http://tc.eserver.org/dir/Offshoring A listing of the most recently indexed works about Offshoring in the field of technical communication. en-us Copyright (c) 2005-08 by the EServer. All rights reserved. tclib-editorial@eserver.org (TC Library Editorial Board) webmaster@eserver.org (Geoffrey Sauer) http://tc.eserver.org/images/newlogo.gif http://tc.eserver.org/dir/Offshoring http://tc.eserver.org/35672.html http://tc.eserver.org/35672.html Improving your performance, using your in-house resources more profitably, staying focused on your core business, accelerating time-to-market and decreasing costs – the benefits of outsourcing sound very promising. But how can you jump on the bandwagon of outsourcing? Between Russia and India, Dubai and Vietnam – where do you find your outsourcing provider? And how can you trust that the provider will help you achieve the promised benefits? tcworld investigated. http://tc.eserver.org/35673.html http://tc.eserver.org/35673.html Crystal-clear waters, splendid white beaches and luxurious ressorts – these are usually the things associated with Mauritius. Far away from the world’s major markets and sources, the island nation in the Indian Ocean seems more of a touristic center of recreation than an international business hub. However, in recent years, Mauritius has come a long way in implementing its vision: transforming the island into a regional hub for information and communication technology (ICT). http://tc.eserver.org/35279.html http://tc.eserver.org/35279.html My concern for US writers is that they fail to grasp the momentum that counties like India have established and the high quality of university graduates they are now producing. In the next 10-15 years, IT jobs which can be replicated offshore/offsite to lower costs will be embraced more aggressively. US companies have little choice but to do this. http://tc.eserver.org/34697.html http://tc.eserver.org/34697.html A reluctance to learn new skills holds you back and complaining about potential employers raising the bar hurts us all. http://tc.eserver.org/34386.html http://tc.eserver.org/34386.html When seeking freelance copywriters, many buyers specify that their only interest is in writers who speak English as a native language. Frequently buyers will request writers from a particular country such as the USA, the UK, Canada or Australia. This overlooks the fact that English is spoken as a first or second language in many countries. In fact, except for Mandarin Chinese, English is the most spoken language in the world. http://tc.eserver.org/33599.html http://tc.eserver.org/33599.html In support of the IEEE Professional Communication Society's 50th anniversary conference, this paper suggests ways in which the technical communication profession can ensure its sustainability throughout the next 50 years of business evolution. This paper seeks to present a compelling argument directed at conventionally-employed technical communicators that a paradigm shift towards consulting employment is in their best interest - and in the technical communication profession's best interest. Because of exposure to many and varied companies and methodologies, technical communication consultants tend to have more wide-ranging and current skills that they can offer to companies over their peers who work in conventional employment arrangements. For this argument, this paper will look at how technical communicator consultants can make significant contributions to business by comparing the attributes of technical communication consultants to the attributes of the untouchables defined and discussed in The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century, the maverick analysis of the globalization phenomenon by Thomas L. Friedman. http://tc.eserver.org/33363.html http://tc.eserver.org/33363.html One of the most significant realities about offshore developers is that they will build exactly what you tell them to build. This is both good and bad news. The good news is that they are likely to take your specification very seriously--not merely as a suggestion or starting point from which to improvise. The bad news, of course, is that if you don't clearly plan and articulate every aspect of your product from user interface and product behavior to business logic and algorithms, developers are forced to rely on their own experience and judgement to determine an appropriate solution to an unforeseen problem or vaguely documented feature. The reality with offshore resources, however, is that they are very unlikely to have that experience. http://tc.eserver.org/31374.html http://tc.eserver.org/31374.html Outsourcing has been a routine practice in the communication field for some time now—fully 20 percent of IABC members are self-employed or have a communication/PR consultancy. The last economic downturn strengthened this trend even more. Offshoring is being studied everywhere from Washington, D.C., to the academic world to well-known consulting firms such as McKinsey and Mercer. The general consensus across the board is that offshoring is a growing phenomenon that won’t go away, jobs lost to offshoring are unlikely to come back, and the trend may affect as many as three million jobs in the U.S. by 2015. http://tc.eserver.org/29665.html http://tc.eserver.org/29665.html Increasingly, many U.S. companies are locating documentation projects offshore, in countries such as