Misunderstanding in Outsourcing
Outsourcing deals are not often successful because of the problems which they experience in such business deals.
Two of these main problems were discussed in this article entitled Cultural ignorance the biggest barrier to outsourcing success. According to the article, the two main problems in outsourcing are miscommunication and cultural ignorance. In order to be successful, companies and outsourcing vendors should overcome this problem and address the source of such discord.
Personally, I believe that education and informing the employees about the difference in culture would be a great help in overcoming the difference in culture. On the other hand, misunderstanding is a common problem which could be addressed through honest communication channels.
1 Comment
Comments RSS
TrackBack Identifier URI
Leave a comment
While I agree that communication is often a problem in outsourcing, particularly with regard to highly technical matters, I believe that failure comes more from unrealistic expectations than it does from miscommunications.
Companies that outsource for cost savings seek magic bullets to cut their budgets. They often neglect the fact that additional management (with a different skill set) is necessary to successfully manage the deal. Suppliers, also, tend to low-ball prices (particularly in competitive bidding situations) and count on the ability to later build up their margins through change control and additional services. In both cases, these expectations are out of line with reality.
If both sides were reasonable and honest to themselves about their deals, I believe that both parties will find themselves happier with the results of their outsourcing efforts.
For more of my “Perspectives on Outsourcing,” see my web site at http://www.zeissesq.com.
Comment by Gary M. Zeiss, Esq. on April 29, 2007 10:26 pm