that Todd liking spicy food is the only criteria his boss needs to know in order to make him a prime candidate to travel to India and teach the new employees. That in itself proves that most American businesses initially had no idea the extent to which the culture of the country to which they are outsourcing and understanding it matters to the success of the company there.
Candice Schortemeyer // April 14, 2009 at 11:40 pm
Outsourced is a film about an American living and working in a foreign country, training the new employees. The film mostly shows the effects of outsourcing from the side of the people replacing American jobs but also touches on the effects of those people whose jobs are being outsourced. It also focuses on the extreme differences in cultures, the give and takes of outsourcing and also the harsh way of doing business in America.
In the beginning of the movie, Todd Anderson, Western Novelty’s executive vice president of marketing and order fulfilment, is in his boss’s office being informed of the company’s decision to outsource to India. He becomes angry. He is told that everyone is fired except for him but that he would have to move to India to train the new employees there. He would have to train them to speak and act American. At first he refuses to go but eventually gives in. In the first few scenes in India, it is clear that Todd is having a rough time adapting to and understanding his new environment and the Indian culture, like any foreigner would. He first seems confused when he has to take a go-cart looking thing as a taxi. Then, as Todd is talking to Puro, the language barrier is discovered. For example, when he describes to Puro what he does for a living he says that he”sells kitches to rednecks” and that now he has to “train some other shmuck to do it”. After he says this Puro asks Todd to define kitches, rednecks, and shmucks. Later in the movie, the language barrier is seen again when, in a meeting, Todd has the employees listen to a tape recording of one of the Indian workers recommending the customer to buy “rubbers” for their son going back to school. Although in India thats an appropriate thing to bring to school, in America it is not. The movie also shows differences in food and values. For example when showing up to work Todd notices a cow. In India cows are sacred, so it is not that is not odd for them. Also, Todd sees an ad for “MacDonnells” and goes crazy but when he shows up there realizes they do not sell beef because Indians do not eat beef.
One thing I thought was interesting was the difference in attitude when Americans are told their jobs are going to be outsourced versus the Indian people being told they were losing their jobs. This also showed the harsh way in which Americans do business. At the end of the film, when the Indian workers were being told they were being outsourced, none of them really seemed to care and instead continued their celebration of reaching the minutes per sale of 6. Americans seem to value employment, money, and stability more while the Indian people seem to value their family and culture. The American company is so quick to fire people without any thought of the people they are firing just as long as it is saving them money. Also, in the film, Todd’s boss had intentionally gave him a goal that was almost impossible to reach, making sure that he would push the new workers. Although there was this huge difference in culture by the end of the film, it is clear that Todd is really enjoying his stay in India and has adopted a great appreciation for the Indian culture.
Stephanie Crandall // April 14, 2009 at 11:46 pm
I really enjoyed watching the movie Outsourced as it was pretty entertaining watching Todd try to adjust to life in India. After Todd’s boss informs him that his department is being outsourced, Todd travels to India to train his replacement. As one could imagine, anyone would have a resistance to having to train one’s own replacement. Upon arriving to India, Todd is very reluctant to adapt to his new surroundings. He originally thinks that the only people with something to learn are the people he is training. However, as Todd lets go of his reluctance to let in the Indian culture, he finds that he has so much more to learn about the people of India than they do about him. This shows how important it is to understand that businesses cannot simply outsource their management style without understanding the culture and the people that they are dealing with. Once Todd opens up to the culture, he becomes a much more efficient manager and a better leader. The ironic part is that once Todd has completed his job and has met his goals in India, his boss comes and tells him to pack up and go to China as the department was being outsourced from India to China because China was the “new India.”
Joshua Frost // April 15, 2009 at 12:21 am
Outsourced is about Western Novelty outsourcing call centers to India. Todd Anderson goes to India to train employees and encounters huge cultural differences. The cultural nuances and the pros and cons of outsourcing are the two main themes. One of the biggest scenes highlights the tradeoffs of outsourcing when an American complains that he is purchasing patriotic goods from an Indian service provider. However despite his misgivings he still ultimately purchases the goods due to the price advantage. What I found interesting is when Western Novelty re-outsourced from India to China. Often times Americans will complain that Indians or other nationalities are “taking,” their jobs in a bigoted fashion. However, the true culprit is in fact the American corporation that will replace the “enemy of the American worker,” Indian employee just as quickly. In the movie the Indian worker actually seemed to be more resilient in his reaction to losing his job due to outsourcing, viewing it not as an end but as a new beginning.
