Strategic Outsourcing [antikvár]

Preface Today's fast-changing environment, with its premium on knowledge, flexibility, and performance, is causing organizations to rethink their paradigms. A paradigm is "a set of rules or regulations (written or unwritten) that does two things: (1) it estabUshes or defines boundaries, and (2) it tells how to behave inside of the boundaries in order to be successful." i Organizations are questioning whether the traditional paradigm of "owning" the factors of production is the best way to achieve competitive advantage. The outsourcing concept of moving activities out of the organization to where the experts (and their resources) exist, as opposed to owning all of the resources, flies in the face of hundreds of years of tradition and experience. To embrace this concept takes great courage. As the American humorist Josh Billings observed, "True courage is the knowledge of right and the determination to do it. False courage is a willingness to do what is wrong because others say it is right." True courage is looking for the highest value-added resources, irrespective of where they are, to meet the organization's needs. False courage is continuing to rely on internal resources because doing otherwise would bring exposure to criticism and unpopularity among the employees. Outsourcing is a management tool that evokes great emotion. Upon hearing about the outsourcing concept, most employees hate it and whoever supports it.They fear they will lose their jobs. It may tug at your heartstrings to think of employees possibly losing their jobs, but is that an overriding consideration? Not in today's fiercely competitive environment. Outsourcing can provide employees with better training, development, and career opportunities. If you believe in the essence of capitaUsm, in the free flow of resources to those who can most effectively manage those resources, then you will embrace outsourcing. The celebrated economist Joseph 'Joel Arthur Barker, Future Edge, Discovering the New Paradigms of Success (New York: Morrow, 1992), page 32.