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PROJECT SYNOPSIS

1. STUDENT DETAILS

Name:

Roll Number:

Name of the program: MBA

Specialization:

Semester: Semester III

Session:

Name of LC:

LC code:

Contact Number:

E Mail:

2. PROJECT SYNOPSIS DETAILS

TITLE OF THE PROJECT: A STUDY ON STRESS MANAGEMENT IN


BPO SECTOR AT VCOUSTOMERS

NAME AND DESIGNATION OF THE ORGANIZATION GUIDE:MR. RAJEEV


NARANG, VICE PRESIDENT (HR)

NAME AND DESIGNATION OF THE ACADEMIC GUIDE:

1. INTRODUCTION:

1.1. Industry profile:

Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) is the fastest growing segment of the ITES
(Information Technology Enabled Services) industry. Factors such as economy of
scale, business risk mitigation, cost advantage, utilization improvement and
superior competency have all lead to the growth of the Indian BPO industry.
Business process outsourcing in India, which started around the mid-90s, has
now grown by leaps and bounds.
India is now the world's favored market for BPO companies, among other
competitors, such as, Australia, China, Philippines and Ireland. The BPO boom in
India is credited to cheap labor costs and India's huge talent pool of skilled,
English-speaking professionals. Research by the National Association of Software
Services and Companies (NASSCOM) has revealed that quality orientation
among leading BPO companies, 24/7 services, India's unique geographic location
and the investor friendly tax structure in India have all made the BPO industry in
India very popular.

Services offered by Indian BPO companies

Indian BPO companies offer varied services, such as, customer support,
technical support, telemarketing, insurance processing, data processing, forms
processing, bookkeeping and internet / online / web research.

1. Customer support services: 24/7 inbound / outbound call center


services that address customer queries and concerns through phone,
email and live chat.
2. Technical support services: Installation, product support, running
support, troubleshooting, usage support and problem resolution for
computer software, hardware, peripherals and internet infrastructure.
3. Telemarketing services: Interacting with potential customers and
creating interest for the customer's services/ products. Up-selling,
promoting and cross selling to existing customers and completing online
sales processes.
4. IT help desk services: Level 1 and 2 multi-channel support, system
problem resolutions, technical problem resolution, office productivity tools
support, answering product usage queries and performing remote
diagnostics.
5. Insurance processing: New business acquisition and promotion, claims
processing, policy maintenance and policy management.
6. Data entry and data processing: Data entry from paper, books,
images, e-books, yellow pages, web sites, business cards, printed
documents, software applications, receipts, bills, catalogs and mailing
lists.
7. Data conversion services: Data conversion for databases, word
processors, spreadsheets and software applications. Data conversion of
raw data into PDF, HTML, Word or Acrobat formats.
8. Bookkeeping and accounting services: Maintenance of the customer's
general ledger, accounts receivables, accounts payables, financial
statements, bank reconciliations and assets / equipment ledgers.
9. Form processing services: Online form processing, payroll processing,
medical billing, insurance claim forms processing and medical forms
processing.
10.Online research: Internet search, product research, market research,
surveys, analysis, web research and mailing list research.
1.2. Company profile:

vCustomer believes that our clients are looking for a partner who can help them
strengthen their relationship with their customers. vCustomer provides a unique
focus around the customer that helps you gain insight into customer behavior
and leverage the solutions and services to improve the customer support
experience.

In the traditional model of outsourced contact center or CRM services, clients


provide all the customer intelligence, business platforms and process knowledge.
Today, we believe that our clients are looking forward to us to deliver a world-
class solution that enables their customers to get the benefit of not only the best
of class industry practices.

vCustomer partners with its clients to ensure that their customers have a
consistently great experience in the course of every interaction with the support
team. Our goal is to provide the most cost-effective solution that leverages a
global workforce that enables customers to get the help they need, when they
need it and via the communication channel they choose.

vCustomer has developed some of the most flexible and adaptive customer
communication tools designed to support both inbound and outbound
communications. Whether it is ensuring the customer is never on hold, or
assuring the customer with follow-up status updates after they have made a
request.

We understand that our clients have a limited budget within which they would
like to support their customers. While their budget is limited, they also want the
customer to feel like they care. This is why in addition to our flat pricing
structure; we provide state-of-the-art speech-based IVR solutions and web-
based self-service solutions.

Finally, we understand that not all customers have the same needs or the same
comfort levels with communication channels. Our CRM solutions help us identify
which customer profiles map best to which communication channel and we help
guide the customers to the channel that best suits them. By having a common
knowledgebase across all channels we are able to ensure that regardless of the
channel the customers choose, they will get the identical information in the
fastest and most effective way possible.

vCustomer is a leading provider of customer care contact center solutions and


services. We leverage the right blend of innovative technology, business
analytics and industry expertise to consistently deliver customized, high quality,
cost-saving services and solutions. We offer a unique combination of best-in-
class contact center services and an integrated, feature-rich CRM suite to help
increase your customers lifetime value. We provide industry expertise in
Communications, Retail and Consumer Technology sectors. Our focus allows us
to understand your business, help you reduce operating costs, and improve
quality levels by deploying self-service.

