1. Does the use of a multination client management team approach create value for companies and workers in both a developing country like India and a developed country such as the United States? Why or why not?

2. Although many U.S. companies have argued that the H-1B temporary visa program is vital to their continued success because it allows them to import skilled workers that are difficult to find in the United States, critics charge that such programs are susceptible to abuse, harming both imported and domestic employees. What are the merits and limitations of each argument?

3. Is it better to allow foreign workers to come to the United States under a program such as the H-1B temporary visas, or to merely locate activities in a foreign site? Why? How might a program be designed to enable U.S. companies to bring in immigrant talent from abroad without harming the interests of employees in the United States?

The focus of this Global Debate explores “Is Cognizant Technology Solutions Leveraging Low-Cost Talent or Exploiting It?” Cognizant is employing low cost technical personnel, particularly within India, in combination with local service teams to create an innovative “offshore-onshore” business model that enables the company compete on price, speed, and adaptability. In conjunction with this business model, the company has invested in an advanced international communications infrastructure to facilitate effective coordination of its internationally dispersed teams. This internationalized model in business services is interesting to students and can provide the basis for insightful class discussion. Asking questions such as, “What benefits might result from the use of a multi-nation client management team approach?” and “What challenges might result from such a set-up, and how could they be managed?,” will serve as a starting point for class discussion on some of the key strategic, operational, organizational, and external environmental issues that face companies that attempt to develop and implement innovative international business models.