How Essential Is The Offshoring Panic Really?
by Joan Marques
Published
on this site: May 27th, 2004
If you just limit your searches to published articles on the topic
of offshoring for one month, you’ll have material to read for
a day. And that’s exactly what I did in order to find out what
the progresses in the upheaval around this phenomenon have been
recently.
Overall, it seems that a more rational approach toward offshore
outsourcing has emerged, now that the first panic outbursts have
subsided. The tone of articles is less alarmed and more analytical,
whereby the predominant piques are:
- Offshoring is not a new trend: we’ve faced it for several
decennia. For instance, when we allowed manufacturing jobs to
shift to overpopulated, and thus cheaper economies. But that did
not panic us then: we simply transformed into a service-based
economy. So what is the big worry now that the possible next shift
is approaching?
- Returning to protectionism in a world that is increasingly
intertwining would be the most shortsighted thing to do by any
government. It would not only create hostile attitudes from those
who have been opening their borders to globalization when it was
beneficial to the industrialized countries, but it would also
represent a setback in development for all stakeholders, which
are all countries in the world.
- Offshoring has its limitations for various reasons. The immediacy
of certain services comes to mind here: you cannot have your haircut
done over the Internet, and you certainly cannot have a paramedic
or a firefighter fly over from Bangalore to solve your pressing
issue. And as for the telephoning services: there is something
to say about a customer service representative being able to relate
to your perceptions as opposed to one who constantly needs his
catalogue and dictionary to continue a decent conversation.
- Offshoring is in effect on all fronts: just as dreadful as
the U.S. and Western Europe consider losing jobs to India, Japan,
China, Slovenia, or Lithuania, just as dreadful do these countries
find it when their intellectual cadre, and sometimes entire industries,
move across country borders, or entire oceans in order to establish
themselves in the U.S. or Western Europe, where they see more
opportunities.
- Offshoring is not as simple as many companies initially seemed
to think. The additional troubles with training, traveling, culturally
adapting, and communicating have gradually been surfacing, making
Human Resource departments press for more influence in the decision
making processes when an organization considers offshore outsourcing.
- Offshoring has also caused a number of companies to see their
clientele heading toward competitors, as they are concerned with
the handling of delicate personal information in annals that are
located in countries that may not have similar ethical- and moral
codes.
- Offshoring has already ignited new trends. The first signs
of shift awareness have been manifesting themselves: a growing
number of job market analysts recommend more concentration on
creative jobs, and less on repetitive ones. This implies a rethinking
of study foci in higher education. For instance:
a) Finance should be preferred over accounting as a study major,
because the financial manager needs to be on location to inventively
respond to eventualities, while accounting processes can be easily
executed overseas.
b) Engineering should definitely be encouraged, as it will provide
the brains and, therefore the insights that will shape the new
focus in our economy.
c) Entrepreneurship should be supported, since “lean and
mean” may be the best and most efficient way to respond to
all troubles.
Overall it seems that the level to which one should worry about
offshore outsourcing has very much to do with one’s work area.
Some have more reasons to develop immediate action than others.
However, it is always wise to continue measuring one’s applicability
level in the local- as well as the global market; engaging in continuous
education, especially in those service areas that cannot be exported;
and trying to have as many irons in the fire, in order not to depend
too much upon one single source of income at any time.
Dr. Joan Marques,
Burbank, May 26, 2004
Joan Marques emigrated from Suriname, South America, to California,
U.S., in 1998. She holds a doctorate in Organizational Leadership,
a Master’s in Business Administration, and is currently a university
instructor in Business and Management in Burbank, California. You
may visit her web sites at http://www.joanmarques.com
and http://www.spiritcounts.com.
Joan's manual "Feel Good About Yourself," a six part series
to get you over the bumps in life and onto success, can be purchased
and downloaded at:
http://www.non-books.com/FeelGoodSeries.html.
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