An empirical evaluation of client-vendor relationships in high maturity Indian software outsourcing companies

The study presented in this thesis investigates offshore software outsourcing relationships. Offshore software outsourcing has been increasing continuously for the last decade. More and more software vendor companies from different countries such as India, Russia, Brazil and China are joining the offshore `bandwagon'. Indian software companies especially have managed to secure a leading position as offshore software outsourcing vendors. However, with more client companies outsourcing their software operations offshore, issues associated with the establishment and management of offshore outsourcing relationships have become more important. With the growing volume of offshore outsourcing, the number of failures is also increasing. A review of the literature suggests that success or failure is mainly dependent on the management of relationships between client and vendor. Subsequently, it is imperative to identify critical factors that can help to better manage offshore software outsourcing relationships. Furthermore, it is also important to identify the difficulties faced in managing offshore relationships and also how clients and vendors develop mutual trust. Trust is important to understand in the offshore software outsourcing context as it has been reported as the most significant contributor to the management of any human relationship. Nonetheless, different advantages that motivate clients to outsource are also important in understanding offshore software outsourcing. In this study, motivators, difficulties, critical relationship management factors and trust building factors are studied by means of empirical investigation into eighteen high maturity Indian software companies and six of their clients based in the USA and Europe. Multiple case studies with grounded theory analysis techniques are used to conduct the empirical investigation. Grounded theory, which is a part of qualitative research, helps to develop emergent model from empirical data. Furthermore, multiple case studies are used as objects to collect qualitative data and organise overall investigation. The research methods used were piloted with two Indian software companies before conducting the full empirical investigation. The results of this investigation suggest that client companies are motivated to outsource their software offshore by cost savings, quality, flexibility, core competence, skills availability, higher productivity, faster development, technical expertise and high maturity of vendor. The results also uncovered difficulties faced by clients and vendors in managing relationships. Difficulties include managing cultural differences, expectation mismatch, language differences, loss of control, distance, time zone differences, workforce reshuffling and post-contractual matters. This investigation further identifies critical factors to managing offshore outsourcing relationships such as effective communication, a process driven approach, commitment to the project, transparency in actions, consistency in performance, value addition and allocating resources effectively in the project. Furthermore, results from this study suggest that previous work reference, experience and reputation in the offshore outsourcing business, background of the key vendor employees, investments, prototyping and personal visits from the client are important for achieving trust. This study also identifies that to maintain trust in the relationship both clients and vendors perceive critical factors such as commitment, process driven approach, communication, confidentiality, performance, honesty, transparency, demonstrability, personal relationships and working together in outsourcing project. Based on the results of the empirical results and their discussions, this study presents an emergent model and practical guidelines for managing offshore software outsourcing relationships. The uniqueness of this investigation is in its large scale empirical investigation into high maturity software companies. Furthermore, most previous studies have investigated either clients or vendors, whereas this study investigates vendors and their corresponding clients. An investigation into trust in offshore software outsourcing relationships is also a significant addition to the existing literature relevant to software outsourcing. The empirical investigation gave rise to proposals for discussions and to an emergent empirical model. Thus the current body of knowledge in offshore software outsourcing is enhanced by this work. Moreover, practical guidelines, based on empirical results are proposed for client and vendors to help them manage their offshore software outsourcing relationships

Developing a case for a more granular examination in the selection of information technology job roles most suitable for outsourcing and offshore placement

This study reviewed shortcomings present in the process of selecting the scope of offshore outsourcing vendor usage. While extensive financial cost information is available to companies considering this alternative, there is little mentioned of the quality of service performance experienced by the internal work teams that act as the primary consumers of these contracted services. Additionally, it is common practice to contract offshore outsourcing on a project or departmental level without granular examination of suitability at the job role level. This study surveyed a representative sample (n = 30) of IT professionals, and addressed two related research questions regarding internal value return. The first questioned whether a satisfactory level of overall job performance is returned by holistically-outsourced IT services to offshore vendors and results were inconclusive. The second examined if differences were present between work teams responsible for various IT functions, indicating a need for more granular consideration and found significant differences between work teams\u27 needs. As to the first research question, results were calculated from the aggregate mean of each departmental review with which the respondent had direct experience. Overall job performance satisfaction was measured using the t-test methodology as minimally sub-par, with insufficient significance to reject the possibility of sampling error, t (22) = 2.57, p \u3e .05. As to the second research question, departmental satisfaction ratings in 10 factors relevant to service delivery were analyzed for variation in order to determine if significant valuation differences were present. Significant variation present in satisfaction levels between teams are representative of variation in factor importance by department. Three discrete departments -- Application Development, Server Operations, & Solutions and Architecture were examined. An analysis of variance showed that the effect of performance factor was significant F (9, 27) = 304.434, p \u3c 1 that the effect of work team was significant at F (3, 27) = 43.190, p \u3c 1. As both performance factor and work team variations were significant above the confidence level (95%) chosen as the threshold, the null hypothesis that there was no variation in factor delivery efficacy was rejected. The results of the second research question of whether a more detailed and granular examination would reveal differences in factor importance -- or the difference in emphasis on one factor over another, a statistically significant finding that such differences are present was found. Significant differences in value perception present between individual work teams and the collective totals indicated that each work team was unique in their expectations -- and valuation -- of services provided.In order, therefore, to provide optimal value, a more granular examination of each position or team to be outsourced should be conducted in order to reserve those positions that do not perform well for in-house performance, and only outsource those positions likely to do well to an offshore vendor. As each company requires its own unique mix of IT management needs appropriate their situation, each IT work team was found to have a level of unique need as well. These needs define work team satisfaction levels with services provided. Additionally, companies that avoid single factor decision-making with regard to offshore outsourced vendor use may see more optimal results. For the same reasons outlined above, the service delivery performance seen by internal work teams reflect the quality of work performed by the vendor. If such value degrades below satisfactory levels, it is possible to erode the savings realized by cost incentives to a negative return

