Outsource Expert

Over the past two decades, one of the recurring themes and key features of the economies of the Western world is the phenomenon of outsourcing. A precise definition of the term has proven somewhat fluid and open to interpretation; however, outsourcing is most commonly defined as the practice of a business or a manufacturer making the decision to divest itself of a function or a process that was traditionally performed by its own staff or laborers. Instead, the divested process or function is obtained from another contractor or firm, often at a significantly lower overall cost.

Understandably, many people are quite critical of the outsourcing process, especially when it results in job losses, such as when subcontractors are overseas firms located in countries with much lower average wages. Further criticisms arise from the notion that outsourcing can prove damaging to the overall standard of living in traditionally "First World" economies.

There are also many who champion outsourcing, believing that lowered manufacturing or processing costs result in lower end costs to the consumer. Beyond this, forcing the Western world to move from a manufacturing-based economy to a service-based economy is not necessarily a bad thing, as such a matured economy can still provide plenty of opportunity. In addition, it is said that in a truly global economy, many traditionally impoverished and economically depressed areas of the planet have benefited greatly from the outsourcing process, raising the overall standards of living.