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Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), one of the world's largest
global software and services consulting organizations and India’s first global
billion-dollar IT company has received a number of awards for Corporate Social Responsibility
(CSR). Notable among them are the Asian Corporate Social Responsibility Award (Asian CSR) for its
community work to support the improvement of education and raise the literacy
of Indians in India for the year 2003. TCS has also been selected winner
of the ‘Golden Pea** Global
Award for Corporate Social Responsibility (Asia) – 2007’ for CSR in the ‘Large
Business’ category by the Institute of Directors, the international body of
company directors. TCS was conferred the award based on an assessment, by an independent
jury, of the company's
integration of CSR concerns with corporate functioning, responsiveness to the
needs of different stakeholders, and development of innovative partnership
models to fulfill social responsibilities.
TCS is in the business of providing consultancy and professional
services in the field of information technology (IT), which by its nature of
operation has a limited
impact on the environment. However, as a responsible corporate citizen, TCS remains committed to
continually enhancing its performance through appropriate strategic plans for
social responsibility, environmental protection and improvement.
The Asian CSR Awards is
Asia’s premier awards program on corporate social responsibility. The
Asian CSR Awards program is presented by the Asian Institute of Management's
Ramon V. del Rosario, Sr. Center for Corporate Responsibility. The Ramon del
Rosario, Sr. Center for Corporate Responsibility is a research and program
centre with the mission of developing professional, entrepreneurial and
socially responsible leaders and managers.
TCS won the award in the ‘Support and Improvement in Education’ category.
This award recognizes the contribution of companies through their endowment or
contribution toward improving the level of education of their employees, their community and their
nation. TCS set up the Adult Literacy Program (ALP) to help the Indian Government eradicate
illiteracy, a major social concern affecting a third of the Indian population
comprising of old and young adults.
India’s literacy rate stands at around 65 per cent currently, up
from 52 per cent in 1991. At this rate of increase, it would take some 20 to 25
years to clear this problem. With the traditional method of learning to read and write,
an illiterate person would take between six months to two years with trained
teachers to learn to read and write. In addition, India will also need about 1
million teachers for training.
To accelerate
the rate of learning, the ALP uses a TCS-designed Computer Based Functional Literacy Model
(CBFLM), an innovative teaching method that uses multimedia software to
teach adults to read within 30-45 learning hours-spread over 1 to 1.5 hours
sessions, 3 times a week, over a period of 10 to 12 weeks.
The Computer Based Functional Literacy method uses animated graphics
patterns for visualization
and audio appreciation. By combining graphic patterns of visualization,
repetition of sound patterns and language structures and cognition of the
meaning, a person is made to read. This CBFL method is implemented using
computers and flash cards. Experiments on the ground with CBFL showed that
their slogan ‘40 hours to
literacy’ was reasonable. This was borne out through experiments in
eight Indian languages.
Teachers found that they could handle large numbers of students and more
batches of learners. Even senior school children could become
instructors as the teaching expertise was embedded in the software. The
software itself demanded no computer literacy, except some ability to use the
‘mouse’.
The CBFL model helps
in reducing the time required for learning, standardizing the quality of
education for all people. It also helps in reducing the qualification criteria
for instructors thus increasing their numbers, reducing the burden on
instructors thus increasing the number of people trained and varying the learning pace to
suit individual requirements.
TCS works closely with
governments both at the state and district level to develop and deploy CBFL
packages in the local language, as a supplement to
their programs. To support the
use of the CBFL model, TCS also donates computers to the state governments.
In just over two years ALP has grown from the concept stage to implementation,
benefiting more than 20,000 people in five states.
“Reading is the new civil right. No modern society can function
without a literate population and no one can function well in a modern society
without being literate,” says S
Ramadorai, chief executive officer, TCS. “At TCS, we believe in
developing innovative methods using theories of cognition, language and
communication to make people literate within the next five years. TCS is committed in using computers and IT as the medium to
facilitate the process, monitor administration and manage logistics.
Literacy increases awareness and facilitates responsible action. Adult literacy empowers and will be the
key in moving the people and country forward.”
The National
Knowledge Commission reviewed CBFL and advised NLM to adopt as many
technologies and techniques available to spread literacy. TCS has joined hands
with NASSCOM, CII, and MSSRF to spread the use of this technology. The
technology is being used in
jails in several cities to provide inmates with literacy instruction.
TCS volunteers also do their bit in spreading its reach. For Urdu, a partnership that has
been undertaken with Siasat Daily is flourishing. Tata Steel has been a
big experimenter, having done without computers in Jharkhand, and helping
create CBFL for Oriya. IIIT Hyderabad and IIT Bombay have shown interest in
using this as a base for technologies for supporting education. Discussions are
also on with State governments of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra,
Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Karnataka for spreading literacy.
Not only in India, has CBFL had scope to be used in other
countries and languages. On a visit to India, the then First Lady of South
Africa, Madame Zanele Mbeki, visited one of the field sites of TCS. She was
keen to see if CBFL could be used to address the needs of tribal languages in
South Africa and invited TCS to visit them. Their problem was complex for they
had no scripts for their tribal languages. A TCS team visited South Africa to
standardize their coding in
Roman alphabet. This provided a basis for them to effectively implement
their own CBFL. TCS is also working towards completing the development of CBFL
for Arabic and will be given to UNESCO Egypt and Moroccan government, as a
start.
Answer the following Questions:
A. What are the various awards that Tata Consultancy Services
(TCS) receive with regard to their efforts in Corporate Social Responsibility
(CSR)? (7 Marks)
B. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) set up the Adult Literacy
Program (ALP). What are the reasons for setting up ALP? Discuss the
implementation of the program. (8 Marks)
The answers have been marked with colors so that students can and write accordingly.
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