Cost, skills, supply

  • increased Globalisation more competition in the marketplace globally

    • managing HR is more complex
  • Issues:

    • high domestic labour costs
    • a skills shortage
      • therefore, improving workplace productivity is essential
      • the shortage is often blamed on the education system
        • and importing cheap labour (& outsourcing)
  • To overcome the skills shortage:

    • ==Australia introduced the Temporary Work Visa== (Subclass 457)
      • allows skilled migrants into Aus, sponsored for 4 years.
  • Australia’s higher living standards expectations for better wages

    • But businesses face additional entitlements and on-costs
    • These higher labour costs reduced Aus international competitiveness
      • tempting businesses to restructure workforces with overseas outsourcing, via offshore subsidiaries (low labour costs and interest rates)
        • a subsidiary is :: a company that is owned by another company (referred to as the parent) and it is often located in another country (offshore)
  • China’s comparative advantage with secondary production

    • common outsourcing partner
  • India serves as an outsourcing partner for basic accounting, legal & insurance work

    • due to highly literate, skilled - and cheap - labour.