ART - Water Outsourcin 2012

The document is an analysis of whether it was appropriate for the City of Atlanta to contract water services to United Water. It discusses the major challenges faced by Atlanta, such as rapid population growth and the need to upgrade its aging water system. The stakeholders involved in the decision are categorized based on their interest and power, including players (executive and legislative groups), subjects (employees of the water facility), context setters (federal bureaucracy groups), and the crowd (Atlanta citizens). The document also provides information on Atlanta's pre-contract service delivery, which was costly and in poor shape, leading to legal problems. The decision to outsource was influenced by political and economic forces, as well as the belief that private operators could be more cost-efficient. Atlanta also saw outsourcing as a way to meet growing regulatory demands and projected cost savings. However, the document highlights the risk of corruption and the failure to address critical success factors in the service contract. The new context suggests that the contract between Atlanta and United Water allowed United Water to take advantage of information asymmetry, potentially leading to further concerns about the appropriateness of the decision. Overall, the analysis suggests that the decision to contract water services to United Water had both advantages and disadvantages, but the potential for information asymmetry adds another layer of complexity to the situation.