#28555
In today's shrinking global marketplace, many technical communicators face challenges related to intercultural communication. This article examines ethical issues in intercultural communication, beginning with a brief survey of classical ethical models, then focusing on the guidelines for ethical communication developed by Allen and Voss to provide a framework for discussion. Of Allen and Voss's 10 values for ethical communication, we focus on privacy, legality, teamwork, social responsibility, and cultural sensitivity. We offer specific suggestions for avoiding stereotyping, tokenism, and ethnocentrism in technical documentation, including before-and-after examples. We examine the risks involved in using graphics and icons and in attempting to translate idiomatic usages. The article concludes with guidelines for technical communicators preparing documentation for international audiences and with suggestions for managers who wish to give their employees guidance regarding ethical and effective intercultural communication.
Voss, Daniel W. and Madelyn Flammia. Technical Communication Online (2007). Careers>TC>Outsourcing>Offshoring
#28174
Exporting Technical Writing Jobs
Traditionally, contractors have played an important role in the technical writing field by providing specific expertise, thereby allowing companies to focus on their core competencies. Contactors have made it possible for companies to add temporary personnel when needed ' an important benefit in a field where work output peaks periodically.
VanNorman, Maggie. Carolina Communique (2004). Careers>TC>Outsourcing>Offshoring
#20782
The Hidden Costs of Offshore Outsourcing
The current stampede toward offshore outsourcing should come as no surprise. For months now, the business press has been regurgitating claims from offshore vendors that IT work costing $100 an hour in the United States can be done for $20 an hour in Bangalore or Beijing. If those figures sound too good to be true, that's because they are.
Overby, Stephanie. CIO Magazine (2003). Careers>TC>Outsourcing>Offshoring
#20771
What is offshoring? It's shorthand for offshore outsourcing, the practice of hiring employees, usually through an outsourcing service, in another country. Companies seeking to reduce their labor costs use offshoring to employ workers at costs substantially less than at home. Typically, companies headquartered in the United States contract for employees in India, and increasingly in China, Russia, Israel, or Ireland, for example. Why is offshoring in the news? Because staff and contract workers in the United States see their jobs in the high-tech industry disappear as their current or former employers use offshoring to reduce costs.
Sampson, Fred. STC Silicon Valley (2003). Careers>TC>Outsourcing>Offshoring
#20772
Offshoring of Tech Writing: A Roundtable Discussion 
We organized this Roundtable because we thought we could get technical publications managers together to talk about the threat of offshoring and come up with ideas and strategies to protect our jobs. However, we learned that offshoring is inevitable and technical writers need to adapt. The speakers offered possible strategies for adaptation.
Ramos, Andreas and Walt Keefe. National Writers Union (2003). Careers>TC>Outsourcing>Offshoring
#24265
Offshoring: What Does It Mean for Us? 
Summarizes a discussion about offshoring held at the Philadelphia Metro chapter's annual conference during which panelists suggested ways that technical communicators based in the United States can make their positions more secure.
Rosenberg, Nad. Intercom (2004). Careers>TC>Outsourcing>Offshoring
#22677
Send Jobs to India? Some Find It's Not Always Best
Even as the prospect of high-skilled American jobs moving to low-wage countries like India ignites hot political debate, some entrepreneurs are finding that India's vaunted high-technology work force is not always as effective as advertised.
Porter, Eduardo. New York Times, The (2004). Careers>TC>Outsourcing>Offshoring
#21378
Where Are the Jobs? Work Alternatives for Technical Communicators
As the 90's come to a close, there have never been more options for technical communicators to ply their trade and make a good living. Today, in addition to working as company employees, we are thriving as temporary employees, independent contractors, and owners of temporary agencies and outsourcing companies. Consequently, temporary employment, independent contracting, and the management of technical communication businesses have become a way of life for many technical communicators.
Cheirrett, Peg A. STC Proceedings (1998). Careers>TC>Outsourcing
#20783
Who Wins and Who Loses as Jobs Move Overseas?
The outsourcing of jobs to China and India is not new, but lately it has earned a chilling new adjective: professional. Advances in communications technology have enabled white-collar jobs to be shipped from the United States and Europe as never before, and the outcry from workers who once considered themselves invulnerable is creating a potent political force.
Kinetz, Erika. New York Times, The (2003). Careers>TC>Outsourcing>Offshoring
