Annotation

Tschang, Feichin Ted, and Andrea Goldstein. "The Outsourcing of “Creative” Work and the Limits of Capability: The Case of the Philippines’ Animation Industry." IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management IEEE Trans. Eng. Manage. 57.1 (2010): 132-43. ProQuest. Web. 20 Jan. 2016.

Feichin Ted Tschang and Andrea Goldstein’s journal article explains that the animation industry in the Philippines is a “nonsoftware" and “creative industry”. The purpose of the article is to understand reasons for creative outsourcing and similarities with nonsoftware outsourcing. Outsourcing in the Philippines began in the early 1980s and experienced a boom, decline, and resurgence. The article profiles four studios. Two have a small staff and cycle most of their talent in on a temporary basis, whereas the latter two take great pride in their talented, permanent staffs.

Studios have to differentiate and sell themselves on the caliber of their work rather than their “organizational” prowess, work is dependent on the high-valued pre-production of providers, and foreign investment is all-important. Therefore, the Philippine animation industry is prone to instability and risks disappearing.

This piece excellently and specifically describes the inner-workings of different Filipino studios and the history of animation in the Philippines. In doing so, it avoids making any broad claims about outsourcing and is, in fact, sympathetic to Filipino workers in the animation field. It draws helpful distinctions between software and creative outsourcing—both of which are driven by cost, but which create two very different products.

This would be a very useful source in a research paper. It’s filled with case studies and quotes from company heads that give light to the thoughts and concerns of studios whose mere existence is not often acknowledged. Additionally, it provides carefully-considered terms with which to discuss the multi-faceted topic of outsourcing.