http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2007/09/05/stories/2007090552560400.htm
.... this blog is to all the poor sods who thought IT is a very humane sector
.... I am not being mean; but this is the First time the tech bubble is actually going to burst and then stay there; the dot com burst was for dot coms; this is for IT services. (Alternate view points are welcome; for I may then need to change my investment thesis)
As some of you may know I am in the stock markets and there are two sectors which I hate (from investor point of view) which are Textiles and Pharma
Textiles because these buggers are always raising money and diluting shareholder value and Pharma because it is so bloody opaque; no one knows whats the next drug discovery coming from.
However, my best short (i.e. selling something heavily because you feel its fortunes are going down) for this year has been the IT sector
Though back in B School I was never too big a fan of marketing; I have, since joining the work stream, believed that any company/sector should have a sustained avenue for growth and stability of income, which hte IT services dont have
Ok; agreed this has been a sunshine sector for India and all that jazz; but look at what the companies do; shift high cost job to a low cost centre and then sit on it.
Companies like Infosys, TCS, Wipro should be ashamed of calling themselves value protectors because they had the chance of a lifetime of not just being cost-arbitraugers but moving ahead and making a name of providing offerings like products etc which could help them make a sustainable positioning and platform.
I conceed that these companies have given huge employment opportunities but the point is that by not thinking long term they have actually put so much in dilemma that its not funny!
Just 1 factor, the rising Re, is killing them so badly that they are now resorting to cheap tricks like increasing the work hours of their employees (as the above link shows)
I am in the finance world; I know what I am doing today may be redundant in 3 yrs; and more importantly my employer knows that and so they are always working on improving revenues and models; no one sits idle (well I do but thats because I am a lazy sod);
And look at India itself; we dont need people to keep telling me that IT is so great etc etc; htings have moved so much beyond it now; we are the cheapest steel producers; the best refiing margins are with us; we are the best in auto ancillaries and mid end engg precisioning... who needs cost arbtraugers?
If the IT companies really believe in looking after their employees and in creating value they need to start getting their act together rather than resorting to this shenanigans
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7 comments:
After working at Infosys for well over 2 yrs I found the article just plain hilarious. Any IT techie will tell you that hours clocked are completely inconsequential. All the days that I worked in Infosys I don't remember ever working for less than 10 hrs a day! There was a phase in the middle when my team worked weekends as well for almost 3 straight months! I had to ask for leave on a Sunday to go deposit my rent cheque!
And this isn't uncommon.. Every IT services company project goes through phases like this and hours clocked is just extra paperwork for the developer and billing info for the management.
Oh! and of course just in case you were wondering - Infy doesn't pay over time or give compensatory off's either ..
Yes, IT companies have boosted the Indian economy but sadly they're nothing more than sweatshops for the brainy Indian engineer ... always were and always will be for such is their business model.
Nutty
Exactly my point!
They are sweatshops
I know that no one in IT services (or otherwise in whole of Asia) works for less than 10 hours; but the whole point is thta they are actually resorting to such sort of indiscriminate bullshit while saying that they look after their employees; what crap.
At least in finance and other industries/sectors the top mgmt thinks ahead; here no one is!
What crap; I have always wanted to short IT and just one trade of mine this year; Long Reliance and short Infosys has doubled my money... not showing off but just highlighting that its time ppl start looking at IT as you have highlighted -> as some jazzed up sweat shops!
Cheers babes!
hmmmmmmmm.. tell me what sectors are working less than 10 hours a day?
Police in India
Any sector you can name in US (except finance)
Any sector you can name in France (they have a 35 hour week rule)
Most sectors you can name in Sg (ACs shut at 6pm in Sg)
Want more?
Hmm...sure you will offend some people with this post. But in principle I agree, that there is more long term gain in creating value rather than playing a low cost game...
agreed babes; but thats the point!
I can bet you that if Infosys and TCS dont get out of this rut of just being sweatshops; in 3 yrs their market cas would be half
and the markets may be wrong in the interim but in the longer run markets are always right!
Shool Boy, i was talking only about India....
and i agree uif they don't move up the value chain.. their valuation will start going down...
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