India. Setting up and managing offshore documentation teams creates a special set of challenges, in areas such as hiring, training, planning, coping with time zone and cultural differences, and coordinating work done offshore and onsite. This presentation provides an overview of the offshoring trend and its implications for technical writers and managers. It also describes the challenges of managing offshore documentation projects and provides some guidelines and best practices for resolving them. http://tc.eserver.org/29868.html http://tc.eserver.org/29868.html Offshoring will not go away. Technical communicators can improve their prospects by taking offshoring into account as they envision their futures. After defining offshoring and outsourcing, this paper presents a brief history of offshoring and the myths associated with it, followed by a reporting of observations made by practitioners in the field. The conclusions of this report include recommended strategies for technical communicators to consider as they move forward in their careers. http://tc.eserver.org/29594.html http://tc.eserver.org/29594.html With revenue flattening, David Galbenski needed a bold new plan. But was outsourcing everything to India really the right move? Darren Dahl speaks to some of the complexities in outsourcing legal work overseas. http://tc.eserver.org/29666.html http://tc.eserver.org/29666.html This paper discusses some of the aspects that should be considered when evaluating the required resources and total cost of offshoring documentation development. The actual metrics for assessing offshoring costs are not included in this paper. Rather, it is suggested that you take each of the topic areas and measure the costs as they relate to your specific situation. It is only after factoring in the dollars related to these activities that you and your company’s executive team can make a complete assessment of offshoring’s potential financial benefit. http://tc.eserver.org/28874.html http://tc.eserver.org/28874.html Writing is a culturally situated activity. When writing is outsourced to other cultures, because of a lack of knowledge of the users' culture and also because of influences from the writer's local culture, those doing the writing and designing, despite various strategies adopted for overcoming the disadvantage of not knowing the users' culture, may not know how to culturally situate writing. It is, therefore, important that bicultural people, who know the users' culture, as well as the culture of those doing the outsourced work, give writing teams feedback about the users' culture. Doing so can make outsourced writing more culturally situated. http://tc.eserver.org/28555.html http://tc.eserver.org/28555.html 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. http://tc.eserver.org/28525.html http://tc.eserver.org/28525.html When offshoring manufacturing to low-cost regions, executives need to determine the savings lower labor rates contribute to the bottom line. Meanwhile, the biggest cost for most companies engaging electronics contract manufacturing partners is the materials cost of goods sold (MCOGs) for products being manufactured. Whether outsourcing or offshoring your product manufacturing, the Outsourcing Calculator can help you uncover costs, and potential savings, as you evaluate low-cost manufacturing destinations. http://tc.eserver.org/28174.html http://tc.eserver.org/28174.html 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. http://tc.eserver.org/28132.html http://tc.eserver.org/28132.html Many companies outsource content management implementations to systems integrators, but what if the implementers are based half-way around the world? Wipro's Apoorv Durga offers some good advice for enterprises considering taking their next ECM project offshore. As this map suggests, the view is quite different from India. http://tc.eserver.org/27871.html http://tc.eserver.org/27871.html Managing a team of employees who are located around the world can be challenging. Discover how to efficiently and effectively work to create the highest level of output. http://tc.eserver.org/27866.html http://tc.eserver.org/27866.html Whether we like it or not, offshoring is here to stay. 'If' or 'when' to offshore is no longer an issue. The heart of the discussion is 'how much' – how much we can afford to offshore or, more precisely, how much we can afford to keep. The User Experience (UX) profession has gone a long way in making the distinction between software design and UX design known. Will we be able to hold on to that distinction when it comes to offshoring? http://tc.eserver.org/27643.html http://tc.eserver.org/27643.html This paper discusses some of the aspects that should be considered when evaluating the required resources and total cost of offshoring documentation development. As consultants to the documentation industry, The Integrity Group is committed to recommending the overall best solution for each business need. We have, therefore, drawn some conclusions from our research and made recommendations for those who are considering offshoring. http://tc.eserver.org/27403.html http://tc.eserver.org/27403.html Businesses large and small can focus on what they do best by outsourcing non-core functions such as debt recovery. http://tc.eserver.org/27402.html http://tc.eserver.org/27402.html The next wave in the evolving dynamic outsourcing markets is