Go on, outsource. Just don’t be an outsourcer.
In his article titled The Home Team, Jackie Summers said the following:
“Because we live in a time when being called a racist is worse than racism itself…”
It got me thinking. We view outsourcing in a similar manner. A known outsourcer of jobs, especially in a small community like my hometown of Altoona, PA, essentially wears a badge of shame like a scarlet letter. It’s worse than the actual act of outsourcing itself – an act which can be argued never happened, or wasn’t so bad, or helped bring lower prices for such and such. It’s tough to argue your way out of the small badge and far easier to argue out of the large idea.
Consider Mitt Romney. The man was berated by half the country for outsourcing jobs and praised by the other half for being a successful businessman. It’s as though one didn’t have a tremendous impact on the other. The Villain: Romney as Outsourcer. The Hero: Romney as Outsourcer. It’s like reading a Shakespearean tragedy whereby the particulars of a character who ruthlessly seeks revenge pulls our attention away from the “idea” of revenge.
A quick search on the internet will take you to countless “How To” manuals for using outsourcing in your small business. This works because the idea of outsourcing strips the link between business and community, of business ethics. The following video attempts to redraw those links, to view the idea of “outsourcing” through its particulars. Check it out: