Business Process Outsourcing Supply Chain -Myassignmenthelp.Com

Questions: Does BPO Enhance The Financial Performance Of The Organization? Can BPO Help To Increase Efficiency And Total Productivity Of The Company? Can The Organizations Create New Product By Adopting BPO Activities? Will The Implementation Of BPO Aid The Companies To Gain Competitive Advantage Against Their Rivals? Answers: Introduction The research study provides an analysis on the business process outsourcing and its positive and negative aspects. Business process outsourcing refers to the process of subcontracting different operation relating to business to the third party (Bentounsi, Benbernou Atallah, 2012). Most of the multinational companies (MNCs) adopts this business process outsourcing policy for reducing their overall business expenditure in the operational activities. It also facilitates them to enhance the production rate within the business. In the present era, the MNCs are hiring laborers as the form of outsourcing component. Through outsourcing as well as administrative functions, the organization allocates the resources in better way and also focuses on their core competencies that include- goods leadership, relationship with customer and excellence in operation. Purchasing raw material as well as components from third party is said to be one of the main part of the business process outsourcing. Project Objectives The basic objective of this research study is to analyze the process of business outsourcing and also highlights on its positive as well as negative aspect. This study also aims in evaluating several relevant articles for reviewing the literature that is related to this business process outsourcing. This project also focuses on the research methodology that focuses on the different methods used for conducting this research. Furthermore, the objective of this study is also to provide recommendations for certain ways that should be adopted by the business for improving the application of the business process outsourcing. Project Scope The present research study will assess as well as analyze all kinds of business outsourcing procedure and will also reflect on its advantages and disadvantages. This scope of this project is to have an idea about whether the organization taking into account this business outsourcing procedure require assessment of the right partner and their internal operations (Chou, Techatassanasoontorn Hung, 2015). This study will also highlight on the practical example of the process of business outsourcing for gaining knowledge about its positive and negative effect. In addition, this aspect will be estimated in order to provide recommendations on the improvement of existing plan regarding business outsourcing procedure. Literature Review In the present era, outsourcing has become one of the strategies that the business organization implements in order to reduce their operation cost. The visibility of business outsourcing increased vividly over the last few decades, especially in IT (Information Technology) field. Han Mithas (2013) opines that business process outsourcing (BPO) has become the biggest means of gaining competitive advantage for the entities of varied sizes. It exceptional growth has been attributed to advancement in IT as well as communications. Lacity Willcocks, (2014) stated that the BPO sector is very heterogeneous by nature and differentiated in terms of horizontal process areas such as., operations, human resource and vertical specialization namely imaging in the banking industry. It is directly related to the quest for efficient companys designs that includes- reduction of cost, growth in productivity and creative capabilities. Thus, it is an important source for the strategic advantage. However , this section of the project highlights on both the advantages and disadvantages of the BPO. Advantages of BPO One of the basic advantages of adopting BPO is to improve the level of cost efficiency in the production process. Liu, Wang Huang (2017) stated that the same function in the business can be done with good quality and at lesser price as it is handled by the experts. The huge scale MNCs generally gets raw materials from this third party agent at lower cost. This is mainly possible as several business vendors have the ability to prove upon product line quality. In addition, these organizations also get varied range of commodity quality. It has been mentioned by Sople (2016) that most of the MNCs save near about 50% of their total production cost through BPO. Furthermore, owing to the difference in work payment between Eastern and Western Europe, similar type of work is mainly done in two different nations. According to Lacity Willcocks (2014), large MNCs reduces the cost of new technology implementation and their infrastructure maintenance with the help of BPO. Few evidences reflect that some of the organization faces huge difficulty in hiring skilled workers owing to limited search options. However, allocating this task of workers recruitment to third party agents helps these MNCs in reducing recruitment cost. Additionally, it also aid them to attain wider range of the workers. Enhancement of productivity The organizations that adopt the BPO have the ability to attain new efficiencies and hence this improves the total productivity. Even