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Outsourcing is now a huge hit. It is probably like a direction style in the movie “pulp fiction”, which has been adopted widely ever since. The details are worked out, every business that can take benefit from the strategy is going for it. Why not? Isn’t business about surviving? If a business is a family, the heads must ensure that the family is doing good, whatever be the means to achieve the end. Really?
Outsourcing is nothing new (more about this later), IT outsourcing probably stands out because of the reason that outsourcing in this area has crossed-boundaries with respect to traditional ways of outsourcing; no longer outsourcing is restricted to “parts” of business being outsourced; many businesses now believe in outsourcing to get “finished products”.
But, there is something larger (is it?) than just the business, which might have to be dealt with. “Where’s my job?” “What happens to my IT department?” “Is my future a function of outsourcing?” and above all, “Do the ends justify the means?” These are the few questions that have to be answered, not at the business level per say, but certainly at a level closely related to it—“business ethics”.
At a macroscopic level, outsourcing means lesser jobs in the native country or the provider company!! Nobody can probably deny that. That is obviously disappointing for the native country citizens as well as the aspiring “job holders”, and the job seekers.
Economic benefit of outsourcing is lower costs. Lower cost is attributed to greater efficiency and competition. Lower cost is a result of greater competition among the “in-house” workers, which ultimately leads to driving down salaries and benefits. So the economic benefits of outsourcing are mostly to do with the pockets of the employees.
The above scenario takes us back to the Karl Max days, where high value was given to “economic justice”. Businesses increasing profits at the cost of employees will lead to social economic imbalance and to social injustice in the end. Business or no business, everybody wants a means to survive, a job to support him or her. These are the bare minimums that are expected by a social human being.
Outsourcing definitely has put a question mark over the future of graduates who want to pursue an IT career. Already existing employees in the organizations also face the danger of being replaced. The benefits of low cost seem to be available to only few. After all, a corporation has a legitimate interest in self-preservation, which it does by offering competitive prices to the customers and providing monetary rewards to top managers and those who assume risk by buying the company’s stock.
Although, there are “Bill of rights” and a legal system in place to tackle such situations, corporate world is certainly a place where “cost as end is used to justify the many decisions” (more on the recent outsourcing policies in later post).
Those familiar with ethics would probably know that there isn’t a single definite answer that will prove to be a “cure for all”. The actions taken by a government or state to ensure the social prosperity of the locals will vary from country to country, place to place.
Saying that however, outsourcing has obvious benefits and it raises the economy and the standard of living for the society as a whole. So the “ends” definitely are good, but the question remains about how well the benefits are distributed and do the society good at a more practical and individual levels. Questions have to be asked if the policies and resulting gains should come at the expense of hapless commoners’.
So where does all this discussion lead us to? As already pointed out, discussions such as these have no single answer, but the discussions are [means] and important to effect the results. Thought has to be given if alternative policies can do better than the existing ones. Necessary “win-win” policies have to be in place, which challenge us to outsource only when the displaced employees also benefit in the process. As they say—“Only that good is good which is good for larger group”. Time has come that the problem is actively addressed and tackled “ethically”.
[...] Outsourcing ethics– a case for retrospection [...]