In The News

Programming Jobs are Heading Overseas by the Thousands

Stephen Baker February 23, 2004
Future computer programmers in the US and India are approaching vastly different thresholds. As US software programmers' career prospects are dwindling, Indian tech graduates see futures "brimming with optimism." In the past three years, the number of jobs offshored from the US has nearly tripled, and economists predict that one in ten tech jobs in the US eventually will move to...

Meet the Zippies

Thomas L. Friedman February 22, 2004
Wearing clothes other than the traditional Indian outfits, India's youth of today have become the first generation in the country to welcome global trade and the western jobs that come with it "with a zip in the stride." In this column in the New York Times, Thomas Friedman shows us the "zippies" phenomenon in India's many big cities like Bangalore. With 54% of the...

GE Taps a World of Local Skills

Peter Marsh February 18, 2004
American industrial giant General Electric is following it competitors in setting up research centers around the globe. Like Siemens, Philips, and IBM, GE has recognized the importance of tapping into researchers and technological disciplines beyond its home country's borders. The company's new European research center will soon be set up in Germany to the tune of $52 million. GE...

Singapore Hooked on External Demand

Eddie Lee February 17, 2004
Singapore's foreign currency reserves jumped 17% in the last year, an increase not seen since before the Asian economic crisis of the late 1990s. Other countries in the region have also seen large increases due to substantial trade surpluses, which may suggest that the Asian economy is on firmer ground. Previously, large foreign reserves in Southeast Asia were the result of foreign capital...

A Development Nightmare

Kenneth Rogoff February 16, 2004
As much as wealthier nations purport to want to make the world's economy more equitable, Kenneth Rogoff, the director of the Center for International Development at Harvard University, argues that this is an unsustainable dream. The standard of living enjoyed by most Americans would destroy the environment, raise gas prices to outrageous levels, and generally wreck havoc on limited...

Jobs Flight? Worry about Industry Flight Instead

Alvin Pang February 12, 2004
Singapore doesn't need to worry about workers leaving, but whole businesses. With a maturing economy based largely on IT, finance, and trade, Singapore no longer attracts budding entrepreneurs looking for the next big thing. And the current outsourcing debacle suggests that no oasis lies on the horizon. To stay competitive, Singapore needs to encourage younger firms to wade into...

'Lean, Mean at 20

Matt Nauman February 11, 2004
Twenty years ago, automobile manufacturers in the US were far from 'lean' in their production facilities. In one California General Motors factory, workers were known for high absenteeism and a "militant" attitude. But that changed in 1984, says this Mercury News article, when Toyota and GM joined forces and decided to import Japanese management practices to an American...