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Global Sourcing Council: Inaugural meeting, NYC, Oct. 25

Group seeks to 'align business success and social responsibility'

HOBOKEN, N.J. ¯ The inaugural meeting of the Global Sourcing Council (GSC), a voluntary, public-private initiative to facilitate dialog, information and greater understanding of global sourcing, will take place Thurs., Oct. 25, 2007, 8:30 a.m.-2:00 p.m., 12th Floor Lounge, Fordham University-Lincoln Center, New York City. In addition to those present in the meeting, which is by invitation only, there will be a worldwide teleconferencing bridge tying in executives from all over the globe.

The mission of the Global Sourcing Council is to promote an exchange of ideas and information among businesses, trade organizations, government agencies, and academics; to discuss and define practices in global sourcing; and to encourage progressive economic growth leading to increased trade, investment and social good, all with an aim to increase knowledge, deepen trade relations and broaden commercial and cultural ties among nations.

“The GSC will play a key role in furthering business interests by promoting an open environment for the many participants in the sourcing world: country trade representatives, service providers and private enterprise from different countries,” said GSC founding member and board member Christine Bullen, a Senior Lecturer at Stevens Institute of Technology’s Howe School of Technology Management. “The GSC provides opportunities for professional networking and business development in the context of the social impact of sourcing. The GSC also addresses timely issues important to any company involved in global business operations and to any country where sourcing is taking place.”

The inaugural meeting will create a forum on social responsibility in outsourcing by bringing together a diverse program of international executives.

The opening keynote is Bill Mosher, television producer of the Award-winning series, Visionaries. Bill has had the opportunity to meet many who drive change and underscores the connection between business actions and the world we live in. David Kinnear, one of the architects of the GSC and President of DDC HRO, comments, “Ghandi once said – ‘Be the change you wish to see in the world.’ As we move forward into an era of new, developing markets, so we seek business and public sector leadership that can take the opportunity to ‘make a difference’ in the community – around the world. This is a key goal for the GSC.”

The mission will be carried out through the sponsorship of meetings where open discussion of issues associated with sourcing, both pro and con will be discussed. “Most of the existing professional organizations in the outsourcing space are focused on the business aspects – the success of companies illustrated through case studies, the determination of best business practices, and so on,” comments Bullen. “The GSC is unique in tying together the business and social aspects. For example, sourcing relationships have brought jobs and technology into rural areas where there was very little opportunity for local people to have careers. This is an excellent social impact – improved training and education, improved standards of living. However, an interesting question to raise is to what extent do the companies bringing in the work even think about the social impact. In most cases they are thinking about the economic value of a cheap workforce!”

“The GSC will champion the concept of planning for the social impact, that is, socially responsible sourcing. And taking on this viewpoint requires that any negative impacts will also be anticipated and potentially avoided,” adds Bullen.

John Stacey, CEO of Satellnet is another co-founder of the GSC who emphasizes the future impact, “The GSC is an example of the Andrew Carnegie philosophy of excelling in business – and then taking that as the opportunity for greater giving in the community.”

The GSC has brought together experts in diverse areas related to the sourcing marketplace. There will be case studies of the impact of rural sourcing in a number of countries, issues and solutions related to the crises that can arise in doing business globally, risk management in international business and the investment community stance on the outsourcing marketplace.

For more information on the GSC and this meeting, please contact Christine Bullen, cbullen@stevens.edu; the GSC website can be found at http://www.gscouncil.org

About Stevens Institute of Technology

Founded in 1870, Stevens Institute of Technology is one of the leading technological universities in the world dedicated to learning and research. Through its broad-based curricula, nurturing of creative inventiveness, and cross disciplinary research, the Institute is at the forefront of global challenges in engineering, science, and technology management. Partnerships and collaboration between, and among, business, industry, government and other universities contribute to the enriched environment of the Institute. A new model for technology commercialization in academe, known as Technogenesis®, involves external partners in launching business enterprises to create broad opportunities and shared value. Stevens offers baccalaureates, master’s and doctoral degrees in engineering, science, computer science and management, in addition to a baccalaureate degree in the humanities and liberal arts, and in business and technology. The university has a total enrollment of 2,040 undergraduate and 3,085 graduate students, and a worldwide online enrollment of 2,998, with a full-time tenured or tenure-track faculty of 140 and more than 200 full-time special faculty. Stevens’ graduate programs have attracted international participation from China, India, Southeast Asia, Europe and Latin America. Additional information may be obtained from its web page at www.stevens.edu. For the latest news about Stevens, please visit www.StevensNewsService.com.

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