Yongho Lee // April 15, 2009 at 12:51 am
“Outsourced” is Todd Anderson’s adventure movie in India. Todd is a Vice president at a telephone ordering company but the company is decided to be outsourced to India. To maintain his living, he accepts to go to work to there as trainer to workers. Most scene of the movie make me laugh, however, funny sources which are used in this movie are obviously weak sides of the outsourcing. To cut the service representative salaries and maintaining cost of office in the United States, the company has to close office. Because people who live in U.S. prefer to buy cheaper product, some of them cannot avoid losing a job. Likewise, three of six groups close their plant in the United States in the business strategy game at the last operation year to survive and to make a profit. Our group members felt sorry to close the plant in U.S. as well. All of managers who decided to close company in their country consider people who lose the job, but nevertheless there is no other choice to beat competitors. The India is not an exception. The management decides to outsource the telephone ordering company to China which has cheaper labor and cost less maintenance at the end of movie.
Inessa Kylymar // April 15, 2009 at 3:09 am
The movie “Outsourced” is about an American call center that has been outsourced to India. Todd, the vice president, is sent to Indian office to train new employees. His job is to train Indians as though they would sound like they are in America.
The movie shows that many Americans are not happy with outsourcing to foreign countries. There was a scene where a guy who called for a product was upset about that situation, as he was a worker who was fired for that reason. But on the other side he was not willing to pay extra money for domestic product.
At the beginning of his work in India, Todd was struggling to do his job as he was teaching Indians the American style, not trying himself to learn Indian culture as one of his employees suggested him to do. After he started considering their opinion the work became much better.
At the end of the movie, the management decided to outsource the call center to China as over there labor and costs were cheaper than in India. This showed that corporations actually looking for different ways to decrease the cost. They outsource not only service centers but also plants that make parts or the whole products, even if it causes lower quality of the product.
Yi Wang // April 15, 2009 at 3:35 am
I really enjoy watch the Movie “Outsourcing” which is entertaining and decent. The movie talks about a business issue which already spread all over the places in America. Todd Anderson, VP of customer relations at a phone-order company in Seattle. One day his bosses told him that he had to work in India since his whole department was outsourced to there. When Todd arrived in India, he found out this is a country which everything was totally different the place he grew up. He couldn’t connect with the outside, because the language and culture was so hard to understand. Since he didn’t even try to learn how to assimilate the culture and the way India people to live, his work in India wasn’t going well. Later, after he talked with a guy has the similar situation as him, he changed his attitude about India. He tried to learn to understand this country. Finally, he got the solution how to fasten the call time. At the end of the movie, Todd seems like a totally different man from the man at the beginning. He even fell in love with his co-worker.
Outsourcing already became a practical strategy for many US firms. It can dramatically reduce the cost of the company. And the consumers also get the benefit from this. They paid much cheaper price comare with the same product if they were made in American. The flip side of this strategy was it was reduced the job opportuntities. However, just like the move described, the people would prefer to pay for the cheaper price compare with the outsourcing jobs.
Aatman Pandya // April 15, 2009 at 10:29 pm
Outsourced presents a glimpse into the duality of outsourcing. It uses India, a nation commonly associated with globalization and outsourcing , as a platform to speak on the perverse nature of outsourcing. It is not a clear cut issue and there are many complexities to outsourcing, and this is exemplified by the interactions of the Indian workers, and Todd Anderson. Todd represents the American half of to this coin of outsourcing and shows the frustrations many people have with losing their jobs to “them”. It is very easy to blame this on the Indian workers themselves, but a few scenes show how complicated outsourcing is as a whole. In one scene, a man is upset his product is being sold by an Indian company, and according to his morals, he would not purchase the product. However, the price is too low to pass up and the man eschews his principles to begrudgingly buy the product. This is the nature of outsourcing, it is not good or bad, right or wrong, just a market mechanism that has its share of positives and negatives. However, if there is a finger to be pointed, it should be directed at the corporations whose greedy practices value the lowest price point rather than worker well being. This is evident when the Indian workers are told their positions will be outsourced. Because of their different value systems, the Indian continue their lives not devastated by the news.
Caryn Filonuk // April 15, 2009 at 10:53 pm
The film “Outsourced”, directed by John Jeffcoat and written by John Jeffcoat and George Wing shows how a company needing to outsource sends a department there and how the main character, Todd is sent there to train his replacement. The movie shows the differing cultural views and actual clashing of beliefs and values in the workplace. Todd meets a woman, Asha, who shows him that he needs to be more open-minded about different cultures and more welcoming of them as well. She also shows him that he himself needs to change and he is shown that he doesn’t know who he is all too well. This movie is not only eye opening with regards to how outsourcing affects the people involved with regard to their jobs, but it also shows how the different cultures and lack of understanding can make the lives of those involved rather difficult.
