Is Outsourcing a Silver Bullet?
WE’VE ALL heard about silver bullets. In folklore, silver bullets were used to deal with exceptional problems, like monsters. The Lone Ranger used silver bullets to dispatch the bad guys. They were symbols of law and order—of justice. Over time, the term has morphed into a metaphor often used to describe effective solutions to difficult problems.
Organizations are dealing with some pretty exceptional problems, too, and “outsourcing” has been touted as management’s silver bullet to deal with them.
Ray Chambers, CGCM, MBA, has invested over 30 years managing and directing printing plants, copy centers, mail centers and award-winning document management facilities in higher education and government.
Most recently, Chambers served as vice president and chief information officer at Juniata College. Chambers is currently a doctoral candidate studying Higher Education Administration at the Pennsylvania State University (PSU). His research interests include outsourcing in higher education and its impact on support services in higher education and managing support services. He also consults (Chambers Management Group) with leaders in both the public and private sectors to help them understand and improve in-plant printing and document services operations.
