在英国金融服务外包产业亚洲离岸市场外文翻译.doc

在英国金融服务外包产业亚洲离岸市场外文翻译 外文翻译原文Outsourcing in the UK Financial Services Industry:The Asian Offshore MarketMaterial Source: CRIS Discussion Paper Series?2004.I Author: Chris O.Odindo ,Stephen Diacon,Christine Ennew 3 CONCEPTUAL CONTEXT Traditionally,companies have tended to distinguish between commoditised aspects of their business processes and their core competencies.The former are generally thought to be appropriate for outsourcing,while the latter are usually retained in house.There is some evidence to suggest that distinction is being blurred.Last year,for example,Templeton Blake outsourced work that they previously thought was a core activity being done by highly paid financial analysts in the UK.In defence of their decision,Mr.Brian OKeefe-the Managing Director,pointed out that it now costs his firm ninety per cent less to have that particular activity done overseas.Indeed,empirical evidence suggests that the range of applications currently outsourced in the financial services sector is no longer restricted to commoditised ones only.A 2003 survey of decision makers in the UK financial services sector by the Financial World revealed that over 75 per cent of 100 respondents believed that there is a growing tendency to outsource what has been until now core business activities. As well as the issue of choice of activity to outsource,UK finance houses are confronted with having to decide on the suitability,or otherwise,of certain offshore locations and providers.Choices are widening as traditional locations such as India face growing competition from other Asian countries that are adopting increasingly aggressive marketing strategies.In addition to the problems associated with selecting the correct location,businesses also have to be sufficiently equipped to enable them identify and make decisions about who the credible providers are. It is also important that the limitations and challenges of remote operations are recognised,and dealt with,by firms.In addition to the usual challenges associated with managing and monitoring relationships at arms length,remote locations can introduce particular difficulties with respect to the provision of customer service.Increasingly customers express anxiety and discomfort at the prospect of using overseas call centres Recent polls from credible pollsters like MORI and MITAL appear to show that a majority of the UK public dislike outsourcing and dealing with their financial affairs through overseas call centres.However,growing globalisation certainly gives consumers the choice of having their calls routed to automated services or being served in person through foreign call centres.Clearly some consumers will prefer the latter. The challenges of outsourcing are not only restricted to possible adverse consumer reactions.As the practice moves up the value chain and starts to encompass more complex business processes,firms should be concerned about the migration of knowledge to providers and other third parties,and the impact that this may have on their own competitive bases. Given the strategic importance of outsourcing it is imperative that organisations have a thorough understanding of the issues and processes involved.There is a growing literature on the subject from both academic and practitioner sources which tries to understand both why and how outsourcing occurs.Some of this literature is discussed next.This section starts by defining the concept of outsourcing.It then briefly explores the conceptual discussions around the key decision points of outsourcing decision-making processes. 3.1 DEFINITION OF OUTSOURCING Outsourcing describes a situation in which an organisation allows all or part of its business processes to be undertaken by third party providers.Some commentators see the outsourcer as just another supplier to the organisation while others suggest that outsourcers make significant contributions to the firms operations.Outsourcing offshoreor offshoring as it is sometimes describedis different from on or-near shoring.In the former,activities are transferred to other organisations in foreign locations while in the latter,the UK company has parts of its operations undertaken by others in the same geographical area or in areas of cultural similarity /.land and Canada respectively.The firm can also strategically locate to overseas locations like Malaysia or India through a number of business models.These can be hybrid /.nt venture partnerships,Build Operate and TransferBOT operationsor captives Outsourcing as a concept is not new;what is new appears to be the way in which organisations increasingly use outsourcing to try and gain competitive advantages,most significantly through the transfer of business operations from high to low cost parts of the world. 3.2 CORE COMPETENCIES AND CAPABILITIES Competenciesor capabilitiesare the particular characteristics an organisation needs in order to create unique customer value.They are normally skill or knowledge /.vice design or customer serviceas opposed to actual products or physical assetsPrahalad and Hamel,1990;Quinn and Hilmer,1994.All organisations need a particular set of competencies or capabilities in order to operate in a particular market.Those competencies or capabilities where a firm has particular strength relative to the competition are often described as core competencies and provide the basis on which competitive advantage can be built.Outsourcing typically involves making a distinction between a firms core and non-core competencies.In established models of outsourcing,a firm will retain activities related to its core competencies in-house and will look to outsource those activities related to non-core competencies orcapabilities. Clear distinctions between core and non-core activities are fundamentally important.These allow an organisation to focus more,in terms of resources and management time,on what it can do best.Without clarity,and a well-conceived strategic outsourcing direction,the firm may find it has invested resources into non-core parts of its business at the expense of core ones. The fact that suitably developed core competencies determine competitive advantages meansthat they must be protected.Quinn and Hilmer1994advise firms not to give third parties access to any knowledge or skills that underlie their core activities.This would deny others the chance to enter their firms competitive space as well as strategically block potential competitors.Hondas strategic block is,for instance,around its small motor design.Consequently,it does not allow any third party access to this area of its business operations. 