OUTSOURCING CONFLICT

JINU. P. ISSAC

RESEARCH SHOLAR

BHARATHIAR UNIVERSITY

COIMBATORE.

ASST. PROFESSOR

PEOPLE INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES

MUNNAD. P. O

KASARGOD DISTRICT

KERALA,  INDIA.

PIN CODE-671541

Abstract:

Title     : Outsourcing Conflict.

Branch: HR.

Type    : Research Paper

Description:

OUTSOURCING CONFLICT

Organizations and corporate are now on a rush to hug outsourcing as a remedy to financial mess. The business frames are redesigned and rescheduled to support outsourcing environment. The traditional staffing process is deemed as curse to a flourishing industry. How the change be assessed? How far it will safeguard workforce? Will it initiate another crisis with uglier heads? Is it a matter of prosperity or anxiety? Merits and demerits are to be brought for in depth analysis. The standards of comparison and interpretations are to be developed. The consequences are to be born in mind before thick dependence on outsourcing. How the process is in contradiction with tradition and comfort? The ultimate scope lies in utility to people. To what extent the same can be guaranteed? Out sourcing no doubt, will affect normal life if it is being irrationally used. In which industry? to what extent? The proportion between outsourcing and staffing may be decided through an internal mechanism. It is the right time to initiate a discussion over the demerits of outsourcing at least in the corporate level. The oriental tradition held outstanding perception on work, work life, work- life balancing, quality work life and so on. How does outsourcing treat such great concept? Is it a reason for contradiction and conflict in this realm? Such questions are being discussed and deliberated to reach realistic conclusions.

Key Words:

·       Outsourcing

·       Dynamic and orthodox Economies

·       Work Environment

·       Comfort Propensity

·       Paradoxical work practices

·       Proportional outsourcing and staffing

·       Conflict reduction.

Bibliography:

1.   Indian take-away: off shore outsourcing for small to       medium-sized Enterprises: Jim Downey: Exposure Publishing; Dec.2011.

2.   Outsource Smart: Daven Micheals; Mc Grow Hill; Nov.2012.

3.   www.advantagesbs.com/blog/pros-and-cons-of-outsourcing.. www.chnsourcing.com>Reaserch. Jun. 2007- At the heart of the problem is the inherent conflict of interest.

4.    www.pwc.com/us/en/outsourcing: A survey from PwC on growing complexity of outsourcing…..

OUTSOURCING CONFLICT

Irrespective of the size of organizations, almost all business process units deem it fit that outsourcing is the only way out from the financial mess the world is in and labor problems aggravate the very same. It is a general notion that existence of right reasons and availability of a right outsourcing partner, can help you streamline your business processes, reduce your overheads and enhance business earnings.

The advantages of outsourcing explicitly outweigh the disadvantages in various counts. The major and discernible advantages of outsourcing are as follows.

Ø  It open up avenues to infuse efficiency in those areas of your business in which you lack expertise.

Ø  It gives you access to skilled services at low cost.

Ø  It reduces your business expenditure on infrastructure, workforce hiring, training, technology and software.

Ø  It allows you to focus more on your core areas of business i.e., when you outsource, you are in a better position to use your manpower, time and money to improve the efficiency and productivity that directly affect your bottom line.

Ø  It improves the overall efficiency of your business model, allowing you to serve your customer better.

It is not in tune with the business acumen to ignore the disadvantages as they raise their ugly heads to eat into business profits.

v  There is a perceptible degree of threat to security and confidential business data since your outsourcing partner is likely to gain access to sensitive information about your business

v  It is within the realm of possibility that effective control over the business processes that you outsource may be lost.

v  Your outsourcing partner may not be able to maintain the standards you envisage for your business.

v  The outsourcing partner may be providing such services to your competitors too and it brings into your business a direct conflict of interest.

v  If the outsourcing partner abruptly stops the business, your dependability on him gets you to a situation of ‘temporary setback’. This imbroglio can only be solved by finding out a new partner which is both challenging and time consuming.

