The Search of Global Talent

More intense global competition for high-skilled knowledge-based jobs puts pressure on national education and training systems to produce a workforce of the highest caliber. As the use of offshoring moves higher up the skills ladder, the argument goes, so too must the skills of the individuals displaced. But with the cost of education higher than ever before, the costs of constant upskilling may become increasingly prohibitive for many individuals. This kind of
Pressure and the dissatisfaction of many employers with the current educational system may be only part of the problem. More may be expected from programs aimed at promoting lifelong learning, particularly for white-collar workers displaced by the offshoring of jobs.
According to David Autor an economist at the Massachusetts Institute of technology ‘U.S. education system hasn’t been producing enough people with the highly specialized skills that many companies, particularly in manufacturing, require to keep driving productivity gains. There are a lot of people who are unemployed, but those aren’t necessarily the people employers are looking for,”
http://www.msquared.com/blog/category/business-strategy/

This is a problem, but let’s pay attention to the statistics that are offered in this blog: 1) 65% of companies across the world reported having problems obtaining talent, with 52% of American businesses falling into this category; 2) companies across the world report losing 20% of their workforce, with American businesses losing 11%. Maybe I’m too optimistic or patriotic (or naive), but to me this benchmark says America isn’t doing as bad as the rest of the world. Now, in no way am I saying “We’re doing fine. Let’s just relax.” But I do believe that American organizations have the needed resources to attract top-level talent. According to the International Monetary Fund, USA is in the top 10 in having the highest minimum wage rate around the world.
Now, I do believe the global hunt for talent will have an even greater impact on developing countries. Kapur and McHale argue that the migration of well-educated workers from poor to rich countries could cause developing countries to continually fall short on key technological areas. But this is not an Ethics class 🙂
Resources:
Kapur, D. and McHale, J. 2005. Give Us Your Best and Brightest: The Global Hunt for Talent and Its Impact on the Developing World.
http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2010/01/weodata/index.aspx

In my opinion, I refuse to believe that there is a global lack of talent. If this article said there was a lack of engineers globally, that would make more sense to me.
Dr. Green tells us every class that flexibility is the key to success in a global market. This statement is exactly right. It is not that there is a lack of talent, there is just a change needed in the way human resources evaluates talent. “The problem with the traditional HR approach is that is has been exclusively focused on activities and the consequent neglect of results.” (1)
For example, in today’s economy there is close to 10% of employable Americans out of work. Of this 10%, some are college graduates that can’t find a job. But, according to the article, 52% of American businesses can’t find the talent needed. If these businesses are so complex that the general population does not have the talent to perform these jobs, then maybe corporations should think about expanding the HR department and holding training seminars to train the 10% of America to do the job and obtain the talent.
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. This applies to HR’s approach for evaluating talented candidates. If HR is unwilling to adapt, then I agree that businesses will suffer a lack of talent in the future and more and more talent will be outsourced to developing countries around the world.
Sources:
http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=vVaLd2x9njAC&oi=fnd&pg=PA1&dq=human+resources+neglect&ots=gap9fbBTTk&sig=_nXRV_fNJDrsQvIxbN3_xU8ygFU#v=onepage&q&f=false

Ellison, Landon, and Chris, outstanding points!!! Your analysis is very probing.
About the shortage of talent? Let me say the search involves the right kind of highly skilled and unique talented! As you are aware, outsourcing is a hot topic since companies (America) can ship non-core functions overseas for cheap labor. Yet, it is more than low paying jobs such as blue collars?
What happens when more engineering, accounting, and IT jobs go abroad? Will it create a lowing of wages in America while bringing the rest of the world’s standard of living up?
Let’s go deeper!

