Confidence in the Face of Turmoil

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The turbulent nature of today's economic environment has taken a significant toll on most organizations, with considerable erosion of shareholder value and business confidence.

Confronted — and often confused — by a plethora of unprecedented challenges, organizations typically "freeze" in an effort to minimize their risks until more stable times. They focus on immediate operational and tactical issues, and defer mid- to long-term growth or improvement initiatives. While executives clearly realize the importance strategy plays in the long run — in reducing costs, improving quality, gaining flexibility, securing talent and remaining competitive — few can resist the internal pressure to retrench. Many organizations appear to be in a state of paralysis in terms of effective decision making.

As executives look at alternative service delivery models like outsourcing and offshoring as a means of addressing various short- and long-term business concerns, the dilemma is clear: both the opportunities to extract value and the risks involved in alternate service delivery models have increased and need to be understood and managed to deliver positive outcomes.