ABSTRACT
Outsourcing («aut »so¤(\)rsÚi˜) It begins as an apparently simple way to save money. Instead of hiring people to fill a role, you contract with an outside vendor to hire and supervise them. Whether in preparing to negotiate an outsourcing contract or as a result of living with one, you think less in terms of employees with mixed duties and significant loyalties to the business than of specific tasks to be performed by people who do exactly what they are paid for and no more. Then you find a company that specializes in performing those services. The company typically pays its workers a good deal less than you do; it may hire them part-time and thus avoid expenses for benefits like health care or retirement. The outside company may also save money from economies of scale; it cleans scores of buildings throughout the city every night, buys its supplies and equipment in bulk, and maintains everything on its own.
