A trade liberalization process on a global scale has started since the post WWII period, with most countries pursuing the philosophy of international and national free trade. Even though the complete free trade has not been made possible yet, and maybe it will never be, numerous agreements have been made in the name of trade liberalization. They allowed the trade between different countries and within the same country to a certain degree of liberalization where several new business practices can be implemented.
The two highest expressions of this trade liberalization are off shoring and outsourcing. Moreover these two practices are more and more often applied together.
However, it is crucial to clearly distinct the differences between off shoring and outsourcing. It is common mistake to consider them as synonyms. Off shoring can occur without out sourcing necessarily taking place, on the other hand the existence of out sourcing does not mean off shoring is happing as well.
Definitions:
Off shoring refers to the relocation by a company of a business process, either operational or supporting ones, from one country to a different one. However recently it is commonly used in relation to the practice of relocation to developing countries, with lower wages. It can consist of administrative or technical processes, such as accounting and manufacturing. On the other hand some business services, such as legal services, tend to be out sourced instead of off shore.
Out sourcing
Specifically, companies are transferring these services overseas as in the case of call and help center services or companies are ordering manufacturing supplies from overseas at a much cheaper price than they could obtain them inside the U.S. Outsourcing is a term that is often used interchangeably with off shoring (Bhagwati, Panagariya, & Srinivasan, 2004).
Ferreira, J., & Prokopets, L. (2009). Does offshoring still make sense? Supply Chain Management Review, 13(1), 20-n/a. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/221135949?accountid=12085
Offshoring is one of the reasons behind the recent unemployment hikes. Roughly 3 million jobs were offshored in 2015 alone (“Number of U.S jobs moving offshore”). Simply put, offshoring is when a company decides to purchase products or services from a third party; usually
Job outsourcing is the shifting of a business from one country to another. Companies may choose to outsource or offshore for a number of reasons, perhaps they are trying to save money on taxes or increase productivity in the company.
International trade is defined as the exchanging of goods, services, capital between different countries and regions, which have given rise to a global economy. The various types of trade as well as the constant advancement in technology are continuously changing the economic trends among various industries. In terms of supply and demand, international trade is constantly altering based on current events that are occurring throughout the world.
Initially, the purpose for offshoring was due to producers wanting to lower fixed costs and also seeking lower waged workers. By moving job duties abroad, producers were also able to avoid unionized workers (Gupta & Sao, 2009). In recent years, offshoring has also become popular in higher waged jobs such as software development. Outsourcing is very similar to offshoring, where a firm purchases inputs or services from another firm, but the firm is also located in the United States (Harrison & McMillan, 2006). A staffing agency is an example of outsourcing. A company is assigned by a client, and employees of the staffing company work directly with the employees of the client (Houseman, 2007).
I actually used this article for last week's paper, but I think it's fitting since free trade is such a hot-button issue during this year's presidential election. "Shattering the Myths About U.S. Trade Policy" discusses 3 major myths about free trade. Over the past decade or so, free trade has been drawing a lot of criticism. Many people argue that free trade is responsible for so many job losses in the manufacturing industry, competing with developing countries lowers our standard of living and increases wage inequality, and that rapid economic growth in countries like China and India led to high oil prices.
Outsourcing Work. Outsourcing means just what it says - going "out" to find a "source" to undertake the work. The most obvious advantage of outsourcing appeared to be the cost savings that would come with not having to purchase additional equipment or work space and not having to add to the employee headcount. However, it was noted that some organisations are now doing more themselves in order to develop or preserve their expertise and self-sufficiency.
The savings do not tell the whole story, however. Offshoring does have hazards which companies considering the option must
The end of World War II implied a new era of Global Business; the era of open borders, globalization and therefore free trade. In the 21st century, a flourishing world economy can no longer be imagined with existing trade barriers and high quotas, advocators argue. The world economic system and our wellbeing, are highly dependent on both economic growth and globalization, which in turn are reliant on “the absence of artificial barriers to the free flow of goods and services between countries” (Dunkley 2004, p. 9). Nations ensure this mutually beneficial situation by signing preferential trade arrangements with each other. Arguably, the most common form of such arrangements are Free Trade Agreements (FTAs): when two or more
Outsourcing, especially offshore outsourcing, is not a new topic, but a continuing controversial global trends for the industry of manufacturing, and information technology. As Corbett said, outsourcing is the practice of transferring non-core competitiveness jobs to other suppliers rather than doing it self. Many experts are arguing that offshore outsourcing will harm the U.S. economy than it will benefit the American people in the long run, while advocates can also list a bunch of benefits over adverse. However, the practice of offshore outsourcing has been going on for decades, and it wasn’t resulting as opponents’ claimed. Instead,
Offshoring has its advantages as well as it disadvantages, as most business decisions do. It is the weighing of those two leverages that make the debate of offshoring such a conflict. Offshoring reaps many benefits for companies. For starters, offshoring allows companies to stream their productions globally. With this they may then begin to cut cost of goods to a lower rate to increase the demand, a plus for both the company and it’s consumers. This investment also acquires new customers and even puts the companies into new market
Free trade has been a part of the liberal prescription for international relations for a long time where it is often defined as the economic policy that allows imports from and exports to foreign jurisdictions. Unlike trading within nation, free trade allows buyers and sellers from separate economies to trade goods without the domestic government applying tariffs, quotas, subsidies or prohibitions on their goods and services. Therefore, free trade is often seen as desirable because it allows customers to get what they need with the lowest price along with the good quality, thus it promotes economic efficiency for both the nation and its citizen. Free trade is necessary and desirable due to the division of labor and the primary of the
Abstract This paper will discuss offshore outsourcing and the effects it has on the American worker in a technology environment. We begin with the scope of the problem and how it has changed the economy for better and for worst. Various figures representing miscellaneous data about off shoring will be represented. The topics include the background and nature of offshore outsourcing, reasons for outsourcing, why trading promotes gain, current economic standing from outsourcing, and finally how outsourcing affects wages and employment. In the summary various solutions and ideas are given to propose a change to the industry in hopes that the American worker will be more prosperous from an economic standpoint.Introduction
Over the years, CAT has offshored a lot of their manufacturing. Offshoring is different than outsourcing because the company still has ownership of the process. However, the location of the process is abroad. On the other hand, outsourcing is the complete transfer of ownership of a process or product that the company used to perform or produce in-house.