the security and privacy of data, intellectual prop-
erty rights, potential political instability, and the
possibility of losing control over core functions
and operations. Some of these concerns appeared
to be unfounded. For instance, in the 1990’s, the
loss of IT-related jobs in the United States due to
outsourcing was approximately one percent, and al-
though that percentage has since grown modestly,
IT employment has also grown robustly in the
United States, suggesting that outsourcing has not
had a significant negative impact on IT job growth in
the United States.
Outsourcing has created for global companies a
workforce that “never stops working”: At every hour
of the day or night, some people somewhere in the
world are working for them, contributing to their
unprecedented growth productivity. There has
emerged a corporate mindset that work should flow
to places where products and services can be de-
livered most efficiently. Perhaps more than any
other factor in recent decades, the new turn in the
outsourcing trend that began in the 1990’s has
compelled the world economy to become more in-
terdependent and integrated.
Further Reading
Brown, Douglas, and Scott Wilson.The Black Book of
Outsourcing: How to Manage the Changes, Challenges,
and Opportunities. Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley &
Sons, 2005. Excellent overview of the outsourcing
process, including practical advice for managers
interested in outsourcing.
Halvey, John K., and Barbara M. Melby.Business Pro-
cess Outsourcing: Process, Strategies, and Contracts.2d
ed. Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons, 2007. A
useful guide to the world of BPO, the emerging
market, and choosing providers.
Power, Mark J., Kevin Desouza, and Carlo Bonifazi.
Outsourcing Handbook: How to Implement a Success-
ful Outsourcing Process. Philadelphia: Kogan Page,- Offers tools to assess the potential for
outsourcing success as well as practical strategies
to avoid common mistakes.
Robinson, Marcia, and Ravi Kalakota.Offshore Out-
sourcing: Business Models, ROI, and Best Practices.
Alpharetta, Ga.: Mivar Press, 2005. Clear intro-
duction to offshoring business processes, using
examples of successful companies.
Mathew J. Kanjirathinkal
See also Business and the economy in Canada;
Business and the economy in the United States;
China and the United States; Computers; Dot-coms;
Downsizing and restructuring; Employment in Can-
ada; Employment in the United States; Health care;
Income and wages in Canada; Income and wages in
the United States; Mexico and the United States; Sci-
ence and technology.656 Outsourcing The Nineties in America