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NAG, B.2004/05. Business Process Outsourcing: Impact and Implications. Bulletin on Asia-Pacific Perspectives.

This article provides a thorough definition of business process outsourcing and covers its various dimensions. The article also provides an analysis of the reasons behind a company's choice to outsource its BPO processes. The main reasons were found to be cost, quality, and time. The article also discusses the impact of business process outsourcing on developing countries and possible future trends for the BPO market.

NAIR, K. 2005. Brain Gain, the BPO Way. Business Standard, ICE World (April 6).

This brief article provides one of the few sources about foreigners going to India to work in offshore companies. The material is anecdotal, and the number of foreign workers in these Indian offshoring firms is small but growing. One main purpose of these workers is to give training in foreign languages. Others are often hired for management positions.

NANDA, M. 2005. Is India a Science Superpower? Frontline 22,19 (Sept.10-23).

Lead to the article. On the radical disconnect between the dreams of becoming a science superpower and the grim reality of mind-numbing superstitions and life-threatening pseudo-sciences that pervade all levels of society.

THE NATION 2004. Toward a Progressive View on Outsourcing. The Nation 22 (March 22-26).

In response to the furor over the comments on February 9, 2004, to remarks by Gregory Mankiw, head of the President's Council of Economic Advisors, that outsourcing "is probably a plus for the economy in the long run", three views were solicited from Sarah Anderson and John Cavanaugh (Institute for Policy Studies), Jeff Madrick (editor of Challenge magazine), and Doug Henwood (editor of Left Business Observer). Topics included John Kerry's presidential platform, lack of support of labor in trade policy, unemployment and labor repression as countervailing forces to productivity, problems with the standard economic account of the benefits of free trade, weaknesses in current protectionist legislation, full employment policy, worker displacement policy, and the role of automation in job loss.

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF SOFTWARE AND SERVICE COMPANIES 2002. Indian IT Industry: Learning From China. New Delhi, India (July).

This report is based on interviews with Chinese government officials, representatives of Chinese software and telecom companies, and Chinese software professionals as well as information from the consulting firms IDC and Gartner. It is a report by the leading trade association for the Indian IT industry sizing up the threat from the Chinese software industry. Topics include:

" assessment of China's potential in the software and services industry
" how Indian companies can engage with China
" learning from the Chinese PC industry
" learning from the Chinese semiconductor industry
" trends in China's packaged software market (as of 2001)
" trends it China's IT services market
" trends in China's IT spending by various industries
" profiles of software companies in China (including Legend Holdings,
Yunnan Nantian Electronics Information Co., Neu-Alpine, Vanda Systems and Communications, NPU Co-Think Software Co., Icechina Tech, NETEC Co., Emerging IT Group, Keyou Software, and Neusoft) " policies for encouraging development of software and integrated circuit
industries (Chinese state policy document) " human capital in China
" Golden Card Project (to issue more than 200 million cash cards, 1993-2003)
" demographic information

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF SOFTWARE AND SERVICE COMPANIES 2004. Strategic Review 2004: The IT Industry in India. New Delhi, India (Feb.).

This is NASSCOM's annual review of the IT industry in India. Topics include software and services exports, Indian domestic IT market, IT enabled services/business process outsourcing market, economics of global sourcing of services, software products, embedded software, and technology services, competitiveness of India with other outsourcing countries, emerging growth areas (product data management, content management, enterprise application integration, business intelligence, wireless applications, and applications in the healthcare, utilities, and retail industries), Internet and e-commerce penetration in India, e-governance, security practices, labor force, venture capital and private equity, telecom infrastructure, quality processes as a business strategy, and the policy environment.

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF SOFTWARE AND SERVICE COMPANIES 2005. Indian IT-ITES - FY05 Results and FY06 Forecast (June 2).

NASSCOM's 2004-2005 research on the performance of the Indian IT-ITES sector showed 2005 to be a historic year in terms of growth, reaching its best level since 2001. The report gives data on revenues, exports, and employees.