Established in 1999 and privately held, vCustomer provides its high quality
customer lifecycle solutions through state-of-the-art facilities in the United
States, India and the Philippines. vCustomer's North American headquarters is
located in Kirkland, Washington.

Objectives:

To undergo an in-depth study about the stress among the employees of


vCustomers.
To identify the factors causing stress among the employees.
To find out the level and kind of stress among the employees of different age
groups.
To study about the effects of stress on employees in vCustomers.
To identify the coping strategies to manage stress.

2. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY:

2.1. RESEARCH PROBLEM:

The present world is changing really fast and there are lots of pressures and
demands at work. These pressures at work lead to physical disorders. Stress
refers to individuals reaction to a disturbing factor in the environment. Hence
this study i.e. Stress Management in BPO sector would help the organization
like Vcustomers to know the factors of stress and to reduce the stress in
employees. Since it is a well known fact that healthy employee is a productive
employee.
Explanation of the Problem
Now days, the corporate sector is booming in a high speed that the people have
to work for prolonged hours to maintain the standard of living and achieve their
basic needs. So is the condition in the hospitals, colleges, BPOs and lots of other
places. In spite of having the modern technologies and facilities, people are
feeling themselves to be work loaded and stressed. Stress arises because of
many reasons which are discussed in the following project. The project report
also contain techniques how to reduce the stress and overcome such problems.
Stress is now viewed as a "bad thing", with a range of harmful biochemical and
long-term effects. These effects have rarely been observed in positive situations.
Stress is that stress is a condition or feeling experienced when a person
perceives that demands exceed the personal and social resources the
individual is able to mobilize. In short, it is what we feel when we think we
have lost control over events. There are very many proven skills that we can use
to manage stress. These help us to remain calm and effective in high-pressure
situations, and help us avoid the problems of long term stress.

2.2. WHY THIS PROBLEM SIGNIFICANT / NEED FOR THE STUDY:

The present world is fast changing and there are lots of pressures and demands
at work. These pressures at work lead to physical disorders. Stress refers to
individuals reaction to a disturbing factor in the environment. Hence this study
would help the organization to know the factors of stress and to reduce the
stress in employees. Since it is a well known fact that healthy employee is a
productive employee.

2.3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Research Design:

Research methodology is a way to systematically solve the research problem.


The research methodology in the present study deals with research design, data
collection methods, sampling methods, survey, analysis and interpretations.

APPROACHES TO RESEARCH

Descriptive approach is one of the most popular approaches these


days. In this approach, a problem is described by the researcher by using
questionnaire or schedule. This approach enables a researcher to explore new
areas of investigation.

RESEARCH DESIGN

A well structured questionnaire is framed.


Data is collected from the employees in vCustomer.
Findings are made and necessary suggestions and recommendations are
given.

3. TOOLS / TECHNIQUES TO BE USED FOR DATA ANALYSIS:

DATA SOURCES
There are two types of data collection namely primary data collection and
secondary data collection.
PRIMARY DATA
The primary data is defined as the data, which is collected for the first time and
fresh in nature, and happen to be original in character through field survey.
Primary data collection, you collect the data yourself using methods such as
interviews and questionnaires. The key point here is that the data you collect is
unique to you and your research and, until you publish, no one else has access
to it.
There are many methods of collecting primary data and the main methods
include:

Questionnaires

SECONDARY DATA

In research, Secondary data is collecting and possibly processing data by people


other than the researcher in question. Common sources of secondary data for
social science include censuses, large surveys, and organizational records. In
sociology primary data is data you have collected yourself and secondary data is
data you have gathered from primary sources to create new research. In terms
of historical research, these two terms have different meanings. A primary
source is a book or set of archival records. A secondary source is a summary of
a book or set of records.

Advantages to the secondary data collection method are - 1) it saves time that
would otherwise be spent collecting data, 2) provides a larger database (usually)
than what would be possible to collect on ones own. However there are
disadvantages to the fact that the researcher cannot personally check the data
so its reliability may be questioned.
DATA COLLECTION METHOD
The data collection method used in this research is survey method. Here the
data are systematically recorded from the respondents.
RESEARCH TOOL
A structured questionnaire has been prepared to get the relevant information
from the respondents. The questionnaire consists of a variety of questions
presented to the respondents for their despondence. The various types of
questions used in this survey are:
Open ended questions
Closed ended questions
Multiple choice questions

SAMPLE SIZE
The sample size chosen for this study is 100.
Callers - 70
Team Leaders - 20
Supervisors - 10
----------
100
TYPE OF SAMPLING
The sampling type is non-probability which involves deliberating selections
of particular units constituting a sample, which represents the universe.
STRATIFIED SAMPLING
Stratum means a layer population from which samples are to be selected may
contain a number of layers from each layer a few samples are selected that is
why this method is called stratified sampling.
STATISTICAL METHODS USED
Percentage analysis
Bars & charts
Pie diagrams
STATISTICAL TOOLS USED
Chi-square test
Weighted average

PERCENTAGE ANALYSIS:
Percentage refers to a special kind of ratio. Percentages are used in making
comparison between two or more series of data. Percentage is used to describe
relative terms the distribution of two or more series of data.
No. of Respondents
Percentage of Respondents = ------------------------ X 100
Total Respondents

4. EXPECTED RESULTS OF THE STUDY:

Stress in the work place has become the black plague of the present century.
Much of the stress at work is caused not only by work overload and time
pressure but also by lack of rewards and praise, and more importantly, by not
providing individuals with the autonomy to do their work as they would like.
Most of the employees were not satisfied with the grievance handling procedure
of the organization which was found by the unstructured interview.

