Strategic Analysis: Contract Counsel's Outsourcing Decision in India

This case study provides a detailed analysis of Contract Counsel's decision to outsource services to India, examining whether it was the right strategic move. The analysis explores the responsibilities of the CEO, necessary organizational design changes, and required adjustments in Human Resource Management (HRM). It critically evaluates the advantages and disadvantages of overseas expansion, highlighting the importance of thorough research and surveys before venturing into new markets. The study concludes that the lack of adequate preparation and understanding of local dynamics hindered Contract Counsel's ability to effectively utilize the benefits of outsourcing, resulting in inefficient services that failed to meet the expectations of their US clients. The document suggests actionable steps for the company to rectify these issues and improve the success of their overseas operations. Desklib is a platform where you can find past papers and solved assignments for students.

Running head: ANALYSIS OF OUTSOURCING TO INDIA
Analysis of Outsourcing to India
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1ANALYSIS OF OUTSOURCING TO INDIA
Summary
The aim of this study is to solve queries regarding outsourcing of services of Contract
Counsel to India and whether the decision of outsourcing to India was the right decision or
not. Decisions that CEO should have taken are discussed along with the changes that must
occur within the organization as well as the human resource management are discussed.
Thereafter a critical analysis is conducted listing the advantages and disadvantages in
expanding overseas and how effective has Galbenski’s Contract Counsel been able to bring
about the changes. After which it is observed that substantial research and surveys needed to
be conducted by Contract Counsel before expanding. Based on the research, the company can
take informed decisions in recruiting locals, managing the operations of overseas units as also
introducing distinction between local and expatriate employees. To conclude, the lack of
research conducted by the company has made sure that they were not only unable to utilize
the benefits of the said expansion but could not even bring about the required changes
resulting in the services from overseas units being too ineffective and inefficient to seem
appealing for clients in United States.

2ANALYSIS OF OUTSOURCING TO INDIA
Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Discussion..................................................................................................................................3
Responsibility of the CEO.....................................................................................................3
Design changes required within the company.......................................................................4
Changes in HRM....................................................................................................................4
Bringing necessary changes...................................................................................................5
Critical Analysis.....................................................................................................................5
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................7
References..................................................................................................................................9

3ANALYSIS OF OUTSOURCING TO INDIA
Introduction
The study deals with providing solutions for queries regarding a case study on
whether outsourcing to India was the right move for Contract Counsel (Dahl, 2019).
Thereafter a critical analysis on the case study is presented accordingly. The report
explains what follow up actions the CEO of the company along with the board should
have conjured, the changes in design necessary for the company, and the required
changes in the human resource management as also mentioning how to bring about
these changes. Following this, the report conducts a critical analysis where both
positives and negatives of the ambitious expansion is discussed. The study then ends
with concluding notes which are based on observations derived from the answers to
the queries as well as observations drawn from the critical analysis.
Discussion
Responsibility of the CEO
As per Pearce (2014), It is a clever decision to take the initiative of outsourcing
services overseas from cheaper markets like India. However, it is wiser to do a research
beforehand on quality of resources available among a variety of locations in India so that the
company can take an informed decision in identifying the specific location in India that
would be most useful for the firm Contract Counsel. According to Xiaopeng & Pheng (2013),
the success of investing overseas may be risky but has immense benefits which depends on
the following factors –
 Differences in language and dialect
 Work ethics and professionalism of local resources
 Obtaining licenses and clearances for setting up an overseas branch in a heavily
regulated overseas economy like India

4ANALYSIS OF OUTSOURCING TO INDIA
 Existing differences in domain knowledge regarding formulating legal documents for
clients residing in the United States
Hence the first and foremost objective for the CEO of Contract Counsel should be to work on
the above mentioned factors.
Design changes required within the company
The company needs to conduct extensive research and surveys on recognizing the
business needs so that eligibility of the recruits can be framed accordingly. More importantly
the company needs to connect with the locals in order to identify the cultural similarities and
differences which can help utilizing the advantages while recruits should also be motivated to
fit in the company’s work culture (Tripathy & Eppinger, 2013). As a start ideas that are
working for other businesses which have already expanded should be incorporated along with
customizing the goals and metrics of the organization according to updated challenges and
requirements as well as focus on making them client centric (How & Yeoh, 2013). This is
because expanding overseas will highlight the shortcomings in this regard. The other
important change should come in the form of settling with a uniform language nomenclature
as also use of a common accent prompting necessary training to be imparted to the local
recruits.
Changes in HRM
In expanding overseas the most noticeable benefits will come from embracing
International Human Resource Management (IHRM) (Feng, Barry & Rees, 2014). One of the
key contributors to competitive advantage of business is an effective human resource
management. IHRM traditionally focusses on expatriation, however the four key processes
concerned with IHRM are selection and recruitment, to train and develop as well as

5ANALYSIS OF OUTSOURCING TO INDIA
repatriation and compensation of expatriates. The major differences between domestic and
international HRM are the following
 Activities of HR
 Need for a broader perspective
 Greater involvement with employees’ personal life
 Exposure to risks
 Broader external influences
 Change in emphasis due to mixed work force (locals and expatriates)
This means a thorough overhaul of the HR operating model and several organizational roles
must follow the expansion of the company failing which the company is bound to face
inefficiencies that will far outweigh the benefits (Chung & Furusawa, 2016).
Bringing necessary changes
To bring the necessary changes within the company, it is required to summarize the
factors that might affect the performance of the company and identify ways to address them.
Firstly, the company must redefine the recruitment process along with the eligibility criteria
by bringing a distinction between the process for expatriates and that of the locals (Garnaut,
Fang & Song, 2013). After noting the cultural similarities as well as differences from the
observations based on researches carried upon the locals, strengths and weaknesses of the
overseas unit should be identified. By consulting with these strengths and weaknesses,
needful changes should be incorporated in the ways assigning and executing tasks.
Critical Analysis
There may exist a variety of risks in expanding businesses overseas however the
potential benefits that can be obtained are immense. This is because, by globalizing a
company the portfolio of clients of the company widens exponentially and presents near

