Strategic Outsourcing: A Structured Approach to Outsourcing Decisions and Initiatives

Books on corporate outsourcing generally reflect one of two themes: Outsourcing is either the ultimate answer to all your strategic worries or it's the ultimate evil. Maurice F. Greaver II leaves little doubt about which camp he belongs to in his boosterish review of the outsourcing process. The fact that the author is an unabashed outsourcing proponent takes nothing away from this comprehensive overview of an important business trend. Greaver achieves a feat that most strategists-turned-writers do not even strive for: He quickly disposes of the why and gets right to the how. Outsourcing can be a complex, controversial and sometimes painful practice. This book will tell you how to approach it, how to implement it, and how to proceed once it's in place. The book does have a couple of shortcomings: It's heavy with jargon and it doesn't provide enough detail about how managers should address employees dissatisfaction, which is arguably the biggest hurdle an outsourcing company must clear. Despite these weaknesses, the book is an impressive work, which we at getAbstract.com recommend to executives, managers, employees and students.

"Strategic Outsourcing" is the finest outsourcing book that I have read. It covers a complex subject in a comprehensive manner. One of the book's unique aspects is that Maurice Greaver has made this complex subject easy to understand. The examples are many and interesting, and his writing style makes it actually a fun read. I encourage those wrestling with an outsourcing decision or project to read this book-it's well worth the investment.

This book is both very informative and interesting, one that brings outsourcing theory to life. Its pragmatic approach offers frequent insights into actions to take and, more importantly, what mistakes to avoid. The chapter on Outside Advisors was of great value. So often, as was our case, we didn't know what we didn't know. Using an outside advisor, such as Maurice Greaver, allows the project team to quickly identify and cut through the jungle of issues, and to focus on the path to success! This book is the next best thing to having his expertise in the room, as part of the team.Another area was most valuable - Mr. Greaver's discussion of the complex "make or buy" financial decision. There were a number of elements for consideration that I hadn't thought about. This could have been a costly mistake, and one I would have made if not for the thorough explanation provided in Strategic Outsourcing.

I found that "Strategic Outsourcing: A Structured Approach to Outsourcing Decisions and Initiatives" was extremely helpful to us in our outsourcing initiatives. Of particular note was the usefulness of the sections on: the reasons to outsource, case studies of actual transactions, and project forms. He shows how cost reduction is only one of many good reasons to outsource.Maurice Greaver brings real value in the discussions of outsourcing as it relates to the organization's vision, strategies, core competencies, and other transformaton tools. As the president, I now better understand how the outsourcing tool fits into the bigger picture.Finally, the step by step guidance is especially helpful to the project team as they move through the initiative. He offers many tips that only a wealth of experience could have generated. You can significantly cut your outsourcing learning curve with this book.

I was pleasantly surprised by STRATEGIC OUTCOURCING which deals not only with what to outsource but how to make the outsourcing decision using key two questions: Is this a core or strategic area? and What do I save and gain by outsourcing this activity? Peter Drucker believes that the reason to outsource is to free up critical management time to work on important things. If you happen to save some money in the process, that is an added benefit, but not the outsourcing driver. STRATEGIC OUTSOURCING also deals with the people and transitional issues, and how to manage the business and the employees once the activity is outsourced. If you have not outsourced anything except payroll and tax before, you must read this book. Another process that you must pursue primarily because of the time saved for management is described in THE 2,000 PERCENT SOLUTION, by Mitchell, Coles and Metz. They describe a unique approach to achieve your goals in 1/20th the time by identifying and eliminating the stalls to progress and focusing on the best possible ways to reach your objective. Outsourcing may be one of them! I highly recommend both books.