Tag Archives: IT Companies

Hybrid binational companies – the way of the future?

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Hybrid bi-national companies — the way of the future?
 
Many American IT companies have a partner company, or an office in India, Vietnam, or some Asian country.  It only makes sense. It is hard to find IT workers here, and they are expensive, and often uncooperative.  It is not worth a managers time to always be trying to overcome insubordination, when you can find able and willing workers in India or elsewhere. One big problem is that many American software companies are tricky, and don’t inform their clients that they use overseas labor.  But, putting honesty aside, many outsourcing companies that are able to grow and succeed, use what I call the hybrid model.
 
Hybrid bi-national businesses
India has great labor resources for medical billing, programming and all types of back office BPO type tasks. I feel that it is foolish not to take advantage of this willing and able workforce.  Setting up an office in India requires a lot of travel and time spent, but in the long run, it seems worth it.  It makes it easy and flexible to get lots of work done as it is needed.  I know many people who work at bi-national companies with one office in America and the other in India.  Or a front end office in Singapore, and a back office in Hyderabad, etc.  
 
Problems with bi-national work relationships.
There are always difficulties in any type of business set up.  In America, the crushing costs of rent, labor, accounting, and taxes put many out of business or drain their cash away, especially if you are located on a coast where everything is sky high!  Try renting an office in California.  You might be paying $2000 for a modest sized room in a high rise that can fit three people.  The problems in a hybrid company are dealing with communication issues between America and India.  Communication styles are different in different countries.  People are in different time zones, and some people answer questions faster than others.  Some people communicate faster than others, and others have a different sense of how long things should take.    But, if you have people in America who enjoy working at night, a relationship with India becomes perfect, and easier than a relationship with an American partner who leaves work at 5pm right when you are warming up!
 
Marketing and management in America?
It is more effective to have your management and marketing in America.  We have more of a command of middle management than India does.  For some reason, I have seen hardly any middle level in Indian companies. You are either the boss or the worker, but customer service reps are only for large companies in my limited experience.  If you have your intermediaries in the states, who are a go-between for the workers and the clients, you might do very well in business if you hire the right people.  In India, it would be much harder to find such people, and they wouldn’t be that cheap either if they were any good!  It seems that different countries have their niches and specialties.  Argentina is good at art and dance.  India is great at programming.  While America and the Philippines are good at interaction — or at least we think we are!!!

Tweets:
(1) Many American IT companies have a partner company, or an office in India, or some Asian country
(2) If you’re a night owl, working w/India is better than a US partner who leaves just when you are warming up.
(3) Binational companies capitalize on American expertise & an Asian labor pool. The best of both world(s).
(4) Having a binational company has its advantages. Office space in Bangladesh is a lot cheaper!
(5) A happy marriage of American management & Indian labor leads to optimal efficiency

You might also like:

The 2% rule; Only 2% of companies are worth hiring
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2013/10/21/the-2-rule-only-2-of-companies-are-worth-hiring/

Are you tired of outsourcing to India?
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2013/03/05/are-you-tired-of-outsourcing-to-india/

6 ways to be more in control of your business!
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2013/09/25/6-ways-to-be-more-in-control-of-your-business/

Is it safe to do business with someone who doesn’t take credit cards?

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Is it safe to do business with companies that don’t take credit cards?

Don’t you find it a bit bizarre that some larger companies don’t take credit cards? That gets me wondering. Why do they not take credit cards? Did they lose their privilege due to too many charge-backs? Or, did they cancel their account themselves due to far too many charge-backs?

Think about it. If you are running a shady business where there are many disputes, people will often want their money back. What if you are in some type of software contracting where you take deposits? I have given deposits to many companies who took deposits seemingly to keep me as a hostage. They promised to do work at a particular speed, but, they moved at the speed of a snail after being paid. Taking deposits is a trick to make it too expensive to dump them in the middle of a project if they move too slowly. That way you are invested in them, but they are not invested in you. Very tricky.

If your deposit was made with a credit card you can dispute the charges and claim that there was fraud.

But, what if you pay with paypal?
If you pay with paypal, you can do a reversal on a purchase that has a shipping tracking number. However, the reversal will show up on your profile for everyone to see. Many companies will not do business with you if you have any reversals. If you have paid 100 merchants with your paypal, but only did one reversal for a “good reason”, perhaps others will overlook this transgression. Basically, if someone cheats you after you pay them with paypal, your reputation is ruined the minute you do a charge-back. But, with credit cards, nobody will ever know! In any case, the seller can prevent you from doing a reversal using paypal simply by giving paypal a phone call if there is a dispute.

What if you pay by check?
If you pay someone by check, there are no reversals. The money is gone unless they give it back to you or you sue them. If you pay unknown vendors by check for a deposit, you are just handing them your cash on a silver platter with no guarantees
of anything.

The bottom line
I do business with IT companies, and finding a reputable one that does good work is like finding a needle in a haystack. If I used paypal and did a chargeback each time I was cheated, I would have more reversed transactions than real transactions. So, I just let them keep the money if they cheat me. I don’t want to ruin my credibility over a small dispute over $1500 or $2000.

My recent experience
I found out why a particular company I’m dealing with doesn’t accept credit cards. They don’t deliver on time. I paid in advance and am waiting forever for service. The quality of their service is excellent when they deliver, but their priority are their larger and more steady clients, not me. Be careful!