The call center is constantly a source of change and is constantly influencing everyone’s lives. The end of the movie has the people then people outsourced to China because the labor is even cheaper there. Outsourcing is constantly influencing people in the world. This movie shows the different ways of viewing it and the different ways of adjusting to different cultures.
Jonathan Ravin // April 15, 2009 at 11:01 pm
I found ‘Outsourced’ to be a funny and interesting perspective into how an individual, Todd Anderson, is specifically effected both negatively and positively by his company outsourcing his department to India. Many Americans have a negative connotation of outsourcing and are quick to blame those taking their jobs because they are angry jobs are moving elsewhere. ‘Outsourced’ shows the complications with the process and how it is really a product of the system encouraging maximizing profits and disregarding the individuals reliant upon them for work. Todd not only is expected to go to India to train the future workers, but also in a sick set of circumstances has to find his own replacement. The movie shows Todd’s difficulty in adapting to the differences of the cultures and teaching the Indian workers that he can not connect to. He has to allow himself to assimilate into the culture and accept it before he can make progress. In an ironic twist at the end, the company makes the decision to outsource those Indian jobs to China because the labor and materials are even cheaper. This should show people who are bitter how it isn’t the people taking their jobs but the nature of businesses that have to pursue the cheapest alternative as a means to compete.
Angela Zhu // April 16, 2009 at 5:13 am
Outsourced had an interesting take on the subject of outsourcing. I didn’t see this movie necessarily having a specific stance on either for or against outsourcing which I thought kept the interpretation and opinions left for the audience.
However it did show the cultural impact it has on company strategies on business models. Other than the push for influencing the host country with American culture, there were considerations to be made about the host culture. Business has to be seen from all sides and the rules have changed from the old business strategies. Globalization has really changed how business is done; comparative cost evaluated to the extreme. From saving tons by outsourcing jobs in India to moving on to even cheaper labor in China.
Many can say outsourcing is unethical; taking away jobs from Americans. But I see this as beneficial to the world as a whole. Americans are only a small percentage. We fall into the category of the small percentage that is fortunate to be on the higher paid income range. Even the poverty-stricken Americans are still way above the income level of many “middle-class” people in third world countries. The rest of the billions of people in the world are in these third world countries that can benefit from the outsourcing. If we can in any way help them with raising their wages why don’t we? This is just one small step we can take to helping the bottom billion.
Colin Campbell // April 16, 2009 at 12:25 pm
Outsourcing
In this movie, a seemingly well off fulfillments and marketing manager at a tacky patriotic goods online retailer finds out that his department will be shut down and moved to India. The film chronicles his assignment of being sent to train his Indian replacement in american management practices.
Initially, Todd (the american manager) has a very difficult time adjusting to the entirely unfamiliar Indian lifestyle and customs. He makes frequent cultural blunders including, eating with his left hand, ordering beef from a MacDonald’s in India, and even describing the american practice of branding cattle in a culture that believes the cow to be sacred. Eventually Todd discovers the true unique beauty of the land, and embraces, even excels, in learning how to harness Indian culture and work ethic in order to get the average minutes per inquiry down to six minutes and even less to exceed the company’s goals.
Through Todd’s transformation it can be seen that a manager must understand the true motivation of their employees. Todd’s greatest mistake was to underestimate how important it was to understand Indian culture. This was demonstrated in his assumption that none of his employees would ever truly care about the products they were selling. Upon discovering how much the employees valued the products they were involved in, Todd set up an incentive system that allowed the top employee of the day to choose any item from the inventory to take home for free. This created a sense of ownership and inspiration for the whole call center. Another way in which Todd understood the deeper levels of the culture, and harnessed that understanding was in allowing employees to dress in normal Indian fashion, not just western, and to decorate their office space however they desired. These actions also furthered the level of trust between Todd and his newfound Indian coworkers.
This movie pushed me to understand that in interactions between cultures, many people first try to get their point across so militantly that they only alienate their relationships. Before seeking to be understood, one must first make sure that they truly understand the other perspective they are tying to penetrate.
I also feel that after watching this film it is important to consider that the whole issue of outsourcing is made possible by the large gaps in lifestyles seen in different countries, and it is radically changing the way people around the world perceive their own lifestyle. In India, many of the citizens were portrayed as being content with how they lived, and that lifestyle happened to require a lot less income to support than an american lifestyle. Will standards of living in overseas countries capable of hosting these outsourcing operations ever become comparable to the american standard of living? It seems possible that the whole globe is in a constant state of shift due to the inequalities between countries, however, over time some of those inequalities may become decreasingly severe in comparison to where they are now. It is difficult to say exactly what effects the macroeconomic changes seen in today’s headlines will have over the next several decades, but it seems fairly certain that globalization is leveling some of the once competitive advantages of the United States.