I completely agree with you that there is a great gap between students in
Operations management and the companies that are hiring. I often talk to
aspiring operations managers, and the scope of their expectations and the
scale of their vision is surprisingly small. They still think they going
to be manufacturing or service managers with 1 or 2 roles. Its no longer
manufacturing plan manager, the technology is more and more hectic, and students are not catching up. Those that do, will have all the perks, vacation time and salary they can handle.
Art
Manager
http://www.OperationsManager.com

In today’s market the competition is world-wide. Other countries are graduating more highly educated students than the US yearly. As an accountant I compete with other countries. I face major challenges from India and China for example. But now, some of the jobs that were supposed to be the nation’s bridge to a cleaner, brighter, better-paid future are starting to migrate, too. “Knowledge jobs are the latest example of the trend,” says James Alberg, an attorney in Washington, D.C. His firm, Shaw Pittman, helped pioneer outsourcing deals for corporate clients. “It’s part of the natural progression.” There are no types of jobs that are immune from global competition,” says Bruce Mehlman, executive director of the Computer Systems Policy Project, an association of U.S. industry executives. This phenomenon is being felt nationwide in a range of professions, from low-skill “call center” positions in central Florida to top-dollar computer jobs in California. Outsourcing has produced benefits for consumers that few politicians want to take away: lower prices. That has produced economic benefits for families and small businesses that can now afford them. Never stop learning because the rest of the world sure won’t.
Reference:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2004-03-21-outsourcing-usat_x.htm By Kathy Kiely, USA TODAY

I would have to agree with Landon’s assessment on the situation of what the aftermath of America will be if they cannot compete for future talent. Although I understand that some may not believe that the talent needed for America’s future is not out there, and that the education system in America may not be producing exactly what some companies are wanting, I do believe that there is still talent available to American companies. According to Mary Anne Thompson, founder and president of Going Global Inc. more hiring is taking place in America but the emphasis is on hiring laid off workers due to the recent economic recession. She says that businesses are less likely to hire people out graduating out of business school because companies do not know if what they have learned is as important as what other workers have experienced in the past (1). In order for future leaders in America to take hold in a company, companies and HR departments must take chances on individuals that have learned skills in the education system and develop their talent. By doing this companies will be implementing new strategies in their organization rather than hiring the same types of workers.
Resource:
http://www.topmba.com/articles/usa/us-businesses-are-hiring-again

Since the conclusion of the Second World War and the fall of the USSR, the rate and affect of globalization has exponentially increased (Naggar, T., and Naggar, A., 2005). Fostered by trade agreements – predominately lead by the United States – nations have seen more growth in the last fifty years than all of history (Bradford, S., Grieco, P., & Hufbauer, G., 2006). This has sparked a phenomenon commonly referred to as outsourcing. However, few – seemingly – understand the diversity of its driving force. Most solely attribute it to corporate level decisions but the truth of the matter is: It is driven by diplomacy. As our nation rapidly progresses, we reach out to lift our neighbors, which inevitably renders market dividends.
The complexity arises out of the concerns that our continual strides will soon come to a halt. And when this happens, our nation will be left with a stagnate and stifled economy. The danger is that our outsourcing is outpacing our advances. Consider this exert from the article OUTSOURCING JOBS: IS IT BAD?: “The extent to which industries are moving a wide array of mid-level professional jobs offshore is troubling. We’re talking about computers and other high tech, business services, and finance. Add those industries up, along with factory jobs, and you find that one out of three private-sector jobs is now at risk of being outsourced” (Madigan, K. and Mandel, M., 2003). Quite simply: There are many considerations to made.
Notably, though, researchers K. Madigan and M. Mandel continued by indicting that our nations’ unique competitive technological advantage, as well as our history of innovation, will continue to lead us forward at an acceptable pace (2003). Insomuch, corporate outsourcing will continue to be an economic strategy well into the future. Talent, to the contrary, will be of concern for decades to come. As of now, companies are having a difficult time finding skilled employees to fill their vacancies – even with unprecedented levels of unemployment. This may seem counterintuitive but there is a grave mismatch between employer needs and the skill base. Unfortunately, the situation will not be bettering any time soon. Projections indicate that there will be a talent crisis when the global economy recovers (GORDON, E., 2010). On a positive note, however, these are the moments when the leaders of tomorrow emerge.
References
Naggar, T., & Naggar, A. (2005). Comparative Economics: A Reference Guide. The American Economist, Vol. 49, No. 2, 90-95. Retrieved from the Business Source Premier database.
Bradford, S., Grieco, P., & Hufbauer, G. (2006). The Payoff to America from Globalisation. World Economy, 29(7), 893-916. Retrieved from the Business Source Premier database.
Madigan, K., & Mandel, M. (2003). OUTSOURCING JOBS: IS IT BAD?. BusinessWeek, (3846), 36-38. Retrieved from the Business Source Premier database.
GORDON, E. (2010). Job Meltdown or Talent Crunch?. Training, 47(1), 10-11. Retrieved from the Business Source Premier database.

