Understanding Business Process Outsourcing

This assignment delves into the complex world of business process outsourcing (BPO). It examines various aspects of BPO, including its lifecycle stages, the motivations behind companies choosing to outsource, the potential challenges they face, and the overall influence of BPO on organizational performance. The provided materials include a range of research articles and publications that offer diverse perspectives on this evolving field. By synthesizing these insights, you'll gain a comprehensive understanding of the key factors shaping the landscape of BPO.

Running head: BUSINESS OUTSOURCING
Business Outsourcing
Name of the student:
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Executive Summary
Outsourcing the business activities expands the scope and arena of the business
organizations. However, the aspect of outflow of the business generates negatives vibes within
the minds of the readers to the extent of cyber rimes. This negativity destroys the balance in the
managerial activities. Conducting research on the business process outsourcing is an attempt
towards mitigating the intensity of such crimes. Literature review on business outsourcing and
identification of the gaps seems apt in terms of making beneficial advances towards efficient
execution of the research. Moreover, the development of aims, objectives and questions,
followed by the methodology justifies the descriptive approach of the researcher. Action plan
relates with the action of evaluation, which enhances the awareness of the researcher regarding
the effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed points in relation to the identified and the
specified objectives.

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Table of contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Project objective..............................................................................................................................2
Project scope....................................................................................................................................3
Literature review..............................................................................................................................3
Opportunities of business outsourcing function..........................................................................3
Reducing the operation costs.......................................................................................................3
Adopting easier cost control measures........................................................................................4
Optimization of the cooperation area..........................................................................................4
Process optimization and rising efficiency..................................................................................4
Capital liberalization....................................................................................................................5
Releasing internal capabilities.....................................................................................................5
Research questions...........................................................................................................................5
Research design and methodology..................................................................................................6
Qualitative research.....................................................................................................................6
Quantitative research...................................................................................................................7
Research limitations.........................................................................................................................7
Time schedule..................................................................................................................................8

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Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................10
References and bibliography.........................................................................................................11
Appendices....................................................................................................................................13

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Introduction
Outflow of business activities from the inner environment of companies and
organizations to the external environment is the main characteristic of business outsourcing.
Typical examples in this direction include the operation of the allocated tasks by indulging in
contracts with the third parties. Here time management is an important aspect, which validates
the aspect of outsourcing (Lacity et al., 2015). The source of outsourcing can be internal or
external. The benefits of outsourcing have gained much attention in the past few decades. As a
matter of specification, outsourcing can be equated with globalization, which has altered the
scenario of the businesses. Within this, one of the other important aspects is the adherence to the
geographical limitations, which has expanded the scope and arena of the business, especially
Aegis. Oriental approach towards the execution of the business activities has resulted in
enhancing the customer support (Gerbl et al., 2015). The major drive behind this is the
introduction of lucrative products and services. This assignment looks into the dynamics of
business outsourcing of Aegis Limited through the means of objectives, literature review,
methodology and action plan.
Project objective
 To achieve an understanding about the basic concepts related to business outsourcing
 To examine the process used by Aegis for outsourcing their business activities to the third
parties
 To assess the impact of the outsourced activities on the clients, stakeholders and
shareholders of Aegis

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 To suggest recommendations for improving the process of outsourcing, so that Aegis can
achieve sustainable growth in their business
Project scope
The identified and the specified objectives along with the resources used for execution of
the project reflect the entire scope of the project. Along with this, the action plan along with the
time is also one of the major elements, which enhances the scope and arena of the project. Apart
from the action plan, methodology brings the aspect of diversity, as it involves data collection
from varied sources. Literature review and the gaps in literature, acts as an evaluation, as to the
capability of the project to reach up to the extent of the identified and the specified scope.
Narrowing the search till the threshold of Aegis somewhat reduced the diversified scope.
Literature review
Opportunities of business outsourcing function
Maintaining consistency in seeking ways and means of outsourcing business proves
beneficial for the companies like Aegis in terms of expanding their business and getting high
investment returns. Market research, especially search engine optimization, is an effective
option here (Willcocks, Lacity & Sauer, 2017). Further optimizing the search, the following are
the opportunities, which possess flexibility to carry out effective business outsourcing:
Reducing the operation costs
Reducing the operational costs is advantageous for companies like Aegis in terms of full
time labor maintenance charges. Along with this, this reduction is also beneficial in terms of
considering the charges of the expensive machines and technicians involved in the outsourcing