Melissa Mandras // April 16, 2009 at 3:16 pm
The movie “outsourced” has definitely given me a different perspective on the outsourcing issue. As a business student, the topic of outsourcing has come up in almost every topic we cover. Whether it be in business ethics or even in a strategic management class, outsourcing to foreign countries to increase the bottom line or have cheaper labor is a major issue in the business world today.
This movie was definitely enjoyable to watch, because it was comedic, but at the same time, it was easy to relate to Todd’s character and the issues surrounding him. Personally my mom works for IBM and outsourcing has been a topic of conversation for many years. Recently though it has been more and more of an issue. With employees losing their jobs frequently in the US, many have a hard time dealing with the fact that their jobs are being moved overseas to places like India, China or Vietnam. Before watching “outsourced” I too felt it was somewhat unethical for companies to do this, but the movie did change my mind.
“Outsourced” portrayed to me how globalized our world is really becoming. Americans and American companies want to be accepted and present all around the globe by many different cultures, yet we have a problem when this actually happens. Todd’s character showed how yes, cultures can be vastly different, but with effort and acceptance most cultures also are very similar. I now believe that if a company is a global company, outsourcing is beneficial; not only for their bottom line and cheaper labor but also for their overall global strategy.
Sean Stetttin // April 17, 2009 at 2:41 am
First off, “Outsourced” was hilarious. This movie succeeded as a comedy even while covering the very sensitive issue of outsourcing U.S. jobs. The movie revolves around a VP of a phone order company, Todd Anderson, who is sent to India to train his successor and new employees after his whole workforce was outsourced. At first, his struggle of conforming and becoming part of the Indian lifestyle is very evident. The vastly different culture including the differences in food, dress, and overall living makes the transition tough. However as the movie goes on, you get to see how Todd embraces the Indian lifestyle. He begins to understand and assimilate with his Indian workers and even falls in love with an Indian woman.
This movie brings to light the many aspects of outsourcing. While U.S. jobs are lost, jobs elsewhere are created and the consumer benefits from a lower cost. Seeing this transition really let you get a feel of what goes on when jobs are outsourced and it was definitely an enjoyable thing to watch. The movie did have emotional moments (when the Indian jobs were being outsourced to China) and this helped the movie greatly.
Waseem Alam // April 25, 2009 at 3:46 pm
I was interested to know what would happen in this movie, given the name is Outsourced. Outsourcing is such a powerful and divisive word these days, everyone is talking about it, with people taking sharply differing views on the issue.
However, I was surprised at how the movie presented this issue and dealt with it. It was an engaging film, showing how Todd goes to India to train his replacement after his job gets outsourced to India. This film progresses by showing the extreme culture shock that Todd encounters, and this was partly due to Todd’s resistance to interact with the new culture. He found it hard to communicate, hard to understand the vastly different values, be it in business or family.
This movie showed how difficult it can be for a company, any company, to operate as one. With companies expanding rapidly, how do you make them all see they are working for one company when every company has vastly different lives and values? This is what managers encounter everyday yet try to overcome. Dealing with different cultures and different value systems is an intricate part of the business world.
Shawuki Hilton // May 2, 2009 at 11:42 pm
Outsourced is a movie about a gentlemen by the name of Todd Anderson whose entire department at his job gets outsourced to India. When Todd receives this news he is told that on top of laying off an entire department, he also has to go to India in order to train his replacement. Todd’s trip to India truly portrays cultural differences between the US and India. When Todd arrives to the country he meets the gentlemen who he will be training and the two have quite an interesting initial interaction. Todd’s use of the words “redneck” and “schmuck” strike the gentleman’s interest. It is not until they exchange business cards that Todd realizes that the gentleman is his trainee. Throughout the course of the film, Todd’s culture shock is continually portrayed. His resistance and lack of knowledge about the culture make things extremely difficult for him. It is not until he meets another American citizen at a Macdonell’s and receives the advice to just enjoy the experience that things go better for him. From then on, Todd begins accept the culture that he has been exposed to for so long and watch things take a better course for him.
The point that can be extracted from the movie is the importance of cultural acceptance and understanding in the business world. With a career in business, an individual may have to go from country to country in order to operate different departments of the organization. Sometimes understanding the culture within another country maybe what helps an organization’s business operations grow .
Julio Romero // May 3, 2009 at 5:51 pm
Outsourced is a hilarious satire about a man named Todd Anderson, who works at a call center in Seattle. One day he learns that his entire department is being outsourced to India, where wages are much lower. Furthermore, he is forced to actually go to India, train the new staff, AND find his replacement! A hesitant Todd travels to India, and takes on this task. However, when in India, he finds that the new staff has a culture that is far different from the one he worked with in Seatte.
