Global Workforce Strategies Competency Integrate organizational strategy and goals with a global workforce. Scenario You are the Global Talent Manager at Amazing Foods, a global food d

Running head: OUTSOURCING AND OFFSHORING 1

OUTSOURCING AND OFFSHORING 7

Offshoring and Outsourcing

Different companies have different projects, strategies, structures and different processes. A company may adopt offshoring and outsourcing strategies for various reasons. A company that goes for offshoring will need to take its processes or some of its employees out of the country to take advantage of the market. Simply put, it is getting your work done in a different country. On the other hand, a company that goes for outsourcing will have to hire an outside party to perform the duties that were traditionally performed by the company (Hirschheim & Dibbern, 2019). Both the processes have their impacts on the company for instance the costs, security issues, employment-related issues, time, simplification of work among others as discussed below.

Since part of the company’s work is done somewhere else, a company opting for offshoring will have the following advantages. Freeing the workload on employees and the company means that the company will have enough time and resources to concentrate on the remaining processes that will ensure business growth. It will also allow for the reallocation of funds and allow the company to invest and expand its business.

Secondly, having multiple processes in a different country will help to reduce risks associated with the running of businesses. Different countries have different policies, therefore, the company has the option of capitalizing their business in the country with favourable policies, thus, reducing the risk of losses. There are a variety of markets in various countries hence the company will be able to capitalize on favourable market countries.

Offshoring means that the parent company will have dedicated control over its processes and its staff. Controlling, giving direction, training, accountability and access to the staff will be easier. Working in such an environment will be a motivation to the staff. There is also a great pool of skilled labour the company can access. The company has the disposal of choosing offshore regions of particular expertise for the types of operations it runs, hence, able to produce quality products and services to its consumers.

However, offshoring has its challenges. Sharing the company’s data and information through many systems and different locations without strict protocols and safety measures places the company at a greater risk of a security breach. Lose of the company's data or leakage can be disastrous to the company. Communication between different countries can also be a barrier. Though, many countries share similar languages, understanding the information and depth of knowledge can be a major drawback. Comment by Jan Hoffman: Loss

There are always challenges with culture and social belief of different people. Setting up a new workplace in a different location sets up the company to these challenges which may take time for the staff to get used to. Differences in costs in different countries can also affect the establishment and running of offshore companies. Unemployment caused by laying off of some employee due to relocation of some processes is another setback. The company has to lay off those employees not willing to relocate to other countries to work there.

Thirdly, different countries have different rules and regulations concerning businesses, therefore, some countries may have unfavourable policies that can negatively affect the production and marketing of its products. Different tax rates and license policies may also adversely affect offshoring businesses.

Outsourcing can be of benefit to the company in the following ways. Firstly, when sourcing for outside parties, companies will always go for specialized and experts in the related field. It means that high-quality products and services will be produced, efficiency and processes completed faster by the expert staff outsourced. It implies that the company will be at a competitive advantage compared to its competitors due to skilled production. Costs of production will also be reduced because expert staff comes with cost-effective methods of production.

Secondly, outsourcing may help the business to concentrate on its core processes giving it a chance to strengthen their core processes than supporting ones hence, being able to get the most out of their processes for the attainment of future strategies. The company will be able to capitalize and focus on its strengths and explore its opportunities thus attaining its goals. Through outsourcing, the company’s secrets and information may not be exposed out to the public.

Outsourcing reduces the risk of losses. Outsourcing a specialist at weak areas of the organization means that the specialist may come up with ways to work out challenging processes in the weak areas. Therefore, good results will be realized leading to a reduction in risk of losses resulting from the affected area. The company’s employees may also learn different and quality ways of working out tasks of the company which will in turn increase the quality of production. Hiring a few experts will minimize recruitment costs to a great extent.

On the other hand, outsourcing can be dangerous to the company in such a way that, there is a risk of exposing confidential information to a third party. The outsourced party may need access to confidential databases of the company hence, posing a security issue to the company. Changing of employees or laying off of some staff due to outsourcing may cause friction within the company.

Although outsourcing is a cost-effective method of production, there are always hidden costs associated with it. There could be new equipment required or certain staff required to work with the expert, costs which are hidden. The outsourcing party may lack customer focus especially if the party works for several companies at the same time. The party may focus more on completing the tasks instead of focusing on the company's customer-oriented objectives (Li & Zhou, 2017).

Assessment: Elaborative analysis of advantages and disadvantages of offshoring and outsourcing the call center.(3) Although your explanations were quite good, I did not see any references to the call center which was part of the instructions. Please just add how offshoring and outsourcing would be a plus or minus to the Bank’s thoughts on these options.

Assessment: Minimal comparison of cultural differences of offshoring or outsourcing in terms of communication between call center employees and bank employees, and between call center employees and bank customers.(1) Russell, I saw where you discussed some cultural differences but the rubric asked for you to respond to two different requests. Please review and add these components in.

Assessment: Elaborative examination of potential customer service issues, security risks, and cost factors of offshoring or outsourcing. (3) Please tie your responses to the Bank’s Call Center operations.

Assessment: Clear and thorough use of appropriate charts and graphs.(4)

In conclusion, I would recommend outsourcing over offshoring, because it would be easy for the business to adapt to the market changing conditions and hence, be more flexible. Outsourcing will also bring the company to a better competitive advantage due to high-quality production. It is difficult to set up an offshore company in an already build up economy, the business may take longer to pick up or it may collapse. The company should carefully examine the advantages and disadvantages of outsourcing, aligning them with its objectives to finally consider it.

Assessment: Elaborative recommendation of a staffing strategy for the call center either outsourcing or offshoring the service.(3) Please tie your recommendation to the Bank’s Call Center operations.

References

Hirschheim, R., & Dibbern, J. (2019). Outsourcing in a global economy: Traditional information technology outsourcing, offshore outsourcing, and business process outsourcing. Information Systems Outsourcing, 3-21. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-88851-2_1

Li, X., & Zhou, Y. M. (2017). Offshoring pollution while Offshoring production? Strategic Management Journal, 38(11), 2310-2329. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.2656

Assessment: Used and relied on all credible sources in the executive summary.(4)

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