Crowdsourcing???

The idea of crowdsourcing, although very new to me, is something I find highly controversial. Crowdsourcing is similar to the ideas in James Surowiecki’s book The Wisdom of Crowds. Surowiecki argues that a diverse group of individuals often make just as good a decision if not a better one than an individual. The businesses that use crowdsourcing are similarly thinking that the large group they are outsourcing may have more to offer than the employee who would usually perform the task.

The subject is new to me and Surowiecki does make a good cause for the value of a crowd's knowledge over the individual. However, I am inclined to believe that crowdsourcing is a bad idea. A business is not guaranteed results by the outsourced group. There is no monetary incentive like that an employee would value. There is no contract to hold anyone accountable if the project fails. Not to mention the implications it has on the value of a well-educated employee. The business could end up wasting money on the project if failure occurs. The business is relying heavily on coordination with a group of people it is hard to communicate with. Despite all the evidence in favor of the knowledge of a crowd, I cannot believe that potential benefits of crowdsourcing outweigh the potential downfalls.