Managed Outsourcing: A Strategy for a Competitive Company in the 1990s

The profile of a competitive company in the 1990s can be defined in two words: focus and flexibility. Companies should concentrate on what they know best, have reduced structures, and the results of any sudden changes in the environment should be as simple as possible. That these tendencies have already become a reality is confirmed by the increasing interest in outsourcing, defined as a “managed process of transferring activities to be performed by others”. In Brazil,some companies are having success with the implementation of this strategy. It is an adequate strategy for the country since its utilization is directed towards the improvement of quality in productivity and attaining competitiveness of products and services. Analyses the fundamentals, the advantages, and the disadvantages which outsourcing might bring to companies, and presents a guide to the implementation of the programme.