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activity. However, necessity of expert advice is apt in terms of undertaking proper planning
towards the activity to be outsourced. The cost effective nature is apt in terms of the numerous
sources to which the activity is bring transmitted (Lacity & Willcocks, 2014).
Adopting easier cost control measures
For effect business outsourcing, adopting easier cost control measures, the management
of Aegis needs to expose rational thinking. This rationality is the keystone for regulation of the
overall operational cost of the business. For example, hiring full time workers for the lean
seasons, aggravates the maintenance cost. On the other hand, full attendance of the staffs during
the peak season is bound to minimize the labor charges (Lacity & Willcocks, 2014).
Optimization of the cooperation area
Hiring the experts for full time strains the financial parameter of Aegis. This adds
vulnerability to legal considerations. On the contrary, if the administrative activities are
outsourced to various sources, the collaborative output of the agency partners is enhanced. This
improves the corporate relations between Aegis and their stakeholders and shareholders.
Process optimization and rising efficiency
Using search engine optimization exposes companies like Aegis towards the various and
diversified specialized systems. This activity enhances the preconceived knowledge of the
personnel, which provides them with the ways and means of manufacturing quality services
(Wuyts, Rindfleisch & Citrin, 2015). Viewing it from other perspective, search engine
optimization helps the personnel to execute the projects within less time. This step enhances the
productivity of Aegis in terms of marketing.

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Capital liberalization
Utilization of the capital for other purposes relates with innovation and design thinking,
which results in the infrastructural development of companies and organizations like Aegis. Here
social media is one such means, which promotes the brand to the customers and saves the cost of
advertising and activities like door to door campaigns.
Releasing internal capabilities
The marketing activities are time consuming and tedious, however, if these activities are
outsourced, the activities are distributed among the associated partners. This reduces the stress of
the individual labor, releasing the employees of Aegis from the undertaking challenging and
enduring tasks individually (Aegisglobal.com, 2017). Countering this, quality is an important
issue here, which remains stagnant in spite of the aspect of division of labor.
Research questions
This segment, at the first instance, discusses the challenges or gaps in literature and then
attaches an interrogative parameter towards the propositions made in the literature review.
One of the primary challenges in business outsourcing is the presence of many
stakeholders. This compels the personnel of companies like Aegis to lose control and balance
over the business activities. Along with this, dispersed locations aggravate the risks of cyber
crimes as there is an absence of tracking or regulation of the activities being outsourced and the
receivers receiving the orders (Chou, Techatassanasoontorn & Hung, 2015). Lack of conscious
approach towards these activities creates discrepancies in the creation of budgets. Sometimes, it
also results in the publication of inadequate budgets, due to the lack of proper knowledge of the
personnel towards the technological operations. Herein lays the appropriateness of the

