Objective strategies and
guidelines for coping at the individual, corporate, and national level with the
Outsourcing phenomenon
Yourdon looks at all angles
of a key trend in the 21st century - offshore outsourcing of "knowledge work."
Yourdon shares his vast
experience with vendors and purchasers of offshore products and services, discussing the
implications of this growing trend for individuals, companies, and for government/society
at large.
Anticipated future trends
are presented as well!
Brain Drain does not focus
on just the IT phenomenon, though it continues to be one of the more prominent examples
because of recent media coverage of outsourcing. The focus of this book is more on
strategies and guidelines for coping--at the individual, corporate, and national level -
with a phenomenon that's already here, and alresy "mainstream" in nature. The
real focus of this book is on the individual. After all, it has been individuals who have
emailed Ed continually, ever since the publication of Decline and Fall of the American
Programmer. It's individual knowledge workers, far more often than corporate executives,
who run the risk of losing their jobs as a result of this global shift of products and
services. And it's individuals, as several correspondents have reminded me in recent
months, who have to advise their children what careers and professions they should follow
- and the outcome of those choices will ultimately have a far more profound effect than a
politician's modification of a visa quota.
EDWARD YOURDON has been a
futurist, pundit, and advisor to CEOs around the world for nearly 40 years. He has been
named as one of the ten most influential people in the software industry and has been
inducted into the Computer Hall of Fame along with Charles Babbage, Grace Hopper, Bill
Gates, Seymour Cray, and James Martin.
A New York Times
best-selling author, his two dozen books include such classics as Nations At Risk, Decline
and Fall of the American Programmer, Death March, and Byte Wars. Several
of his books have been translated into Japanese, Russian, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch,
French, German, and Polish. He has testified before the U.S. Senate on the Y2K problem,
has served on advisory councils of the U.S. Defense Department, and has been a board
member of numerous high-technology companies in the United States and India.
Yourdon received a B.S. in
Applied Mathematics from MIT and has carried out graduate work at MIT and the Polytechnic
Institute of New York. He has been appointed an Honorary Professor of Information
Technology at Universidad CAECE in Buenos Aires, Argentina and has lectured at MIT,
Harvard, UCLA, Berkeley, and other universities around the world. He has been quoted and
interviewed in numerous newspapers and magazines, including the New York Times, Wall
Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Christian Science Monitor, Newsweek,
Boston Globe, the Times of India, and several computer trade publications.
He has also been interviewed on numerous TV news shows and radio programs, including CNBC,
National Public Radio, ABC Evening News, and Fox News.
Contents
Acknowledgements.
1. Introduction.
2. Key Factors Driving
Outsourcing.
Introduciton.
The Influence of Lower-Cost Workers.
Secondary Factors: Productivity, Quality.
Additional Factors: Availability, Manageability, Etc.
New Factor: Dramatic Improvements in Infrastructure.
New Factor: Political Changes.
New Factor: The Post-Dot-Com Recession.
3. Today's Situation in It.
Introduction.
Data Entry.
Call-Center/Help-Desk.
Maintenance/Enhancement Work, and Infrastructure Admin Support.
Traditional Software Development: Body-Shop, Project, Full It Dept Replacement.
Creation and Marketing of Software Products.
4. Additional Forms of
Outsourcing.
Data Entry: The Bottom End
of the Food Chain.
Call-Center/Help-Desk Services.
Back-Office Work.
Clinical Trials.
Insurance Claim Processing.
Mortgage/Loan Applications.
Tax-Filing and Regulatory Filings.
Financial/Market Research.
Legal Work.
Conclusion: What About Your Profession?
5. Likely Trends for the
Next Decade.
Introduction.
Offshore It and Call Centers Are Now Mainstream.
Many Other Industries Are Where It Was in Mid-90s.
Work Is Expanding to Other Countries: China, Eastern Europe, Etc.
Potential "External" Factors.
Political Backlash.
Terrorism/War.
Economic Upheavals.
6. Implications for the
Individual.
Introduction.
Initial Caveats.
Is Outsourcing a "Blip" or a "Sea Change"?
It's Unlikely to Be All-or-Nothing, Unless You're in a One-Company Town.
Political "Protection" Unlikely, at Least in Short Term, Variations for the
Individual Age, Years of Experience.
"Commodity" Nature of Skills/Profession.
Flexibility, Ability to Shift Quickly Strategies.
Be Proactive, Quantify and Protect Your "Cost-Benefit" Value Proposition.
Look for Innovative/Specialized Niches.
Be Prepared to Work Harder.
Be Prepared to Relocate.
Consider Going Out On Your Own.
Consider a Career Change.Ethical Issues.
What Should You Tell Your Kids?
7. Implications for
Companies Supplying Knowledge-Based Services.
Introduction.
General Strategies.
Revisiting the Strategies for Individuals.
Be Proactive.
Quantify Your "Cost-Benefit" Value Proposition.
Look for Innovative/Specialized Niches.
Be Prepared to Work Harder.
Be Prepared to Relocate Geographically.
Consider Starting Your Own Business.
Consider Changing Careers.If You Can't Beat Them, Then Join Them.
8. Implications for
Companies Buying Knowledge-Based Products/Services.
Introduction.
Traditional Outsourceing Issues.
Don't Outsource Core Competencies.
Don't Outsource What You Can't Manage Inhouse.
Start Small, with a Pilot Project.
Measure Your Expectations with Service Level Agreements.
Learn From Veterans.
Peopleware Issues.
Give Your Employees a Chance to Compete.
Don't Expect Employees to Be Dupes.
Treat Outsourced Employees Honestly and Fairly.
9. Implications for
Government/Society.
Introduction.
Objectives and Strategic Focus.
The Wal-Mart Factor.
What Role Should the Nation's Leaders Play?
Strategic Focus: Top-Down or Bottom Up?
Protectionism.
A Non-Jobs Protectionist Issue: Security and Privacy.
National Investment in What Makes Us Competitive.
Encourage Immigration.
Invest in Education.
Invest in Infrastructure.
Change Tax/Accounting Rules to Encourage Long-Term Investment in Workers and Productivity
Improvement.
Conclusion.
10. Conclusion.
Introduction.
There Are Other Issues Besides Offshore Outsourcing.
America Itself Practiced Offshore Oursourcing of Knowledge-Based Products and Services.
Outsourcing Is Not a New Phenomenon.
Your Future Is in Your Hands.
Index.
251 pages