05/27/2006 - 05/28/2006

poor english impacts philippines' call centres

With one out of 10 citizens unemployed, many of the country's best and brightest gone off to work elsewhere in Asia and the Middle East, and millions still living in poverty, the Philippines can boast few economic bright spots. One that the government has touted for years is outsourcing: officially at least half of all Filipinos speak English, and low labor costs have given a boost to the so-called business-process-outsourcing (BPO) industry. Five years ago there were 10 call centers in the Philippines; today there are 108 employing 200,000 Filipinos, mostly in their mid-20s. Last year the industry generated $2.3 billion in revenues—up about $1 billion over 2004.

The burgeoning BPO industry is already encountering growing pains—serious ones. The problem: many call centers can't keep up with demand because they can't find enough employees who speak "proper" English. "For every 100 people that apply in the call centers, only three to five are accepted," says Mitch Locsin, executive director of the Business Processing Association of the Philippines.

etiquette for globe-trotters

Proper etiquette is generally acquired through a combination of upbringing and common sense, augmented by the occasional attention- focusing embarrassing moment in one's youth.

But several years ago, in middle age, I showed up at a business conference and cocktail reception in Tokyo, in July, wearing a tan suit. From the looks I got, I might as well have been wearing sandals, white socks and a T-shirt with a beer company's logo.

I had never been to Tokyo before. Who knew men don't wear anything but dark suits in business settings there? "I'll bet you did stick out!" Lillian Chaney said with a hearty laugh from her office at the University of Memphis, where she is a professor of office management and an expert in business etiquette.

cross cultural synergy is business processes

For BT and dabs.com, Calyx and Matrix, EquIP and Horizon, and a plethora of other channel players, the ink has dried on their deals, and the rush to get the paperwork signed, sealed and delivered is over. Integrating the new companies is now at the top of the agenda, and doing this well can make or break the whole process.

While migrating systems and processes such as human resources, CRM and accounting systems can be a hideous task, it is one that is logical and process driven. It is a non-emotive business function that can be followed through step by step.

However, a more gargantuan task is to integrate the cultures of different businesses. Human beings are emotional and unpredictable, and attempting to merge two very different cultures, for example BT and Dabs, can be fraught with danger and extremely arduous.

why the usa is scared of learning a 2nd language

Nothing terrifies Americans more than the idea of having to learn a second language... or, similarly, the idea that somebody might actually come to America and not bother to learn English. Generally speaking, Americans are linguaphobes who think that anyone speaking anything other than English must be talking about them.

Truth is, they are. And they're probably talking about how out of touch Americans are for not being capable of learning a second language.

malaysian firm introduces new sms translation system

Linguamatix Sdn Bhd, a company specialising in the development of computer-aided translation systems, in collaboration with Airocom Technology Berhad today announced the launch of a SMS-based translation service for the Malaysian public called LinguaMobile™.

Earlier this year the Company released a trial online translation system, LinguaWeb™ Trial, which allows users to search and surf all the English Internet content in Bahasa Malaysia. According to Linguamatix Vice-President of Sales & Marketing, Zaidon Omar Baki, “The response to LinguaWeb Trial has been overwhelming. In the past 3 months more than 60,000 Malaysians have submitted 400,000 translation queries for over 100 million words, the equivalent of 5,500 pages of text every day.

translations through skype

Futurists have long predicted that language one day would not divide people around the world. They envisioned everyone carrying small computers that would automatically translate.

They got it partly right. Companies are still working on those computers. But now, telephone language translation companies that use human interpreters are adapting new internet technology to connect people -- cheaply -- speaking different languages around the globe.

chinese firms need language skills to foster confidence abroad

Bank of China, whose US$9.7 billion Hong Kong IPO drew heavy demand from investors, may owe a small part of its success to a less-obvious source -- its chairman's strong command of English.

Several fund managers who attended Bank of China's road show which kicked off in Hong Kong earlier this month said they liked the fact that Chairman Xiao Gang was able to field questions in English.

"I am impressed by his fluent English," said a Hong Kong-based investor, who manages a medium-sized mutual fund, adding he would subscribe to the initial public offering. Xiao stands out as he is still a relative rarity among executives at state-run Chinese firms. Increasingly, mainland executives manage to make powerpoint presentations or deliver prepared speeches in English, but few have dared to answer questions in English directly -- to the detriment of investor perceptions.

world cup 2006: phrase of the day - hold your hands up

A popular term used to describe a player acknowledging an error such as a bad tackle, useless pass or wandering offside. "John Terry will be the first one to hold his hands up and admit it was a reckless challenge."

word of the day: variegated

variegated \VAIR-ee-uh-gay-tid\, adjective:
1. Having marks or patches of different colors; as, "variegated leaves or flowers."
2. Varied; distinguished or characterized by variety; diversified.

We spotted variegated hollies, wild mahonia, bergenia, vinca and cotoneaster growing freely between the markers, and as we made our way up and down the fragrant paths, pausing over the monuments to the dead that nestled, neglected, in the tousled undergrowth, we felt like explorers in a haunted jungle. -- Caroline Seebohm, "Ambushed by Brussels", New York Times, August 22, 1999

Colours range from golden yellow to blue and include conspicuously variegated examples. -- Catherine Fieldman, "Hostas don't bear grudges", Times (London), September 2, 2000