Reference no: EM133144313

Outsourcing has been a widely-accepted strategy for businesses that pursue low cost in materials and labor, economies of scale, and access to global markets.  Some businesses outsource only certain operations, while some others outsource the majority of their operations and become virtual organizations.  It is very common for businesses today to operate a global value chain, instead of confining their operations within a specific border.

The reality is that many executives today are faced with the dilemma of outsourcing, especially with the increasing environmental and social awareness among stakeholders.  Some of the cases against outsourcing include:

• Unfair financial treatment of the host-country workers
• Worsening environmental problems in the host countries
• Offshoring of jobs from the home country
• Higher environmental impact resulting from more complicated logistics
• Lack of control on the total cost of supply chain

Soaring energy prices, depletion of natural resources, more stringent environmental legislation, outcries from various stakeholders, and cost increase of labor in developing countries are not making the situation better.  At the same time of trying to maximize their world-wide bottom line, many global value chain operators have to rethink or redesign certain or all aspects of their supply chain.

Based on your research on the issue of outsourcing, cover the following topics:

1. History and evolution of outsourcing.
2. Environmental, financial, and societal dimensions of outsourcing.  
3. Potential trends of outsourcing and their impact on business operations.
4. Based on the above environmental, financial, and societal dimensions of outsourcing, as well as the trends and impact you have analyzed, what are some leadership decisions that can deal with these problems and achieve triple bottom line.  An empirical methods is recommended for this section.