36,836 research outputs found

    Partnering in facilities management: An advantageous approach for public sector organisation

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    Managing and maintaining the built environment can account for 10% to 20% of an organisation's operational costs. With public sector expenditure reaching ÂŁ550bn in 2005/06, increased pressure has been placed on organisations to promote "Best Value" practices and many universities, emergency services operators and government organisations have outsourced areas of their facilities management operations to private sector service providers in an attempt to improve resource efficiency and service effectiveness. During the last twenty years the benefits of outsourcing as a strategy have continued to be questioned and a number of issues, such as the development of adversarial relationships, have been highlighted. This has in part, led to the evolution of the "partnering" concept as applied to FM. With the culture of openness and collaboration the concept promotes, it has been seen as a way to address some of the weaknesses of outsourcing. This report aimed to establish whether partnering is an advantageous approach for public sector organisations managing their facilities. In doing so it looked firstly at whether partnering as a concept addresses the outsourcing concerns echoed by organisations, secondly whether the partnering elements are aligned to those prioritised by public sector organisations and finally how the partnering arrangement can be successfully implemented and managed to make it an advantageous approach. When answering the above questions the research has looked at how authors and public sector organisations regard outsourcing and the concept of partnering. In doing so the investigation has involved reviewing a number of articles, analysing the results from a self-administered survey, considering feedback obtained through interviews and exploring appropriate case studies. The results from each of these have been consistent and conclusive and there are two key findings established from the research. The first is that the emphasis on communication and commitment within partnering arrangements has been fundamental in addressing weaknesses of the FM outsourcing strategy, specifically the adversarial relationships that can develop. The second is through setting clear measurable objectives at the pre-contract stage and creating and maintaining the partnering culture of openness and collaboration, a mutually beneficial and advantageous relationship can be experienced by both public sector clients and FM service providers

    Factors Considered for Outsourcing Decision of Support Services by the National Health Service, United Kingdom

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    Outsourcing of support services has been in practice for decades. It was once used as a means of reducing costs and has now evolved and is being considered strategically by organisations. Not only is outsourcing prevalent in the private sector, it is also growing in the public sector including public healthcare. Outsourcing also allows for the implementation of new technologies, processes, and strategies that would not otherwise be available. Despite the increasing prevalence of outsourcing of support services in the National Health Service (NHS) of the United Kingdom, there is a lack of research into the factors that should be considered when evaluating the potential of outsourcing. Therefore, this research seeks to evaluate the factors to be considered in the decision to outsource the support services in the NHS. This research has taken a qualitative approach with a multiple-case study concept adopted as the research strategy. Three (3) NHS Trusts have been identified with 21 respondents from senior management and middle management levels. The main data collection was through face-to-face semi-structured interviews. The findings revealed the factors to be considered in outsourcing decisions for the NHS Trusts and are grouped into seven (7) themes. These are namely the Environmental Factor, Financial Factor, Legal Factor, Risks Factor, Service Provider Factor, Social Factor, and Trust Factor. This research acknowledges that there is a need for Trusts to understand comprehensively the concept of outsourcing, and the motivation for them to go into outsourcing. In addition, the Trusts also need to acknowledge the factors that they should consider prior to deciding on outsourcing

    Public services outsourcing in an era of austerity: the case of British social care

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    Utilising an institutional, inter-organisational and inter-personal framework, longitudinal qualitative data are used to examine the changing nature of state – voluntary sector relationships in the area of social care outsourcing and its implications for the terms and conditions of those employed by Scottish voluntary organisations. Over the period 2002 to 2008/09, against the background of funders seeking to pass on efficiencies to voluntary organisations, these relationships have become increasingly cost-based and ‘arms-length’. This has been accompanied by downward pressures on staff terms and conditions, which are intensifying because of more draconian public expenditure cuts. Consequently, voluntary sector employers are increasingly converging on an employment model based on low pay and more limited access to sickness, pension and other benefits that is informed strongly by narrow financial logics

    Public services outsourcing in an era of austerity: the case of British social care

    Get PDF
    Utilising an institutional, inter-organisational and inter-personal framework, longitudinal qualitative data are used to examine the changing nature of state – voluntary sector relationships in the area of social care outsourcing and its implications for the terms and conditions of those employed by Scottish voluntary organisations. Over the period 2002 to 2008/09, against the background of funders seeking to pass on efficiencies to voluntary organisations, these relationships have become increasingly cost-based and ‘arms-length’. This has been accompanied by downward pressures on staff terms and conditions, which are intensifying because of more draconian public expenditure cuts. Consequently, voluntary sector employers are increasingly converging on an employment model based on low pay and more limited access to sickness, pension and other benefits that is informed strongly by narrow financial logics

    The outsourcing of social care in Britain : what does it mean for voluntary sector workers?

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    While recent decades have witnessed a growth in the outsourcing of public services in Britain, the post-1997 UK Labour governments have sought to put in place mechanisms aimed at encouraging long-term collaborative contracting relationships marked by less reliance on cost-based competition. This article explores empirically how far these mechanisms have achieved their aims and thereby acted to protect the employment conditions of staff, and links this exploration to debates concerning the employment implications of organizational reforms within public sectors internationally. It concludes that in terms of bringing income security to the voluntary sector and stability to employment terms and conditions these efforts have been unsuccessful, and consequently casts doubts on more optimistic interpretations of the employment effects of organizational restructuring in the British public sector

    Outsourcing the logistics function: the supply chain role of third-party logistics service providers in UK convenience retailing

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    Logistics, defined as the process of strategically managing the procurement, movement and storage of materials; parts; finished inventory and related information flow through the organisation and its marketing channels, is increasingly being recognised as a vital part of an organisation’s marketing strategy. In many organisations, the logistics function is currently facing significant challenges. Pressures from increasing competition and high customer service-level expectations have created a need for more professional and better-equipped logistics services. Confronted with such competitive pressures, these organisations are faced with decisions of the make OR buy kind with regard to the logistics processes of supply and distribution. In addition, the emergence of a need to focus on core capabilities has led many organisations to contract out all, or part of, the logistics function to third-party providers. This paper explores the challenges of outsourcing logistics in the UK convenience-retailing sector
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