here. The emerging Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO) is the process where businesses outsource high end knowledge or judgment services such as investment banking research, sales and marketing research, IP/patent research, R&D, legal research and case writing and even animation design. A provider must have an educated, skilled work force able to think independently and provoke their own free thought behind any research criteria. KPO involves a high degree of execution risk as providers look to create and combine complex levels of process, technology, and services. The business processes will require domain expertise and high-end talent such as MBAs, engineers, doctors, lawyers, accountants and other highly skilled professionals. KPO will move outsourcing up the value chain from simply executing commodity processes to carrying out processes with advanced analytical and technical skills and more decision making. http://tc.eserver.org/27210.html http://tc.eserver.org/27210.html I’m sick of hearing all the whining about how outsourcing is going to migrate all IT jobs to the country with the lowest wages. http://tc.eserver.org/26132.html http://tc.eserver.org/26132.html As a project manager there are many things going through PM's mind. Many tasks - knowledge bank - technical and as well as business wise. http://tc.eserver.org/26077.html http://tc.eserver.org/26077.html Although as an Interaction Designer I'm not involved in the actual development of the products I design, I find it increasingly clear that outsourcing creates a significant impact on the entire software design and construction process. Offshore development is in its infancy, but will continue to evolve to become an increasingly effective way to go about certain kinds of software construction. Based on recent project work, this article describes a number of observations worth considering as you ponder how outsourcing and offshore development may fit into your plans. http://tc.eserver.org/25136.html http://tc.eserver.org/25136.html A very simple tool for calculating ROI for outsourcing developer labor. http://tc.eserver.org/25137.html http://tc.eserver.org/25137.html To determine the Risk of outsourcing your business. http://tc.eserver.org/25135.html http://tc.eserver.org/25135.html Have you calculated the risks of outsourcing, and how do you find the best vendor and what would you outsource? http://tc.eserver.org/24265.html http://tc.eserver.org/24265.html 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. http://tc.eserver.org/23138.html http://tc.eserver.org/23138.html A presentation about management issues for offshore outsourcing firms. http://tc.eserver.org/22677.html http://tc.eserver.org/22677.html 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. http://tc.eserver.org/22437.html http://tc.eserver.org/22437.html Do you ever find yourself causally picking up the phone to call your subject matter expert over in India? No, neither do I, and at least half my subject experts are in India. Another group is in Egypt, a few are in Russia, one is in Japan, and some are on the eastern U.S. seaboard. (And yes, there are a few in Oregon too?but I walk down the hall to ask them questions.) So how do you get information when your developers are many time zones away? http://tc.eserver.org/22261.html http://tc.eserver.org/22261.html I've heard from a multitude of readers annoyed by language difficulties when their calls go to offshore service reps. They say that offshore techs often seem to be reading from a script instead of listening to details, or that they seem ill-informed about products or company policies. And many complain that calls to far-flung tech support centers often get disconnected. http://tc.eserver.org/22002.html http://tc.eserver.org/22002.html There was a story in the news a couple weeks ago about how IBM was planning to move thousands -- perhaps tens of thousands -- of technical positions to India. This isn't just IBM, though. Nearly every big company that is in the IT outsourcing or software development business is doing or getting ready to do the same thing. They call this 'offshoring,' and its goal is to save a lot of money for the companies involved because India is a very cheap place to do business. And it will accomplish that objective for awhile. In the long run, though, IT is going to have the same problems in India that it has here. The only real result of all this job-shifting will be tens of thousands of older engineers in the U.S. who will find themselves working at Home Depot. You see, 'offshoring' is another word for age discrimination. http://tc.eserver.org/20782.html http://tc.eserver.org/20782.html 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. http://tc.eserver.org/20771.html http://tc.eserver.org/20771.html 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. http://tc.eserver.org/20772.html http://tc.eserver.org/20772.html 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. http://tc.eserver.org/20783.html http://tc.eserver.org/20783.html 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. http://tc.eserver.org/14187.html http://tc.eserver.org/14187.html To save costs, some companies are outsourcing Web projects to countries with cheap labor. Unfortunately, these countries lack strong usability traditions and their developers have limited access -- if any -- to good usability data from the target users.