they get the chance to reallocate their resources in different projects. This in turn aids the employees to increase their efficiency and productivity. It has been mentioned by Mani, Barua Whinston (2012) that, highly skilled employees improve the business processes and hence this leads to improvement in total productivity. Focusing on core competencies BPO provides incredible help to the MNCs to focus mainly on their core business operations. According to the approach of competence, every organization can outsource many activities but not their core competencies. The vital factor behind the BPO market growth is that most of the entities focus on their internal operations for understanding their core competencies. Sople (2016) founds out that the organization with the help of BPO assigns the promotion task through digital technology as well as social media to the agents. However, this provides the managers of the company to concentrate on core activities that is required to maintain sustainability in business. For example, in case of Sony mobile company, the services after sale are manly provided by their agents for dealing with excessive sale pressure (Rai et al., 2012). Therefore, the company can provide better after sale service if they focus on their core business areas including research and development (RD) activities required for upgrading their technology. Saving Time When the companies allocate the task to the third parties, it saves lot of time to focus on varied profit making procedure. Additionally, the outsourcing entities charge fewer amounts as compared to maintenance cost of full time team. This BPO also helps them to deal with some other research activities through recruiting laborers from different countries. Thus, it helps them to work on time related operation activities in business. Disadvantages of BPO When the company outsources recruitment services, HR and payroll, it generally involves risk of exposure of confidential data and technology to the third party. This means that outsourcing leads to imitation of commodities. It has been stated by Nassimbeni, Sartor Dus, (2012) that, the agents of third party misusing the entitys information leads to bad reputation as well as brand value. Several hidden cost Outsourcing is generally cost-effective but in some circumstances it might involve hidden cost while signing the contract across the boundaries, which in turn might pose threat. It has been mentioned by Weigelt Sarkar (2012) that, the parent organization requires to form legal contract for making illegal contract between the business outsourcing agents. Therefore, it is necessary that the individuals should look over the detailed contract paperwork for avoiding this risk. Risk of compromising product quality Another disadvantage relative to that of BPO is probable risk of compromising product quality as well as safety. When the organization hires raw material from third party agents, they might face difficulty in managing product quality. There are some cases in which the organization cannot provide best service quality to their client. The main reason behind this is that inexperienced individuals provide BPO service activities. However, it becomes impossible for the firm to monitor the reasons of poor product quality. Research Design and Methodology Research design refers to the conceived plan and investigation structure for attaining accurate results to these research questions. This section reflects the method to be used by the researcher to conduct the research aligning with the pros and cons of the business outsourcing process. Research Design Research design is the procedure which the researcher implements for integrating various components of this research study. It is categorized into three kinds namely- explanatory, exploratory and descriptive. Explanatory design attempts to unite the ideas for comprehending the cause and impact of relationship (Lewis, 2015). It also helps the researcher to illustrate the things coming in collective way. Exploratory design aids the researcher to discover and investigate data for giving insight about the study. It also helps to devise the problem and clarify concepts in much precise way. This design includes several procedure such as- trail studies, interviews etc for gathering accurate information about the project. Descriptive design signifies the attempt done by the researcher for investigating the theories of the study. This design helps to describe the participants with higher accuracy and circumstances in suitable manner. For this project, the researcher will use exploratory research design as it helps the researcher to save time as well as resources of this research study. Moreover, it will also aid in laying groundwork, which will further lead to future studies. Research Approach The researcher utilizes this approach for devising the plan while doing this research study. There are two kinds of research approach- deductive and inductive. Deductive approach is apprehensive with developing hypothesis based on present theories. The hypothesis is then tested for planning the strategy while doing the research. After attaining the result from hypothesis, the researcher makes inspection for either accepting or rejecting this. If this hypothesis is rejected, the researcher amends the study accordingly. In