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challenge of employment efficiency. Moreover, it aggravates the complexities of the personnel in
terms of covering the activities, which needs to be outsourced.
Based on the above challenges, one of the main questions, which generates during the
execution of the research is: Is the technology used by Aegis flexible enough for outsourcing
the business activities? Based on this qualitative question, the quantitative question, which can
be proposed to the employees of Aegis are:
 Are their profiles secured with anti-virus? In what frequency are training programs organized for the employees? What is the approach of the personnel towards stakeholder analysis?
Research design and methodology
In order to collect data on business outsourcing, the following methods are adopted:
Qualitative research
At the first instance, three managers of Aegis to be interviewed are selected in terms of
probability. Here, the approach of the researcher is to assess the attitude of the managers towards
the business activities to be outsourced. As a sequential step, the research proposes the planned
questions to the selected samples, that is the managers (Mackey & Gass, 2015). Within this, the
researcher takes special care of the fact that the individual sentiments of the managers are not
hurt. Herein lays the adherence to the Data Protection Act (1998). In case of unavailability of the
managers, the researcher has full right to collect the required data from relevant sources;
however it needs to be ensured that the referred source is authentic, valid and reliable.
Production of plagiarism and collusion free thesis papers in the earlier research would generate
trust, reliability and dependence on the researcher for giving their responses (Flick, 2015).

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Quantitative research
Here, the researcher selects descriptive design for efficient execution of the research. The
major drive behind this decision is to provide a detailed insight into the dynamics of business
outsourcing. The process involves studying the topic, referring to relevant sources, assessing
their importance in terms of the identified and specified objectives, preparing the questions for
50 employees of Aegis. Here, the research instrument is the survey, which enhances the clarity of
the researcher towards the employees’ approach towards business outsourcing (Mackey & Gass,
2015). Utilization of tables, charts and graphs enhances the clarity of the researcher about the
outsourcing practices adopted by Aegis personnel. The previous sentence is an answer for data
analysis. Here also compliance with Data Protection Act (1998) is most applicable in terms of
protecting the privacy of the employees, so that the responses provided by them are used only
the research purpose rather than commercial purposes. Along with this, the sources referred for
analyzing the collected data needs to be authentic, valid, reliable and free from plagiarism and
collusion (Flick, 2015).
Research limitations
For carrying out a research, the researcher attempts to execute the activities in an efficient
manner. This includes planning and evaluation of the undertaken activities in terms of the
identified and specified goals and objectives. However, there are certain limitations, which limit
the scope and arena of the researcher in terms of producing a fine quality research. These
limitations are mainly of time and finance (Mackey & Gass, 2015).
In order to provide facts about business outsourcing in detailed manner, the researcher
needs enough time. This is one of the main drawbacks, which results in the projects of less facts

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about the topic, business outsourcing. Typical example in this direction is the projection of
quantitative data instead of qualitative data or vice versa. Apart from this, the examples also
include referring to limited number of resources, which does not fulfill the criteria of descriptive
design (Mackey & Gass, 2015). The main reason for this limitation is lack of adequate financial
resources, which compels the researcher to conduct the survey and interview in a place, which is
just an ordinary place. Along with the inadequate availability of financial resources is a
compulsion towards surveying limited number of managers and employees of Aegis.
Financial limitations are the main agent, which deprives the researchers from producing
in-depth research. Time constraint is only an addition to these limitations, which adds to the
complexities of the researcher in terms of referring to such sources, which seem most relevant to
business outsourcing (Flick, 2015). As an example, due to the lack of adequate time and financial
resources, the researcher fails to refer to Aegis official website, which would have been one of
the relevant sources for presenting a quality research on business outsourcing.
Along with this, availability of adequate time would have enabled the researcher to
establish comparative study between Aegis and other companies. This would have brought
cultural diversity into the discussion.
Time schedule
Activities Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week
7
Week
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Studying the
topic
Gathering
information
about the topic
Developing aims,
objectives and
questions
Conducting
literature review
for the topic
Collecting data
from the samples
Analyzing the
response
provided by the
samples
Deducing
conclusions from
the data analysis
Suggesting
relevant
recommendations
Evaluation
Making the