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF SOFTWARE AND SERVICE COMPANIES 2005. Strategic Review 2005. (Available at www.nasscom.org/).

This is NASSCOM's annual review. Topics include IT-ITES production, export figures, percentage of business attributable to the United States, size of IT workforce in India, structure of Indian offshore industry, workforce attrition, ICT penetration in Indian populace.

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF SOFTWARE AND SERVICE COMPANIES AND EVALUESERVE 2003. The Impact of Global Sourcing on the US Economy. Evalueserve (Oct. 9).

From NASSCOM MediaRoom Web site: The report highlights how the US economy will see significant benefits from global sourcing. Mr. Kiran Karnik, President of NASSCOM said, "The report was commissioned by NASSCOM to help understand the impact of information technology and increased globalization on the US economy. A comprehensive analysis of economic parameters such as GDP, productivity, and income levels was carried out to arrive at the projections." The report outlines the cost-savings and increased flexibility that global sourcing will provide to US companies, thereby keeping them competitive in the global marketplace.

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF SOFTWARE AND SERVICE COMPANIES AND EVALUESERVE 2004. Information Security in India. (Available at www.evalueserve.com/).

Abstract from the report. The objective of the report is to evaluate the information security environment (regulatory environment and security practices) in India vis-a-vis that in the US and the UK. The US and the UK have well-defined comprehensive laws on data security and privacy, while India lacks specific laws on privacy and data protection. However, there are some proxy data protection laws. To secure global companies that outsource their business processes to India, the Government of India, along with the National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM), is proactively strengthening the legal system to provide appropriate cover for issues relating to Data Protection. The report compares Indian IT and ITES companies with their counterparts in the US and the UK with regard to the practices followed to ensure data security and confidentiality. It highlights data security and privacy laws in the US, the UK and India, especially those relevant to the offshoring sector.

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF SOFTWARE AND SERVICE COMPANIES AND KMPG HOUSE 2004. Choosing a Location for Offshore Operations in India. New Delhi, India (May).

The early part of the report discusses the reasons a company might wish to offshore work in the IT, IT enabled services, and business process outsourcing work areas. The main part of the study focuses on choosing a location, both choosing India over another country and choosing a particular location in India. It discusses advantages of locating offshore work in areas with strong business communities, strong educational facilities, tourist destinations, and places that have invested in infrastructure. The report assesses the ten major IT/ITES/BPO regional centers: Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Kochi, Mumbai, Delhi, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Chennai, and Kolkata. The review of each regional center includes hard economic data and qualitative assessment of both strengths and weaknesses.

NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE COUNCIL 2004. Mapping the Global Future. Report of the National Intelligence Council's 2020 Project (NIC 2004-13, Dec.). (Available at www.odci.gov/nic/NIC_globaltrend2020.html).

This is the report from the National Intelligence Council's 2020 Project giving general predictions about the global situation in 2020 based on consultations with non-govern-mental experts around the world. These predictions set the background for understanding offshoring and global migration of software work and products. Topics include the emergence of China and India as new global players, the importance of globalization as a megatrend, world economic growth and uneven distribution of the benefits, the changing profile of multinational companies, the disruptive influence of information technology on the power of the nation-state, the reversal of democratization trends in the former Soviet Union and Southeast Asia, inability of the United Nations and the world financial institutions to be effective in the new global environment, reduced chance of world war but continued health of extremist groups, and increasing threats from biological agents.

NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL, COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE, ENGINEERING, AND PUBLIC POLICY 2005. Board on Higher Education and Workforce, National Research Council. Policy Implications of International Graduate Students and Postdoctoral Scholars in the United States. Sponsored by the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, and the National Academies (May). (Available at www7.nationalacademies.org/ internationalstudents/Intnl_news.html).

