(Responsibility centers; research) According to Cutting Edge Information, Inc. (“Managing Financial Services Call Centers,” August 2003, http://www. mindbranch.com.), call center spending went from $717 million in 1998 to approximately $1.6 billion in 2003- Call centers are critical to organizational success because these units often have primary responsibility for interactions with customers. In some companies, the call centers are established primar¬ ily for customer support; in other companies (especially in the financial ser¬ vices sector), these centers not only provide customer support but also sell additional services to customers who call.

Use library, Web, or interview research to gather information on call centers. A starting point might be Alice Dragoon’s, “Put Your Money Where Your Mouthpiece Is,” Darwin Magazine (February 2002), http://www. danvinmag.eom/read/020102/mouthpiece.html

a. Call centers often have a large responsibility for customer relationship management (CRM). What is CRM, and why is it so important to compa¬ nies?

b. List five well-known companies that use call centers and indicate the primary purpose of those call centers.

C. For each company identified in part (b), do you think that its call center would primarily be considered a cost or profit center? Discuss the ration¬ ale for your answers.

d. For each company in part (b), list three possible methods of allocating the costs of call centers to revenue-producing departments. Discuss the rationale for your answers.

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