Courses : Outsourcing for Professionals : Syllabus

ENTR/MGMT 489 & 589 (Spring 2007)

Outsourcing of Professional Activities: Analysis of Strategic, Technical, Organizational, and Economic Aspects
Instructor: Amar Gupta, Ph.D
Date/Time: F 9:00am - noon
Location: McClelland Hall 133
Semester: Spring 2007

The objective of the course is to make students aware of Economic, Technological, Strategic and Organizational aspects associated with offshoring of knowledge-based professional services. The course will achieve this through case discussions of different delivery models (captive center, joint venture, 3rd party), value addition models (low-end, mid-range, high-end), and the impact of business and policy environments to each of these models. The course will include lectures on the following topics:

1. Big picture of offshoring delivery models and value addition models. How to think about offshoring decision?

2. Theoretical models for offshoring

3. Political and Legislative Issues

4. Economic Analysis of Specific Outsourcing Situations in Commercial and Governmental Sectors

Speakers from industry, governmental agencies, trade unions, and two other educational institutions (MIT and Stanford University) are expected to present their respective perspectives on Outsourcing.

This course was first taught at MIT during Spring 2004 and then in Tucson during the spring and fall of 2005. Details of previous courses can be accessed here.

Additional details about the new course will be added to the same website on a continuing basis during the fall term. This course is open both to graduate and undergraduate students. Among undergraduates, this course is appropriate for students who are juniors or seniors. All students, irrespective of their department/program, should be able to register for the course on an online basis.

Each student will be required to write a paper on an issue/aspect related to Outsourcing. Students are required to secure prior approval of the topic of the paper by contacting the instructor for this course via email. The course grade will be based primarily on this paper, and partially on class attendance and participation. Graduate students and honors students will be required to submit an additional interim paper during the middle of the semester.