Impact of IT Outsourcing in the Tertiary Sector - Essay Example

Impact of IT Outsourcing in the Tertiary Sector Introduction Since last decade, a rapid change has been observed in tertiary sector of the United Kingdom, in terms of the development of trend of IT outsourcing. Nowadays, business organizations and firms are outsourcing their IT jobs and tasks, in order to save the resources, as well as, acquire better quality at lower costs. Researches and studies have indicated that service sector of the United Kingdom has been positively, as well as, negatively affected by the impact of IT outsourcing.

In terms of definition, when an IT task is subcontracted out of the organization, it is referred as IT outsourcing. (Bragg, pp. 11-13, 2006) Nowadays, offshore IT outsourcing has advanced rapidly, as more and more companies are outsourcing their designing and manufacturing processes of IT products out of the country, especially in Asian countries.Case Study: McDonaldsThis paper has chosen McDonalds in the United Kingdom as the case study, in order to understand the consequences and impact of IT outsourcing in tertiary sector, and particularly, McDonalds.

Literature review has indicated that McDonalds has also turned to outsource its IT processes for maintenance of quality service at lower costs. Studies have noted that a seven-year IT outsourcing deal has recently been signed by the fast-food giant, McDonalds. (Morales, pp. 24-25, 2006) The role of a third party is played by Affiliated Computer Services, which will be providing the IT services to McDonalds worth millions of dollars. In specific, IT infrastructure needs and requirements of McDonalds will be fulfilled by the abovementioned third-party firm by the provision of back-end support, as well as, help desk assistance to McDonalds, particularly, in its operations in the UK region.

(Morales, pp. 26-28, 2006) Moreover, a centralized office will be established by the Affiliated Computer Services for the provision of IT support to McDonalds according to the agreement. In the result, work of more than eighty-five percent of IT workers of McDonalds will be absorbed by this office, which will result in the lowering of maintenance and administrative costs.McDonalds is also involved in outsourcing its IT requirements for its farms, in order to fulfill the needs of its millions of customers around the globe.

For instance, phone-ordering operations of a local franchise of McDonalds in the United Kingdom has been outsourced to a local call center, which has resulted in costs lowering, as well as, quality maintenance of the tasks. In this regard, IT outsourcing plays a vital and imperative role in the development and advancement of tertiary sector in the United Kingdom, as well as, in other parts of the globe.Target Source In order to understand the impact of IT outsourcing in the tertiary sector, marketing executives, financial offers, and individuals at managerial positions in McDonalds will be interviewed during the study, which will provide an insight into the IT operations and workings that have been outsourced by the company.

QuestionsDuring the study, following are some of the questions that will be asked to the abovementioned individuals of McDonalds Company:Positive/negative changes after the outsourcing of IT products and servicesDoes quality improve every time during IT outsourcingChallenges faced by the company during IT outsourcingFinancial benefits of IT outsourcingImpact of IT outsourcing on employees, and their responsesOverall effect of IT outsourcing on the service sectorConclusionConclusively, paper has tried to understand and discuss different aspects of IT outsourcing that will be studied, in order to analyze the impact of outsourcing of IT products and services in the tertiary sector.

It is hoped that the paper will be beneficial for the students, teachers, experts, and nonprofessionals in the better understanding of the topic.ReferencesAlbert Morales. (2006). Competition, Choice, and Incentives in Government Programs. Rowman & Littlefield.Steven M. Bragg. (2006). Outsourcing. John Wiley & Sons.