Although this movie is a comedy, and includes a variety of stereotypes from both the American and Indian culture, one cannot help but notice the message behind it. Outsourcing is a practice that is taking place more and more in America. Americans are losing many jobs overseas. However, one must realize that, as the American phrase goes, “you cannot have your cake and eat it too”. Americans love reaping the benefits of outsourcing, such as lower priced goods and services. However, when jobs are transferred away from us, we throw our hands up and complain.
One part of the movie that especially hit home for me is when Todd tells Asha that “In my world, it just makes sense to work your butt off just to have that 50-inch plasma.” Consumerism clouds the mind of the American public, and material value equates success in America, rather than real values.
Andrew Lizotte // May 7, 2009 at 1:18 am
This movie brought up a lot of the issues covered in my international business class. One of these is the lack of support given to many expatriates. Todd was shipped off to India with little notice, and no cultural training (not to mention he was coerced to go). Because of his lack of understanding about Indian culture, he was unable to effectively motivate the employees. When he started to embrace Indian culture and understood that operations didn’t have to be identical to what he was used to in America, things started to turn around for him. When relocating managers overseas it is in the best interests of the company to spend the resources to prepare them for the new experience.
Another issue brought up in the movie is of one of the downsides of outsourcing. Although the company was initially providing jobs to people in India, the company relocated to China when it made economical sense. This has a negative effect on India and arguably leaves the country worse off than before. While this makes economic sense there is a danger to only caring about labor costs. These companies must realize that it may not be reasonable to expect the same production. If they are hiring uneducated employees from developing countries for a few dollars per day, they shouldn’t expect the same production as they could get in a more developed country. “You get what you pay for”.
Katherine Han // May 7, 2009 at 7:12 am
This movie was an enjoyable way to see the current issue facing outsourcing. The main character Todd, whose job was outsourced by an Indian, is forced to go to India to train them. He only does this because he does not want to get his pension plan defaulted. The movie focuses on how hesitant Todd becomes interested in the newly-experiencing Indian culture and growing affections towards his staffs. Although this movie was presented in a comical and romantic manner, it showed me how American firms are only looking at profits they are about to make through outsourcing. I feel that business is a business, but it is more than just a business. Although unintentional, striving to make more profit hurts the nation as a whole and the movie gives somewhat of awareness towards outsourcing. I noticed a black humor at the end part of the movie where the Indians get replaced by the Chinese because the company found the wages cheaper in China.
Emily Morris // November 7, 2009 at 10:44 pm
The movie “Outsourced” was a good laugh. It was easy to see the effects of outsourcing to India, even though the film was unrealistic. The parts I enjoyed the most were when Todd had to deal with the menu at MacDonnell’s and when he experienced the aftermath of Gola. Little things like that gave me a heads up of what to look out for when I’m in India. On the business side, I highly doubt that when Americans go over to India to manage a branch, they listen that much to the people of the Indian office. While Todd made the best out of his situation, he did lose his job! Perhaps the movie taught us that sometimes you have to choose.
Allie DeMartino // November 9, 2009 at 3:07 am
I certainly agree that “Outsourced” was an entertaining movie. The entertainment factor, however, did not stop me from questioning many unrealistic parts of the movie. The most interesting “unrealistic part” of the movie in terms of Indian culture was the unabashed optimism, carefree-ness, and willingness to accept anything that the Indian characters in the movie displayed. I’ve met many other Indian people (and people in general) and no one is constantly happy! Even if Indian culture may lead to a generally more optimistic disposition, Indian people are still people. The way that the movie displayed how excited and motivated the workers were because they could put decorations up at work or win a trinket for their jobs seems, to me, just unrealistic. The movie trivializes the multifaceted nature of humans. It seems that the movie is watering-down realities existent all over the world, much in the same way as what is described in Edward Said’s “Orientalism.” This naive one-dimensional view of humans, categorizing them as the Other, or not Us, (as Said speaks of it) just perpetuates the unrealistic view that non-Americans are also a non-threat. Articles such as this one (http://bit.ly/1omgtw) make a very convincing article for the contrary. Whether we like it or not, people from other countries are equal to us not just in their essential beings, but in their ability to compete with us on a higher level than this movie attempts to show. Like I said, the movie was entertaining, but perhaps a bit antiquated in its representations of the characters and the real-world in which globalization and homogenization of abilities is growing at a rapid pace.
