Proposal — CIS 8389 Advanced Topics in Information Technology

Topic:

Global/Offshore IT Outsourcing as a new IT Outsourcing Phenomenon and Trend. Research focus on the origins, developmental stages, critical success factors, and impact on today’s IT Business World.

Faculty: Joane Smithe, Assistant Professor

Student: Ralph Lee (ID: 123-45-6789)

* This student has provided research assistance to Dr. Smithe for a year on projects related to IT personnel skills and IT outsourcing. Ralph has rich knowledge in intercultural communication draw from her M.A. in Applied Linguistics at GSU, which Ralph received in 2001.

Course Objectives:

At the completion of this course, the student will understand and be able to articulate global/ offshore IT outsourcing as a new IT phenomenon, its origin, its development, its success factors, its impact on the US and global IT business world, and how cultural factors influence the success and development of offshore IT outsourcing projects. Knowledge gained will include an understanding of why offshore IT outsourcing has emerged as a new trend based on multiple case analysis of major offshore countries (e.g., India, Israel, the Phillipines), an understanding of the motivations for U.S. corporations and offshore countries to engage in IT outsourcing, the developmental stages that firms employing offshore IT outsourcing encounter. In addition, the student will identify challenges and obstacles faced by both the outsourcing client firm and the vendor firm, especially the importance of cultural and language issues that influence the process, and a focused understanding on how China is different from other successful offshore countries using theories of intercultural communications and cultural differences. The research will also touch on a very recent outsourcing trend -- Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), with an analysis of how it is emerging as the next innovative trend for gaining competitive advantages.

Description of Assignments/Activity for the Course:

The student’s grade will be comprised of three main components:

First, the student will provide a summary and annotated bibliography of the available literature related to offshore IT outsourcing, intercultural communications, and Business Process Outsourcing. The student provides approximately a one-half page summary of each article read.

The readings will be drawn from practitioner, academic, and periodical publications. This first part of the student’s grade will be based upon the comprehensive nature of the literature reviewed. The search should generate a broad understanding of the origin, development, critical success factors of offshore IT outsourcing and intercultural communication applications related to international business with a focus on conducting offshore IT outsourcing projects. Where appropriate, the student should integrate theoretical arguments gleaned from the academic literature with reports from the practitioner magazines.

Second, the student will structure and integrate the knowledge compiled from the above research into a 20-page paper that is well organized and clearly written. This paper will contain an analysis of the existing body of knowledge and of the cross-disciplinary application of offshore IT outsourcing, intercultural business communications, and Business Process Outsourcing.

Finally, the student will be asked to undergo an oral exam administered by the faculty member. This exam will be one hour in length and will assess the student’s ability to assimilate the knowledge learned and ability to present this knowledge. The exam will consist of a 20 to 30 minute presentation by the student as well as responding to questions from the faculty member.

Schedule of Assignments and Activities for the Course:

Week / Activity
Aug. 25 / Research on academic theories and business practices of IT outsourcing.
Sep. 1 / Research on academic theories and business practices of IT outsourcing.
Submission of annotated bibliography summarizing relevant research.
Sep. 8 / Research on offshore IT outsourcing and related cases studies.
Sep. 15 / Research on offshore IT outsourcing and related cases studies.
Sep. 22 / Research on offshore IT outsourcing and related cases studies.
Submission of annotated bibliography summarizing relevant research.
Sep. 29 / Research on intercultural communication theories and applications related to
offshore IT outsourcing, and Business Process Outsourcing.
Oct. 6 / Research on intercultural communication theories and applications related to
offshore IT outsourcing, and Business Process Outsourcing.
Submission of annotated bibliography summarizing relevant research
Oct. 13 / Outline of Paper Due
Oct. 20 / Writing and Additional Research as required or directed.
Oct. 27 / 1st Draft of Paper Due
Nov.3 / Revisions, and Additional Research and Writing
Nov.10 / Revisions, and Additional Research and Writing
Nov.17 / 2nd Draft of Paper Due
Nov.24 / Revisions, and Additional Research and Writing
Dec. 1 / Revisions, and Additional Research and Writing
Dec. 8 / Final Draft of Paper Due
Dec. 15 / Oral Exam

Grading Requirements

Activity 1: The research component of the project will be graded primarily on the depth of research and the quality of the summary and discussion of key points from each article. A standard citation format with title, author, publication, citation, date, and summary of the key points will be followed. This activity will constitute thirty percent (30%) of the student’s grade.

