Discussion-Outsourcing: A Strategic Advantage?

Outsourcing may provide tremendous advantages for firms. It may allow companies to specialize, reduce costs, and focus narrowly on the core competencies they deem strategic; however, companies also have to think about what they may lose both qualitatively and quantitatively. For example, when outsourcing, managers need to be certain that what they source from outside is not a key component of their value proposition.

A way to reduce those risks is to use an approach called vertical integration. The meaning of vertical integration is developing the ability to produce goods or services previously purchased or to actually buy a supplier or a distributor. It can take two forms: backward and forward. These forms relate to how the corporation moves in its supply chain to pursue the vertical integration. If the movement is towards the suppliers, it is called backward integration. Conversely, it is known as forward integration.

Using the module readings, Argosy University online library resources, and the Internet, research outsourcing. Based on your research, respond to the following:

What are the risks and benefits of the outsourcing approach?

What are the strategic advantages of outsourcing to vertically integrated firms?

Write your initial response in 300-500 words. Your response should be thorough and address all components of the discussion question in detail, include citations of all sources, where needed, according to the APA Style, and demonstrate accurate spelling, grammar, and punctuation.

Make sure your writing is clear, concise, and organized;
demonstrates ethical scholarship in accurate representation and attribution of sources; and
displays accurate spelling, grammar, and punctuation.

Writing and Formatting Standards

Research Based Papers (assignments where the focus is on a review of the literature)

- written in the third person
- should use current academic sources as the basis of the review
- need in text citations for any paraphrases
- all sources cited in the reference section needs to have an in text citation in the body of the text
- need quotation marks and in text citations for all quoted materials
- quoted material should be used to support student's writing and should be less than 10% of the paper
- 1 inch margins on all four sides
- Double spaced throughout the paper
- Times New Roman 12 point font
- title page per APA standards
- reference page per APA standards
- include page numbers

Reflection Papers (assignments where the focus is reflections on concepts)

- must follow the items in the research paper above, but can be written in the first person
- the reflection should be clearly communicated and should include current academic
literature for support

Case Studies (assignments where the focus is applying concepts to a case)

- must follow the items in the research paper above, but can be written in the first person
- the case analysis should be clearly communicated and should include current academic literature for support

Discussion Posts (assignment where the students discuss concepts)

- can be written in the first person
- do not need a title page
- should be written in the textbox and not uploaded as an attachment
- need in text citations for any paraphrasing
- need quotations and in text citations for quoted materials
- need a reference section at the end of the post

Writing Standards

- Writing is clear, coherent, and, fluid. Writing also is recursive in that it links ideas back to previously mentioned ideas. Writing also contains appropriate, consistent transitions between paragraphs and ideas help reader see the relationship between ideas.

- Paragraphs are well developed and appropriate: there are strong topic sentences, clear ideas that naturally lead reader through the writing.

The written piece is structured in a logical fashion that supports the presentation of complex content, including in the introduction and conclusion.

- Writing style is concise, engaging, insightful, and focused. It has clarity, depth, coherence, which strongly support the purpose of the writing.

- Rhetoric reflects a clear understanding of and directly appeals to audience by using appropriate terminology and background knowledge of the audience.

- Writing is basically error free in terms of mechanics. Grammar and mechanics help establish a sound scholarly argument and aid the reader in following the writer's logic.

- The discussion demonstrates a clear and scholarly understanding of subject matter. Information is discussed with clear and accurate definitions of unfamiliar terms and is thoroughly evaluated from all possible perspectives.

- References from article are used in an effective way to fully support the authenticity of the argument.

- Conclusions clearly& accurately reflect & evaluate multiple perspectives of an issue, while taking a clear stance. Any evidence that may be contradictory to expected outcomes is used to present a thorough evaluation of the issue.

- All written work should be proof read and checked for spelling and grammar errors.

Other APA and Style Considerations

- When writing an introduction, some approaches are best avoided. Avoid starting sentences with "The purpose of this essay is . . ." or "In this essay I will . . ." or any similar flat announcement of your intention or topic. The introduction provides an opportunity to capture the reader's attention with a "hook." It also indicates what the paper will be about and how you will approach the topic.

- Avoid starting a sentence with a numeral. Either write the numeral out, or rewrite the sentence with a different word first.

- Use figures for numbers 10 and above.

- Use words for numbers zero through nine.

- Use bold and centering for first-level headings, and put second-level headings in bold (with no italics) at the left margin. Capitalize all major words in both headings.

- Delete "Introduction" as a heading. First paragraph must speak for itself and be your introduction.

- Indent the first line of each paragraph five to seven spaces (1/2 inch).

- Capitalize all major words of titles and headings.

- Use first, second, third instead of firstly, secondly, etc.

- Beware of overly long or overly short paragraphs. Eliminate one-sentence paragraphs. An effective paragraph develops one central idea.

- Space between each paragraph should be one double space.

- Use commas before quotations that start with words "said" or "stated." For example, Smith said, "It is over." However, do not use commas when merging quotations into your own sentence. For example, Smith told us to "go home and rest."

- Direct quotations greater than 40 words must be blocked and indented. Block quotations do not have quotation marks (except those already included in the source material).

- Use italics for book and journal titles.

- Always start your references on a new page.

- Use bullets in moderation for academic writing. You can use seriation within a paragraph or sentence or as a numbered list.