27/5/2014

CORPORATE OUTSOURCING

"If a foreign country can supply us with a commodity cheaper than we ourselves can make it, it is better to buy it of them." - Adam Smith, economist.

Corporate outsourcing is the strategy to attach vendors to handle certain tasks linked with the ongoing  operation of the company. To make it possible for the business to save money and direct resources to other parts of the operation, there are a number of key functions that are often outsourced by small as well as large companies. These key functions include marketing and public relations, different accounting processes and human resources.

The term outsourcing dates back to the 1970's when companies, looking to become more efficient, began hiring outside the firm for less important processes. Outsourcing proved effective. Today outsourcing is as big as 70% to 80% in many companies. It is not rare that big companies outsource half of their IT operations. Some organizations now outsource their back office, including payroll, human resources and accounting in its entirety. Very soon, all companies may be outsourced more often than not. This will create a significant re-organization that affects managers, employees, executives and customers.

With the help of outsourcing, non-core activities, such as administration and back-office operations, core activities of the business can take center stage. Outsourcing these operations helps to put focus back on the core functions of the business, such as marketing and sales.

Some may argue that outsourcing equals a loss of control or quality, but it all depends on which company you choose to work with. It is crucial to choose your allies wisely, and by simply staying in touch; you will not lose control, nor quality.

Outsourcing, when used properly, is an effective cost-saving strategy. The lower costs of labor and operations is something that many find appealing. By relocation of some jobs to other, less expensive, parts of the world we can easily save costs, companies and people's jobs. Where the daily costs of living are not as high, companies can lower the salaries while still enabling their employees to keep a good standard of living. Every job created in these countries, by outsourcing, can lead to many more as new money flows in to the national economy, and is spent on local services and goods.

Even though outsourcing may have a few disadvantages in some situations, the benefits far outweigh them! Many pitfalls of outsourcing can easily be avoided by choosing the right company to work with. Before you decide to outsource, try to align the goals of your company and employee considerations with the objectives of outsourcing.

Outsourcing has come to be a well established model, and recognized as a long term strategy for success. The question today is not 'Why outsource?' but 'Why not outsource?'.

19/5/2014

Did you know that 1 in 26 people will develop epilepsy in their lifetime? The Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy, CURE, is a non-profitable organization founded in 1998 by parents of children diagnosed with epilepsy. They were frustrated with being unable to protect their children from the horrid seizures and the side effects from the medications. They could not sit back any longer; thus they joined forces to take the lead in the search for a cure.

CURE is working to increase awareness through media exposure; national as well as international. Publications such as Newsweek and the New York Times have featured CURE's chair and co-founder; Susan Axelrod, along with other supporters and board members, a number of times. Axelrod has also appeared on "60 Minutes", the Today show and many other well established programs. This seems to have raised awareness internationally, and CURE has as a result gained considerable recognition worldwide.

Since its launch, CURE has raised over 26 million dollars for research. They grant young and established scientists with seed-money to research different areas. As of now, CURE is behind 151 cutting-edge projects. Hopefully, this will lead to great progress in the foundations quest for finding a cure.

As previously stated; CURE's main hope for the future is to find a cure for this devastating disease we know as epilepsy. Because of the fact that as many as 1 in 26 people are diagnosed, this is an extremly relevant organization, and I strongly urge you to support it!

12/5/2014

He was sweating, it was so cramped in there. He looked around, trying to make sense of where he was, what he was. He soon realized it was pointless, there was nothing but complete darkness. He tried to move, he had to get out of there, the claustrophobia he apparently suffered from was screaming at him, "this is where you panic!". Oh crap.
Mid claustrophobic-panic-attack he was temporarily blinded by a bright light. As his eyes adjusted, he looked around and came to realize where and what he was. The fore mentioned claustrophobia was soon replaced by pure anxiety. He was a cigarette in an opened pack, he was on death row.

One by one, the cigarettes around him got pulled out, lit and slowly burned to death. Their executer seemed entirely oblivious to the fact that they all prayed to be spared, they were innocent.
It was not as if they had asked to be filled with this poisonous substance. They did not intend to kill you, it was just the inevitable consequence of their existence.

Soon, he was the only one left. He was alone in the crushing darkness for hours, days maybe, it got harder and harder to tell. He knew that his number was up, it was just a matter of time.
Finally, the bright light shone down on him and he felt numb. This was it.
As the match was lit and on its way toward him, he couldn't help but wish to be inanimate.

8/5/2014

So as you know, my legal name is Charlotte, but everybody calls me Lottie. I live in Stockholm with my mother, my father and our dog, Brownie. I just turned twenty this February so now I finally feel like a grown up (except here in America!).
At EF I expect to evolve and most importantly become more confident when using the English language. This is also my long term goal!
In Sweden, and even here, I often recieve compliments for my accent and vocabulary, I have even been mistaken for a native speaker a number of times. This is immensely flattering of course, but unfortunately this is not the case when I am surrounded by authorities. If I am, I get nervous and I stumble on my words because I overthink everything, trying to speak perfectly. This is something I want to get rid of! The same thing goes for writing. If my Swedish teacher is correcting my English paper I don't get nervous at all, I mean, this is her second language too! But if a native speaker does it, I get embarrassed for some (stupid) reason.


It would be cool to be able to say that I've been to every continent. The dream would be to have a job where you could travel around the world, or have the free time to do it on your own. It would also be really cool to learn French, I've always wanted to! Yet I always chose Spanish in school...
My family and I have been to London once a year since the year I was born. I love big cities and hope to be able to keep visiting London just as often in the future.
My ideal future also includes at least a year living in Paris, a year in New York and then maybe a year in Hong Kong as well.