[prawks]

This has been my experience as well, very well summarized.

Communication is huge in technical organizations, and small stumbling blocks like accents over shoddy conference line quality can have long-lasting impacts when (as you've stated) incorrect assumptions are solidified in implementations. In a lean atmosphere those can be often be corrected but it's costly. When you're looking to offshore you're looking to save money and it's not always easy justifying re-writes purely from a monetary standpoint.