outsourcing at clarendon :: Globalization essays, research papers

INTRODUCTION Clarendon Street Consultants (CSC) is a long-standing consulting firm based in Chicago. With a history of operations spanning more than forty years, our firm has established a faithful client base, which it serves through five privately-owned offices. The firm has recently been confronted with the controversial issue of outsourcing American jobs. Proponents of the measures claim that the outsourcing of labor is beneficial for Americans in terms of cost savings for corporations and the creation of better-paying jobs for workers. Those that oppose these measures point out the loss of American jobs at the expense of low income households, as well as a greater dependence on other countries. CSC has decided to examine the issues of outsourcing American labor from a bilateral perspective—the firm will analyze the issue based on its positive impact on profitability and American society. The firm wishes to form its own conclusion based on available information. This conclusion will help CSC in its own future outsourcing-related issues, and will guide the advice given to clients on the subject. A recent article on the subject of outsourcing from Business Today proved useful in our analysis. In the article, author Max P. Michaels heavily favors outsourcing. Michaels, who is a member of the India Business Council, gave a few valid arguments supporting the use of outsourcing in the U.S. However, in order to get a clearer picture of these arguments, I found it useful to analyze the article itself and the arguments in favor of such a position. ARGUMENT In his article, Max P. Michaels concludes that â€Å"Offshoring is Good for America† (96). In order to determine why Michaels believes this is so, we must first take a closer look at his argument. He has provided the following reasons to support his conclusion that offshoring is good for America: †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Cross border outsourcing of American labor results in U.S. wealth creation †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Cross border outsourcing is good for shareholders, consumers, and workers in America ANALYSIS Cross-border Outsourcing Creates Wealth Michaels provides his first reason for his argument by stating that â€Å"America is going through a wave of wealth creation, this time triggered by cross-border outsourcing† (96). Restated, the reason simply states that cross-border outsourcing causes wealth creation. This is a good reason to support the author’s conclusion, but there are a few impediments to his argument in the article. First, the author uses ambiguous wording to describe his presentation of the facts. The phrase â€Å"disruptive creation† is used twice in this section, without leaving the reader with any clue as to the author’s meaning (96).