SLOW DIAGNOSIS:

As human resource outsourcing is in a nascent stage, our corporate and MNCs have just started sensing their problems at least in certain industries. It cannot be ignored and taken to be weak signal. In the last five years, 11% of the companies have done away with their out sourcing schemes and reverted into traditional HR procurement systems.

Pressure to enhance outsourcing quality and to fall in line with competent outsourcing is on one extreme and the excess fondness for comfort is on other. Now the question is about the position of an average candidate in this vast divide. Their natural propensity for comfort and demand of time are paradoxical. How far they will stay unfaltered? When the going gets tough how much grit and guts they will show to stay the course? How many of them will quit? What future is in store for the quitters? The onus of answering all these tags lies with outsourcing.

SIDE EFFECTS:

When the organizations concentrate on Access to skills and knowledge, Quality, and cost reduction, a large group with moderate skills and potentials are ignored and getting into hostile environment. Such issues are rampant in IT, P&M, Public services, and to greater degree in private services. It is a matter of grave concern that this situation creates the huge economic and social inequalities with the attendant issues in the near future.

Another threat emanates from HR segment. How will you plan HR activities? How will you set HR yardsticks? This branch of management is getting tougher; each day passes-by due to the reason that skills and potentials are transient phenomena with regard to demand and supply.

More over corporate heads and mentors show great concern over what is taught in the class rooms and what is the need of the industry. Even the premier B’ schools and Tech’ schools not an exception to it. The merits and demerits of human resources outsourcing show that it is a double edged weapon on one side, you can capitalize on the opportunities but on the other side, there is every possibility for an unprecedented growth in future conflicts.

No doubt, world is dynamic and changing rapidly. The traditional values are still valid. It has been proved through the survival of some orthodox economies in the context of global recession. Some experts view that human resource outsourcing as the requirement of time but if we move by time alone, how do we ensure future of HR force?

MYTHS  AND FINDINGS:

It will not be out of place for me to examine here challenging the environment in which the HR professionals are working. When people are compelled to rate their operating environment against few key factors  like strength of competition, pressure to enhance quality, a need to innovate, pursuit of market growth and increasing competition in the market place. The current operating environment is highly pressurized with the top three pressures including the need to improve efficiency, pressure to enhance quality and an increasing need to innovate. It has become a necessity to ensure the safety of mediocre workforce in future with proper planning and vision.

Let’s dispel some still popular myths regarding HRO. These include;

A.    HRO is a hard time solution.

B.     It’s a gap-plugging function.

C.    It’s a painful and time consuming process.

D.    HRO is not business focused.

TRADITION AND WORKLIFE:

Apart from all myths, the oriental tradition especially that of Indians have a strong perception on  work, work life, Quality Work Life, Work- Life Balance and so on. It explains the work environment as the life domain of an individual worker. It urges people

to ensure comfort, security and justice in work environment. There arises contradiction between work values and outsourcing.

STEPS TO SOLUTIONS:

Instead of searching for a quick-fix solution, it is better is to attract the corporate environment towards initiating steps to overcome expeditiously the consequences.

v  First of all there should be a classification of industries which are outsourcing centric and not. The jobs also to be brought under vertical analysis and classification.

v  Second, a ratio has to be fixed by corporate through an internal mechanism on each job to distinguish part of outsourcing and staffing.

v  Third, balancing blend of outsourced and fixed employees on various rates and standards of appraisal has to be ensured.

v  Then, effective influence has to be ensured to stabilize economic and social growth through timely intervention and logical alteration rather than concentrating on shorter and undue gains.

CONCLUSION:

Having deliberated upon so contentious and relevant an issue I would like to sum up this short yet discursive deliberation by leaving some part open. This is too subjective a topic to be dealt with. Nature of such topic gets revealed to a person entirely based on his paradigm and upbringing. However, it is my earnest urge to corporate community to step into and do something effective and needful to alleviate the hardship of this vexed problem so that a large chunk of our youth find meaning for their life.