CHAPTER
15 and 19 ( Learning Outcomes )
CREATING
COLLABORATIVE PARTNERSHIP
15.1 Identify the different ways in
which companies collaborate using technology.
Ø Companies must be able to collaborate. Without collaboration
companies simply would have a very difficult time operating. Companies
collaborate in a number of ways including document exchange, shared
whiteboards, discussion forums, and email.
15.2 Compare the different categories of
collaboration technologies.
Collaboration technologies fall into one of two categories:
Collaboration technologies fall into one of two categories:
1. Unstructured collaboration (sometimes referred to as information collaboration) includes document ex¬change, shared whiteboards, discussion forums, and email.
2. Structured collaboration (or process collaboration) involves shared participation in business processes such as workflow in which knowledge is hardcoded as rules.
15.3 Define the fundamental concepts of a knowledge management system.
Ø Knowledge management involves capturing, classifying,
evaluating, retrieving, and sharing information assets in a way that provides
context for effective decisions and actions.
15.4 Provide an example of a
content management system along with its business purpose.
Ø A content management system (CMS) provides tools to manage
the creation, storage, editing, and publication of information in a
collaborative environment. The CMS marketplace is complex, incorporating
document management, collaboration and versioning tools, digital asset
management, and web content management. One example is www.vignette.com.
15.5 Evaluate the advantages of
using a workflow management system.
Ø Many workflow management systems allow the opportunity to
measure and analyze the execution of a process. Workflow systems integrate with
other organizational systems, such as document management systems and database
management systems.
15.6 Explain how Groupware can
benefit a business.
Ø Groupware is software that supports team interaction and
dynamics including calendaring, scheduling, and videoconferencing.
Organizations can use this technology to communicate, cooperate, coordinate,
solve problems, compete, or negotiate
OUTSOURCING
IN THE 21st Century
19.1 Describe the advantages and disadvantages of
insourcing, outsourcing, and offshore outsourcing.
Outsourcing is an arrangement by which one organization
provides a service or services for another organization that chooses not to
perform them in house. While, Insourcing is a common approach using the
professional expertise within an organization to develop and maintain the
organization’s information technology systems. Next, offshore outsourcing is
use organization from developing countries to write code and develop systems.
In offshore outsourcing the country is geographically far away.
The
advantages of outsourcing are :-
·
Swiftness and Expertise: Most of the
times tasks are outsourced to vendors who specialize in their field. The
outsourced vendors also have specific equipment and technical expertise, most
of the times better than the ones at the outsourcing organization. Effectively
the tasks can be completed faster and with better quality output
·
Concentrating on core process rather than the
supporting ones: Outsourcing the supporting processes gives the organization more time
to strengthen their core business process.
·
Risk-sharing: one of the most crucial factors
determining the outcome of a campaign is risk-analysis. Outsourcing certain
components of your business process helps the organization to shift certain
responsibilities to the outsourced vendor. Since the outsourced vendor is a
specialist, they plan your risk-mitigating factors better.
·
Reduced Operational and Recruitment costs: Outsourcing
eludes the need to hire individuals in-house; hence recruitment and operational
costs can be minimized to a great extent. This is one of the prime advantages
of offshore outsourcing.
The disadvantages of outsourcing are :-
·
Risk of exposing confidential data: When an
organization outsources HR, Payroll and Recruitment services, it involves a
risk if exposing confidential company information to a third-party.
·
Synchronizing the deliverables: In case you
do not choose a right partner for outsourcing, some of the common problem areas
include stretched delivery time frames, sub-standard quality output and
inappropriate categorization of responsibilities. At times it is easier to
regulate these factors inside an organization rather than with an outsourced
partner.
·
Hidden costs: Although outsourcing most of
the times is cost-effective at times the hidden costs involved in signing a
contract while signing a contract across international boundaries may pose a
serious threat.
·
Lack of customer focus: An outsourced
vendor may be catering to the expertise-needs of multiple organizations at a
time. In such situations vendors may lack complete focus on your organization’s
tasks.
Next
is insourcing. The advantages of insourcing are :-
o Research is done by
employees who have a deeper understanding and knowledge of your company.
o
Researchers may have relationships with decision makers that promote
better communication towards accomplishing the research agendas.
o Higher degree of
quality control.
o Insourcing gives a company a high
degree of control over its research.
o Insourcing may lower research
costs, but only if a company enjoys the business volume necessary to achieve economies of scale.
o A company has the
ability to oversee the entire research process.
The
disadvantages of insourcing are :-
·
Potentially,
a company may incur higher research costs due to incompetence and lack of
resources.
·
In-house
researchers have less focus than market intelligence professionals.
·
Insourcing
research reduces strategic flexibility.
·
The high
investment required for insourcing research may outweigh its benefits due to
economies of scale.
·
Potential
professional research consultants may offer superior expertise and services.
·
In-house
researchers may lack the experience and knowledge of research consultants.
Last is offshore outsourcing. The
advantages of offshore outsourcing are :-
·
Lower cost of
labour: When the product is being made in some place were the labour cost is
cheaper than the country of companies existence, it really help company to save
money by employing cheap labour and even more labour can be hired.
·
High performance: When labour is
cheaper it will directly help company in performance by employing or my making
labour work in various shifts and work can be done 24x7 and that will give the
company high performance.
·
Proper use of time
zone: Companies can make proper use of time zone difference. For example as
cited in Needle (2010), many USA companies use the service of Indian software
engineers when their computer systems are not being used.
The disadvantages of offshore outsourcing are :-
·
Quality of product or service: When the product
is produced by some other company in some other place it might not be necessary
that they might give the same kind of service to your product or the quality of
product might not be the same as the one you are expecting the quality to be.
·
Communication gap: When two
different companies of two different origin works on the product, which might
arise a problem were communicating to each other is a problem and that create a
communication gap.
·
Threat to security: When outsourcing
services such as taxation and payroll, the service provider will be able to see
company’s important data and this might create threat to security of data.
19.2 Describe why outsourcing is a critical business
decision.
Ø Outsourcing can give the right combination of
people, processes, and technology to operate efficiently and effectively in the
global marketplace without burdening time and budget.
