14,339 research outputs found
Supply Chains and Porous Boundaries: The Disaggregation of Legal Services
The economic downturn has had significant effects on law firms, and is causing many of them to rethink some basic assumptions about how they operate. In important respects, however, the downturn has simply intensified the effects of some deeper trends that preceded it, which are likely to continue after any recovery that may occur.
This paper explores one of these trends, which is corporate client insistence that law firms âdisaggregateâ their services into discrete tasks that can be delegated to the least costly providers who can perform them. With advances in communications technology, there is increasing likelihood that some of these persons may be located outside the formal boundaries of the firm. This means that law firms may need increasingly to confront the make or buy decision that their corporate clients have regularly confronted for some time. The potential for vertical disintegration is a relatively recent development for legal services, but is well-established in other sectors of the global economy.
Empirical work in several disciplines has identified a number of issues that arise for organizations as the make or buy decision becomes a potentially more salient feature of their operations. Much of this work has focused in particular on the implications of relying on outsourcing as an integral part of the production process. This paper discusses research on: (1) the challenges of ensuring that work performed outside the firm is fully integrated into the production process; (2) coordinating projects for which networks of organizations are responsible; (3) managing the transfer of knowledge inside and outside of firms that are participants in a supply chain; and (4) addressing the impact of using contingent workers on an organizationâs workforce, structure, and culture. A review of this research suggests considerations that law firms will need to assess if they begin significantly to extend the process of providing services beyond their formal boundaries. Discussing the research also is intended to introduce concepts that may become increasingly relevant to law firms, but which currently are not commonly used to analyze their operations. Considering how these concepts are applicable to law firms may prompt us to rethink how to conceptualize these firms and what they do.
This paper therefore is a preliminary attempt to explore: (1) the extent to which law firms may come to resemble the vertically disintegrated organizations that populate many other economic sectors and (2) the potential implications of this trend for the provision of legal services,the trajectory of legal careers, and lawyersâ sense of themselves as members of a distinct profession
REVIEWING OUTSOURCING CONTROVERSY IN INDONESIA (An Exploratory Study of Human Resources Outsourcing Practice in Semarang City)
Outsourcing in Indonesia is still a controversy. The different concept of outsourcing
between employers (vendors and users), employees/outsourced workers, and
government makes another problem in outsourcing implementation, especially in
industrial relationship either in enterprise and macro level. This study aims to
determine the concept of outsourcing of each element of the tripartite, the problems
that arise in the implementation, and solutions from each party, in dealing with the
practice of the working system. The problems under study, based on specific issues
related to industrial relations, including: wages, welfare programs, health and safety,
discrimination, job security, and dispute resolution, and termination of employment.
This qualitative research is an exploratory, with the data collection methods:
focus group discussions, observations, interviews, and study documentation. The data
collected from employers (vendors and users), the national unions, worker
outsourcing, and government within the scope of Semarang city.
The results showed that the problems that arise due to differences in each
party's conception of the tripartite elements. Uncertainty rules of outsourcing is a
major problem, giving rise to labor flexibility in the implementation, which implies
profitable for each party, especially the workers of outsourcing. In the end, the
regulation enforcement related to the implementation of the outsourcing firm is badly
needed, to compromise the disputes of workers and employer interests
Knowledge Transfer in a Management Process for Outsourced Agile Software Development
The outsourcing of IT services is a reality in the Brazilian Government administration. One of the critical aspects of outsourcing software development services is the transfer of knowledge. The purpose of \ this work was to define procedures for knowledge transfer in an outsourced software development \ process based on the Scrum framework. This is a descriptive research, in which elements for knowledge \ transfer were identified from a systematic review of the literature, eSCM practices, agile software development services contracts, and the Brazilian normative. The definition of procedures involved activities, tasks and artifacts, based on the SECI model and bibliographic and documentary research. The main contribution of this paper is showing how these knowledge transfer elements can be introduced in an outsourced agile development process, through the application of the SECI model
Process Models and Distribution of Work in Offshoring Application Software Development
Common process models for the development of application software (AS) are examined as to how well they are suited for offshoring projects. The need for communication and interaction among onsite and offshore project stakeholders is identified as a critical success factor. Process models used by organizations providing offshoring services are discussed, and a generalized offshoring life cycle model is developed. A specific focus is set on the distribution of work between the organization that outsources AS development and the offshore organization that carries out the major share of the development work. Problems and challenges that have to be faced, making offshoring a difficult task, are discussed. --
Discovering Strategies to Improve Business Value in Outsourcing Projects
This paper deals with the problem of leveraging client business value in a software development outsourcing relationship. We have observed software development projects from two different Dutch IT outsourcing companies and studied the approach they apply in their (successful) projects. The results show that they create a role dedicated to facilitate communication. This arrangement has the potential to put team members in a better position to communicate, facilitating the transfer of information supporting the rationale behind design decisions. Teams are thus better equipped to anticipate change and to react faster in solving everyday problems. This paper describes our observations and the practical implications we expect, such as the improvement of re-buy intention on the client's side
Offshore outsourcing - A global shift in the present IT industry
The paper analyses the offshore outsourcing of IT services (OOIT), which have become increasingly important for the global IT industry. Through this rapid process of firm relocation, a new terminology has emerged, which forms the starting point for our paper. We compare wage cost differentials of IT workers in key offshore locations like India to those in the US and Europe, incorporating the hidden costs of offshoring - including long-term risks and opportunities - in order to determine the total cost of offshore outsourcing activities. The debate on the potential future negative employment impacts in the major OECD countries recently became a point of political contention in the US presidential election campaign, reflecting widespread fears in the US and elsewhere that outsourcing will lead to decreased income and job loss. In Europe, policy makers are searching for instruments to guide these developments so that major social disruptions do not lead to disproportionately negative welfare impacts in the short term. The future costs and benefits of outsourcing can currently be assessed only in broad terms due to the lack of adequate data and representative statistics. However, the theory of comparative advantages suggests that overall, offshoring and inshoring countries will gain from the new international division of labour in the long run. --offshore outsourcing of IT,international factor movements and labour markets,international business,multinational firms
Outsourcing and externalisation: current practice in UK libraries, museums and archives
A study, funded by Resource: The Council for Museums, Archives and Libraries, was undertaken in 2000-2001 to give an up-to-date view of the current experience of outsourcing and externalisation in libraries, museums and archives. Case studies of purchasers recognised as pioneers in the field, and of providers, were undertaken, and results validated by two focus groups. Outsourcing, particularly under the impetus of Best Value, was found to be relatively widespread and sophisticated in the public library and special library sectors. Thinking and practice in academic libraries lag behind. Museums and archives show some implementation, particularly under the influence of Best Value
Outsourcing and externalisation: current practice in UK libraries, museums and archives
A study, funded by Resource: The Council for Museums, Archives and Libraries, was undertaken in 2000-2001 to give an up-to-date view of the current experience of outsourcing and externalisation in libraries, museums and archives. Case studies of purchasers recognised as pioneers in the field, and of providers, were undertaken, and results validated by two focus groups. Outsourcing, particularly under the impetus of Best Value, was found to be relatively widespread and sophisticated in the public library and special library sectors. Thinking and practice in academic libraries lag behind. Museums and archives show some implementation, particularly under the influence of Best Value
How to develop best practices for outsourcing for Entrepreneurial companies
This study explores the best practices that could be used for outsourcing for Entrepreneurial and startup companie
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