Restatement of the problem
Organizations are currently under increased pressure to improve their performance and gain a competitive advantage along with continuous review of their operations. The aim of this is to be able to address threats emanating from changes in the external environment and harness the opportunities (Mani, Barua, & Whinston, 2010). IT outsourcing and business offshoring face numerous challenges, for instance incapacity of outsourced human capital to deliver customer expected service value and lack of clarity of contractual terms. This reduces motivation and increases employee turnover (Adeleye et al., 2004).
Development in the IT sector and Information System (IS) sector has resulted in leveraged technologies and threats of organizational quality improvement systems and adoption of equivalent quality improvement tools. Outsourcing of Information technology is associated with security risks. There have been increasing threats that IT outsourcing cannot be implemented across continents because of threat of data access by unintended users, threats of viruses and lack of device interoperability (Gibb & Buchanan, 2006). A study should, therefore, be conducted to investigate the viability and sustainability of IT outsourcing and offshoring.
Purpose of the Study
The aim of this research is to establish substantial courses that lead to organizations switching to IT business outsourcing and offshoring. Furthermore, there is a knowledge claim that IT business outsourcing and off-shoring has advantages thus the study will be conducted with an aim of probing into this knowledge claim, to come up with dependable evidence that truly supports this claim. IT business outsourcing comes with some risks. This study will, therefore, determine whether these risks could mean something to an organization that makes a decision of adopting IT business outsourcing and offshoring. The usage of IT business outsourcing has some public opinions. This study will establish the public opinion that users have and the alternative it is to the use of human labor.
Research Methods
Qualitative research methods will be used in this study. This method is superior compared to quantitative and mixed methods. It is regularly used to create possible leads and proposals which can eventually be used to invent a sensible and testable hypothesis. It does not rely on the sample size as compared to quantitative. It will, therefore, help to achieve the research purpose since the results of this research are based on human responses (Holloway, 1997).
The qualitative research designs used in this study include questionnaires and interviews. Questionnaires generate significant results with a small sample group. They are possibly used in research which involves keeping watch of the world around us so as to generate answers. In this research, questionnaires will be administered to the employees of these businesses and to the general public that have knowledge regarding the use of Outsourcing in Information technology. The importance of administering these questionnaires is that they cover a wider scope of contributions to the study. They are crucial in policy analysis (Beiske, 2007).
Interviews are much easy to plan and conduct. They answer significant questions more effectively and sufficiently than case studies. They also allow for multiplicity in responses, in addition to, the capability to adjust to new developments or matters during the research. The interviews will be critical in providing direct insight on the benefits as well as the challenges associated with IT outsourcing. Interviews and questionnaires provide more concise, cost effective and timely results compared to case studies (King & Horrocks, 2009).
For the above designs, data will be analyzed through interpretive technique. The data will be examined and interpreted through forming an intuition. “This impression will then be reported in a structured and quantitative form. Variables in this study are the dependent and independent variables” (Silverman, 2004).
Significance of the study
The findings of this research will help generate new knowledge on the factors that have led to the emergence and embarkation of IT outsourcing and off shoring. It will also determine the main variables that businesses consider when making IT outsourcing decisions. Finally, the paper will determine public concerns in relation to outsourcing and off shoring. This will help create new knowledge in the field of IT outsourcing.
Ethical protection of participants
Researchers have a basic responsibility to prevent participants from bodily and physiological harm during the research. Participants should not be depicted to risks bigger than those faced in their normal lives. Participants must be enquired about any factors in the process that might generate a risk. They should be counseled about actions they should take to eliminate hazards. The participants must be notified of the steps for carrying out the investigation within a stipulated time. For investigations involving individual behaviors, then the participants must be safeguarded from stress. In all occasions, the researchers must put into consideration the ethical allusions and psychological impacts for the participants (Federman & Hanna, 2003).
References
Adeleye, B., Annansignh, F., & Nunes, M. (2004). Risk management practices in IS outsourcing: An investigation into commercial banks in Nigeria. International Journal of Information Management, 24, 167-180.
Beiske, B. (2007). Research Methods: Uses and Limitations of Questionnaires, Interviews, and Case Studies. Munchen: GRIN Verlag.
Federman, D.D., & Hanna, E. K. (2003). Responsible research: a systems approach to protecting research participants. Washington: National academies press.
Gibb, F., & Buchanan, S. (2006). A framework for business continuity management. International Journal of Information Management, 26(2), 128-141.
Holloway, I. (1997). Basic concepts for qualitative research. Oxford: Blackwell science.
King, N., & Horrocks, C. (2009). Interviews in qualitative research. London: SAGE.
Mani, D., Barua, A., & Whinston, A. (2010). An empirical analysis of the impact of information capabilities design on business process outsourcing performance. MIS Quarterly, 34(1), 39-62.
Silverman, D. (2004). Qualitative research: theory, method and practice. London: SAGE.