case of inductive approach, the researcher gathers data and evaluates the pattern for creating new theories. The observations used in this approach helps the researcher to develop universal principle about the research topic. For this project, the researcher will use deductive approach for concentrating on the positive and negative aspect of BPO based on present concepts. The researcher will use this approach for investigating the theory and testing the validity in certain situation. Adoption of this approach aids the researcher to gain accurate outcome from hypothesis. Research philosophy This researcher classifies the principle using the research philosophy. It is categorized into four types namely- positivism, pragmatism, realism and interpretivism. Positivism philosophy illustrates about positive facts and scientific data collection procedure that has been received from empirical evidence. The data obtained is then interpreted by applying logic that forms knowledge source. Pragmatism philosophy is used to assess the concepts used in the project in account of practical application. Realism philosophy is based on reality facet independent of beliefs. Interpretivism philosophy is used by the researcher for interpreting elements and integrates individuals interest into the study. For this project, the researcher will use interpretivism philosophy in order to understand both positive and negative aspect of the BPO. Research Method This indicates the methods adopted by the researcher while conducting this study. Research method is usually classified into two kinds- qualitative and quantitative method. Qualitative method refers to the procedure in which the researcher gathers information or data from secondary sources namely- websites, journals, newspapers, archival materials etc (Taylor, Bogdan DeVault, 2015). On the other hand, quantitative method uses the give emphasis on the statistical analysis of gathered information by using survey questionnaire. This method is also used for collecting accurate information from different individuals. For this project, the researcher will use qualitative approach and hence gathered data from secondary sources (Eriksson Kovalainen, 2015). This method will be applied as it will help the researcher to complete the research in less time owing to accessibility of instant data from these sources. The gathered data that is used for conducting this research must be scrutinized for reliability. The authenticity of information will be ensured from the sources that are either approve by scholars or reviewed by peers (Lewis, 2015). Furthermore, the information will be collected from reliable websites and journals. Validity of data should not surpass the limitation. The information provided in the website is valid until release of new information. As the researcher will collect data from secondary sources, assurance of its validity cannot be given. Research Limitations Certain limitation can arise while conducting the research from secondary sources. If websites of the organization are not available, then the researcher can face difficulty in collecting data. In fact, some of the journals or books might be expensive and old and this in turn might increase the cost of doing research. Moreover, data given in the website might not be appropriate and hence this can result in inaccurate results. Despite all limitations, it is predicted that the researcher will make effort to make this project valid and reliable. Time schedule Sequential Activities/ Period Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 4 Week 5 6 Idea about the project Designing the present research Gathering of information from secondary sources Interpretation of this gathered information Procedure of publi Conclusion The conclusion that can be drawn from the above study is that the biggest advantage of implementing BPO is to enhance upon effectiveness of cost and incorporate skilled laborers. In fact, it also helps the organization to operate 24 hours a day and improve their operation. It also enhances their overall productivity and improve their financial performance. On the contrary, BPO includes some risk that includes exposure of companys data, compromising product quality etc. However, this in turn leads to financial loss and bad reputation in the marketplace. Therefore, it is recommended that the organizations who have involved BPO must have better level of the monitoring system and this can aid to assure better product quality. References Bentounsi, M., Benbernou, S., Atallah, M. J. (2012, June). Privacy-preserving business process outsourcing. InWeb Services (ICWS), 2012 IEEE 19th International Conference on(pp. 662-663). IEEE. Chou, S. W., Techatassanasoontorn, A. A., Hung, I. H. (2015). Understanding commitment in business process outsourcing relationships.Information Management,52(1), 30-43. Eriksson, P., Kovalainen, A. (2015).Qualitative methods in business research: A practical guide to social research. Sage. Gerbl, M., McIvor, R., Loane, S., Humphreys, P. (2015). 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Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Weigelt, C., Sarkar, M. B. (2012). Performance implications of outsourcing for technological innovations: managing the efficiency and adaptability trade?off.Strategic Management Journal,33(2), 189-216.