Ethical challenges in outsourcing and offshoring practices

Outsourcing & Offshoring: Annotated Bibliography

Kadzik, A.M. (2006). Current Trend to Outsource Legal Work Abroad and the Ethical Issues Related to Such Practices. The Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics19.3: 731-739.

According to Kadzik (2006), ethical issues are the ones being compromised with many companies legally outsourcing to the external firms. As from the research is done in the article, there is enough evidence to show that outsourcing is unethical, although it is done for the benefit of the individual companies. The ethical issues here are that as far as these companies are moving out to get the assurance of their increase in productivity and sustainable competitiveness, they are missing the current employers, and to some level missing to be of any significant assistance to the local people. From any framework, both western and non-western, it is implicit to note that there are issues touching on the ethical rightfulness of such decisions involving outsourcing. Moreover, the article is for the assurance that outsourcing is a good undertaking for companies that are seeking to be part of the growing brand; nonetheless, significant measures can be taken to offer balance to the occurrence of the issues commonly associated with this.

Brown, D. & Wilson, S. (2005). The Black Book of Outsourcing: How to Manage the Changes, Challenges, and Opportunities. John Wiley & Sons

According to Brown & Wilson (2005), outsourcing has to be viewed from the perspective of a non-western frame to get the full details of how dangerous and unethical it has been. The authors of this article have done research on several companies and firms that have outsourced and related the same to the outcomes from within the mother country and the host country. what is of more significance is that outsourcing is more of deleting the business in the initial country and introducing the same into a new country, with most of the losses going to those who were working for the firm in the initial company. People lose jobs; initial consumers are not sure of the quality of the products they will get, together with many other challenges. In essence, managing such challenges can best be done by clarifying how outsourcing should be done so that it does not become a dilemma as regards its ethical considerations.

Robertson, CJ & A Lamin L. G. (2010). Stakeholder Perceptions of Offshoring and Outsourcing: The Role of Embedded Issues. Journal of Business Ethics, Volume 95, Issue 2, pp 167-189

Stakeholders are the ones who have the larger part of the leadership positions and the decisions made as regards offshoring and outsourcing. By any chance, the stakeholders are the ones to use their perceptions on what is likely to happen with engaging in practices of outsourcing and offshoring. According to Robertson & Lamin (2010), stakeholders have the larger capacity to decided for or against offshoring and outsourcing, and hence have the better hand-in-handling issues that come with the same undertakings. The authors express the need to perceive offshoring and outsourcing as challenges that need to be addressed by the stakeholders since what they bring to the people are not according to most of the perceptions of these parties.

Maertz, C., P, Wiley, JW & LeRouge D. C. (2010). Downsizing Effects on Survivors: Layoffs, Offshoring, and Outsourcing. Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Vol. 49, Issue 2, pp. 275-285

According to Maertz et al., (2010), offshoring and outsourcing are sure happenings that make many become survivors while some are complete losers. Such is the actual reasoning that makes outsourcing and offshoring irrelevant and impractical in most circumstances. It is a challenge to have to master something that will lead to layoffs and such kind of happenings as a way of trying to limit chances of not becoming competitive. Nonetheless, if businesses expand in a reasonable manner, making for the most of their presence internally and externally, there will not be any challenge as in the case of unethical behaviors. The authors of this article have gone deep into understanding the effects of offshoring and outsourcing as seen from the eye of both a non-western framer and a western framer. In both cases, the verdict of this happening goes to dilemmas that are ethical in nature. Certain relations, thus, have to be established to cater for such issues therein.

Cruz, D. P. & Rayner, C. (2013). Bullying in the Indian workplace: A study of the ITESBPO sector. Economic and Industrial Democracy, Volume 34, Issue 4, pp. 597-619

Cruz & Rayner (2013) have carried out a study and exploration of the Indian workplace and had some issues to relay to the audience. The two have explored and brought out that there is bullying in most Indian workplaces. The study, as done by ITESBPO, reveals the numerous cases of bullying that take place simply to thwart the presence of completion and increase the stance of competitiveness in most businesses. There is a need for democracy in most of the Indian workplaces, as the others are reportedly mistreating most of the people. Nonetheless, one core reason for this behavior is that the businesses in this place are working based on offshoring and outsourcing, most of whom come from different countries, and hence are yet to have their workers be treated with fairness. This proves unethical, as bullying is not a happening that should be taken lightly in the workplace.

