Outsourcing

When should organizations contract out services traditionally produced in house? Is outsourcing another ephemeral management fad, or is it an efficient and effective means of delivering sevices and of adding value? What are the characteristics of strategically sound contracting decisions, and how can organizations prosper from the outsourcing revolution? These questions are among those tackled by Simon Domberger. Based on over a decade of research and consulting experience, its conclusions have many practical implications. The book develops an analytical decision-making framework for the assessment of contracting options, and has relevance in both the private and public sectors. Containing a wealth of illustrations and over 25 case studies, the coverage is fully international. Over 50 companies and public sector organizations are discussed, including well-known names such as Microsoft, BP, Marks & Spencer, and Samsung. This book will be valuable to all those seeking a better understanding of the outsourcing phenomenon, and useful to managers, strategists, management and business consultants, public sector administrators, policy makers, as well as to students of economics, business, management and public administration. Pre-publication Endorsements John Kay, Said Business School Oliver Hart, Harvard University Rob Grant, Georgetown University

Should we be doing everything ourselves, or might it be better to contract some tasks out to others? Could they do them better and cheaper than we can? More and more state and local governments are asking these questions, and while there are many answers on the Federal level, these answers often don't apply lower down the line. O'Looney's book provides precisely the guidance that state and local managers need to decide to outsource, and then step-by-step advice on how to proceed. O'Looney takes managers through the intricacies of contract outsourcing and administration, while appreciating the importance of government. His book is not an argument for privatization, rather, it is an affirmation of government and the benefits of its many services.

This book examines influential ideas within Management Information Systems (MIS). Leading international contributors summarize key topics and explore a variety of issues currently being discussed in the field. They re-visit influential ideas such as socio-technical theory, systems thinking, and structuration theory and demonstrate their relevance to newer ideas such as re-engineering, hybrid management, knowledge workers, and outsourcing. In locating MIS within an interdisciplinary context, particularly in the light of rapid technological changes, this book will form the link between past and future approaches to MIS.

This comprehensive volume provides an integrated and original approach to intangible resource management and an evaluation of its contribution to the establishment of competitive advantage in the market place.

Corporations are undergoing dramatic changes with significant implications for how human resources are best managed and organized. There is a growing consensus that human capital is critical to an organization's success. But is there a consensus about how the HR function itself should be organized? Or if change is in fact occurring? Creating a Strategic Human Resources Organization, the second study by the Center for Effective Organizations at the University of Southern California on the HR function in large corporations, measures how changes in the business environment affect human resources and, consequently, whether HR is becoming a strategic business partner. A follow-up to the 1995 report, this edition compares new data collected in 1998 with the original study to note changes and improvements in the selected corporations. This publication is part of the CEO report funded by the Human Resource Planning Society and the corporate sponsors of the Center for Effective Organizations.

Drawing on more than twenty-five years experience consulting and training on project management in companies such as NCR, AT&T, and 3M, J. Davidson Frame updates and expands what he introduced in the first edition of The New Project Management in 1994-a set of core competencies for managerial success in a corporate climate where downsizing, outsourcing, and employee empowerment are a way of life. This new edition focuses on the hottest areas in project management today-augmenting and expanding the existing coverage of risk management and estimating, and including three all-new chapters on critical issues that did not even exist in 1994.

Nationally recognized scholars and practitioners examine opportunities in which services traditionally provided by local governments are offered by the private sector though a contract or are transferred to a private business completely. Many large U.S. cities have contracted services for many years. With the movement to rightsize governments in recent years there has been renewed interest by local governments in similar ventures. Privatization, in its many forms, is now seen as a viable alternative to traditional ways of providing public services and can bring substantial benefits to residents. With greater accountability being demanded and pressures on local officials to hold the line on or reduce taxes, efforts to find innovative service delivery methods will probably increase. Cities, such as Atlanta, Indianapolis, and Charlotte, are examples showing that contracts with private businesses can work to benefit all parties. Local officials must move ahead cautiously, and not all attempts at privatization or contracting have succeeded. Some cities, after an evaluation, have decided to provide services with municipal employees.