Wk6 Watercooler

Find an article that either extends, challenges, or refutes the value innovation/blue ocean analysis approach to strategy and growth. The goal is to find an article that can stimulate discussion about the strengths and weaknesses of the value innovation approach to strategy.

· Business Week

· The Economist

· Fortune

· Harvard Business Review

· Journal of Business Strategy

· Leadership Excellence

· Logistics Management

· MIT Sloan Management Review

Use the following guidelines for your Watercooler assignment. Copy and paste these headings into a Word document. (See the exemplar following the guidelines.)

Name:

Date:

APA citation of the source:

A synopsis of the article. (100-150 words)

An analysis of the article and how it relates to the course topic of Business Strategy for Competitive Advantage. (100-150 words)

Exemple for the Watercooler Application:

Name:Edward Garrett

Date:4/23/08

APA citation of the source:

Petraco, A. (2008).Take it outside! Workforce management outsourcing. Workforce Management, 87(4). Retrieved from Business Source Premier database.

Part 1: Synopsis of the article

Personnel costs are among the highest for organizations. With an increasing trend toward globalization and remote workforces, many of the costs associated with the workforce become a burden on the organization, especially if costs are centralized but the employees are not. Outsourcing from either a single or multiple vendors can provide a viable and cost-saving solution. The benefits include reduced impacts on Payroll and Human Resources, as well as more precise data about employee activities and time tracking. Centralized access to information, such as policies, schedules, and time tracking when managed by an outside organization, reduce costs and enhance efficiency.

Part 2: Analysis of article based on the course topic

This article relates to the course content because it links the concept of outsourcing to strategic decisions about cost management and relations between personnel and the organization as a whole. It touches upon some of the lessons of organic growth strategy, namely the importance of employee satisfaction. In addition, it may work within a value innovation strategy as well; insofar as reducing costs for such activities as payroll and human resource information systems will allow an organization to free up resources and therefore lower costs in order to meet pricing goals. In addition, this article suggests that organizations consider viewing the outsourcing decision as a strategic calculation, analyzing the impact on the entire organization