Daly, M. C & Silver, C. (2007). Flattening the world of legal services? The ethical and liability minefield of offshoring legal and law-related services. Georgetown Journal of International Law, Volume 38, Issue 3, p. 401-447

As indicated by Daly & Silver (2007), the world today appears to have been flattened by the works that are legal in nature. Nonetheless, the legality of most of the activities here is not warranted within what is expectedly profitable to all the parties involved. For instance, as seen from a Western perspective, offshoring and outsourcing are liabilities that trend within what is expectedly a good business relationship. The law is to be observed in all the businesses in the world. Markets have to adhere to the parameters that are needed to boost growth, but retain credibility with the people being served. What is essentially significant here is that it is imperative to consider the satisfaction of all the parties, as this is the idea of business success and growth. Nonetheless, offshoring and outsourcing seem not to be the best avenues to have this activity fulfilled in many businesses in the world.

Ebrahimi, A. G. (2009). Leadership And Technology Are Offshoring In India Beyond Cost Reduction. 01/2009, ISBN 9781109029703

Ebrahimi (2009) has focused his study on the leadership designs and technologies that have changed the manner in which most businesses are conducted today. Such changes have come in the light of offshoring and outsourcing, most of which go beyond just leadership and technology, but are attached to what the people will ultimately access at the end of the business. According to Ebrahimi (2009), leadership has been influenced by the immediate significances that are brought by offshoring in most businesses. Nonetheless, there is another need for businesses to embrace what is rightfully important for the business to merit, not by itself, but through the satisfaction of the customers and the stakeholders in place. A very small margin links leadership and success within businesses. Moreover, the nature of leadership determines if a business will merit from offshoring. Even in offshoring, most of the relative advantage is going to the significance and influence of the nature of leadership in place.

Sen, F. & Shiel. M. (2006). From Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) To Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO): Some issues. - Human Systems Management, 2006

According to Sen and Shiel (2006), there will always be issues with companies that process outsourcing. Outsourcing is not as clear of expanding a business into the new markets within and outside the host country. Outsourcing has issues in that it is like shifting something, by moving it from one point to another, not considering the situations and reasons that led the business to be successful initially in this old place. It involves a lot of necessary changes that will shift the design and the manner in which everything is being handled in the market. Because of this, businesses will result in ethically challenging decisions and happenings, most of which are the current issues in outsourcing and offshoring. The different categories of outsourcing are all related to the mechanics that are essential to influencing growth within the business. Nonetheless, the recurrent issues that come with such decisions and happenings are damaging to the consumers of the business.

Kehal. H. (2006). Outsourcing and Offshoring in the 21st Century: A Socio-Economic Perspective: A Socio-Economic Perspective. Idea Group Inc.

Kehal (2006) has tackled offshoring and outsourcing in the 21st century, highlighting the key paradigms in the social perspective and the economic perspective. These two perspectives are the ones responsible for the issues that come with offshoring, outsourcing and what comes as bad when companies embrace the same aspects. According to Kehal (2006), the social perspective sees offshoring and outsourcing as major challenges that risk the stability of the society. When they occur, people lose their jobs; people find themselves in tough decision-making situations, most of which are critical to the entire success of the organizations in which they are serving. On the economic perspective, companies and firms will relish the fact that they will be able to access what is rightfully imperative to the growth and competitiveness of the brands in the market. Therefore, they conflict each other leading to the ethical dilemma.

Hoffmann, S. (2013). Home Country Bias in Consumers' Moral Obligation to Boycott Offshoring Companies. Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, Volume 21, Issue 4, pp. 371-388

Offshoring does not just come from a good venture that will immediately increase competitiveness and growth of the involved companies. It has its challenges as indicated by Hoffmann (2013). According to Hoffmann (2013), the home country consumers have the moral obligation to boycott offshoring companies. The consumers here are the ones to be on the receiving end of any danger coming with offshoring will likely rest on them. There is bias in what is coming to the new country in the form of offshoring businesses. The moral duty to the consumers is to ensure that they are capable of accessing what is rightfully and essentially healthy and ethical in every situation of their interaction with these businesses. Moreover, the article is more of the necessity to stop offshoring as they are not good for the consumers, even with the massive success it might bring to the companies and the stakeholders.

Doh, A., J. Lewin, S M, & Hahn E. (2010). Conceptual issues in services offshoring research: a multidisciplinary review. Group Organization Management February vol. 36 no. 1 70-102

Doh et al. (2010) confirmed that understanding the effects of offshoring requires a multidimensional analysis taking into account the stakeholders and the consumers. Nonetheless, it always works to satisfy one party and degrade the other, which are the consumers. Consumers are the ones who sustain the production process and the continued growth and stability of any business. It is for this reason that there is a chance for many businesses to grow when they consider the tastes and preferences of the consumers. There is a better avenue in expanding a business to access many consumers, but this should not come with challenging the existing consumers. Offshoring is imperatively significant to the business but appears to be against the preferences of many consumers in the market. Therefore, one has to choose between the consumers and the profitability that the business will gain. After considering these two issues, sustainability in competitiveness will be the final informing factor that has to be nurtured before deciding to offshore.

