OUTSOURCING

Outsourcing: Challenges and Opportunities for the 21st Century

In basic terms, outsourcing has got to do with the assignment of certain functions to a third party. Over the last few decades, outsourcing has emerged as one of the most prominent trends in efforts to reign in the cost of doing business and promote efficiency. There is need to understand the challenges that businesses are likely to encounter, as well as the benefits they are likely to reap, in the 21st century in their attempts to outscore non-core functions.

Annotated Bibliography

Agburu, J.I., Anza, N.C., Iyortsuum, S.A. (2017). Effect of outsourcing strategies on the performance of small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs). Journal of Global Entrepreneurship Research, 7(26), 107-114.

Most of the available research on outsourcing appears to be largely focused on how outsourcing impacts the performance of large enterprises. Such enterprises could be inclusive of multinationals such as Apple Inc. The present research, however, focuses on the impact outsourcing has on SMEs. This is crucial owing to the fact that the outsourcing landscape is not discriminative. Both small and large enterprises can access the benefits of outsourcing non-core functions. This article will enable me to determine whether there are outsourcing strategies unique to SMEs, and the best way to deploy the said strategies.

Belwal, R., Singh, G. & Dixit, M. (2005). Outsourcing: A Seesaw Ride of Challenges and Opportunities. Skyline Business Journal, 2(1), 7-12.

This particular resource will offer context to the issue under consideration. Amongst other things, it will help in the assessment of how far we have come in as far as outsourcing is concerned. The article was written more than a decade ago. Thus, it highlights some of the concerns as well as opportunities that were most relevant at the time. In understanding the stated challenges, it will be possible to assess whether they have been addressed and if they are likely to trouble businesses going forward. The article will also be instrumental in efforts to assess whether outsourcing opportunities of the past two decades are still relevant in contemporary settings.

Babin, R., Bates, K. & Sohal, S. (2017). The role of trust in outsourcing: More important than the contract? Journal of Strategic Contracting and Negotiation, 3(1), 38-46.

In outsourcing circles, not much attention is apportioned to the relevance of trust in outsourcing efforts. As a matter of fact, firms happen to focus more on commercial contracts to secure their interest in outsourcing relationships. The present article seeks to emphasize the need for trust in what...

This article will be of great relevance in attempts to highlight an overlooked component of successful outsourcing relationships. Trust is a particularly important component in the development of long-term business relationships. It would be interesting to assess its application in outsourcing.

Dinu, A. (2015). The Risk and Benefits of Outsourcing. Knowledge Horizons Economics, 7(2), 103-104.

There are numerous benefits that have been associated with outsourcing. Similarly, there are also a number of risks that the move to outsource presents. The author of the present resource seeks to assess both. This article will be instrumental in my efforts to highlight the specific challenges that businesses ought to be aware of in their efforts to outsource non-core functions. It will also come in handy as I seek to identify the present opportunities...

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This is yet another resource that contains crucial information that would be of great relevance in the contemporary business environment. As the authors point out, outsourcing has been identified as one of most effective strategies in attempts by firms to improve their financial performance. The authors, however, point out that there is a shortage of studies that clearly link improved financial performance to services outsourcing. In the present research, the authors are able to demonstrate that indeed, services outsourcing does lead to improved performance. This, however, has a limit. This article will enable me to assess the said limits and suggest approaches that a company could embrace in an attempt to ensure that the said limits are not exceeded.

References

Agburu, J.I., Anza, N.C., Iyortsuum, S.A. (2017). Effect of outsourcing strategies on the performance of small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs). Journal of Global Entrepreneurship Research, 7(26), 107-114.

Belwal, R., Singh, G. & Dixit, M. (2005). Outsourcing: A Seesaw Ride of Challenges and Opportunities. Skyline Business Journal, 2(1), 7-12.

Babin, R., Bates, K. & Sohal, S. (2017). The role of trust in outsourcing: More important than the contract? Journal of Strategic Contracting and Negotiation, 3(1), 38-46.

Dinu, A. (2015). The Risk and Benefits of Outsourcing. Knowledge Horizons Economics, 7(2), 103-104.

Fisher, S.L., Wasserman, M.F., Wolf, P.P., Wears, K.H. (2008). Human resource issues in outsourcing: Integrating research and practice. Human Resource Management, 47(3), 501-523.

Gupta, R.S. (2017). Risk Management and Intellectual Property Protection in Outsourcing. Global Business Review, 19(2), 393-406.

Iqbal, Z. & Dad, A.M. (2013). Outsourcing: A Review of Trends, Winners & Losers and Future Directions. International Journal of Business and Social Science, 4(8), 91- 107.

Ishizaka, A., Bhattacharya, A., Gunasekaran, A., Dekkers, R.…