6ANALYSIS OF OUTSOURCING TO INDIA
unlimited scope of earnings which becomes completely dependent on the service providing
capacity of the company (Lin et al., 2014). This capacity of the firm is directly related to the
amount of workforce employed by the company and they can scale in multitudes of the
number of new service centres the company builds in offshore locations. Furthermore
globally widening of client base brings diversification, the key advantage of which is that the
company does not have to run the risk of depending upon a single market which can hurt the
company in economic headwinds, environmental challenges, political issues among other
risks. As a result it is always recommended for businesses, in this case Contract Counsel to
expand globally and adapt to the new set of challenges that the process offers (Dahl, 2019).
Expanding overseas may appear very appealing for most firms but there also lay a
variety of risks that have caused major concerns in several businesses. Since the
process involves significant investments, companies that are unable to obtain desired results
can be so negatively affected, they may get bankrupt. Inefficient management and operating
models that are not suited for globalized businesses are the key factors at play here. Such is
the case here for Contract Counsel as they seem to have hurried to the Indian market without
conducting the necessary research and surveys. This means they are employing the same
business strategies that they used to employ in USA for the respective clients prior to
investing overseas and the lack of transformation of business processes is what is truly
hurting the company. Among other common risks are staying compliant and avoiding
corruption, managing different currencies or even international terms of accounting. In
staying compliant, companies must keep track of all the licenses, registrations and permits
that need to be acquired their compliance towards the respective market (Saharum, Songip &
Baroto, 2016). Some countries may offer a very streamlined compliance procedure while in
other countries like India illegal measures like bribes have traditionally been employed to
have the objectives met. In expanding the business to a particular economy, it is common to

7ANALYSIS OF OUTSOURCING TO INDIA
gain local client who pay in local currencies instead of using that of the country of origin
(here, USA) of the company, in this case Contract Counsel. Here poor showings of the
foreign currency like the Indian Rupee against the US dollars will negatively affect the
company’s earnings (Monica & Santhiyavalli, 2017). International accounting terms involves
adopting to the variety of taxation regulation of each foreign country where the company has
invested (Pomerleau & Cole, 2015). The companies must comply with all the tax regulations
ensuring proper procedures are maintained failing which the government of the respective
country can impose hefty penalties on the firm. Contract Counsel may be affected by the
fluctuating Indian rupee but have effectively dealt with the other factors and still are tottering
in doldrums. These are enough reasons why it must be noted that globalization a business and
or expanding overseas is not for everyone.
It is clear that the challenges faced by companies in globalizing and expanding
businesses overseas are manifold and equally concerning. Still, if a business is committed, it
can effectively do away with most of the mentioned challenges. This suggests that for
companies to expand in new markets overseas like India, the last thing a company should do
is to hurry because in doing so, not only that the business will fail to comply with the rules
and regulations of the new market, they will with all certainty struggle with informed
decision making skills, establishing a connect with the locals or in identifying any advantages
the local recruits may offer in serving their clients (Pittman, 2016). This is where surveys and
research needs to be carried out on the new market beforehand and businesses with effective
leadership at the board level will have few problems in ticking the checkboxes as none of
these are radically new business ideas and are in practise in all leading firms. Adding to this,
the scope of earnings that diversification of the client base of companies can offer is simply
hard to ignore especially when it reduces risks by enable them hedge their client base from
different economies. These observations only prove that the concept of ‘outsourcing to India’

8ANALYSIS OF OUTSOURCING TO INDIA
itself is a noble idea taken by the board of Contract Counsel however they failed to take the
follow up actions to ensure the success. Yet, it is still possible for Galbenski’s Contract
Counsel to bounce back if they undertake necessary changes.
Conclusion
The study begins by providing solutions for four queries relating to outsourcing of
Contract Counsel to India and it is observed that the boardroom should direct the respective
departments to conduct researches based on which the Company should undergo the
necessary changes. From the critical analysis it is observed that the lack of research on the
new market and the local recruits have affected the company in such a way that not only
could Contract Counsel utilize the advantages offered by globalization, by not taking follow
up actions like training local recruits with the domain of federal laws of United States they
have rendered their services from overseas units ineffective, inefficient and hence
unappealing to their US clients. However, it is observed that it is not too late for the company
to incorporate most of the changes and therefore the company should focus on bringing these
changes to ensure success of expanding overseas which by itself is an encouraging concept.

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References
Chung, C., & Furusawa, M. (2016). 10 The HRM of Foreign MNCs Operating in Europe.
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Dahl, D. (2019). Case Study: Was Outsourcing to India the Right Move?, Law and Taxation
Article. [online] Inc.com. Available at:
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2019].
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10ANALYSIS OF OUTSOURCING TO INDIA
Pittman, P. (2016). Alternative approaches to the governance of transnational labor
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Pomerleau, K., & Cole, A. (2015). International tax competitiveness index 2015. Tax
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