Stouby J., P. & Rerup B., S. (2015). Managing Risk Areas in Software Development: A CMMI Level 5 Case JITTA: Journal of Information Technology Theory and Application, ISSN 1532-4516, 04/2015, Volume 16, Issue 1, p. 5-23

Stouby. & Rerup (2015) have assessed the explorative field of offshoring in software development, bringing out the immediate risks and challenges that are often faced by many businesses and companies in this case. The case literally highlights the challenges that come with offshoring. As with the analysis of these challenges, it is imperative to know that most of them are ethical in nature, and touch in the decisions that have been made by the leaders within the different sectors in place. Furthermore, the study has highlighted that there is a challenge in offshoring issues to do with software management. Risks are common since software management, in this age of cybersecurity and cloud computing, needs to be centralized and not offshored, as many businesses would want to do. Thus, offshoring is not completely functional and satisfying the immediate needs of the companies.

Stack, M & Downing, R. (2005). Another Look At Offshoring: Which Jobs Are At Risk And Why? -- Business Horizons, Business Horizons, 2005, vol. 48, issue 6, pages 513-523

It is important to evaluate offshoring from various dimensions like the western and non-western perspectives, social and economic perspectives, ethical and legal perspectives, among others. All these perspectives have to be considered before making any decision to offshore business. Competitiveness is something that can be highlighted from a different post, highlighting the mainframes that make success within a business. On doing this, a business will be able to realize the significance of relying on the need for growth without having to strain on the immediate resources, and more specifically the consumers who are the greatest stakeholders in any business. Several factors will then be realized as they affect the business, directly and indirectly, the moment offshoring has been decided and undertaken in business. Institutions have their factors that affect offshoring, and they need to be considered at all times to offer the best decisions and solutions to the challenges faced.

Bregman, R., Peng, DX. & Chin, W. (2015). The Effect of Controversial Global Sourcing Practices on the Ethical Judgments and Intentions of U.S. Consumers. - Journal of Operations Management, Vol 36: 229-243

Bregman et al. (2015) have shown that global sourcing has always become a challenge for many businesses. Many businesses, most of which are supposed to have progressed to more increased levels, have been affected by global sourcing that is done without due consideration of the legal and ethical measures that touch on the safety and satisfaction of the consumers in the market. Global sourcing is something that is done not for the immediate benefits of the customers as most of the stakeholders who pursue this activity are directed by the inner motives of bettering results of the business without considering the gateways and the people directly involved in making such successes come. The study has been done with an eye on the consumers coming from the United States of America. Most of the classifications that are done here declare that what is essentially important is to have a common ground where offshoring and outsourcing activities are done without having to affect the businesses negatively. Nonetheless, the authors are adamant that what is essentially happening is the embrace of a dangerous act of outsourcing without following due considerations and several parties that will be affected.

Betts, S; Healy, W; Raza M., & Vicari, V. (2015). The Impact Of Offshoring On Organizational Commitment: Recruiting, Training, Retention And Ethical Concerns. Journal of International Business Research, Volume 14, Issue 2, p. 15-32

According to Betts et al. (2015), organizational commitment is something that has to be established and sustained always to ensure the safety of this business. Offshoring has direct impacts on the managerial commitment. The organizations will try to find ways through which everything can be integrated into the growth channels within businesses. Before a business decided to offshore, it is critical that it considers the aspects of training, recruiting, retaining, and measuring the influences of all the ethical considerations in place. The authors have shown that these aspects are critical in that most of the failures in businesses have come because of the neglect to consider such paradigms.

Wendy T., L & Lisa, E. M. (2009). Offshore Outsourcing: A Managerial Framework. Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, ISSN 0885-8624, 03/2009, Volume 24, Issue 3/4, pp. 256-268

According to Wendy & Lisa (2009), offshoring is an act that comes and takes roots based on the nature of the managerial decisions and strategies laid by the stakeholders within a business. Wendy & Lisa (2009) are for the fact that stakeholders, through the different leadership styles and mechanisms, manage to introduce decisive measures together with managerial decisions that will go towards increasing the states of growth and development of the business. Offshoring is something that has to be planned so that its levels of sustenance can be achieved without having to strain on the necessary resources. More considerations have to be linked to what is essentially important to sustaining the growth of the structures that support the business. Such structures are the business entities, consumers, proprietors, and all those who are involved directly and indirectly with the progress of the business. In a more broad sense, what are needed are decisions that are informed before and even during the implementation of the managerial decisions towards offshoring.