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Obviously if America cannot compete for future talent jobs will be sent to other countries. With a more intense global competition for technical skilled jobs corporations will have to rely on better education and training systems to produce workers of the highest caliber. (1) So as offshoring moves up the skills ladder, so must the skills of the workers that are displaced. Also, corporations must consider the cost of upskilling their workers during a time when education is at a premium. The question they must answer is: “Is it worth it to educate the workers or simply outsource the problem and work on their core issues?”
Workplace Visions. Learning to Compete in a Knowledge Economy. 2005

If America can not compete with future talent in the workforce, than it will not continue to grow as it did many years ago. If America can not bring the future talent it once did than it will decline in being the world leader in both education and science. As other countries begin to catch on to what America once did, it is hard to see America move forward without any bumps in the way. As the economy is declining in the United States so is the country’s ability to outsource and bring in future talent. Back in the day future talent was the number one key to how America remained ahead of the rest of the world in both education and science. If there is one thing America must remain strong willed about is the ability to keep acquiring future talent, in order to ensure its survival in today’s competitive markets.

America is always going to be able to attract talent and the reason for that is because America can create talent internally and import external talent also. Today we have far more number of educated people than most other countries and people from around the world try to come to America for completing their education. Being able to attract so many foreign students to America itself explains that the country has the right educational system to create talent internally and upon need it can also import external talent. External talent can be easily imported through immigration or other government policies. Example: America has shortage of doctors and as a result Caribbean medical school graduates are accepted as doctors after passing the basic USMLE test.
Outsourcing affects every part of the firm from manufacturing to customer support and allows companies to be effective and efficient by saving the companies money. As a result outsourcing will have continuous impact on the overall strategy of tomorrow’s organizations. Today companies from US and Europe are mainly outsourcing to China and in a hundred years, China along with US and Europe may also be outsourcing to Bangladesh or some other country, regardless of what country it is, outsourcing is a part of our business now.
Reference:
http://www.globalchange.com/outsourcing.htm

As Jeff mentioned, future talent jobs shall be allocated to other countries, groups, or individuals that have been ready for the change, technical innovation and society needs. Dr. Canton said there will be more change in next 10 years than previous 50 years. He stressed that the future change will surely come and society expects workforces which have readiness for this change. In the article by John Blackwell, he described that the future work is flat, competitive, on demand, and talent required. He also admitted the changing nature of work in the near future. Thing is future talent job can’t be defined by nations or organizations; they will surely work for the place where they could add value for themselves, which means there might be no concept about nations in the future. It could be regarded as a job place where they work for and can be changed anytime if better compensations offers to. Then socio technical system and human factor buy in could be completely neglected in the future. Since new technology and innovation surely will rule over the society, economic and nations, global outsourcing can be dangerous to the organization in the end.
Resource
http://www.management-issues.com/2010/3/19/opinion/where-will-your-future-talent-come-from.asp

In today’s market i don’t think that we are able to compete as a vast majority of products are not developed or even made in the United States. Although i believe what we are seeing now is the long term affects of outsourcing, as there are fewer jobs and even fewer that have decent benifits or room to grow. As Dr Canton states the extreme future is about meeting the challenges of whats coming next, so there is a bright side to the future but we have to be able to adapt to change instead of resisting it.

