Dead-End Jobs or Career Opportunities? Advancement opportunities in call centers

Employment in call centers has grown significantly throughout the world over the past 15 years. In debates about the quality of these new jobs, there are few studies that specifically address promotion opportunities. Using a survey of over 2400 call centers in 16 countries, this paper documents levels and analyzes factors shaping promotions in call centers, and discusses implications for promotions in the service sector generally. On average, less than 10% of call center agents are promoted in any year--5.7% promoted internally to the call center, and 4% promoted elsewhere in the business. Firms that have more complex labor processes and require agents to have higher levels of firm-specific knowledge tend to also have greater promotion opportunities, which might be expected. There are also unexpected findings, including that increased autonomy in the workplace often provides a ‘substitute' to advancement opportunities, and that unionization is associated with fewer advancement opportunities within call centers, though more advancement opportunities to other parts of the business. Key words: promotions, service industries, call centers.

Justicia en épocas de transición. Conceptos, modelos, debates, experiencias.

Estudio académico que ofrece una visión comparativa y analítica sobre la denominada justicia transicional. El autor repasa numerosos ejemplos y plantea los debates políticos que generan la aplicación de medidas de justicia en épocas de transición. En un campo tan sensible como el abordado, y donde la mayoría de análisis se han roducido desde una perspectiva jurídica Farid Benavides ofrece un examen de las diferentes cuestiones que deben tenerse en cuenta a la hora de poner en marcha mecanismo de justicia transicional.

The “Death of environmentalism” debates: forging links between SEA and civil society discourses

Social and environmental accounting (SEA) is currently going through a period of critical selfanalysis.Challenging questions are being raised about how SEA should be defined, who should be doing the defining, and what the agenda should be. We attempt to engage and enrich these debates from both a process and content perspective by drawing on the political philosophy of agonistic pluralism and a set of debates within the environmental movement – “the death of environmentalism” debates. The contribution of the paper is twofold: to set forth the death of environmentalism debates in the accounting literature and, in doing so, to contextualize and theorize the contested nature of SEA using agonistic pluralism. In contrast to consensually oriented approaches to SEA, the desired outcome is not necessarily resolution of ideological differences but to imagine, develop, and support democratic processes wherein these differences can be recognized and engaged. We construe the “Death” debates as illustrative of the contestable practical and political issues facing both SEA and progressive social movements generally, demonstrating the context and content of the deliberations necessary in contemplating effective programs of engagement. The SEA community, and civil society groups, can benefit from the more overtly political perspective provided by agonistic pluralism. By surfacing and engaging with various antagonisms in this wider contested civic sphere, SEA can more effectively respond to, and move beyond, traditional politically conservative, managerialist approaches to sustainability.

Memoria crítica de tres debates escolares

Como reflexión sobre la enseñanza en la Escola Elisava y de la enseñanza del diseño en general, la intervención pretende tratar los debates que durante muchos años se habían dado tácitamente entre los distintos estamentos académicos, mostrando la situación crítica que supone -especialmente para el frágil diseño- que uno cualquiera de estos estamentos influya sobre los demás. A partir de mediados de los años 90, la progresiva adopción generalizada en la enseñanza superior del modelo anglosajón -con claro predominio de lo institucional- ha mostrado el carácter premonitorio de la crítica que aquí se expone.

Crítical memory of three school debates

As reflection on the education in the Escola Elisava and of the design education in general, the intervention tries to treat the debates that for many years had existed tacitly between the different academic classes, showing the critical situation that it supposes - especially for the fragile design - that one any of these classes influences over the others. From middle of the 90s, the progressive adoption generalized in the higher education of the Anglo-Saxon model ¿with clear predominance of the institutional thing¿ has showed the indicative character of the critique that here is exhibited.