Business
Engaging on a task that requires development of a dashboard to enable an effective approach in monitoring the performance of key strategic initiatives encompasses significant amount of resources including expert workforce. On the other hand, the cost of developing the dashboard is outweighed by the benefits of deploying a KPI dashboard, which includes allowing the management to closely monitor the company’s overall performance. This is also the motivating factor that would encourage a CIO in undertaking the task of developing the KPI dashboard. Another reason for the development of the dashboard is to equip the company with the right tool that will expand its competitive advantage in its industry. On the other hand, the cost associated with the development of the dashboard includes paying a hefty price for expert services, which could potentially impact the business bottom line. This is one of the reasons that makes outsourcing for expert services at a lower price is a viable option.
Based on the documentary on outsourcing, the arguments pertaining to its pros and cons to the global economy appears to demonstrate more of the benefits than a problem. For starters, outsourcing is becoming one of the business models that come close in describing the dynamics of globalization, which primarily based on open trade. In this sense, the outsourcing of jobs offshore creates the endless cycle of trade, which fuels development between trading economies. The only problem emanating from the concept of outsourcing is its implication towards the US economy where the local jobs are being imported from developing countries. This implies Americans losing both skilled and low skilled jobs from the offshore workforce. For instance, employing contractors in developing countries to manufacture goods for American consumers impact the price. As exampled from the documentary, Americans must choose between a $15 shirt made offshore and a $45 shirt made in America (Java Films, 2012). One cannot choose the lower priced shirt and expect Americans to retain the jobs that manufactured the cheaper shirt. The same scenario was observed in China wherein 20 years ago became a major hub for manufacturing because of cheaper labor.
The surge of investors in the country led the mass creation of jobs, but at the cost of workers being exploited in unacceptable working conditions. This is the tradeoff for the sake of economic development in China and its workforce today is beginning to steer away from similar conditions (Ampersand, 2012). Assuming that a decision was made to outsource the expert services needed to create the KPI dashboard from India, the major concern in sub-contracting the work is whether the output meets the expected quality of the final product. This is the same problem that Chinese manufacturers are facing when they decided to transfer their operations Cambodia. Although the labor cost is significantly lower, the production phase and the output quality can potentially become substandard. In outsourcing the expert services from offshore developers in creating the KPI dashboard, the possibilities of substandard output is inevitable and that will cause the phase of the dashboard development to be compromised. Therefore, it is imperative that close monitoring of the work development should be exercised when outsourcing and ensure that the jobs were not sub-contracted to other developers.
References
Ampersand,. (2012). Chinese Labor Movement. Retrieved from http://fod.infobase.com/p_ViewPlaylist.aspx?AssignmentID=C7PKXS#tab_nowPlaying
Java Films,. (2012). Globaphobia: American Consumers and Foreign Workers. Retrieved from http://fod.infobase.com/p_ViewPlaylist.aspx?AssignmentID=C7PKXS#tab_nowPlaying