The outsourcing of jobs from America to foreign countries is sparking continuous change throughout the global economy. As more IT and engineering jobs are being sent overseas to complement lower wages along with many of the manufacturing plants, America is becoming de-industrialized at an alarming pace. It was this industrial power that helped them win wars and grew the economy to what it was 20 years ago as a world leader. The trend is most pronounced in information technology, computing, and consumer electronics, where U.S., European, and Japanese firms have hired hundreds of thousands of programmers and engineers in China, India, and other developing nations.
Computer and cell phone manufacturers increasingly outsource product design and engineering to original design manufacturers in China and Taiwan.
Many IT organizations not only outsource projects overseas, but rely on a small army of contract workers from overseas (on H1-B visas) to staff U.S. offices. Some companies require domestic IT employees to train their replacements (who will return overseas with their jobs) in order to retain severance benefits. A recent survey of 10,000 workers by the Stern and Wharton business schools found 8 percent of IT workers fired or involuntarily transferred due to off shoring. This is mainly due to the U.S. rising debt, with competing countries like China acquiring territory and partnerships with 3rd world countries it is easy to see how a complete shift in the margin of wages taken here and abroad can come about. Right now wages in India’s outsourcing sector have risen by 10 per cent this year and senior outsourcing managers based in the country command salaries above global averages. Pramod Bhasin, the chief executive of Genpact, said his company expected to treble its workforce in the US over the next two years, from about 1,500 employees now “We need to be very aware [of what’s available] as people [in the US] are open to working at home and working at lower salaries than they were used to,” said Mr Bhasin. “We can hire some seasoned executives with experience in the US for less money.”
Reference:
Mechanical engineering
magazinehttp://memagazine.asme.org/articles/2009/March/Shift_Offshoring.cfm
FT.com
India matches U.S. outsourcing cost

Over the years, outsourcing has been the answer to many American companies, mainly looking to reduce cost of labor. But with every action there is an equal but opposite reaction. So while people in other countries get jobs, people in America lose jobs. In recent years, the effort has crept into higher gear and income brackets, and it shows no signs of slowing down. The latest outcry is fueled by the fact that some service professionals, once insulated from outsourcing, are watching their jobs head overseas during a largely jobless recovery.
It is unclear how many accounting, engineering, technical support and other professional jobs have moved offshore in recent years. But some industry watchers believe as many as 200,000 service jobs could be lost each year for the next 11 years. A poll on Seattlepi.com states that 79.9% believe that outsourcing will hurt the economy in the long term while, 11% believe it’ll help, and 9.1% believe it’ll be a toss-up. I believe this is why many Americans are going back to school to attain more education so they can be qualified for higher positions as the jobs they currently have are being threatened by more educated people.
http://www.seattlepi.com/business/164018_outsource10.asp

It’s America’s challenge to maintain and motivate globally talented employees or educate and influence existing employees to think globally competitive in today’s organizations. I’m greatly surprised by the website, Outsourcing.org known as the global service directly introduces many opportunities by outsourcing and offshoring tasks to the outside of U.S.(1) For instance, the hundreds of accounting related jobs are listed by companies including ones offshoring in India handling payrolls and preparing tax documentations. (2) “In today’s global economy, companies must continually invest in human capital. In the role of business partner, HR leaders work closely with senior management to attract, hire, develop and retain talent,” Lockwood explains. I would suggest those senior managers not only look for cheaper, skilled labors outside the U.S. to reduce costs but also keep open minded to cultural differences. I agree with Lockwood saying “in view of workforce trends such as shifting demographics, global supply chains, the aging workforce and increasing global mobility, forward-looking organizations must rethink their approach to talent management to best harness talent.” Well, if companies are looking for the talent seriously, how can we be the ones with global talent? There seem to be an urgent need.
References
(1) http://www.outsourcing.org
(2) http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3495/is_6_51/ai_n26909340/?tag=rbxcra.2.a.55