Alan Yip // November 11, 2009 at 11:43 pm
The movie “Outsourced” gave an interesting view of how an American tries to adapt to the culture of India. What struck me the most was the amount of attention Todd Anderson received when he first landed in India. All the cab drivers crowded around him as if he was going to give them gold. Also, the friendly person at the train station who taught him to just jump and grabbed his suitcase and threw it on the train seemed very unreal. He could have easily stole his suitcase and the people on the train could have easily not help him get on. The level of altruism, at least to Todd, made me question whether Indians are THAT embracing towards Western people. I guess I will have to wait and see for myself when I travel to India.
Another thing that I observed was the eagerness and willingness Puro showed for Western culture. He questioned almost every word that he did not understand and wrote it down. In response, Todd did not seem interested about anything he experienced in the beginning of the movie. His attitude was to just get the job done and leave. Observing this, I will remind myself to have the attitude like that of Puro, very observant and open about the American culture, while I am in India.
Andrew Kneller // November 12, 2009 at 3:30 am
Most stereotypes have a level of truth and level of fiction to them. If they weren’t based somewhat on reality they would not endure. I left the film wondering what level of truth there is to the stereotypes presented in the film.
Just a few stereotypes I noted were that India is crowded, Indians are anxious to make money off Western travelers, Indians are very hospitable, family oriented, and Indians are overly anxious to learn about American culture (as noted by others on this site).
To one extent or the other, all of the Indians are portrayed as simpletons. They can’t pronounce Todd’s name correctly even after being corrected. They are struggling to run the call center efficiently and need the help of Todd, the American. Puro seems incapable of running a lemonade stand let alone a call center. What further emphasizes this point is that Asha is very intelligent, easily pronounces Todd’s name, outspoken, even wise as she points out that Todd needs to learn about India. She stands out immediately among her Indian peers and is portrayed as the only person equal to Todd. Everyone else comes off as below Todd in intelligence and wordliness
From all these stereotypes, I left wondering where is the truth (if any) and where is the fiction.
In response to Allie’s post, I have a question about your comment,
“This naive one-dimensional view of humans, categorizing them as the Other, or not Us, (as Said speaks of it) just perpetuates the unrealistic view that non-Americans are also a non-threat.”
When you say that it’s unrealistic to view non-Americans as a non-threat do you mean to say that the realistic view is that non-Americans are a threat? It seems like you’re trying to make the point that non-Americans are just as capable as Americans to do just about any task (the NYT article you posted speaks to that) but is it helpful to imply non-Americans are a threat to us.
To bring it back to the film, Todd was much more successful in his job when he was working with his Indian colleagues rather than talking down to them. I would suggest that the better view of our international counterparts is one of partner or co-worker, as in someone to cooperate with and work together with. I agree that we can’t dismiss people from other countries as incapable of the work Americans do in this country but I think the most productive path is to capitalize on what each culture does best and shift positions to capture that potential. This must be more beneficial than fear from the threat of losing jobs overseas.
Diana Trochez // November 12, 2009 at 6:46 pm
The movie “Outsourced” was a very entertaining film. It was entertaining to see a Westerner like Todd go through the dealings of being in India. For example dealing with an upset stomach due to eating Gola and being unable to order a Hamburger with actual meat. This goes to show that Westerners are a bit ignorant when it comes to understanding other cultures in India. Situations like these could have been easily avoided if Todd had done his research.
In the business aspect I thought that the outsourcing aspect was a bit unrealistic. I doubt that someone like Todd would have been sent to India to look after others. And I also believe that the people working under Todd would of liked the products sold. Overall is was a very entertaining film and it gave me a perspective of how a Westerner is seen in a foreign country.
Kristin Hohn // November 13, 2009 at 4:22 am
I too thought that “Outsourced” was entertaining, although the storyline was very predictable. The thing that struck me most about the film was Todd’s interaction with the family in the slum neighborhood. One of the things I have heard about India, and I will admit I don’t know much of anything about India yet, is that in India great wealth can be observed immediately next to extreme poverty. As we examine cultural and economic comparisons with the United States, I feel that this statement is also true of the U.S. In both nations, a very small minority of the population holds the majority of the wealth. I understand that the reasons for this disparity are complex and probably very different for each country. Hopefully knowing this will cause us to question our beliefs that the United States is so much more advanced and developed. If we are really that much better, why do we have such a large homeless population and high reliance on government assistance programs? I hope that this topic if one we will discuss further as we move deeper into our class discussions.
abusinessprofessor // November 17, 2009 at 3:27 pm
Katharine raises a very relevant issue- “social class” in America. For those of you who are interested in this topic, NYT had a series of stories on this issue, the link is http://www.nytimes.com/pages/national/class/index.html. There are also several books on this topic, and I will be happy to recommend some books to anyone who is interested in reading more on this topic. I also commonly use a video in my strategy class which talks about “homelessness” (another issue Katharine raises) as the latest man-made disaster in several North American cities. If anyone is interested, I will be happy to post the video on BB.
