Outsourcing Technical Communication

Issues, Policies and Practices

Barry Thatcher, Carlos Evia

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2017
• Print ISBN: 9780895033345
• eBook ISBN: 9781351842372
• Topic: Psychology
• Subtopic: Mental Health in Psychology
• Index: Psychology

This book examines the impact of outsourcing on the field of technical communication. Aided by new technologies and driven by global market structures, technical communication products that were once developed in the United States or Western Europe are now being developed in Asia, Eastern Europe, and other parts of the world. If technical communication follows other fields, such as information technologies, electronics manufacturing, and even textiles, this 'outsourcing' of technical communication products and jobs will surely influence our profession-but how? What kinds of jobs will remain in the United States? Which jobs are more efficiently handled outside the United States? How can U.S. technical communicators develop a 'comparative advantage' in the global economy? How can collaboration and joint development of information products be managed? What are the ethical, cultural, social, and economic dilemmas created by outsourcing?This collection is designed as a theory/practice book that addresses the needs of graduate students, faculty, and technical communicators who want to teach, practice, or conduct research in this area. It addresses technical communications and outsourcing in six different parts of the world, including the United States. It also explores issues of curriculum, project management, legal considerations, and intercultural communication problems.This title is suitable for: Technical communication professionals in academia and industry; managers, researchers, and teachers of documentation projects who are involved in offshore outsourcing situations and need to find best practices, strategies, or recommendations for being successful; technical writers (freelancers and corporate employees) working with international partners interested in how outsourcing can affect the future of their profession; non-U.S. writers working in outsourcing projects looking to perform satisfactorily in their jobs; undergraduate and graduate professors in universities and community colleges teaching courses in publications management, information design, international communication, and technical writing, and students enrolled in those courses; teachers and students in rhetorical theory and professional communication pedagogy courses; ESL (English as a second language) and ESP (English for specific purposes) readers.

PART I

Outsourcing Practices by Region

CHAPTER 1
Technical Communication and IT Outsourcing in India—Past, Present, and Future

Prashant Natarajan and Makarand Pandit

Writing in India has a long history and can be traced back to the Vedic and Harappan civilizations (2600 BC–1900 BC). The Brahmi script used in ancient Harappan texts of the period is “systematic” and appears to follow grammatical rules (Kak, 1994, p. 375). An early sample of Indian technical communication can be found in the Rig Veda (third millennium BC), a religious text that includes chapters on intricate astronomical code, grammar, and writing (Kak, 1994, p. 386).

The profession of technical communication in India, however, has humbler beginnings. It is only in the last fifteen years that technical communicators have been identified and recognized as practitioners of the field of technical and professional communication. Indian corporate recognition of technical communication as value addition appears to have been motivated by the needs of Information Technology (IT) outsourcing as opposed to the needs of the local economy. India is presently the favorite IT outsourcing destination for organizations located in North America, Europe, and the rest of Asia. According to India’s National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM), “India’s software and services exports business recorded revenue of $12.5 billion in the fiscal year that ended March 31, 2004, up by 30.5% over revenue of $9.6 billion in the previous year” (Ribero, 2004).

India, the “largest English-speaking country in the world” (Crystal, 2004) has a rich scientific tradition and is home to many renowned engineering and science universities. Thanks to its linguistic, educational, and cultural strengths, India appears to be uniquely placed to address global technical communication/information-development needs successfully. In Offshore Information Development Benchmark Study, Hackos (2002) states, “[…] to decrease operational costs and increase competitive advantage, offshore information development has, for some companies, become a viable alternative to hiring information developers in North America” (p. 2). In our opinion (Natarajan and Pandit), global trends and local business needs represent an increasing need for the services of Indian technical communicators, who are estimated to number fewer than 5000 today (exact statistics are not available).

Available scholarly research on writing and technical communication in the Indian subcontinent is almost nonexistent. Among the only published articles of significance are Kak’s Evolution of Early Writing in India and Hackos’ whitepaper for Dell Computers, Offshore Information Development BenchmarkStudy. However, Indian English (the Indian variant of British English) is well represented in linguistics research by authors such as Crystal, Mehrotra, Kachru, Schiffman, and Hohenthal, among others.