Talent may be out there but unless your company is positioned to be an innovative leader or experiencing strong growth, the talent won’t accept your proposition. With our increased and sometimes irresponsible outsourcing we have risked forever losing much of our core competencies as a nation. In the past innovative product development has been at the core of our nations success. Today we are starting to outsource even these highly engineered products and talents needed to manufacture them. With the outsourcing of these competencies, some inexperienced firms are seeing that it is difficult to manage and control. The reason for this outsourcing not economic, but a lack of development of young scientist and engineers in our country, a problem not quickly fixed when it takes a generation to develop such individuals. This translates, if not fixed, to a nation that can only offer services and ideas, limiting the influx of manufacturing back to the US. For our nation to succeed in a global market it must have a government supportive of fair taxation and representation, a workforce that wants to be the best nation, and foreign policies that favor export over import.
The notion of global competition is not a reality for the US until our nation demands that all products and services be held to the same global standards. Until then we cannot fairly compete and will therefore loose out on the global search for talent.
Reference:
Manning, S., Massini, S., & Lewin, A. (2008). A Dynamic Perspective on Next-Generation Offshoring: The Global Sourcing of Science and Engineering Talent. Academy of Management Perspectives, 22(3), 35-54. Retrieved from Business Source Premier.

If you look at America in terms of being a brand that competes with other countries, America is still the industry leader and carries the appeal it always has. People are “brand loyal” and want to be in America merely because of the representation associated with the name. However, once you start factoring in issues like a failing American economy and increasing global competition and job outsourcing, the picture becomes a bit dimmer for the industry leader. The capital expenditure required to sustain a growing business and remain aggressive in the global market is rather expensive and somewhat unrewarded. Issues such as wage rates, energy costs, and union squabbles build the case for people and businesses to look elsewhere. Additionally, America has no current favorable niche that makes them attractive in the business world. In forecasting, I picture the global scope of commerce taking a dramatic shift away from the American powerhouse and towards America’s biggest threats, China and India. According to an article in the Los Angeles Times, “the point is, until labor costs come down, healthcare costs are under control and government stops trying to squeeze every drop of tax they can from folks…only then, will we see jobs come back to the US.”
Kozlowski, L. (6 October 2010) Are too many American jobs still being outsourced? Los Angeles Times. Retrieved from: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/comments_blog/2010/10/american-jobs-outsourced-offshoring-.html

The primary obstacle America faces in acquiring future talent is America itself. As I walk the campus grounds, I observe the many bright and talented young minds who have the skills necessary to salvage our falling society, economy and political landscape – the issue lies in the fact that we do not have the role models to inspire us – when the two-headed dragon that is our government and capitalist economy are intertwined in a web of clashing morals, we begin to wonder if we are being deceived. Our generation has inherited the nomenclature ‘Leaders of Tomorrow’ but the meaning is futile if we may not have a tomorrow to lead. Consequently, we begin to explore other ventures – directly or indirectly – before we know it, we our working for corporations housed in Europe, Asia et al. America’s future talent is being assembled and shipped off to distant points of the world because we don’t have the resources to compensate them as well as our competitors.
Inasmuch, the future is written in global outsourcing. The reputation of our workforce has been damaged. We must be willing to let the tidal wave of changing markets wash over us. Offshoring, a symptom of global outsourcing, has granted executives the position for corporate growth, all while making better use of the american labor force – our execitives must embrace the change and results of efficiency and productivity will yield. This does not mean that we release our workforce into the wild to fend for themselves as we recruit new talent. It means that we train our workforce to be multi-dimensional. According to executives at Penske Truck Leasing, oursouring many business processes to Mexico and India has cited greater efficeny and customer service, in turn, creating more jobs.
Reference:
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_05/b3969401.htm