From the Web site: The United States draws heavily from human resources abroad for its science and engineering (S&E) workforce. However, global competition for exceptional S&E graduate students and researchers grows sharper as more countries expand their research infrastructure in these areas and increase opportunities for international scholars. Policy Implications: International Graduate Students and Postdoctoral Scholars in the United States examines how policy-makers can better understand and sustain the contribution of international and domestic scientists and engineers to America's economy and national security.

NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL, COMMITTEE ON WORKFORCE NEEDS IN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY 2001. Building a Workforce for the Information Economy. Washington, DC.

This is a major publication on the IT workforce that resulted from the issues surrounding H1-B visas and age discrimination concerns in the IT workforce several years ago. The first section of the report defines and characterizes IT work, counts the size of the workforce and identifies the various issues concerned with determining whether there is a shortage of IT workers. The second section of the study takes up some special topics such as older IT workers, making more effective use of the existing IT workforce, and the role of education and training in creating more workers over the long term. There is a section of recommendations. The chapter on foreign workers considers the impact of foreign workers on the US economy, provides information about various visa programs (including a good summary of all the different visa types) and some of the problems with them, discusses the availability of foreign IT workers to US companies both within the United States and by locating IT work abroad, and looks briefly at the interaction between importing foreign workers and locating work offshore. There are only three or four pages directly relevant to offshoring.

NEWMAN, F., COUTURIER, L., AND SCURRY, J. 2004. The Future of Higher Education: Rhetoric, Reality, and the Risks of the Market. The New Competition. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, CA. (Chapter 2).

This chapter describes a recent trend of globalization in higher education where teaching and research are offered by a global institution in multiple countries. This is achieved by establishing multiple campuses, creating learning centers, forming alliances with local institutions, or using technology to offer distance learning. The chapter describes efforts by the World Trade Organization to regulate higher education. European Union programs such as Erasmus are intended to advance global education, and there are other efforts to standardize education throughout the European Union. The article also discusses the dangers of globalized education including interference from local politics, cultural imperialism, lack of attention to local culture, and quality control on secondary campuses. The globalization of for-profit universities is discussed.

NEW YORK ACADEMY OF MANAGEMENT 2004. The Outsourcing Threat Is: a) Big, b) Small, c) Both. Washington Post (June 13) B4.

This article provides excerpts from a roundtable discussion held by teleconference on May 18, 2004, and organized by the New York-based Academy of Management, a leading professional organization for people who study management and organizations. Further information can be found at www.aomonline.org/. The transcript provides an excellent snapshot of many of the issues and perspectives on offshoring from the academic management community. Some of the topics, all of which receive only brief discussion, include the percentage of US jobs being offshored, the risk to the accounting and banking industries of jobs being offshored, the respective size of labor pools of developed nations as compared to non-developed nations, the need for more expenditures on education to compensate for offshoring and quandaries about the kind of education to provide, the difficulties of rapidly retooling service workers for knowledge work, the loss of a college degree as a guarantee of lifetime employment, and the long-term perspective on the rise of China and India in the world economy.

NICHOLSON, A. 2004. Intel Adds Russian Research Centers. St. Petersburg Times (May 28). (Available at www.sptimes.ru/archive/times/972/news/b_12585.htm

Intel, the world's leading maker of microchips, has hired some 600 Russian computer specialists. The plan increases Intel's Russian ranks to 1,000 people. An Intel spokesperson stated that this deal makes Russia an important R&D center for Intel. Intel chose not to outsource the work to a Russian firm but to hire the workers as Intel employees.

NICHOLSON, B. 2001. Global Software Outsourcing: The Solution to the IT Skills Gap. Workshop Report to Anglo German Foundation for the Study of Industrial Society.

The report summarizes an international workshop held at the Wissenschaftszentrum in Berlin on May 30-31, 2001. The purpose was to assess the current IT skill shortage and its effects on Germany and the United Kingdom. The workshop included policy makers, academics, and practitioners from the United Kingdom, Germany, the United States, and India. Outcomes were addressed to both national policy makers and corporate executives.