Activity 2: The paper will be graded on the quality of both content and presentation. The final copy will be submitted via Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF. Preliminary versions may be submitted via email. Quality of content will be graded based upon the following: readability, flow, consistency, logic, and cross-disciplinary value to the IT academic and business communities. Quality of presentation will be based upon the following: grammar, organization, and substantive discussion/analysis. This activity will constitute sixty percent (60%) of the student’s grade.

Activity 3: The oral presentation will be graded based on the student’s ability to concisely present the main points and conclusions of the paper. The oral exam will include 10-20 questions that assess the student’s knowledge of offshore IT outsourcing, and intercultural communication practices related to IT outsourcing. This activity will constitute ten percent (10%) of the student’s grade.

Tentative Bibliography of Readings to be Covered:

[This list will be expanded, as more readings on global/offshore outsourcing are located]

1.  Hofstede, G. (1986). “Cultural differences in teaching and learning,” International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 10, 301-320.

2.  Stewart, E. (1987). “American assumptions and values: Orientation to action,” in L.F. Luce & E.C.Smith (Eds.). Toward internationalism: Readings in cross-cultural communication (pp. 241-246). Cambridge, MA: Newbury House.

3.  http://geert-hofstede.com Geert Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions Theory.

4.  Carmel, E. & Agarwal, R. (2002). “The Maturation of offshore sourcing of information technology work,” MIS Quarterly Executive, Vol. 1 No.2, 65-76.

5.  M.A. Smith et al. (1996). “Offshore outsourcing of software development and maintenance: A framework for issues,” Information and Management, 31, 165-175.

  1. Carmel, E. & Agarwal, R. (2001). “Tactical approaches for alleviating distance in global software development,” IEEE Software, 22-29.

7.  Journal of IT Cases and Applications: Special Issue on “Global Software Outsourcing”

Editorial Preface (see list of articles contained in the special issue, below).

“Is e-Commerce Driving Outsourcing to Its Limits?”

S.C. Palvia, Long Island University, C.W. Post Campus

“Risks And Effects Of Is/It Outsourcing: A Securities Market Assessment”

Daniel A. Peak, John C. Windsor, James A. Conover, University of North Texas

“Initial Selective Information Technology Outsourcing: An Exploratory Study of

Cases of Large Organizations in Mexico”

Carlos J. Navarrete, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona

James B. Pick, University of Redlands

“A Framework for Global IT Outsourcing Management: Key Influence Factors and Strategies”

Ned Kumar, FedEx Services

Prashant C. Palvia, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro

“The Expert Opinion: An Interview with Jagdish R. Dalal, Principal, Dalal Associates”

Previously, VP, E-Business and CIO of Carrier Corporation

Shailendra C. Jain Palvia, Long Island University, C.W. Post Campus

Book Review

Global Software Teams: Collaborating Across Borders and Time Zones

By Erran Carmel, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, Inc., 1999

Vijay K. Vemuri, Long Island University, C.W. Post Campus

  1. http://www.outsourceglobal.org/index.htm Center for Global Outsourcing (contains comprehensive information about Business Process outsourcing, IT outsourcing across different world regions and in different industries)
  2. “Companies going offshore to outsource IT need to learn how to talk about this increasingly sensitive subject,” http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=12800945
  3. ‘IBM to step up offshore outsourcing.” http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/07/23/1058853120040.html
  4. “Bridging the offshore gap: How Siberlink makes distributed software development work” http://www.siberlink.com/paper.bridging.the.gap.shtml
  5. “One example of software outsourcing company in India,” http://www.indianindex.com/
  6. ‘One example of offshore IT outsourcing provider,” http://www.net2life.com/index.htm
  7. “U.S. ASP, now provide IT outsourcing service – interesting new trend, new type of service, extended scope of service/business,” http://www.ixiondev.com/index.aspx

15.  “China: The Next Big Wave in Offshore Outsourcing,” http://www.bpo-outsourcing-journal.com/issues/jun2003/everest.html

16.  http://www.outsourcing-center.com