New Trend...Network Department Outsourcing

 

            So I was looking through my RSS feeder and came across an interesting article from Deadline.com. According to the article, which was written on October 14, 2011, HBO is shutting down its casting department. HBO’s decision to do this is just another example of TV and Cable cutting costs by downsizing many in-house departments to outright liquidating them. HBO uses outside casting directors in all of its projects and its in-house casting executives only playing a supplemental role so their top brass decided to close it down. The fact that their movie and miniseries output is decreasing is also a major cause.

            The article also talks about how senior casting executives are losing their jobs as well as a part of this cost-cutting trend. Rick Jacobs left Lifetime 2 years ago as party of the company-wide layoffs. Marc Hirschfeld from NBC was let go in their 2008 shakeup of executives. Walt Disney released Marcia Ross back in February and Beth Klein was shown the doors at Showtime after having working there for over 23 years. This is not the complete list of executives but it goes to show you that anybody is expendable in today’s economy.

            Further along the article, the author, Nellie Andreeva, interviews an industry insider who tells her that often these now vacant positions are filled by junior execs at a fraction of the cost or they eliminate the position all together. The insider goes on to say that hiring a casting consultant as a freelance has been catching on within the industry. Starz has never had a casting department and instead has a non-exclusive deal with Hirschfeld who serves as their casting consultant.

            Using freelance consultants sounds like a more optimal way in going about keeping your overhead down. From reading the article, it would only make sense for HBO to use a consultant for future casting needs. If they aren’t producing as many miniseries or movies, then the need for a whole department seems ridiculous. If HBO’s plan were just to continue and improve upon their current line-up of shows, then they would just need someone to help them when a new character is introduced into the series.

            To me, it seems like a logical step for HBO to take. Why spend the money and resources on a department that you can easily have filled by an outside source? However, keeping with this mindset could be detrimental to the company. Who’s to say that they won’t just start looking for freelancers to fill the majority of the other departments? Sound, lighting, special effects, writing, marketing and others could be cast (no pun intended) aside to save money. By doing this, yes the network would save some money, but then you run into communication problems and then the quality of the product begins to suffer. It’s a perilous approach to saving money but if balanced properly, could really help the company stay afloat and possibly, in the future, bring back those lost departments.

Women Should Talk More...Really!

            I read a really good article written in the Harvard Business Review by Whitney Johnson. It was about how women need to speak up more in business and if they were to do so, the business world would get new perspectives and ideas. Men do tend to dominate the business world, and the world in general, and yet, they only represent 50% of the population. Granted there are women CEOs, Senators and other positions of power but how serious can they be taken if these women don’t speak up.

           

            Ms. Johnson quotes Tom Peters, a management thinker, when he says that, “There is little disagreement about what businesses must become: less hierarchical, more flexible and team-oriented, faster and more fluid. One group of people has an enormous advantage in realizing this necessary new vision: women”. He is noted for going on saying that having a women on a team can raise their collective intelligence which allows them to solve more complex problems.

           

            This got me thinking about my current group project for my Project and Team Management class. We are fortunate to have a woman in the group and so far she has brought a different outlook on the project. She was the one that came up with idea for us to work with schools and outline a program to keep music in academia. She brought a humane idea to the project rather then just something that would make money or bring notoriety to us. It was an idea to better a situation and that struck me as very noble. However, had she of been more timid and shy, that idea could easily have never even materialized.

           

            Ms. Johnson brings up an interesting point about initiating conversation out of women: let everyone at the meeting give a short introduction of themselves. This gives women the opportunity to show what they bring to the project to the other members. If you give somebody the chance to introduce themselves to the entire group in their own way, you immediately allow the group to get a more accurate picture of that individual.

           

            In management, I believe that is an essential tool because if you can have a more clear picture of the people you’re managing, you can group people together better to make a more effective team. When you have people in the proper area they excel at, you will get outstanding results. This makes the group flow much more smoothly and you lessen the chance of conflict as the project develops.

           

            A smooth, effective and creative team will be awarded with future projects. As a manager, it should be your goal in assembling such a team. By having everyone involved, it will only increase your success rate.