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Ellen Ruppel Shell

Ellen Ruppel Shell - Ellen Ruppel Shell is a professor and science journalist who teaches at Boston University. She is the author most recently of Cheap: The High Cost of Discount Culture. More

Atlantic contributing editor Ellen Ruppel Shell teaches at Boston University, where she co-directs the Graduate Program in Science Journalism. She writes on science, medicine, the media, economics, and sometimes even sports and the arts, and tends to focus on the underlying cultural and societal implications. She is the author most recently of Cheap: The High Cost of Discount Culture.

The True Cost of Outsourcing

By Ellen Ruppel Shell
May 11 2010, 12:06 PM ET Comment

Crack management consultant and tech expert Charlie Barnhart offers a fascinating perspective on the true cost of outsourcing.  Charlie's thoughts apply chiefly to the electronics industry, but others might consider his message when deciding whether or not to send their manufacturing overseas.  There is an old adage in business about the juggling of low cost, quality, and speed of production -- you can have two of these, but rarely, if ever, all three.  The myth that outsourcing allows for all three, Barnhart argues, is one that has led many American companies -- and consumers -- astray.  Check it out!   

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