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necessary
changes
Second round
evaluation
Final submission
Table: Action plan
(Source: created by the researcher)
Evaluation is an important activity, which is needed by the researcher for assessing the
progression on the right track. Maintaining consistency in the execution of evaluation brings to
the forefront the potential drawbacks. Spontaneity is needed for modification of these drawbacks.
Delving deep into the action plan, coloring of the weeks reflects the confidence of the researcher
in terms of completion of the activity within the stipulated week. Rating the performance helps in
assessing the performance in terms of the identified and the specified objectives.
Conclusion
This assignment emerges successful in providing an insight into the dynamics of business
outsourcing. Taking the example of Aegis makes the research authentic, reliable and trustworthy.
Conducting research on business outsourcing is an attempt of the researcher towards enhancing
the knowledge of the readers regarding their preconceived knowledge about business and the
terms and conditions needed for its outsourcing. Action plan is a summarization or itinerary for
the researcher regarding progressing with the research related activities. Insight into the

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significance of evaluation helps the researcher to assess the effectiveness, appropriateness and
feasibility of the undertaken steps.

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References and bibliography
Aegisglobal.com (2017), About Us, Retrieved 18th September 2017 from
https://www.aegisglobal.com/au/en/
Bhat, J. M., Fernandez, J., Kumar, M., & Goel, S. (2015). Business process outsourcing: learning
from cases of a global offshore outsourcing provider. In Handbook on Business Process
Management 2 (pp. 443-470). Springer Berlin Heidelberg.
Chou, S. W., Techatassanasoontorn, A. A., & Hung, I. H. (2015). Understanding commitment in
business process outsourcing relationships. Information & Management, 52(1), 30-43.
Flick, U. (2015). Introducing research methodology: A beginner's guide to doing a research
project. Sage.
Gerbl, M., McIvor, R., Loane, S., & Humphreys, P. (2015). A multi-theory approach to
understanding the business process outsourcing decision. Journal of World
Business, 50(3), 505-518.
Han, K., & Mithas, S. (2013). Information technology outsourcing and non-IT operating costs:
An empirical investigation. Mis Quarterly, 37(1).
Hiles, A., & Hon, F. B. C. I. (2016). E-Business Service Level Agreements: Strategies for Service
Providers, E-Commerce and Outsourcing. Rothstein Publishing.
Hirschheim, R., & Dibbern, J. (2014). Information technology outsourcing: towards sustainable
business value. In Information Systems Outsourcing (pp. 1-19). Springer Berlin
Heidelberg.

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Lacity, M. C., & Willcocks, L. P. (2013). Outsourcing business processes for innovation. MIT
Sloan management review, 54(3), 63.
Lacity, M. C., Solomon, S., Yan, A., & Willcocks, L. P. (2015). Business process outsourcing
studies: a critical review and research directions. In Formulating Research Methods for
Information Systems (pp. 169-251). Palgrave Macmillan UK.
Lacity, M., & Willcocks, L. (2014). Business process outsourcing and dynamic
innovation. Strategic Outsourcing: An International Journal, 7(1), 66-92.
Liu, S., & Deng, Z. (2015). Understanding knowledge management capability in business
process outsourcing: a cluster analysis. Management Decision, 53(1), 124-138.
Mackey, A., & Gass, S. M. (2015). Second language research: Methodology and design.
Routledge.
Rivard, S., & Aubert, B. A. (2015). Information technology outsourcing. Routledge.
Sople, V. V. (2016). BUSINESS PROCESS OUTSOURCING A SUPPLY CHAIN OF
EXPERTISES. PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd..
Vitasek, K. (2016). The vested outsourcing manual: a guide for creating successful business and
outsourcing agreements. Springer.
Willcocks, L. P., Lacity, M. C., & Sauer, C. (Eds.). (2017). Outsourcing and Offshoring Business
Services. Springer.
Wuyts, S., Rindfleisch, A., & Citrin, A. (2015). Outsourcing customer support: The role of
provider customer focus. Journal of Operations Management, 35, 40-55.

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Appendices
Appendix 1
Figure: Lifecycle of business process outsourcing
(Source: Rivard & Aubert, 2015)