NICHOLSON, B., JONES, J., AND ESPENLAUB, S. Transaction Mitigating Strategies: The Case of Offshore Accounting. Manchester School of Accounting and Finance, The University of Manchester.

This article reviews the offshoring to India of accounting and financial functions. The paper considers three kinds of firms: fully owned and operated subsidiaries, vendors serving former parents, and conventional outsourcers. Particular attention is paid to transactional costs including such issues as information asymmetry, opportunism, asset specificity, and uncertainty as well as mitigating strategies such as governance form, use of intermediaries, onshore vendor presence, contractual arrangements, monitoring, standardization, and security. The paper is informed by transaction cost theory and data is provided from qualitative analysis of interviews in the United Kingdom and India in seven outsourcing firms and one client.

NICHOLSON, B., JONES, J., AND ESPENLAUB, S. 2004. Offshore Outsourcing of the Finance Function. Proceedings of the 4th APIRA Conference, Singapore.

This paper was presented at the 4th Asia Pacific Interdisciplinary Research in Accounting (APIRA) Conference, organized by Singapore Management University (SMU) in conjunction with the Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal, and the Nanyang Business School of the Nanyang Technological University and hosted in Singapore in 2004. Contact the authors for a copy.

NICHOLSON, B. AND SAHAY, S. 2001. Some Political and Cultural Implications of the Globalization of Software Development: Case Experience from UK and India. Information and Organization 11, 1, 25-43.

Abstract from the paper. Global outsourcing of software development is a phenomenon that is receiving considerable interest from North American and European companies currently under pressure to meet their growing manpower resource shortages and find new ways to cut costs. However, these outsourcing arrangements are technologically and organizationally complex and present a variety of challenges to manage effectively. In this paper, we discuss results from an ongoing longitudinal study of a British firm's attempts to develop and manage global software outsourcing arrangements with an Indian software company. More specifically, we focus on understanding management challenges along three key dimensions of culture, organizational politics, and the process of distributed development across space and time. The process of globalization provides the context within which these management challenges can be investigated.

NIEDERMAN, F. 2004. IT Employment Prospects in 2004: A Mixed Bag. Computer (Jan.) 69-77.

This survey article gives a balanced account of the current IT employment picture in the United States. It discusses such topics as the shrinkage in the IT workforce between 2000 and 2003; an analysis of total demand for IT work worldwide including in the analysis such factors as increased productivity in software development, product and service innovations, aging of the workforce, the shift to contract work; global competition for IT work and its effects on wages in the United States; the educational pipeline and the effect of perceived less attractive career opportunities and problems with visas for foreign students; selective hiring practices in today's markets and the prospect for worker shortages in the future; offshoring; L-1 visas and insourcing; and some comments about worker conditions such as burnout. The forecast for 2004 notes some renewed demand for IT workers that may or may not be offset by productivity gains; continued migration of jobs to India, China, and other countries; a segregated IT market with prospects for workers different in the IT-producing companies, outsourcing contract recipients, and non-IT-producing companies; and few ways of mitigating risks of unemployment for individual IT workers.

NOBLE, S. 2005. Why Offshore Outsourcing Projects Fail. Global Sourcing Insights LLC (May 20).

The author is the Director of Global Sourcing Insights. The paper considers four reasons why work conducted offshore sometimes fails: (1) barriers to communication including inadequate equipment, communication at a distance, use of the appropriate communication technology, and appropriate mechanisms for communication such as status reports and Intranets; (2) complexity of infrastructure, including not only facilities and hardware, but also the legal and regulatory environments for dealing with issues such as privacy, security, and intellectual property; (3) division of labor, addressing who can do the work at the lowest cost as well as where and by whom a specific task should be done to ensure it is accomplished most efficiently and effectively; and (4) handling of cultural factors appropriately such as in Latin cultures where work may not be the defining factor in one's life, or in Asian cultures where people defer to authority.