Managing Virtual Teams

The trend in outsourcing today is to assemble a team where members have different skill sets and let them work in remote locations. The beauty of this model is that people need not be paid handsomely by bringing them on site and people who are starting to get bored in the office can be allowed to work from their homes of other locations.

However, coordination, control, security and other issues need to be paid attention in order assure that the quality of work is optimal.

Here are some issues related to effective ways of managing virtual teams:

1. Pay attention to team composition
2. Information systems support
3. Adjusting management style
4. Capability building
5. Teambuilding

Here are the details. Read More...

Looking Forward...

Looking at last year’s Halloween invitations that I received from the different outsourcing companies that I worked with, I am all of a sudden, looking forward to this year’s upcoming Halloween celebration. The costumes that I saw spoke well of the creativity of those young minds and makes me look forward to the next. I wonder what I will be seeing this year.

Overdoing Outsourcing, Simply Overkill

In regard to the last post, overdoing it refers to excessive attempts to save by outsourcing to sweatshops or factories in sub human conditions. Nowadays, I have been told by insiders in the textile industry in the Philippines that some clothing factories are even required to have adequate air-conditioning and employees are not allowed to work excessively. It means that overtime work cannot exceed 15 hours , never on consecutive days and never in excess of 2 overtimes in a week. My gosh, it makes me feel that an HDMI splitter will be good for those factories. With enough time to enjoy television and audio entertainment, blu rays and the latest gadgets probably abound in the employee housing units of those factories.

Outsourcing Shoe Manufacturing

The website of Beautifeel shoes, remind me of the days when I was gaga over Reebok. It is supposed to be a western brand that even sponsored the US Olympic basketball team. But close scrutiny of the actual products revealed that many pairs were actually made in South Korea. I was also told that there were also pairs coming out of the Bataan Export Processing Zone. I had no idea if the Bataan part was real but the fact remains that having the manufacturing outsourced to other countries can be good for as long as one does not overdo it.

Maintaining Quality Standards In Outsourcing

A couple of years ago, there was an upcoming publisher who was about to launch a global (regional) magazine. Because he is based in Singapore, I told him that most probably, printing cost in that country is very expensive and profits can be maximized if the printer as well as the distribution service be outsourced to countries like the Philippines. The content and even layout can be done in the country of origin but the printing and logistical portions may be outsourced elsewhere. The quality of the content remains intact but the cost and profit margins becomes totally optimized.

For those who are paranoid about outsourcing, start by trying out a scheme similar to this.

Defending the Usurers

I would like to give a second look at the much maligned balance transfer credit card. It is widely known as an instrument in driving people into deeper bankruptcy but what people fail to acknowledge is the second chance that it gives those in debt. Of course, high-risk loans will have to come with higher interest rates but that’s business. When banks and other prime lenders cannot anymore give people the opportunity to get out of debt, the maligned cards are there offering a second chance. It is up to the borrower to step up and redeem himself. It is not the card’s role. It is afterall, just a piece of plastic.

Everybody Happy, So Far!

In this day and age where outsourcing companies dominate the business community, things are so far in good shape. Companies are saving on costs and maximizing their profits, outsourcing destinations are increasing their profits and the employees of outsourcing companies are reaping the benefits in terms of increased employment rates, salaries and benefits. Just some wishful thinking, I hope elegant outdoor furniture covers will be offered by the outsourcing companies as signing bonus. And oh boy, it should come with the furniture. Hehehe!

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Outsourced Advertising

It is not enough that somebody has a website. For it to be seen, continuous marketing is needed until the site had become so popular that it had become people’s habit to visit everyday. Another reason is that every website, old or new needs to be constantly promoted In order for it to remain dominant for its chosen keywords.

Having a business and a website is heavy enough on the workload. Learning and implementing online marketing can therefore be daunting. Well, one need not worry for these things can be outsourced. ihype for instance, provides this service for websites. So website owners need not worry about the burden of traffic and SEO. Companies like iHype does it for them.