California Almonds Made in Asia[1]

Meera was on voice chat with her son, Raju working in Seattle. He was coming to India for a conference on Business Process Outsourcing [BPO].

“Don’t forget, California Almonds for our home and relatives”, she reminded him.

Next week, Raju landed at the Bangalore airport. Meera and Murthy, his parents were there to receive him. With Raju was Mr. Bill Jobs, his friend, joining Outfosys, Bangalore, India a leading software company. Raju introduced Bill to his parents and indicated that he would stay with them for a week.

On reaching home, Raju gave her the packets of almonds.

Looking at the details printed on the container, she enquired whether Raju had seen almond orchards in California.

“Oh, it was a great sight to watch huge almond orchards stretching from Sacramento Valley to the San Joaquin Valley. Our company had developed ERP solutions to one of the companies in almonds business. So, I could see from the production to the very end of the process. It was amazing to see that they were showing concurrent attention to the production, processing, packaging and marketing. They take great care for quality at every stage of its operation. With all these, they are also able to offer almonds at competitive prices, much less than that of Indian almonds. Quality is the key for their success. You know, ma, that about 70% of the world’s supply of almonds is produced in California”, Raju explained.

Murthy, listening to the conversation, intervened with a big laugh.

“Hey, you know that Badam [Indian name for almond] has its origin to the deserts and mountain slopes of Asia. It had been cultivated in India and China for thousands of years before it took its present home, California. There was a huge tree in our ancestral home and we used to eat badam every day.”

“Ok. It was, it had been – these are all history. Do we get good Indian almonds now?” She interjected her husband.

“True, I too agree, Meera. The Americans think and deliver quality products at an affordable price. You think of a particular variety and taste, it is there. That is American. I do not know how long we will take to learn from them.”

Bill was watching silently the proceedings and trying to understand an Indian home.

Next day

Murthy was sipping his morning tea. Raju joined him.

“Ma, there is no flavor in the tea.”

Meera asked Bill whether he too would take tea.

“I prefer black coffee to tea, madam”, polite reply from Bill.

“Why, you don’t like tea? ” She asked.

Murthy smiled. “It reflects his strong patriotism, my dear. There is an interesting story behind Americans preferring coffee to tea. Have you heard about the famous Boston Tea Party?” As there was no response, he continued.

“In May 1773, the British government had imposed the Tea Tax on the Indian tea sold by the East India Company to the Americans. The people demanded removal of the tax on tea. In addition, the dockers began refusing to unload the tea from ships. Then, on December 16, 1773, a group of men boarded the British ships having Indian tea in the Boston Harbor and dumped over 300 chests of tea into the sea. Of course, this event became a blessing in disguise for the Americans as a series of events led to their Independence in a little over three years.”

“Over the years, Indian tea lost its space too, mainly due to high cost of production and low quality. Now, it is unable to compete with other countries in the global market.”

“It seems that a similar situation has arisen particularly in America in so far as outsourcing various services to countries to developing countries.”

Bill did not make any comment.

Raju escorted Bill to Outfosys and then went to attend the conference. In the evening, Raju picked up Bill and reached home. With dinner served, the conversation continued.

“Bill, how was the first day at Outfosys?” Raju enquired.

“It was a great day. I had some anxious moments before taking up this job. But, the way the guys came forward to help me, introducing me to the VP, HR, I am sure, I will enjoy my stay in the new job.”

Raju shared his experience in the conference.

“India gets very little business with high volume low-end work compared to about $ 7 billion value of global BPO services”, one delegate lamented.

“The Americans have demonstrated time and again, their ability to innovate and widen their frontiers of excellence and leave the developed products and services to the developing countries to provide. The Old Asia desired aid. The New Asia aspires trade. So, the present fear is more out of insecurity bug gripping through a perceived fear of losing everything in life. But, it is not so”, another delegate reasoned out.

