Information Systems Critical Thinking Mod 6 - Essay Example

The IT Department The IT Department In any organization whether large or small, the IT Department is an essential service to itssuccess. This is because of the world’s an emerging trend of moving from the Old Stone Age periods of doing everything manually, to the modern era of computers (Brownlie, 2010). Computers have become so significant to people that it is hard to imagine a life without them. Advantages of Outsourcing the IT Department The outsourced companies bring swiftness and expertise to the table that may not be in the employees in the, IT Department of a firm.

This is because the firms are specialized in the IT field and invested in technical equipment. There will be a reduction in operations and recruitments. This is because the organization will not incur the costs of hiring in house personnel due to the outsourcing factor that eludes the need of hiring. Outsourcing helps to focus on the core business of the organization (Brownlie, 2010). The burden of handling technological entities associated with data transcriptions in the IT sector have been conveniently expunged from the organization.

This is a massive relief to the company and, in turn, enables the business to center on its core aims. Finally, there is a better provision of service, and they can easily implement a modern technology in the business market. Also, they easily select the most suited equipment and software that best appeals to the company’s needs (Caussese, 2008). This is remarkably realized because of the resources in the IT firm that help yield better results as compared to the in-house IT Department. Another reason is their vast experience in the IT sector and service provision.

Disadvantages of Outsourcing the IT Department Outsourcing has disadvantages. Research shows that 20%-35% of outsources contracts are, in reality, renewed (Kutchinsky, 2009). This is mainly because of the poor services rendered. Outsourcing as a disaster was eloquently expressed by Beth Cohen, head of Luth PC Specialists, Inc. There was a corporation in Dayton, which opted to outsource majority of its IT production to an international company about half a decade ago (McCarthy, 2012). After about a year of outsourcing, the corporation noticed that there was a massive loss in quality for both IT support and production.

The organization decided to terminate the contract and reemploy their old workers. The company ended up getting a majority of their old workers back, but at a superior salary than in the past. Most individuals would imagine that the story ends there. Nevertheless, as tough as it is to deem, the organization is, in reality, considering outsourcing again. The company thinks that it will be special this time. It will be exciting to see what will occur to the firm (Kutchinsky, 2009). Below are other disadvantages of outsourcing and why a company should keep its IT Department.

Breach of security and threat to confidentiality plays a significant role as to why outsourcing should not be considered (Leavitt, 2009). Since most records nowadays are filed in computers, outsourcing for services from an outside company grants them access to all their records. The outsourced company may reveal the records to competitors or even worse reveal confidential files to the public. The quality of the work is compromised. This is mainly because such subsidiaries are all about profits (Leavitt, 2009).

They, therefore, reduce their expenses in order to profit from the parent organization. This is, in turn, leads to poor service delivery. The outsourced company synchronizes deliverables in that they, at times, bring substandard quality, poor time management in terms of service delivery as there are stretched time frames and inappropriate categorization. All this can be easily maintained and controlled with in-house IT Department (Leavitt, 2009). Since many outsourced companies have many contracts that they need to uphold, they tend to focus on basic entities enforced by multiple organizations (McCarthy, 2012).

This leads to less consumer focus and more profits for them because all companies vary in the way they integrate their services to their consumers. Lastly, outsourcing leads to unhealthy publicity. It leads to unemployment and loss of jobs. The customers to have a negative vibe towards the company and may tend not to use its products or services (Leavitt, 2009). They opt for other companies providing the same services. Outsourcing may seem as the better option when it comes to trying to elevate the company.

If a company does have an IT Department that cannot implement a vital project, then it is better to outsource after careful scrutiny and vetting of the IT firms. It is highly not recommended to lay off workers in the IT Department. The company can instead bring up projects to sharpen and enhance the skills of its employees, and this will help to reduce outsourcing. References Brownlie, I. (2010). Unemployment causes: A legal and diplomatic encyclopedia. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Caussese, A. (2008). Self-determination of peoples: Why I got laid off. New York: Cambridge University Press. Kutchinsky, B. (2009). Advantages and disadvantages of outsourcing. Business Weekly, 14(2): 47-64. Leavitt, T. (2009). Outsourcing a business. Harvard Business Review, 24(3): 26-28. McCarthy, J. (2012). The effects of outsourcing an organization. New York: Oxford University Press.