what is outsourcing and why would a company choose to outsource? course hero

by Mr. Jed Little 7 min read

Outsourcing allows organizations to focus on their core business and can create a competitive advantage by reducing operational costs. The beauty of outsourcing is you can outsource an entire function or only a part of it. As an example, you can outsource the network management oversight of an IT system but keep the end-user support in-house.

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What does it mean to outsource a job?

Jul 08, 2017 · A company would chose to outsource to save money on employees and infrastructure. Some advantages include the cheapness, technical expertise, market agility, and the ability to upgrade when needed. The disadvantages may include the lack of knowledge about the company, hidden costs, and security.

When should you outsource a function?

The outsourcer uses its own employees to perform a task under a contract for a specified price and period of time set under the contract Outsourcing can help an organization lower the high software ownership and maintenance costs since the burden will be on another company to handle those needs, there is also no difficulties with implementing an ERP system, and saves …

What is the difference between insource and outsource?

Jul 17, 2017 · Every company has its own reason for doing this, with many chasing lower labor costs. You don’t want to trade quality for price, but outsourcing often …

Should you outsource or offshore your business?

Nov 06, 2017 · Companies may choose to outsource IT services onshore (within their own country), nearshore (to a neighboring country or one in the same time zone), or offshore (to a more distant country).

What is outsourcing and why would a company choose to outsource?

First seen as a formal business strategy in 1989, outsourcing is the process of hiring third parties to conduct services that were typically performed by the company. Often, outsourcing is used so that a company can focus on its core operations. It is also used to cut costs on labor, among others.

What does outsourcing do for a company?

Outsourcing describes when a business obtains a product or service from an outside provider, rather than handling it in-house. As a small business, outsourcing allows you to get more done and trust important tasks and processes to professionals, without having to actually grow your full-time team in a significant way.Nov 19, 2019

What are the reasons for outsourcing?

Why Do Businesses Outsource?Reduce and control costs of operation (this usually the main reason).Improve the company's focus.Liberate inner sources for new purposes.Increase efficiency for some time-consuming functions that the company may lack resources for.Use external resources as much as possible.More items...

What are the 5 benefits of outsourcing?

Outsourcing helps you:Focus on core tasks.Lower costs.Promote growth.Maintain operational control.Offer staffing flexibility.Provide continuity and risk management.Develop internal staff.Feb 5, 2020

What is outsourcing and why would a company choose to outsource quizlet?

Outsourcing is the sub-contraction of the business processes or functions of one company to another. Instead of hiring employees to perform a task, a company will enter into an outsourcing arrangement with another firm to provide services for a certain price and period.

What is outsourcing and its benefits?

Benefits of outsourcing include lower labor costs, less strict regulations, flexibility, reduced overhead, and the ability for the home office to focus on what it does best while letting others do the more low-level work. Ideally, outsourcing will lead to lower expenses, increases in productivity, and greater profits.Sep 15, 2021

Why is outsourcing important?

Here are three reasons to give this a try: 1. You Don’t Have To Hire More Employees. When you outsource, you can pay your help as a contractor.

What happens when you outsource?

When you outsource, you can pay your help as a contractor. This allows you to avoid bringing an employee into the company, which saves you money on everything from benefits to training. 2. Access To A Larger Talent Pool. When hiring an employee, you may only have access to a small, local talent pool.

What are the drawbacks of outsourcing?

Despite the many benefits of outsourcing, you don’t want to go down this path until you compare these to the potential drawbacks: 1. Lack Of Control. Although you can provide direction in regard to what you need to accomplish, you give up some control when you outsource.

Is outsourcing good?

Despite all the benefits of outsourcing, it is only a good thing if you’re receiving the quality you expect . Anything less than this will be a disappointment. This isn’t to say you can’t successfully outsource particular tasks, but you need to discuss the expected quality upfront.

Why is outsourcing so popular?

What has made outsourcing so popular? The popularity of outsourcing is well justified as it generates significant advantages in cost and efficiency. However, outsourcing has some inherent risks which should be identified and dealt with preemptively.

What are the risks of outsourcing?

Outsourcing might have many potential benefits. However organisations should also be wary of potential risks. The following is a list of the common risks of outsourcing: 1 Information leaks – Obviously when a function is outsourced interface with another organisation are set up. These may be a source for information leaks which might damage the organisation’s ability to compete. 2 Losing the ability to re-establish outsourced functions – By outsourcing a function given up on. This results in losing professional know-how and infrastructure in case the organization decides to re-establish the function within itself. 3 Lowered employee loyalty – Outsourced functions may be performed by employees with little or no organisational relevance. 4 Inner oppositions to outsourcing – Outsourcing functions results in personnel changes. Naturally organizations should expect employee opposition to outsourcing. 5 Unclear borders for cooperation – Cooperating with another organisation is not a clear cut undertaking. There is a risk of creating unclear borders between the organisations. 6 Problems with quality, consistency and oversight – Outsourcing requires setting up an oversight function within the organisation as there is a requirement for quality and consistency. Keeping an eye and good communication on outsourced functions is crucial to ensure the quality of product or service outsourced.

What is information leak?

Information leaks – Obviously when a function is outsourced interface with another organisation are set up. These may be a source for information leaks which might damage the organisation’s ability to compete. Losing the ability to re-establish outsourced functions – By outsourcing a function given up on.

Is outsourcing risk free?

Outsourcing holds many benefits but it is not risk free. There are techniques and practices to mitigate the risks listed above. Several large organisations in Australia were able to successfully setup overseas outsourced operations to deal with the ongoing issues of lack of skilled labour and high labour costs.

What is the difference between outsourcing and insourcing?

So, what is the difference between offshoring, outsourcing, and even insourcing? “Insource” or “ insourcing ” refers to the process of having an employee of your company complete a task or business process. “Outsource” or “ outsourcing ” refers to the process of having someone external to your company, that is not an employee, ...

Why is offshoring important?

The first advantage of offshoring is that the costs are generally much lower than completing the process at a facility in your location. This is why so many big manufacturing companies locate their factories overseas. The cost of labor is significantly cheaper, as well as the overhead of renting a facility.

Is outsourcing a problem?

So they don’t have the same capacity to respond quickly to change or customize a process just the way your business likes it. Every outsourcing firm is different, but generally this is a problem with outsourcing certain business processes.