Upon reading the article, I found myself troubled by the lack of mention of talent development programs. I understand that firms would prefer, all things relative, to have high skilled, novel thinking, and excessively experienced talent available for meet their needs. However, It seems to me that there are several ways to reach those goals. A can hire fully prepared talent or it could develop that talent itself. A firm could invest internally with internship programs or a fast track program for talented inexperienced hires. This option has many benefits. One, it allows for a firm to cultivate skills that are uniquely valuable to the firm. Two, it guarantees that a firm has a steady stream of talented, experienced, and prepared staff tuned into the firms unique needs. There are skills that must come naturally. But the majority of the “talent” that firms are looking for can be developed within.
http://www.boeing.com/careers/collegecareers/rotational_programs.html
http://www.ehow.com/how_4763302_effective-job-rotation-program-company.html

The way companies are moving to oversea it is going to be hard on Americans. Even though in oversea they can have workers that they will pay cheaper compare to US the talents are decreasing here. Workforce planning is the strategic alignment of an organization’s human capital with its business direction. It is a methodical process of analyzing the current workforce, determining future workforce needs, identifying the gap between the present and future, and implementing solutions so the organization can accomplish its mission, goals, and objectives. Since the future is not clear for Americans because Chinese and other people from oversea are taking all the businesses with their talents. Now in US they have to come back to the basic and realize that other countries are moving forward. Like the speaker was saying now days you have to be really smart doing your business because the risk is high.

According to Business Week the new buzz word is “transformational outsourcing.” In other words, searching for talented young individuals from other countries will be beneficial to the company growth. The new talent will help the company benefit over time, thus it pays to invest in the transformation of moving them to another country and ensuring they get all the training they need to be successful, hence the company will be successful. However, what is the price that American’s must pay to stay in the running for these new “outsourced” jobs? I think first they need to continue to build on a solid education foundation, secondly, they need to be prepared to travel or relocate in a very short notice, and thirdly they need to be flexible with their schedule. If our future young talent does not work to capture all of these qualities, they could be outsourced to other individuals from other countries that do have the qualities that managers from global markets are searching for.
References:
Business Week Magazine. 2010. Retrieved from the internet on November 11, 2010 from http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/o6.

Global outsourcing effects are part of the broader trend of shifting power from West to East. China and India’s integration into the global economy has created a huge low cost labor force in which many companies are taking advantage of this labor. However outsourcing’s growing role in globalization is detrimental to the middle classes in the developed nations and contains additional threats to job security. In the CIA’s semi-annual survey, written in 2000 and looking ahead to the year 2015, unquestioningly places the United States as the top economic and technological power and the main driving international force. Even though the United States remains the dominant force in the report, its position of power is slipping as China and India emerge as “major global players.” This could lead to a stronger anti-globalization movement with serious political consequences.
Reference:
Dobbs, Lou. The global outlook on outsourcing
http://articles.cnn.com/2005-01-28/us/world.outsourcing_1_global-trends-global-economy-outsourcing?_s=PM:US

I believe America faces a problem on two fronts as it pertains to talented employees and outsourcing.
1. We are producing fewer and fewer of the “top talents” in the market in America. Part of this may be attributed to the decline in academic standards we’ve seen in recent years. “The United States ranks 15th of 29 of the world’s most developed countries in reading, 21st of 30 countries in science and 25th of 30 countries in math. Students from countries such as Finland, Canada, South Korea, Japan, Australia and New Zealand lead the pack”(1) So competition for this talent is more aggressive than ever, and since much of the talent will be originating from countries other than our own, recruiting/retaining good employees will continue to be a challenge.
2. Much of the outsourcing seen in the past several years has been of wage-worker type jobs. American workers need to understand that the day of 40hr weeks working for a union in the steel mill may be long gone, and that they need to bring special skills and talents to the market in order to compete. I don’t think this shift is happening yet, as many American workers are instead donning a victim mentality, rather than looking for new opportunities.
American companies surely need to continue to globalize themselves, but at the same time clearly communicate to their employees what this means: opening up goods and service offerings in new markets, being more profitable and expanding their market share.
http://www.vvdailypress.com/articles/smarter-22535-classroom-stagnate.html

