In The News

Global Hot Spots

Adrienne Selko August 2, 2007
Success in strategic sourcing requires finding the global hot spots first. Getting established in a budding community builds connections and provides early access to eager workers. Goals for foreign investment vary immensely around the globe. Kenya is particular, wanting firms that will contribute to innovation; Vietnam extends its welcome to all sectors, especially those that contribute to...

Chinese Migration Goes Global

Peter Kwong July 17, 2007
One out of every six people in the world is from China, and as a result, Chinese immigrants are increasingly visible around the globe. The movement of people begins in China: As the economy booms, many rural Chinese migrate to cities seeking good jobs, but instead find tough conditions and crowds competing for jobs with low wages. Many start saving again to migrate abroad in search of opportunity...

At IBM, A Smarter Way to Outsource

Steve Lohr July 5, 2007
As information-technology jobs are outsourced, companies like IBM adapt by doing more complicated and personalized jobs for clients. In the process, the IBM team determines exactly what should and shouldn't be outsourced. For example, IBM works with a Texas utility company, CenterPoint Energy, on a “smart grid” project to improve service and save energy. IBM divides the tasks into those...

A Lesson That Thomas Could Teach

David Leonhardt June 29, 2007
For the past two decades, US firms have relied on an outsourcing strategy: They move manufacturing operations overseas where they can employ workers for low wages, distancing themselves from production and condoning secrecy about factory practices. But this strategy has repercussions: After learning that Thomas the Tank Engine toys, manufactured in China, have lead paint, businesses tried to...

Expert View: Outsourcing Is Out – It's a Political Cold Potato

Chris Walker June 28, 2007
Companies began outsourcing tasks, including payroll processing, in the 1960s. As the information-technology sector grew, so did the number of outsourced jobs. Today, all types of jobs, from low-level data entry to the transfer of intellectual property, are outsourced from high-wage to low-wage areas. Experts estimate that in India, call centers employ more than a million people, which some...

In Ukraine, Illegal Mines Beckon the Jobless

Andrew Matheny June 21, 2007
Under communism, miners in Ukraine earned three times the national wage average, and mining jobs included perks like an apartment and early retirement. The transition from communism to capitalism has not been easy for Ukraine’s state-run mines, since the nation gained independence in 1991. Independence brought new competition from competing energy sources, mostly gas and oil from Siberia. The...

Should We Globalize Labor Too?

Jason DeParle June 13, 2007
Witnessing the quiet desperation of the poor, willing to work hard but lacking resources, often ignites anger and ideas. Neither trade nor traditional occupations such as goat-herding can provide enough subsistence for the rural poor, such as those who live in Nepal. Economist Lant Pritchett proposes “a giant guest-worker program that would put millions of the world’s poorest people to work in...