Saturday, June 12, 2010

Is it "UnAmerican"? Outsourcing Outside USA and USA Unemployment


Interesting argument... Overheard at a NYC business event yesterday. What do YOU think? With so many Americans unemployed, do you think it is UnAmerican to employ and/or outsource your work to those outside USA? Online companies like Elance, Odesk, etc. open up the market and opportunities for entreprenuers, small and large businesses alike to hire potentially qualified workers that charge substantially less per hour. But one argument against this practice is that it's 'UnAmerican' with so many of our fellow qualified American's unemployed. What do you think? Is it just 'every man for himself' -- 'every business for himself'? Is this just an economically sound practice for business, and in return, stimulate the USA economy? We at yathink.tv want to know what you think -- we love USA freedom of speech'.
Posted by Pattie Meyer, Multimedia Designer at 7:17 AM
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2 comments:

  1. Pattie, this is a fantastic question. Thanks for sharing.
    Here is my take on it.
    First, we need to remove the sense of entitlement and emotion out of the question and statement “is it un-American”. Where you were born or who your parents were from is irrelevant when it comes to making decisions based on outcome.
    Second, I definitely think it is important to state that Outsourcing is different than off-shoring. A company that sets up company offices overseas, this is off-shoring not outsourcing. A company that hires an external firm to perform a business activity they are outsourcing (regardless of where it is performed).
    So let’s assume we are talking about the Outsourcing to off-shore companies. With that said to me it is a matter of economic reciprocation. Where does the money come from and where does it go? So for instance, technologists from other countries have taken jobs at lower pay than here in the U.S. from technology companies (HP, Dell, Microsoft, etc…) However, everyone of those technologist needed computer (HP, Dell both U.S. companies) an operating system (Microsoft, a U.S. company) and host of other services they probably have to get from the U.S. The reduction of cost is a benefit to all other U.S. based companies also needing products from these companies. The economy is reciprocating in this instance.
    Here is where the economic imbalance to me kicks in. Many U.S. citizens paid from this reciprocating economy into a tax pool. These dollars were given (not exchanged) to large companies who used services overseas to maximize profit, not reduce costs, to a pool of people who could and would not reciprocate dollars to the U.S. economy.
    Communities have been working within their own sphere for 1000’s of years. If you don’t support your local village, you won’t have local village resources. If U.S. based outsources like Inforonics, whom I work for, want to stay competitive we need do it on Quality, Value, Customer relationship. Our customers love us, not because we are American, because we give them great support and service. We also have a lot of local clients, which we have helped, support their business growth through recommendations, referrals, etc…
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  2. It was nice to read many useful tips in this review. To improve the business it suggested to use outsourcing product development to release on IT markets. Software development allows to automate business processes and gain more profits.
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