Critical Issues in EHR Implementation: Provider and Vendor Perspectives

Stakeholders, both internal and external, can have differing and sometimes conflicting perspectives and priorities even though each has a vested interest in organizational success. Using the lens of stakeholder theory, we examine the differing views of stakeholders (namely, medical providers and vendors) in the implementation of electronic health record (EHR) systems. The implementation process itself can be broken down into three phases: pre-implementation, during implementation, and post-implementation. After determining a comprehensive set of seventeen key issues relevant to each phase, we discovered that there are significant differences in the perceptions of EHR vendors and their customers in terms of which issues in each phase of an EHR implementation are most important. These findings indicate that vendors tend to underestimate the role of nursing staff and that providers tend to underestimate the role of security. Both groups, however, agree that physician support throughout the implementation is essential for success

The effects of outsourcing practices conducted by organisations in Nairobi

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between outsourcing and development in Nairobi. The key research question for this study is what are the impacts of outsourcing practices conducted by organisations in Nairobi? Data were obtained from questionnaires distributed in December 2010. A total of 85 profit-making firms in Nairobi with a sample of 165 management employees were selected for this study. The empirical findings obtained relate to four outsourcing theories. Transaction Cost Analysis (TCA) Theory focuses on the cost savings that result from outsourcing. Agency Outsourcing Theory centres on outsourcing firms hiring agents to achieve productivity. Hiring agents may result in permanent staff being retrenched and additional outsourcing personnel being contracted and job creation and/or job loss results. Expectation Confirmation Theory (ECT) emphasises the importance of an outsourcing provider conforming to quality management principles. Resource Based Theory (RBT) proposes that organisations need a collection of resources and capabilities to execute outsourcing successfully. Findings further suggested that outsourcing can yield positive and/or negative outcomes depending on risks encountered, the business environment, company policies, function/s to be outsourced, and the competence and commitment of an outsourcing vendor. To further enhance the positive impact of outsourcing three improvements need to be executed: formulation of standard policies, price regulations, and commitment of outsourcing firms in adhering to set contract deadlines. It is suggested that the following would allow organisations to gain more from outsourcing in the future: the adoption of international/offshore outsourcing practices, more commitment by outsourcing consultants, the standardisation of charges for outsourcing contracts, and the use of new technology that would improve how outsourcing is conducted. It is concluded that the positive impacts of outsourcing would foster development to some extent while the possible negative impact of outsourcing would impede development

Small Business Leaders\u27 Perceptions of Strategies Facilitating Positive Performance in Government Contracts

Past performance ratings of government contractors are becoming a critical pathway to the $300 billion of contract dollars Congress sets aside for small businesses annually. This was a descriptive study exploring leadership strategies small business leaders use to attain positive performance ratings in government contracting, viewed through the lens of the principal-agent theory. The exploration occurred by interviewing 21 small business leaders located within 30 miles of Washington, DC, with favorable performance ratings on at least 3 government contracting opportunities. Clustering themes according to Moustakas\u27s modified van Kaam helped organize, analyze, interpret, and provide meaning to participant accounts of the phenomenon. Findings revealed 5 overall themes: (a) leadership strategies that influence positive performance ratings, (b) behavioral or trait-based attributes of leaders, and (c) understanding bureaucratic dynamics and contract requirements, (d) resource-based capacity as an impediment, and (e) competitive intelligence as a valuable resource. The findings indicated a need for leaders to adapt approaches to contract performance that is appropriate for the situation as agencies implement the procurement process differently. The identification of strategies that positively influence performance ratings may increase the longevity of small businesses participation or excite the proliferation of small businesses aspiring or struggling to increase performance. Findings may also encourage various business leaders within socioeconomic groups to gain access to federal set-asides

Paper Lives: Certification vs. Licensure

Since the mid-1990s certification has increasingly been considered as a tool to increase the chance to find job particularly by youngsters. However under the circumstances that exist today it is known that having certificates does not automatically lead to get job, even contrary job seekers may remain jobless after they pay huge amounts of money to certfication firms. The very fast increase in the number of certfying firms confirms the fact that there is an ongoing demand for short term qualification courses. Another process which accompanies to private certification is that the loosing ground in public education that despite corporations still care about diplomas in hiring they reject job applications in the case of absence of certificates. In this study certification as a popular phenomenon has been compared with licensure in the context of waged engineers and their chambers. As a consequence of the analyses made for this study, it may be concluded that there is a capital accumulation which is carried out via two layers of working classes: masses who are obliged to be certified and waged laborers who work in certification industry in order to improve skills of those who are in need to be certified. During reviewing of literature it has also been witnessed that the academic writings focusing on the numbers, wages and working conditions of trainers hired by certification firms is virtually non exist. Therefore study suggests further researches especially on waged trainers working in private certification firms

CORI: Opening Doors of Opportunity: A Workforce and Public Safety Imperative

Recommends changes in the way the Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) system is used, and alleviating unnecessary barriers to employment for men and women with criminal histories