Outsourcing as a cause for absent employee's commitment to the organisation

Information technology outsourcing is an important issue on the agenda of German software companies. The case describes a process wherein Systema AG tried to outsource part of its product-development to India and failed because of lack of commitment from its own computer scientists. At the centre were the fears and worries of Systema AG staffs about losing their jobs in the face of lower costs yielding the same quality levels in India. The statements of Systema AG's computer scientists were analysed and discussed to get a deeper insight into the internal processes, which accounted for the success of such outsourcing undertakings. Systema AG management faltered in not bringing all the staff on board when they made their decision. This fault is the subject of a case discussion. Solutions for avoiding such failures in the future can be analysed and discussed on the basis of this case.