Emirjeta Bejleri 1*,
Gentian Memaj2,
Mario Çurçija3
1, 3University “Luigj Gurakuqi” Faculty of Economy, Department of Business Administration, Shkoder, Albania
2University Luigj Gurakuqi” Faculty of Economy, Department Tourism, Shkoder, Albania *emirjeta.bejleri@unishk.edu.al
ABSTRACT
Outsourcing involves the transfer of an organization’s regular business activities to an outside service provider that provides some services back to the organization. Outsourcing can offer certain advantages, but only if you do it right. Simply stated, it is the “make or buy” decision as applied to the information systems and technology functions.
The key question is if you should hire your own systems staff, acquire your facilities, develop your systems, maintain your hardware, develop your documentation, contract for your telecommunications network, or should contract such services to an outside specialist organization. This paper aims at local government and their learning about technology outsourcing and the key steps for evaluation and implementation. Although each government has its unique situation, exist some basic fazes that enable local government to understand the drivers behind outsourcing, implementation considerations, and important steps to take. The first part of this paper intends to offer an overview of outsourcing, in general, and especially, of outsourcing in the public area and the factors that drive public organizations to outsource especially IT services. The second part strives to provide a picture of the current situation in the Shkodra local government and next evaluate the IT functions that need outsourcing, to create a communication plan.
Keywords: Outsourcing, local government, information technology.
Introduction
Outsourcing is used in a variety of different ways depending on the organization and the functions outsourced. The following definition is commonly used as purchasing an item or a service from an outside vendor to replace the performance of the task with an organization’s internal operations. Another definition is “the transfer of components or large segments of an organization’s internal IT infrastructure, staff, processes or application to an external resource” (Robinett, C. et. Al, 2006).
The term outsourcing is used inconsistently but usually involves the contracting out of a business function – commonly one previously performed in-house – to an external provider ((Overby, S., 2007). In this logic, two organizations may enter into a contractual agreement involving an exchange of services and payments. Simply put, outsourcing is the contracting of a third party to manage a business process more effectively and efficiently than can be done in-house (Aalders, R., 2002).
Outsourcing offers numerous advantages; however, there is also evidence that outsourcing often fails (Lacity, M. C. & Willcocks, L., 1997). The potential benefits include cost savings, efficiency gains, improved flexibility, access to world-class expertise, and focus on core competencies. However, outsourcing also poses numerous risks that must be managed for outsourcing to be successful (Kremic, T., 2006).
Outsourcing consists of two types of services (Robinett, C. et. Al, 2006):
- ITO: IT outsourcing, involves a third party who is contracted to manage a particular application, including all related servers, networks, and software upgrades.
- BPO: Business process outsourcing, which features a third party that manages the entire business process, such as accounting, procurement, or human resources.
Volume 6.No.2(2022): April – (Social Sciences Session)
ISSN 2661-2666 (Online) International Scientific Journal Monte (ISJM)
ISSN 2661-264X (Print)
DOI : 10.33807/monte.20222533
DOI URL: https://doi.org/10.33807/monte.20222533
Full Text: PDF
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)