As America’s education and thus talent decreases down the global scale, more jobs will be outsourced globally. In 2009 President Obama stated in a speech on the importance of education, “We also have to ensure that we`re educating and preparing our people for the new jobs of the 21st century. We`ve got to prepare our people with the skills they need to compete in this global economy. Time and again, when we placed our bet for the future on education, we have prospered as a result — by tapping the incredible innovative and generative potential of a skilled American workforce. That`s what happened when President Lincoln signed into law legislation creating the land grant colleges, which not only transformed higher education, but also our entire economy. That`s what took place when President Roosevelt signed the GI Bill which helped educate a generation, and ushered in an era of unprecedented prosperity. That was the foundation for the American middle class.” It is important that the US re-focus on building our talent to compete globally. If we do not the aftermath could be the downfall of the middle-class which is the backbone of our economy.
Reference: http://thesop.org/story/education/2009/07/14/president-obama-stresses-the-importance-of-education.php

Jobs have become more complex. In the first half of the 20th century, physical power was the engine that drove economic development. Since the 1950s and into the 21st century, brain power is the driving force. In 1950, two-thirds of Americans who had jobs worked with their hands, while one-third worked with their minds. Today the ratio is reversed. Businesses are no longer geographically bound to produce products in their home countries. Neither are they geographically bound in their hiring practices. The good news is that we are not at the bottom. In fact, we are in the middle of the pack — a little below the average in math and a little above in science. This puts us on the same level with many of our major trading partners–Germany, England, and Canada, for example. The bad news is that we are not on top – where we have to be! Countries like Singapore, Korea, and Japan head the list of internationally high performing schools.
Americans in the work force need to understand that they need to be global as well. For example learning another language is great way to set yourself apart from other workers.
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/hamish-mcrae/hamish-mcrae-can-our-graduates-compete-globally-2019796.html

Outsourcing is a way companies realize high returns for stockholders by using cheap labor but that may not be a long term solution. According to Neill and Borell, companies have an attitude that “labor is simply another means of production to be secured as cheaply and used as efficiently as possible” [3]. Organizations have driven excess cost from operations, sped up processes and produce quality products and services. Managers that were surveyed by American Management Association believe outsourcing failed to live up to their expectations [1]. According to Dr. Robert Davies, surveys are exposing that outsourcing may not be delivering as evidenced by a high percentage of contracts that early terminate. Customers also feel that the financial benefits of outsourcing will not be passed on to them [1]. Dr. Davies also predicts that there will be greater focus on end customer relationships and less focus on cost reduction than in past decades [1]. According to Ross Dawson tomorrow’s organizations will be those that can shift to profitable new ways of working based on collaboration, integration, and transparency[2]. Companies must respond to the dramatic changes by seizing the opportunities that are arising.
[1] Dr. Robert Davies Outsourcing Problems and Disadvantages Revisited http://www.drrobertdavies.com/bpoandoutsourcingproblems.php
[2] Ross Dawson – inspirational keynote speaker, futurist, and strategy advisor http://rossdawson.com/speaking-topics/
[3] Terence V. Neill and Martin H. Borell, Maximizing Your Return on Investment in Human Performance http://www.accenture.com/Global/Research_and_Insightst/Outlook/By_Alphabet/Maximi

