  Powerful, highly collimated jets, surrounded by bipolar molecular outflows,
are commonly observed near Young Stellar Objects (YSOs). In the usual
theoretical picture of star formation, a jet is ejected from a magnetized
accretion disk, with a molecular outflow being driven either by the jet or by a
wider wind coming from the disk. Here, we propose an alternative global model
for the flows surrounding YSOs. In addition to a central accretion-ejection
engine driving the jet, the molecular outflow is powered by the infalling
matter and follows a circulation pattern around the central object without
necessarily being entrained by a jet. It is shown that the model produces a
heated pressure-driven outflow with magneto-centrifugal acceleration and
collimation. We report solutions for the three different parts of this
self-similar model, i.e. the jet, the infalling envelope and the circulating
matter that eventually forms the molecular outflow. This new picture of the
accretion/outflow phase provides a possible explanation for several observed
properties of YSO outflows. The most relevant ones are the presence of high
mass molecular outflows around massive protostars, and a realistic fraction
(typically 0.1) of the accretion flow that goes into the jet.
