Offshoring Debate Continues
Emory University's Goizueta Business School sends a monthly newsletter called Knowledge@Emory linking to its Web site at http://knowledge.emory.edu. You must register to view, but I've never had a problem with spam with them. The articles cover many areas of business with research by members of the faculty. It is a regular monthly read for me.
This month, one of the articles researches offshoring. While politicians and other theologians can argue whether it[base ']s "right" or "wrong," the fact is that it's here. So how do we deal with it. One argument is protectionism. The United States, for example, simply enact laws to prohibit it, erect stiff barriers to imports, and so on. It appears that the protectionist argument is not carrying to the majority of Americans, as Dick Gephart's candidacy which promoted the concept faded.
Edward D. Hess, executive director of the Center for Entrepreneurship and Corporate Growth and an adjunct professor of organization and management at Emory University[base ']s Goizueta business school says, "While moving operations to less expensive areas of the world may be an effective cost-cutting measure, the effort will only serve to boost the bottom line temporarily. The real challenge for company leaders is to gain an entrepreneurial mindset, in order to grow the business organically and creatively."
He admits that true innovation is certainly harder to accomplish than the budget slashing measures that U.S. corporate leaders have routinely employed-from mass layoffs to offshoring.
Monica C. Worline, a professor of organization and management at Goizueta, says that the biggest problem is that businesspeople often misconstrue the term "entrepreneur." She adds, "In the U.S., entrepreneur has come to be known as someone who is starting a new business, and the business is generally seen as a small, bootstrap startup-something you pour your heart, soul and life into. This is a limited notion of the term. Many also associate the term 'entrepreneur' with a risk taker. However, often the best kinds of entrepreneurial ideas are those small innovations on what is already working."
I think these comments are right on. In my 30 year business career, nothing ever got me up and going in the morning better than knowing I had a competitor who was trying to eat my lunch. Beating that competitor by devising better solutions for my current and potential customers has brought some of the greatest satisfaction in my career. (Aside from raising a great couple of kids and keeping the wife happy, of course.)
There is one theme I will always proclaim, and that is "take the proactive approach, get creative, serve your customers, and enjoy life."
8:24:18 AM 
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