OUTSOURCING IN ORGANISATIONS: PROSPECTS AND CHALLENGES

Abstract

Outsourcing is a concept that has evolved in great measure in the field of business during the last decade and a half. It is considered as the act of transferring or delegating to an external service provider the operation and management of aspects of a business.

Outsourcing can be of benefit to a company provided it enters the right relationship with the right vendor, evaluated and managed appropriately.

This article presents the findings from a research carried out to identify the impact of outsourcing on Ghanaian industries citing Ghacem as a study area. The study covered the two branches of Ghacem namely Tema and Takoradi, as well as some of its vendor companies.

Both primary and secondary data was used for the study.

Findings from the study showed that many of the non-core functions of an organisation such as transport, and utility services and plant security can be outsourced. Improvements such as high productivity, efficiency and cost reduction and control may be achieved through outsourcing. However, it is possible that there will be the problem of lack of loyalty from the employees of the outsourced companies.