Keep It In or Send It Out?

RECENTLY, I had the pleasure of meeting an exceptionally kind and open in-plant manager who works for a pharmaceutical company. I was told the shop was recently placed "in scope" by management and was looking for help on how to deal with the situation.

I admit I didn't know what "in scope" meant at first. When I asked I was told a department is placed in scope—or under review by the parent organization—to determine, in essence, whether to keep the work in or send it out. People's jobs are at stake here, along with the profitability of the organization, the needs of the customers (across multiple countries) and the needs of the organization's customer. That's a lot of needs.