Organization must begin to manage people at work differently, treating them


with respect and valuing their contribution. If we enhance the psychological well
being and health of the employees, in the coming future the organization would
make more revenue as well as employee retention. Because it is said that,

A Healthy Employee is a Productive Employee

5. LITERATURE REVIEW / RELATED RESEARCH OUTCOMES:

Since the origin of the term 'stress' it is ambiguous 'stress' began life as a
variant on 'distress' in the 14th century. It meant the experience of physical
hardship, starvation, torture, and pain. These days, however, the term revolves
around the medieval definition, in which 'stress' simply meant 'hardship'. The
recent scientific developments inform us that 'stress' is actually good for us.
Stress is derived from the Latin word stranger, meaning to draw tight, and was
used in the 17th century to describe hardships or affliction. During the late 18th
century stress denoted "force, pressure, strain or strong effort," referring
primarily to an individual or to an individual's organs or mental powers (Hinkle,
1973).
As has already been noted, stress has been defined as a stimulus, a response, or
the result of an interaction between the two, with the interaction described in
terms of some imbalance between the person developed, particularly that
surrounding the person-environment (P-E) interaction, researches have
considered the nature of that interaction and, more importantly, the
psychological processes which it takes place (Dewey, 1992).

A review on the previous studies on stress among the employees is necessary to


know the areas already covered. This will help to find our new areas uncovered
and to study them in depth. The earlier studies made on stress among the
employees are briefly reviewed here.

The research study by Jamal. M finds that job stressors were significantly related
to employees psychosomatic problems, job satisfaction, unproductive time at
the job, and absenteeism. Type A behaviour was found to be an important
moderator of the stress outcome relationship.

A. P. and J. M. Atieh, argues that it is not safe to assume that job conditions that
have an adverse impact on affective reactions to the job will also have a
negative impact on overall subjective well-being.

Fienmann views stress as a psychological response state of negative effect


characterized by a persistent and a high level of experienced anxiety or tension.

Recent research into the interaction between the mind body show that we may
place our body on stress alert quite unconsciously, because of our psychological
and emotional attitudes to stress. Anticipatory emotions like impatience, anxiety,
and anger can produce the same nerve impulses and chemical reactions as being
faced with a concrete challenge. So when faced with a stressful situation, we
must either use up the energy created by the body to challenge or learn how to
turn off, the response using a conscious relaxation technique.

Hans Seyle, the endocrinologist, whose research on General Adaptation


Syndrome (GAS), for the first time, revealed how human beings adapt
themselves to emotional strives and strains in their lives. According to him
emotional stress occurs in three important stages. 1. Alarm reaction stage 2.
Resistance stage 3. Exhaustion stage.

Alarm reaction is caused by physical or psychological stressors. Resistances are


brought about by ACTH hormone of the body. Exhaustion follows when ACTH
dwindles as a result of continual stress. (ACTH-Aprinocorticotropic)

According to Stephen .P. Robbins, stress related headaches are the leading
cause of loss of work time in U. S. industry.

Cooper and Marshall visualize stress as characteristics of both the focal


individual and his environment. They designate the internal and external
convulsive forces as pressures or stressors and the resulting stalk of the
organism on stress.

6. WORK DONE:

The following can be mentioned under work done. This section is to specify the
work done till date.
visits to the company;
List of functionaries met;
Documents received from company;
Registers and files seen;
Observations made;
Number of samples collected/questionnaires filled

7. BOOKS, SITES, JOURNALS, MAGAZINES REFERRED

Books:

Ahuja. K.K- Industrial psychology and organizational behavior,


Khanna publishers, New Delhi, 1991.

Biswanath Ghosh- A new look organizational behavior, Himalaya


Publishing House New Delhi, 1994.
Finemann- A Psychological Model of Stress and its application to
managerial unemployment, Human relations, 1979.
Ghosh P.K. and Ghorpade M.B. - Industrial and Organizational
Psychology, Himalaya Publishing House, Bombay 1991.

Journals and Magazines

Business line, The stress is beginning to show, Financial Express


published by Hindu, Trivandrum, 1989.
Brief A.P. and Atieth J.M., Studying Job Stress: Are we making mountains
out of mole Hills? Journal of occupational behavior, 1987.
Jamal M., Job Stress-Prone Type A behavior and personal and
organizational consequences, Canadian Journal of Administrative.
Dr.Satish Chandra Pandy, Indian ways of winning Stress, The Journal of
Indian Management and Strategy, 1997

Websites:
www.google.com
www.yahoo.com
www.googlebooks.com
www.wikipedia.com
http://www.vcustomer.com

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