Good Discussion, guys! Keep it going…
Jessica Yee // November 18, 2009 at 5:15 pm
“Outsourced” was definitely a good way to introduce someone who has never been to India about the culture and way of life. I saw a lot of culture differences that would never be seen in America such as the Indians being happy despite earning little money and then getting fired. The Indian workers are able to find other kinds of jobs in their communities so they weren’t as disappointed as Todd. Todd realized in order for him to survive in India he would have to understand the way of life and culture there instead of resisting it. For example, he had to teach them how to speak American and the slang Americans use. Then, he needed to learn to assimilate with the Indian culture (i.e. decorating the office, wearing whatever they want and not just the Western clothes, eating properly).
For Todd, outsourcing took his job away and so he was angry further more because he was training those in India who were taking his job. Outsourcing is becoming a huge problem for workers in America. Jobs are being replaced in countries like India and China as seen in the film. This movie has funny points in it, but still brings across the main theme of outsourcing and how it costs less to companies.
Marissa Essuman // November 19, 2009 at 7:28 pm
The movie “Outsourced” was great for giving an inroduction to the Business world in India.
One thing that I found interesting was the part about “rubbers.” The Indian employees weren’t as familiar with the concept of birth control. I’m curious to know about the prevalence of HIV/ AIDS in the country and also about birthrates? Is there as much of a baby boom in this nation as compared to countries such as China where government is forced to limt child birth?
Nakia Royal // November 19, 2009 at 8:13 pm
“Outsourced” was a great movie. I think it was a good idea to make the movie in English and also a comedy. It allowed the viewers to get an understanding of the stereotypes that exist in India.
I found it interesting that the movie started in a typle American office and showed how comfortable it was there.
One thing I noticed was the people in India always seemed happy. They were satisfied with their lives and didn’t complain. As Jessica pointed out, when the Indian workers found out they were being fired, they didn’t complain, they were happy. As opposed to when Todd had to tell his fellow American employees they were fired, it was hard for him.
This movie also revealed how a person can grow if they learn to adapt to a culture. Todd changed so much at the end of the movie from when he first got off the plane.
Nardy Torres // November 19, 2009 at 10:14 pm
I enjoyed this movie very much. I think it touches upon many problems that are currently going on around the world because of outsourcing and differences between cultures.
In this moive you are able to see how many Americans are not as open to learn about different cultures as other people may be.
The movie also displays a need for personal growth, an open mind and a need for high maturity level when visiting another country.
We are able to see the different lifestyle that the Indian culture offers and learn to appreciate it.
David Rein // November 19, 2009 at 10:40 pm
“Outsourced” was a very comical movie that successfully showed the benefits of outsourcing. As Professor Gupta stated, outsourced workers usually work in real office buildings that are more similar to buildings in the United States. The building that they worked in during the movie is not a good representation of outsourcing; however, it does show what many Americans think outsourcing is. The workers in India did not know what certain obscure items such as the cheese head were and therefore they would most likely be unable to help a Westerner with a call for that item. In order for them to be able to help, they would have to understand more things about American culture. Todd also realized that he too needed to learn about India in order to be able to train his workers. This movie showed that people can learn a lot from people of other cultures as long as they are willing to be open to change. This was shown through the Todd and Asha relationship. Todd spoke to Asha like nobody ever had before because in his culture women are equal to men and in Asha’s culture, they are considered somewhat lower. Obviously, Todd was surprised and in a state of shock when he was told that his job position was going to be moved to India. He reluctantly went but after being there for some time he started to understand and enjoy their culture as he assimilated well. He participated in the Holi Festival and learned what the “dot” in the middle of a woman’s forehead represents. As a person who signed up for this trip knowing basically nothing about India, I am more excited now than I was before to go on this trip and learn about Indian culture and business. At the end of the movie, it was very ironic when all of the Indian jobs were outsourced to China, showing the unpredictability of the business world.
abusinessprofessor // November 21, 2009 at 3:26 pm
I am writing to elaborate on a point that Marissa raised- The issue about “rubbers”. It is not that Indians don’t know about birth control, but that the word “rubber” in India refers to an eraser. The word for “condom” in India is simply “condom”. In other words, Indians don’t use the word “rubber” to refer to “condom”. You may find it interesting that many Indians who are new to the US use the word “rubber” to refer to “eraser” in public not realizing the cultural-specific meaning of the word.
