Outsourcing: Decision making in case of outsourcing the company activity and management of outsourcing project

Abstract

The submitted paper was elaborated as a short summary of the main findings resulting from the research we have realized at the University of Economics in Bratislava. Based on the study of large amount of local (Slovak) and foreign literature and other sources, we have analyzed and compared many (often inconsistent and contradictory) approaches and opinions of Slovak and foreign authors related to outsourcing and offshoring. Following the questionnaire survey which we performed in years 2008 and 2009 on the sample of 51 Slovak companies, and as well as on the set of interviews carried out with managers and employees of these companies, we have identified several weaknesses in the outsourcing decision-making and also in the management of outsourcing projects. These weak points are connected with the insufficient assessment of risks resulting from outsourcing and managing these risks, rather than with an inadequate monitoring of outsourcing provider and an insufficient measurement of outsourcing efficiency. We have elaborated the standardized methodology, which can be used in decision making, implementation and management of outsourcing. In more details, we focus on the areas that show the gaps in the applied management and in the available theory: on risk management in the case of outsourcing and on measurement of outsourcing efficiency.