This chapter attempts to provide an up-to-date and detailed picture of the profession of technical communication in India. It briefly traces the evolution of writing and technical communication in the country’s past, beginning with the Rig Veda and ending with the adoption of English as an official language. We also use responses from a national survey of members of the Society for Technical Communication’s (STC) India branch to identify their current workplace roles and responsibilities. The chapter includes discussions on the roles of Standard American English (SAE) and Indian English (IE), global business trends, and academic support of future prospects for the profession in the subcontinent. We hope these findings and discussions are useful to researchers and professionals interested in learning more about language use, writing, and information development in India. This chapter is organized into the following sections:

• Writing and technical communication in ancient India

• English in pre- and post-independent India

• Outsourcing trends and technical communication

• Survey methodology and sample demographics

• Survey results

• Conclusions

WRITING AND TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION IN ANCIENT INDIA

India has a rich legacy of writing and technical communication. Early Indian technical communication appears to be a direct consequence of the country’s scientific and mathematical tradition. In his seminal article on Indian writing, Kak traces the evolution of ancient Indian writing by using archeological artifacts and the discovery of astronomical code in the Rig Veda (or Rgveda). He states, “The recent discovery of the astronomical code on the basis of the Rgvedaalso raises important questions regarding writing in ancient India. Even the most conservative estimates date the Rgveda to the second millennium B.C.” Kak further states, “[…] the Rgveda was probably completed in the third millennium B.C.” and “the existence of an intricate astronomical code suggests that the earliest Vedic phase was characterized by knowledge of writing” (Kak, 1994, p. 376).

The development of the Indian (also known as Hindu-Arabic or Arabic) numeral system (0–9) is well known and beyond the scope of this chapter. However, it is interesting to note that Indian numerals first appeared in European texts like Codex Vigilanus in 976 AD (Kak, 1994, p. 384). We think the evolution of science, mathematics, geometry, and algebra in ancient Indian civilizations is a direct consequence of the technical communication developed to support scientific thinking and processes. The Sanskrit texts Shulba Sutras (800 BC–200 BC) are examples of early technical documents that contain geometrical and algebraic formulae. Panini’s (a prominent Indian rhetorician) treatise on Sanskrit grammar, Astadhyayi (460 BC), appears to be the first work on rhetoric and composition. O’Connor and Robertson (2000) stated, “[Astadhyayi] consists of eight chapters, each subdivided into quarter chapters. In this work Panini distinguishes between the language of sacred texts and the usual language of communication. Panini gives formal production rules and definitions to describe Sanskrit grammar.”

The influence of Panini’s Astadhyayi on both rhetoric and science has been seen as significant. According to O’Connor and Robertson (2000),

Panini should be thought of as the forerunner of the modern formal language theory used to specify computer languages. The Backus Normal Form was discovered independently by John Backus in 1959, but Panini’s notation is equivalent in its power to that of Backus and has many similar properties. It is remarkable to think that concepts which are fundamental to today’s theoretical computer science should have their origin with an Indian genius around 2500 years ago.

Joseph stated that “[Sanskrit’s] potential for scientific use was greatly enhanced as a result of the thorough systemisation (sic) of its grammar by Panini” (as cited in O’Connor & Robertson, 2000) According to O’Connor and Robertson, “[Joseph] suggests that algebraic reasoning, the Indian way of representing numbers by words, and ultimately the development of modern number systems in India, are linked through the structure of language.”

Thanks to the economic and business opportunities created by outsourcing, Indian information developers may be able to use their ancient scientific and rhetorical traditions to create a positive impact on the knowledge creation and dissemination in the twenty-first century.

ENGLISH IN PRE- AND POSTINDEPENDENT INDIA

India’s rhetorical and linguistic traditions would not be complete without an examination of the significant influence of English, first introduced in India following the bilingual language debate in 1835, which focused on “which language(s) should be used as the medium of education in India” (Hohenthal, 2000b). Despite the fact that Jones and other Orientalists found Sanskrit to “[have a] wonderful structure, more perfect than Greek, and more copious than Latin, and more exquisitely refined than either” (Schiffman, 1999, p. 437), Sanskrit lost its role as apabrahmsha —the more formal or the official language—and English soon became the language of administration in colonial India. English also became the preferred language for the elite Indian upper and middle classes, and the language for education (also known in India as English-medium education). After obtaining its independence in 1947, India decided to retain English as an important link language despite dozens of other languages and dialects, conferred it official status, and made it the language of law, administration, commerce, and education. The easy adoption of English by bilingual Indians in pre- and postcolonial periods is not merely a result of colonial dictates; unlike most former British colonies, the end of colonial rule did not mean the demise of English as a preferred language of the middle and upper classes or an official language of government. Independent India has continued to promote the use of English in bureaucracies, private businesses, and schools.

