The world of outsourcing is a mysterious place anyway, full of bizarre practice, obscure (even obscurantist) jargon, and technology that is increasingly indistinguishable from magic – yet some parts of our shared folklore take this oddness to a whole new level of spookiness.
Most companies recognise outsourcing as an attractive way to efficiently complete software development projects, especially for companies that are experiencing skills gaps, time gaps or budget gaps. When this happens, outsourcing can be a viable solution – but only if the company trusts the vendor to protect proprietary code, follow through on promises, be accountable, and deliver quality work on time. But trust isn’t the only consideration when it comes to outsourcing software development.
The transition period of bringing a new provider into an environment is critical to the success of an outsourcing initiative. An effective transition sets the stage for a long-term partnership, while a poorly managed one can damage the relationship beyond repair.
We know that digital processes create leaner, more agile operations, not to mention financial and time savings. So why are so many businesses still unable to part with the millions of pieces of paper which are printed across the globe each year, despite the fact that the majority of this paper will be used once, then thrown or filed away?
You’ve all been told that to create value in your negotiations and get the “best” deal for your organization you need to expand the pie, not just haggle over the limited and fixed number of pie pieces. But no one has really demonstrated pie expansion – value – for commercial contracts – until now.
I always find it gratifying when a dormant project is resurrected: it means that effort already exerted (perhaps a while beforehand) has not after all been wasted, and that what seemed a good idea at the time continues to seem so some time down the line. With this in mind, I’m delighted to announce the (re)launch of our Outsource Talks webinar series, our attempt to bring the “chat show” format to the outsourcing space.
Over the past 40 years something extraordinary has been happening in organisations. The staff and management who populate them have been getting progressively smarter, at least when measured by their education, ongoing training and number of books read. Paradoxically, the organisations themselves seemed to have become dumber.
From April this year, companies operating in the UK will need to get their supply chains (which includes overseas outsourcing arrangements) in order to meet new reporting requirement in the UK.
As outsourcing has matured as a practice, and as new technologies such as cloud have come to the fore, the nature, composition and scope of deals have evolved dramatically: we live in an age of multisourcing, of hybrid delivery environments and of the ongoing transition to global business services.
Jean Tirole, the French professor of economics who recently received the Nobel Prize, is one of the most influential modern economists for his extensive theories and rigorous mathematic analysis of strategic behaviour and information economics in what is known as “Industrial Organisation” (IO).
As part of his research, he studied firms and markets where a firm had “power” to dominate the market and perhaps abuse that power.
If you’ve been in the outsource industry for more than five minutes you probably know that buyer-seller relationships are, well, complicated. And just when you think you have the collaboration thing nailed, more complications can ensue.
This month Academics of Outsourcing highlight goes to professors Jeffrey H. Dyer and Harbir Singh for their influential work on the topic on what they call the “relational view,” of working in highly strategic alliances.
This article originally appeared in Outsource Magazine Issue #29 Autumn 2012
After two years of blogging for Outsource I hope readers have at least heard of Vested Outsourcing and maybe even read one of our three books. But perhaps you have some doubts and concerns, so you are still waiting on the sidelines. All too often we hear, “I like the theory of Vested, but does it really work in the real world? Are companies (especially ones people have heard of!) adopting the Vested approach?”
This month’s column pays a tribute to Elinor Ostrom, who shared the Nobel Prize award in economic science in 2009 with Oliver Williamson. Ostrom, who died at age 78 on June 12, was cited by the Nobel Committee for “her analysis of economic governance, especially the commons,” a term that refers to resources that are owned or shared in common among communities.
If you follow this column you know I am a fan of some of the behavioral and transaction cost economists, including John Nash and Oliver Williamson. This month I am adding Dan Ariely to my list of big thinkers.
