Sustainable Work Future: Are We Outsourcing The Great American Dream?

By Author: Daryl D Green
Total Articles: 48
Comment this article

In more than 900 cities in Europe, Asia, Africa, and North America, protesters take civil disobedience to the streets. This movement, Occupy Wall Street, can be traced back to a few dozen protesters camped out in front of the New York Stock Exchange on September 17, 2011. At the root of this issue is a feeling that large institutions such as the financial sectors are taking economic advantages while depraving the majority of citizens with this same good welfare. In this scenario, governments take a laissez-faire attitude toward economic opportunities for all citizens.

Across the world, many companies are outsourcing their major work functions rather than perform them in-house. Today’s businesses have built elaborate systems for better efficiency and effectiveness. Yet, they are driven by the quest for increasing profitability. Robert Jacobs, Richard Chase, and Nicholas Aquilano, authors of Operations & Supply Management, suggest that operations management has been a key element in the improvement in productivity in businesses across the world. Many times executive focus on the major expense to operate – ...
... labor.

It’s a simple equation: productivity equals outputs divided by inputs. If organizations can reduce their inputs for their operations, they can increase output (more profit). Therefore, companies seek to reduce their inputs to obtain ‘more get. Two of the chief strategies are to outsource non-core functions abroad or add new technologies to generate new efficiencies. These strategies are aimed at reducing labor costs, primarily people.

Since 2000, over 3 million U.S. jobs in the manufacturing sector have been moved abroad to countries like China and India. Yet, few executives worry about the aftermath of outsourcing initiatives. The remaining workforce is shell shocked and stressed since they are required to do the work of the laid off workforce. Sadly, many supervisors feel that these workers should be happy to have a job.

Movements like Occupy Wall Street may get political leaders and media pundits to consider unintended consequences of corporate greed. Gareth Jones and Jennifer George, authors of Contemporary Management, maintain that one of the most important resources in all organizations is the human capital component. Therefore, organizations must stimulate their workers while outsourcing key components of their organizations abroad for greater efficiencies. Many people wonder if American’s businesses cannot compete in manufacturing and other high tech industries, will they forever forgo the Great American Dream for next generation of workers.

© 2011 by Daryl D. Green

About Dr. Daryl Green:
Dr. Daryl Green provides motivation, guidance, and training for leaders at critical ages and stages of their development. He has over 20 years of management experience and has been noted and quoted by USA Today, Ebony Magazine, and Associated Press. For more information, you can go to nuleadership.wordpress.com or www.darylgreen.org.