According to Kachru (1994), “The penetration of English in [Indian] societies is greater than it has ever been” (p. 542). It is important that we see the use of English in India as more than a second language (ESL). The use of English in India, in professional and personal spheres, should be viewed as symptomatic of multilingualism. Webster’s Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language (1996) defines multilingualism as the ability to “speak more than two languages with approximately equal facility” (p. 940). Additionally, Kachru described multilingualism as the “linguistic behavior of the members of a speech community which alternately uses two, three, or more languages depending on the situation and function” (as cited by Hohenthal, 2000a). Indian English, a national variant of British English, is now an official, integral colanguage (as opposed to being a second language). In her article, “Standard Englishes and World Englishes: Living with a Polymorph Business Language,” Gilsdorf (2002) wrote,

Kachru (1992) diagrammed the spread of English as a series of inter-linked circles. The First—or Inner—Circle nations are those for which English has been strongly L1 (i.e., First Language) and from which English has spread to other countries. The Second—or Outer—Circle includes those where English has taken strong root as an intranational official language or co-language. The Third—or Expanding—Circle shows those nations now increasing their use of English as an inter- or intra-national language of business, technology, and/or government” (p. 368).

The development of Indian English is clearly in Kachru’s “Second Circle” and appears to be poised for greater acceptance and growth in the future. The widespread acceptance of English in India as a colanguage appears to be one of the main reasons for the country’s recent emergence as a hub for global technical communication and knowledge management.

OUTSOURCING TRENDS AND TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION

Outsourcing can be defined as “the act of obtaining services from an external firm.” According to McIver (2004), Electronic Data Systems (EDS) pioneered the concept of Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) in the early 1960s. EDS was able to convince its potential clients that it could do a better job of creating, maintaining, and providing IT support services. According to McIver (2004), “The underlying theory is that the BPO firm can complete the process more efficiently, leaving the original firm free to concentrate on its core competency.” Offshore outsourcing, or outsourcing to firms in developing countries such as China, India, Mexico, Sri Lanka, and Philippines, has become more common in the last ten years. Educated professionals in developing countries are able to work for lower wages than workers in developed countries. Though accurate figures are difficult to obtain, some studies estimate that organizations in developed countries can trim 25% to 60% of their costs by moving IT support services to developing countries. It is important to note that outsourcing is not driven by just cost concerns. In his book, The World is Flat, Friedman (2005) points out that “… India right now has a great advantage in having a pool of educated, low-wage English speakers with a strong service etiquette in their DNA and an enterprising spirit” (p. 189). Thanks to their emerging markets, pools of talented and educated professionals, and increased productivity, developing countries such as India are increasingly becoming obvious partners of businesses that are interested in achieving multiple gains through the use of outsourcing.

With its huge English-speaking population, India has particularly become an attractive destination for IT software and support services such as software documentation. NASSCOM estimates that more than 300,000 white-collar jobs have been created in India since 2000 to serve overseas clients, many of which are U.S.-based companies (Maher, 2004). However, the potential savings from outsourcing do not remain constant. Additional costs (political considerations, travel, long-distance communication, and increasing wages in developing countries) associated with outsourcing may influence the future of offshore information development. McIver (2004) warns, “Savings from the lower wage rate must exceed the increased costs of management and risk associated with offshore outsourcing for it to be economically viable.”

SURVEY METHODOLOGY AND SAMPLE DEMOGRAPHICS

Survey Design

As mentioned earlier, we conducted a national survey of the 100 members of the India chapter of STC to elicit information on the current state of the technical communication. Our Web-based survey was developed and tested by the authors at their respective locations (Pune, India and Auburn, AL, USA) in mid-November 2004. After the test revisions, the survey was finalized in the following form, which contained 38 questions in nine sections. The nine sections were

1. Introduction to the sur...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction: The Changing Face of Technical Communication in the Global Outsourcing Economy
• Part I Outsourcing Practices by Region
• Part II Management and Cross-Cultural Communication Issues
• Part III Legal, Ethical, and Political Issues
• Conclusion Personal Reflection on Developing a Viable Trajectory for Outsourcing Technical Communications
• Contributors
• Index