Group+6

= Globalization and Outsourcing = Team Members go to your assigned team page. = TEAM A = = TEAM B = = TEAM C =


 * Outsourcing ** // - Flattener #5, p 126-136 //

Outsourcing has allowed companies to split service and manufacturing activities into components, with each component performed in most efficient, cost-effective way.


 * Overview of topic **
 * Definition of outsourcing: Taking a specific, but limited, function that was being done in-house (research, call centers, accounts receivable etc) and having another company perform the exact function then reintegrating their work back into the overall operation
 * Drawing on 'brain power' from India, setting up companies outside of the USA/west
 * Using fibre optic cable and Internet to communicate with home bases
 * A global perspective on types of businesses outsourced to South Asia
 * The Y2K story: India benefited from supplying workers for menial programming tasks
 * Call center development


 * Globalization and Outsourcing, ideas to get started **

The terms "outsourcing", "offshoring", or “nearshoring” are often used to refer to the movement of jobs from regions with high labor costs, such as the U.S., Western Europe, and Japan, to countries with relatively low labor costs, such as India, China, and the Philippines. Already commonplace in the manufacturing sector, outsourcing has recently spread to the service and high-tech industries, affecting workers who are traditionally among the most highly-paid and highly-skilled in their home countries. In fact, U.S. market research firm Forrester Research, predicts that by 2015, 3.3 million U.S. service jobs, totalling $136 billion in wages, will move offshore, fuelled by advances in digitization, the Internet, and high-speed networks.


 * Discuss ways technology has changed the way people do business with each other and give specific examples from around the world
 * Provide evidence of how the development of outsourcing has changed job opportunities and created new areas of expertise and opportunity in both areas. Discuss this in relation to both sides of the world (eg offshore tutoring)
 * Discuss what job skills are necessary for the 21st Century and how this impacts on plans and trends in education for your country and the rest of the world