The workforce in America is being outsourced because other countries have skilled labor at a lower cost. Eventually in the future, all jobs will be outsourced to others countries as companies become more global and technology increases. Americans then will have to be willing to take a reduction in salary so that companies will be willing to leave jobs in America.
In the past, America had the most educated and skilled workforce, but other countries are quickly decreasing the gap now. The campaign of buying only american made products is not enough to combat the savings companies can realize by outsourcing. American will have to be willing to become skilled to keep up with other countries and make less money in order to keep jobs in this country.
http://www.helium.com/items/1266142-global-outsourcing-global-outsourcing-and-us-economy-us-economic-impact-on-outsourcing

What effects will global outsourcing have in the overall strategy of tomorrow?
Hewlett-Packard ‘s CEO Carly Fiorina has been quoted saying “There is no job that is American’s God-given right anymore.” Her company and others have employ outsourcing strategies in an effort to make their operations more efficient and able to sustain innovation over the long haul (Lojeski). Outsourcing is a part of business that is not going away. Americans need to show business the benefits of staying in the United States. One way to do that is to become better/ more talented employees than the outsourced counter parts. Companies need to be able to see and calculate how important is is to the customers to talk to someone whom they can relate not someone they can barely understand and cultural differences are apparent. If Americans cannot do this then jobs will continue to go overseas.
http://howe.stevens.edu/fileadmin/Files/research/HSATM/newsletter/v09/v9i1.W05/lojeski.pdf

“Talent is not just a human resources issue. It is an urgent strategic issue that business leaders need to address proactively. Companies and countries will need more than 3.5 billion people by 2010 to fill knowledge worker positions. By 2020, that number will exceed 4 billion. Projections indicate that there will be shortages between 32 million and 39 million people to fill these positions. The U.S. will have the biggest shortfall; needing as many as an additional 14 million people”(1). If America is unable to fulfill these talent requirements that the global work force demands, then more positions, plants and company headquarters will begin to shift to more prepared parts of the world. This will ultimately diminish the American economy and begin to lose its presence as world dominance. American based companies will need to develop strategies with local governments and chambers of commerce to develop work force training. This strategy is already being seen in many cities across the country.
(1) Foster, M. (2008, September 19). The Global Talent Crisis. Business Week.

One of the key components to future industries will be the technology itself. The world has shrunk as technology has exploded over the last ten years or so. Within that short of a span of time, a phone went from being a basically only a brick or house line to a device capable of doing nearly everything a laptop computer can. People in the automobile, construction, and many other blue collar jobs have been replaced by machines. It will not be much longer before the white collar jobs start to disappear too. It seems that right around the corner will be cars that are able to drive themselves. Taxi drivers will become a thing of the distant past in just a few years. Truck drivers would no longer be needed, which would mean their wages could be placed back into the company. Shipping times would decrease because of fewer accidents or any other reason a human requires, such as sleep. Companies that do not plan for such changes are bound to be crippled by the new world economy.
http://money.cnn.com/2006/05/25/technology/business2_futureboy_0525/index.htm

In my opinion, companies must get more creative when trying to recruit the best talent available in the workforce today. They cannot do business as usual and expect to get the best and brightest. I think that companies should take a look at their workplace policies and consider more arrangements to allow great employees to work from home and abroad giving them more freedom. According to Julia Kotlarsky “increasing globalization and technological developments that enable business processes independent of location, many countries around the world have become attractive sites for Western companies. While access to cheap labor was previously the dominant motivation, nowadays emerging markets compete more on availability and scalability of skills. The global services market has become highly competitive, and differentiation of service offerings, set the scene for keen competition between off shoring destinations.” I also think that companies in United States should get more involved with the educational process early on in early education. This will give them the opportunity to develop great talent and keep them early on in their career.
Kotlarsky, J.. (2010). new opportunities IN GLOBAL OUTSOURCING. International Trade Forum,(2), 28-29. Retrieved November 27, 2010, from ABI/INFORM Global. (Document ID: 2192573191).