Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Take the Rice Bucket Challenge

Ok so people have complained about the IceBucket Challenge but few have offered a good alternative until now.

Meet #ricebucketchallenge - India'a answer to the ice bucket challenge

This is a highly effective charity as rice is something we all have in our cupboards and so many people need it.  We look forward to seeing lots of people participate in this challenge.  There are a lot of hungry people in the world.  A bowl of rice can go a long way to feed the world if followed up with a donation of food or cash to the local food bank or other organizations feeding the hungry.

Go wild and lets make sure everyone has enough food to eat.

Monday, August 25, 2014

Proposed challenge for Grimes and the Malala Fund

I just read the article on how Grimes denied doing ice bucket challenge for various reasons.  However she did honor the premise behind it, to give money to a cause and make a difference.

As ALS now has over 60 Million in donations maybe its time to switch gears and focus on another valuable charity to donate to.  Grimes suggested MalalaFund which is in line with our vision of A Days Work Deserves A Days Pay.  Education is more important than wages in that is empowers you to do more things.  Money may feed you, clothe you, but education fulfills you, guides you, allows you to grow and the economy of the nation to grow.

Here is my challenge:

Grimes since you were the first, I say place an autographed item up for auction on eBay much like Alice Cooper did with proceeds going to Malalal Fund.  Then challenge a couple other famous people to do the same.  This would create a flood of support for a worthwhile charity like MalalaFund

Are you up for the challenge Grimes?

Thursday, August 21, 2014

Local Outsource Agencies taking initiative themselves to help their community

I recently connected with Sagar Solanki on LinkedIn and asked a few questions about their new startup, if they give back to the community.
Yes, we do certain activities to help poor children. We provide study materials in a school for number of students. Gradually we would increase the help to them as we grow. 
It is things like this that make a difference and these are the types of outsource companies we need to support and help grow so they can help their communities grow.  If you are looking for Microsoft related or iPhone/iPad development please reach out to Sagar Solanki and support a company giving back to their community.  Here is their website: http://da-coders.com/

Although this makes a big difference, it is the company doing the outsourcing that is gaining the most and we would love to hear how some of these companies give back.

If you have any stories about companies are giving back to the communities they outsource to or outsourced companies giving back to their own communities email me at chris.williams@techguilds.com and we will post an article.

Monday, August 18, 2014

A Days Work for a Days Wages

We hear a lot about pay equity, we hear a lot about exploitation of workers, slave labor, outsourcing of labor to other countries.  Some people claim they are losing their jobs to foreign countries especially in the manufacturing sectors.  Sometimes its straight wages sometimes its less environmental restrictions.  There are lots of factors but here we are focusing on one in particular:  Equal pay for equal work.

Interestingly enough this is something that is meant to happen, we are meant to work together as one world in peace, a simple look at revelations shows this:
“A quart of wheat will cost you a whole day’s wages! Three quarts of barley will cost you a day’s wages too. But don’t ruin the olive oil or the wine.”
This is because we will eventually all be on one currency, we will all get paid in that currency and buy our goods at the same price.  We are seeing signs towards global trade agreements, some large agreements are already being signed.

Anyways, I am getting off topic, the focus here is on Equal pay for equal work.  What does equal pay mean?  Well some might say the salary or hourly pay must be the same dollar amount in a base currency say US Dollars.  But not necessarily is that fair as goods and services are not currently the same price in various regions.  Also some regions offer benefits that others do not.  Some regions pay more taxes.  The key first step is determining what factors we can apply to these wages so they are in fact comparing apples to apples.  

My initial thought is that as you delve deeper into the wages you will see that the wages in Ukraine, Romania, India are even less when we factor all these in than a simple wage comparison.  

Here are some samples for ASP.NET in different countries straight wage comparison in US Dollars: 

India: 24,000 rs = $394.575 US

Ukraine: $20,000 -30,000 US

Canada: $50,000 - $80,000 US

Ok so by moving a team of .NET developers from Canada to India if we assume low end in Canada $50,000 - $394.575 = $49605.425.  Yes but the quality is not good and you have to bring it back and work on it. You have to factor in lost days due to a lot more holidays.  Now factor on the amount companies have to pay for benefits such as dental and health in the Canada. Add that to the $50,000 and you start to see the difference grow.  

I understand that paying the individual that much more in India would cause more problems as there would be more of a divide between rich and poor.  So here is what we are suggesting.  Take the $50K or even a portion of it and invest it in the country they are working.  Donate it to a hospital, school, food bank, or some other charity.  Its only fair.  I look forward to comments on this and to hear stories from companies that are willing to take the challenge.  Tell us how you are doing this and we will feature your story on this blog.  

If you know a company or are a company taking this initiative or one like it, email us at chris.williams@techguids.com or dennis.augustine@techguilds.com and we will post your story.