JMGT_V1_N4_RP2 Christopher Clott Journal on Management 2230 – 715X 1 4 64 80 environmental scanning, organizational culture, environmental change, offshoring, changing attitudes This paper addresses the prevailing image that environmental scanning and interpretation of change in the external environment is performed by top management for use in strategic decision making but seldom utilized at the implementation level. Using offshore outsourcing by U.S. and U.K. financial services organizations as a case in point, it is argued that scanning and interpretation efforts undertaken by project managers in U.S. and U.K. financial services firms impact the degree of long-term success in implementing offshore outsourcing efforts. The type of scanning utilized by project managers will be related to the organizational culture type in place, personal background of the project manager and knowledge gained from a variety of sources- general media, customers, consultants, partner organizations, work groups, and subordinates. It is hypothesized that project managers are often unaware that new offshoring arrangements will involve potential far reaching long term effects including changing attitudes and behaviors in a disaggregated workplace. The research suggests that the interpretation of specific environmental changes as a result of offshoring decisions may provide an insight into the long term development of firm strategy formulation. March - May 2007 Copyright © 2007 i-manager publications. All rights reserved. i-manager Publications http://www.imanagerpublications.com/Article.aspx?ArticleId=379