The Global Outsourcing Conference from Purdue University

Purdue University Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER) and the Global Business Institute at New York University Stern School of Business, with support from the CIBERs at University of Colorado, Columbia University, University of Illinois - Champaign Urbana, University of Kansas, University of Pittsburgh, and Texas A&M University, collaborated to bring together leading faculty researchers, industry leaders and students for the "Understanding Global Outsourcing" conference. The conference was hosted at NYU on December 9-10, 2004.

Sample of the topics addressed:

• What is the real impact of outsourcing?
• How to measure the medium and long-term benefits from a firm, country or regional viewpoint?
• Are the traditional factors such as co-location, clustering, and scale impacting outsourcing or are there factors other than these that weigh in favor of outsourcing?
• How do firms in different regions compare with regard to cost, quality, timely delivery performance, customer service, design, and other metrics of performance?
• Does the rate of change in metrics provide insights into how fast a given region can catch up with the global economy?
• Can regions attain competitive performance standards more quickly today?
• How much and in what way has the IT revolution impacted the ability of firms to work together at long distance?
• How has outsourcing changed hiring practices and HR policies?
• What skill sets are expected from workers, managers and executives?
• How can firms learn at a distance?
• How about IP protection? Reporting guidelines, auditing, taxes, etc.
• Specifically, how has the recent phenomenon of outsourcing affected the service sectors? What do these trends imply for the structure of firms?
• How has outsourcing affected the manufacturing sector?
• How do regions and firms maintain competitive advantage in particular areas?

The event began with a Dinner Reception, featuring keynote remarks by Mr. Rick Dauch, Vice President of the Metal Formed Products Division at American Axle & Manufacturing. Friday morning, attendees had the unique opportunity to hear presentations from several renowned business and academic leaders, including William J. Baumol, Professor of Economics in the Faculty of Arts and Science at New York University, and Ralph Gomory, President of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, co-authors of "Global Trade and Conflicting National Interests." Each speaker shared views on the issue of outsourcing, its scope, grounds and probable impact for firms in the U.S. and other countries. Panel discussion offered direction on possible areas of future research from industry experts. The panel, moderated by Ingo Walter, Seymour L. Milstein Professor in Ethics and Corporate Governance and Strategy and Director of the Global Business Institute at NYU Stern, included participants from Deloitte & Touche, McKinsey, and other leading international firms. The Conference also offered attendees the chance to continue the discussions sparked by the presentations and panel discussion.

Keynote Dinner Speaker
Rich Dauch,
Vice President
Metal Formed Products Division
American Axle & Manufacturing

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