Murthy intervened. “If it is BPO fear for Americans and Europeans, it is the penetration of WTO for the developing countries like India. With billions of dollars of support and subsidies available to the farmers in these countries, the developing countries feel threatened. So, it is necessary for the governments in the developed countries to take active role in managing and shaping the globalisation efforts for the benefit of all instead of looking at one sector alone.”

Bill nodded in affirmative.

Murthy continued. “I also feel that the Americans should rather fear the soaring imports from China, which pushed U.S merchandise trade deficit to a new height of $549 billion in 2003, an increase of 14%. So, the real challenge lies in developing the manufacturing sector to its previous glorious level instead of fearing the services outsourcing. Otherwise, a day may come when California almonds are exported with a label of Made in China or Made in India”.

Bill smiled at the obsession of Murthy about California -no, no- Indian cum Chinese almonds. But, he found some rationale in Murthy’s argument.

Discussions turned to poverty and employment and Bill tried to give a brief account of his perception.

“With my limited knowledge, I can say that poverty in America means an annual income level of around $17K for a family of four. But, in India, it is a huge amount and it represents the annual income of millions of people considered rich. So, they are prepared for a trade off because, the opportunity cost of labor for them was much less than the one available to them in developed countries.”

“As far as jobs are concerned, what types of jobs is a big question haunting many Americans. But, various analyses show that the jobs of the future will require only slightly greater education credentials. They also provide no evidence of a skill gap, a concern often expressed in outsourcing.”

“Yes, I agree, Bill,” Murthy responded.

“During my days, I could not secure admission for an engineering course, as there were just 3 or 4 colleges in the State. But, now, it has over 200 engineering colleges and about 20,000 students are passing out every year. Similar is the situation in a number of states. It means more professionals are there to take new challenges now than before. We are also now realizing the value of quality in the services sector. Well, the government also did not do anything and that was a great service for the growth of this sector. Rest is what you see today.”

“Moreover, America and Europe with their relative low level of unemployment and social safety net may need to be more sensitive to the plight of developing countries having much larger level of unemployment. These countries also have fewer resources to cope with.”

Next day

“Go with the flow” is the best approach, Bill in voice chat, was persuading his friend in the U.S to take up a job outside U.S instead of crying from there. There are opportunities outside, he reasoned out.

“You see, after working in a company there, I have now joined Outfosys, India just when the noise of BPO was increasing. This year, Outfosys will be recruiting about 10,000 people for various levels of functions. You also join such companies in India or other Asian countries where such openings are increasing.”

“Nope. I may not be able to manage my present level of living with a lower level of income in such places.” His friend was not convinced.

“Why not? Salary-wise it might appear lower than what an American would be getting in U.S. But, with the emolument one gets in these companies, one can lead a comfortable living and also save. Saving is one thing we have forgotten in America. I have now reinvented its virtue here”, explained Bill.

“Nope. I am afraid to go out of U.S to work.”

“See, migratory birds sense earth’s magnetic field and reach their destinations without losing their bearing. We must emulate their quality of seeking new frontiers. Columbus wanted to go to India to do business. Instead he landed in America. But, he did not regret. Similarly, we must shed the fear of unknown. The technological development has annihilated time and distance. So, you also move out and brave the new world.”

“Nope.” His friend did not yield.

Bill did not give up. “When we want to be a leader, we should not see competition as a threat; we should take competition as competition.”

“Do you know that you can drive a bi-cycle only forward and not backward? The same is true of technological development. We can only move forward. Sooner, we understand, the better for us. Sure, you will take that step forward soon.”

“Yep, yep. I think I should now consider it seriously.” His friend responded with confidence.

Bill was happy to win over one more American to come to India to work.

A couple of years after

The Bill Jobs Institute of Management, an international school started by Bill at the outskirts of Bangalore was organizing a seminar on ‘ Concepts of Bhagvat Gita and lessons for Indian companies’. Bill, as the President of the American Association, International Chapter was celebrating the momentous occasion of crossing 1000 Americans as members from Bangalore alone.

Do you want to join him?
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[1] Written for Shell Essay Contest sometime in 2004. Reproduced now.