There are many things that outsourcing has achieved, both positive and negative – it has made a huge difference to the lives of people in countries like China and India where most of the manufacturing and service industries have relocated respectively because they can now find work in their own countries, but with a higher pay scale than the normal standard that had existed so far. However, for the countries that outsourced these jobs because of cost constraints, it has led to problems galore even though they’ve been able to reduce their overall expenditure considerably by paying less than half the usual amount in salaries.
Among the negatives of outsourcing are the facts that it is very hard to effect quality control when your operations are oceans away, and in the hands of people with a completely different culture. The security of operations is compromised at times, as is the quality of service provided. Also, in-house tensions flare up as locals realize that their jobs are being shifted offshore so that the company can cut costs and make more money. And factor in the fact that most governments are now cutting out tax breaks for companies that outsource, and you have many organizations rushing to reshore or backshore their operations.
So the key question today is – how important is outsourcing going to be in the scheme of things to come? With globalization on a massive scale thanks to the Internet and other technologically innovative forms of communication, is it possible to dismiss this phenomenon which took the world by storm just a decade or so ago? And is it viable now for organizations to bring back all their overseas operations and still operate profitably?
The reason why outsourcing took off so swiftly and enjoyed such great success is not just because of the low cost of services in developing nations like India which boast a well educated population, but also because the quality of services delivered more often than not exceeded expectations, and because over a period of time, the initial hiccups gave way to operations that were smooth and satisfactory. Of course, the odd problem surfaced every now and then, but then, that’s to be expected even with onshore operations.
So yes, while a few companies are moving lock, stock and barrel back home, there are many more who are still sticking it out; and it’s not too premature to hazard a guess that outsourcing will continue to enjoy its day in the sun, even if the rays are not as bright as they used to be.
This guest post is contributed by Chris Jacobson who writes on the topic of Criminal Justice Degree Online . Chris can be reached at his email id: chris.jacobson7-AT-gmail-Dot-com