Koichi Tanaka // November 26, 2009 at 8:15 am
‘Outsourced’ is a film that spoofs the trend of outsourcing call center jobs and other back-end office work, or servicing work to India that has occurred over the past decade. Of course, the speed at which all the changes that were being made in our business world in the past decade and a half is being represented by the move of Todd’s job twice in this movie – the first time from the US to India, and the second time from India to China, and this brings to mind the almost hilarious and impersonal and indifferent manner in the movement of capital from one locale to another.
The movement of capital: an ongoing question about how effective Capitalism is in providing all the peoples of the world with a high standard of living and ease suffering. The greatest critic of Capitalism, the author of Capital, Karl Marx, once referred to Capitalism as a force that is indifferent to the people or places it will affect, and it will grow in an area where there is an environment for economic growth (looking at factors such as cheap and skilled workforce, infrastructure, etc.). However, once that area becomes established, economic growth will become less dynamic, and the center/eye of the Capital will move to another region with a better growth atmosphere.
Thereby, ‘Outsourced’ highlighted a really important point to me: a developing nation can only be ‘developing’ for so long. The biggest indicator of a prospering nation is one that has a growing middle class, which will start to consume more imports rather than local goods. This is what happened in the United States, to the point where most of the products and services Americans use every day come mostly from overseas (such as the majority of our clothes we wear). The ironic twist in ‘Outsourced’ was when the call center jobs moved from the US to India, then from India to China due to cheaper labor costs. When this revelation came towards the end of the movie, I found myself shrugging to the idea: this is just how Capital always worked, and it will always continue to work this way. Globalization has been happening since the beginning of written human history, for there was always trade, commerce, wars, cultural fusions, etc., and we are just looking at a more sped-up and dynamic version of globalizing powers. Outsourcing is not a matter of good or bad, ethical or non-ethical – it is a story of a movement to connect people together, and establishing a system where everyone can purchase goods, submit themselves to a workforce, raise the overall standards of living, and allow us to free ourselves from having to worry about the basic necessities (food, shelter, water, etc.) and allow us to build, innovate, and pursue things from a higher calling. Though there are stories of tragedies in the narrative (job loss, economic turmoil, etc.), the overall movement of trade across the globe is already unstoppable, for even a tumultuous global economic recession or even high currency inflation will not stop people from lining up at the stores to get goods to maintain their livelihoods. This is the story of human suffering, will, and our overall natural tendencies to reach out across borders and create something that will better all of our lives. Outsourcing is just one pixel in the big LED screen we live in.
Caroline Corcoran // December 8, 2009 at 7:21 pm
I enjoyed this movie. What I found valuable about it was the two way cultural communication depicted. Although Todd is hesitant to go to India, and hesitant to embrace their culture when he does it is really inspiring. Once he is advised by a fellow American living in India to accept India and go with the flow, he becomes a good American traveler- learning about India while he acts as a good will ambassador for his home country.
He sees how outsourcing is more than just the painful effect of a loss of American jobs. It is creating opportunity in a new, growing country for people who wish to work hard, earn, and learn.
The personal lesson that Todd learns transcends into a business lesson for Todd and the viewer. Once he stops forcing his values onto his Indian workers and asks them what could help them they are able to break the glass ceiling and work together to achieve their goal. Here it is clear that once he makes an effort to understand and accommodate Indian values the workers skills are more efficiently utilized to benefit all parties involved. It is also true that some of the concessions that Todd makes span across cultures, and could have been used to motivate Americans as well. The incentive program he creates is an example of this, though at first he did not understand that Indians could be interested in the trinkets the company sells.
I found Todd wearing Indian dress to be a symbolic acceptance of the value to be found in Indian culture. He now realizes that his suit is not the best for India as it is for America. This mentality is carried over when he arrives back in the states and makes contact with his parents that he has not been very close to in the past. Influenced by the Indian importance of family he realizes his own is missing from his life and perhaps he is not better for their absence.
He feels pain for his employees when their jobs are outsourced to China. However, he is then corrected to understand that call center jobs are plentiful in India so their hard work for his company is not a loss but valuable training for them. Here he observes the difference between a growth market such as India and a developed economy such as the US that is suffering from outsourcing.
Arkadiy // January 6, 2010 at 5:58 am
Outsourced was a fairly systemic romantic-comedy set with an Indian theme. All the character were one dimensional, and all the Hindu characters exactly the same: kind and cheerful, ready to learn and to advance. The film did try to show its American audience outsourcing through an Indian perspective, as a potential boon to workers who are both ready and willing to take the jobs we detest, and will actually look forward to them. At the same time, the Indian locale seemed very interesting. This of course includes the wandering cows that no one seems to notice as well as the ‘MacDonnells’, though the depiction of the Indian holiday of Holi makes me truly regret that our trip is not a month later than it is. I really hope to that this film will serve as a proper introduction to India, and I will make sure to never shake an Indian person’s left hand.