What is outsourcing

What is Outsourcing? It is a method in which companies subcontract labor and support to outside agencies (Klepper, 1997). How, why, and who companies outsource to are quickly becoming social topics of discussion in our society. Everyone seems to have an opinion on outsourcing. I bet that I can walk into a social gathering right now and hear discussions like “outsourcing is good for the American consumer” or outsourcing takes jobs away from all of the hard working Americans.” In either case, outsourcing has raised great concerns over its effects on the American economy. In this paper, I will discuss the types of outsourcing, pros and cons associated with outsourcing, management views of outsourcing, employee views of outsourcing, and give my opinion of outsourcing.

What does outsourcing do? It enables companies to focus on the mission at hand, to save money and be competitive. Depending on a Company’s needs determines the type of outsourcing that company may use (Embleton, 1998). Outsourcing is a very diverse market, and there are many different outsourcing options from. Two common types of outsourcing I will focus on are Information Technology (IT) outsourcing and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) (Bowen, 1998).

Through research, I found that Information Technology (IT) Outsourcing is a rapidly growing market. I.T. outsourcing enables companies to continue to manage their core business, while outside agencies manage their technology needs (Bowen, 1998). It’s a way of getting rid of those high paid, college graduated employees. I.T. outsourcing allows companies to use cost-cutting methods to cover computing needs, large mainframe and midrange data center, manage numerous networks and run desktops across the globe (Bowen, 1998). Advantages of outsourcing information technology include, but are not limited to, less capital expenditure, less management headache, and keeping focus on core competencies. Less capital expenditure means a company does not have to buy expensive hardware and software. Less management headache relieves companies of having to hire and manage accounting personnel. Keeping focus on core competencies affords companies’ time to strengthen and gain a competitive edge over the competition (DiRomualdo, 1998). Disadvantages of outsourcing information include less managerial control, may be more expensive, and Sec...

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...Workers in developing nations will get new and higher-paying jobs, and consumers in the U.S. will be able to buy products that are cheaper than if they were made at home. But is this really good for our society. We will soon find out.

References

Bowen. T and LaMonica, M. (1998). IT gets picky with outsourcing. Infoworld 20(33), 1-3

De Rose, L. (2004). The Downside to Outsourcing. Electronic Buyers’ News. July 14, Issue 1066.

DiRomualdo, A & Gurbaxani. (1998). Strategic intent for IT outsourcing. Sloan Management Review. 39(4), 115.

Earl, M.J. (1996). The risks of outsourcing IT. Sloan Management Review. 37(3), 26-33.

Embleton, P.R & Wright, P.C. (1998). A practical guide to successful outsourcing. Empowerment in Organizations. 6(3), 1-11

Hayes, R and Pisano, G. (1994). Beyond World-Class: The New Manufacturing Strategy. Harvard Business Review. 72(1).

Klepper, R & Jones, W. (1997). Outsourcing information Technology, Systems and Services. Prentice Hall.

Nicholas, J. (1998). Competitive Manufacturing Management (Singapore:McGraw-Hill). Chapter 19, Managing the Supply Chain, pg 672

Strassmann, P.A. (1995). Outsourcing: A Game for Losers. Computerworld. August 21.