To Stay or Go: Business Processing Outsourcing in the United States

To Stay or Go: Business Processing Outsourcing in the United States

When considering what business to do business with, it should matter how they do business. It is important to consider choosing to partner with an organization that is committed to bettering the U.S. economy, helping to employ those who are unemployed, and providing reliable quality services.

The general definition of business outsourcing means U.S. companies hire foreign workers outside the U.S to complete their business process functions. As a result, this type of outsourcing increases the U.S unemployment rate, adversely impacting the U.S economy.

According to James K. Jackson, Specialist in International Trade and Finance for the Congressional Research Service, “The impact of foreign direct investment on U.S. employment continues to attract national attention. While local communities compete with one another for investment projects, many of the residents of those communities fear losing their jobs as U.S. companies seek out foreign locations and foreign workers to perform work that traditionally has been done in the United States, generally referred to as outsourcing. ”

The blanket statement that business process outsourcing must be done oversees is false. In fact, there are a wealth of companies based and functioning in the United States today that work to off-set the impact on foreign business process outsourcing, keeping these outsourcing functions within the U.S.

One such business is Integration, Inc., located in Connecticut, which specializes in resolving information technology issues confronting small to medium-sized organizations across the U.S. in the areas of Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), Check Writing Services, Check Printing Services, Rebate Processing, Third Party Billing Services and Barcode Labels. Integration, Inc.’s purpose is to streamline internal business processes for organizations, without foreign outsourcing, allowing companies to focus on other detail orientated processes of their business. All this is completed by U.S. residents, keeping all their business process outsourcing located within the United States. Throughout the development of Integration, Inc.’s business plan, corporate social responsibility was a high-level concern in terms of deciding where and how to complete their business process services to customers. So what is Corporate Social Responsibility and why is it important?

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a corporation’s acknowledgment of and ability to assess and take responsibility for their effects on the environmental and society. The idea of CSR is for an organization to go above and beyond local regulations and guidelines to make a positive impact on their surroundings. Looking back even 20 or 30 years and companies rarely considered their footprint on the world. Now, as part of the 21^st century, and the U.S. economic state is only a portion of the global issues presented today. As a result, any efforts companies can take today to improve the world for tomorrow helps us all collectively as people.

Some areas of social responsibility businesses focus on today include:

1. Environmental – Regardless of size, businesses have a large carbon footprint. Any efforts made to reduce those footprints are positive for both the company and society.
2. Philanthropy – The act of donating to national and local charities in support of benefiting charities and local community programs.
3. Ethical labor practices – By treating employees fairly and ethically, companies can also demonstrate their corporate social responsibility. This is especially true of businesses that operate in international locations with labor laws that differ from those in the United States. By keeping employment within the U.S this boosts the economy and ensures jobs for those in need within the U.S.
4. Volunteering – Either attending or organizing volunteer events and fundraiser allows a business to become part of a community and also support that community. Such efforts help to express an organization’s concern for specific issues and the community.

It’s time to consider who your business partners are and if corporate social responsibility is incorporated into their business.

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