I read with interest today an article about one Chinese ITO company, in which a report from Gartner was cited. I haven't seen the report myself, but here's the quotation:
"In a report authored by analyst Tina Tung and released in June, Gartner noted that there were now more than 12,000 China-based service providers, with a total employee count of more than 2.3 million people – more than 70 per cent of whom had a bachelor’s degree or higher."
If my arithmetic is correct, that constitutes 1.6 million university graduates, seeking a career in outsourcing, in China alone.
I wonder how many potential Masters Degree students it would take for the light to go on in academia that there is a real opportuntiy here to offer a Master of Business (Outsourcing)?
Here's a link to the source of my quotation:
http://www.itwire.com/it-industry-news/strategy/50297-chinese-offshoring-gathers-pace
Please keep your comments coming.
Tuesday 11 October 2011
Tuesday 4 October 2011
It's no laughing matter
It takes just a single click in Google to find hundreds of jokes poking fun at the legal profession, at the medical profession, at the accounting profession. And yet no matter how much we jokingly malign them, nevertheless we acknowledge that, as a body of practitioners, they each constitute a 'profession'.
Outsourcing, though, is not something that the world can take lightly, it seems. In the western economies of the world, and most vocally in the United States, emotions run high when outsourcing is on the agenda. If the topic is so serious, then its practitioners need to be taken seriously. With over two decades of established practice under our belts, it's time that we took steps to have outsourcing recognised as the management profession that it truly is.
There is a growing cadre of professional industry associations, representing many of the various facets of outsourcing, to which many tens of thousands of industry practitioners belong. Some, like SIG, largely represent the purchasers who source goods and services from third parties. Others, like BPAP, NOA and ABPOA largely represent either service providers within their specialty (e.g. Business Process Outsourcing) or within their Geography (e.g. Philippines, UK, Australia). A few (e.g. SSON and IAOP) take a global perpesctive and try to remain as inclusive as possible. The upshot is that outsourcing practitioners, from all over the world, whether they are the buyers or suppliers, advisors or academics, now comprise a major global industry population with a unifying passion.
When you listen to the former President of the Philippines, Her Excellency Mmme Gloria Macapagal Arroyo speak about her involvement in outsourcing, she does so with great pride in the strides her nation has taken to develop such a strong economic force. (http://www.practicallogic.com.au/home-page/where-we-work/philippines/)
When you read of the sheer magnitude of the commitment of the Chinese government to transforming the underpinning economic pillars of its country to rely increasingly upon the outsourced services sector, it is clear that outsourcing is a force that, through its power to transform society, is helping to raise hundreds of millions of people out of poverty.
When you listen to Chairman of Nasscom talk of the strides that India has made since the 1980's, and of the pace of change being driven by such institutions as NIIT in IT Outsourcing, Business Process Outsourcing and Knowkledge Process Outsourcing, there can be little doubt of the power of this profession to make sweeping changes for the benefit of mankind, whether we consider them one person at a time or as a global, trans-national phenomenon.
I've worked in this industry since 1988. I've witnessed some of the defining moments of our profession. I've studied it, written about it, spoken about it, taught it and above all, practised it for most of my working life. In that time, I've seen the population of outsourcing industry practitioners expand exponentially across the globe.
I'd like to engage you now, in a meaningful dialogue about unifying us, irrespective of age or gender, irrespective of nationality or language, irrespective of company or government affiliations, irrespective of buy-side / sell side roles. I'd like you to contribute now, to establishing our industry as a globally recognised profession. Share your opinion and experience, your wisdom or your freshness, your innovation or your lessons learned.
Knowledge is the great liberator. Education is the fastest route to equality. Uniform acceptance of standards is a great mechanism for demonstrating multilateral respect. I'd like to kick off this discussion with a dialogue about establishing a Masters of Business (Outsourcing), to be recognised by respected universities in countires around the world. Let's talk now about how, where, when, why and who.
Outsourcing, though, is not something that the world can take lightly, it seems. In the western economies of the world, and most vocally in the United States, emotions run high when outsourcing is on the agenda. If the topic is so serious, then its practitioners need to be taken seriously. With over two decades of established practice under our belts, it's time that we took steps to have outsourcing recognised as the management profession that it truly is.
There is a growing cadre of professional industry associations, representing many of the various facets of outsourcing, to which many tens of thousands of industry practitioners belong. Some, like SIG, largely represent the purchasers who source goods and services from third parties. Others, like BPAP, NOA and ABPOA largely represent either service providers within their specialty (e.g. Business Process Outsourcing) or within their Geography (e.g. Philippines, UK, Australia). A few (e.g. SSON and IAOP) take a global perpesctive and try to remain as inclusive as possible. The upshot is that outsourcing practitioners, from all over the world, whether they are the buyers or suppliers, advisors or academics, now comprise a major global industry population with a unifying passion.
When you listen to the former President of the Philippines, Her Excellency Mmme Gloria Macapagal Arroyo speak about her involvement in outsourcing, she does so with great pride in the strides her nation has taken to develop such a strong economic force. (http://www.practicallogic.com.au/home-page/where-we-work/philippines/)
When you read of the sheer magnitude of the commitment of the Chinese government to transforming the underpinning economic pillars of its country to rely increasingly upon the outsourced services sector, it is clear that outsourcing is a force that, through its power to transform society, is helping to raise hundreds of millions of people out of poverty.
When you listen to Chairman of Nasscom talk of the strides that India has made since the 1980's, and of the pace of change being driven by such institutions as NIIT in IT Outsourcing, Business Process Outsourcing and Knowkledge Process Outsourcing, there can be little doubt of the power of this profession to make sweeping changes for the benefit of mankind, whether we consider them one person at a time or as a global, trans-national phenomenon.
I've worked in this industry since 1988. I've witnessed some of the defining moments of our profession. I've studied it, written about it, spoken about it, taught it and above all, practised it for most of my working life. In that time, I've seen the population of outsourcing industry practitioners expand exponentially across the globe.
I'd like to engage you now, in a meaningful dialogue about unifying us, irrespective of age or gender, irrespective of nationality or language, irrespective of company or government affiliations, irrespective of buy-side / sell side roles. I'd like you to contribute now, to establishing our industry as a globally recognised profession. Share your opinion and experience, your wisdom or your freshness, your innovation or your lessons learned.
Knowledge is the great liberator. Education is the fastest route to equality. Uniform acceptance of standards is a great mechanism for demonstrating multilateral respect. I'd like to kick off this discussion with a dialogue about establishing a Masters of Business (Outsourcing), to be recognised by respected universities in countires around the world. Let's talk now about how, where, when, why and who.
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