3.3 DECISIONS ON WHAT TO OUTSOURCE Whilst IT remains amongst the more widely outsourced activities,companies are increasingly using external providers for a range of other activities higher up their value chains. Most are seeking external capabilities for such parts of their processes as human resources,payroll,Outsourcing in The UK Financial Services Industry-The Asian Offshore Market Nottingham University Business School audit,finance and accounting,and transcriptions. In the UK financial services sector context industry analysts such as Datamonitor have highlighted changes in the nature and scope of activities being outsourced.These changes can be attributed to the fact that many organisations have recently started to reassess their business processes in efforts to try and realise greater benefits from outsourcing.There are numerous reasons why firms are making such reassessments.These include:first,greater pressures on margins which,in turn,drive the need for improved operational efficiencies;second,the need to refocus on core competencies in order to improve competitiveness and third,growing numbers of easily available and capable specialist providers.Added to this is the fact that technological advances now make it easier for business to be conducted across many locations and partnerships. Reassessments of business operations raise important strategic concerns about what should,be retained in house,what can be provided by external firms and the way in which relationships with external parties are and should be managed.In principle,virtually any activity can be outsourced although not /.ivities that require face to face customer interactions.In practice,however,the need to protect core competencies plays a crucial role in the outsourcing decision-making process. Although it is generally argued that core activities should not be outsourced,when activity levels fluctuate considerably outsourcing may be required to deal with peak workloads.In the absence of such considerations,outsourcing models suggest that firms begin with non-core functions only until the relevant relationship management experiences are gained.These can then be used as foundations for dealing with service providers when the more critical parts of operations are outsourced. 3.4 DECISIONS ON OUTSOURCING SERVICE PROVIDERS OR STRATEGIC SOLUTIONS PARTNERS Choosing the most suitable provider or strategic solutions partner is obviously important.In this regard,companies are advised by Deming1982not only to limit the number of bidders but also the number of providers they eventually deal with.This introduces an element of competition amongst providers,which can bring beneficial improvements in terms of product and service quality and/or price.Long-term co-operation with a limited number of providers brings a number of additional advantages.Not having to deal with many companies helps to minimise the complexities and costs that may result from inconsistencies and variety when more than one service provider is used.Long-term partnership-focussed relationships provide the opportunity to reduce uncertainties especially if providers are involved in product development from the outset.Hence,a 7-year plan is preferable to a 12-month cost cutting exercise.Whilst the benefits of dealing with a small number of third-party providers are widely recognised,reliance on a single provider is generally thought to be inadvisable given the potential vulnerability that might be created.Nonetheless,the use of a single globally based service provider can bring significant advantages to an outsourcing company,for instance,the delivery of multiple applications across multiple locations. Historically,most companies have tended to avoid outsourcing parts of their business operations to competitors:but,in the currently uncertain operating environments where necessary competencies may sometimes only be found with competitors,this option may be worth consideration.In such instances,the ability to control and monitor relationships becomes particularly important,with rigorously controlled contracts being of particular significanceQuinn and Hilmer,1994.A failure to contractually safeguard its interests can have significant implications on a firms competitive position and,especially,on its bargaining power if it loses control over sections of its value chain to competitors. 3.5 OUTSOURCING AND INNOVATION Gilley and Rasheed2000contend that firms ought to practise cost leadership and innovative differentiation if they are to benefit fully from outsourcing.The simple reason for this is that innovators,by outsourcing peripheral non-core activities are able to free-up resources,which can then be used for innovation enhancing activities.Innovation has been linked directly to outsourcing by several other authorse.g.,Quinn,2000.His central argument is that the wide range and specialist knowledge required in order for firms to succeed competitively cannot be found in any one organisation and needs to be sourced from a wide array of external providers.Through specialisation,these providers will have developed“in depth knowledge,skill,investment infrastructures and innovative capabilities for their segment of the value chain”Quinn,2000.However,others find the innovative benefits of outsourcing debatable.Teece1987,for instance,warned that reliance on external providers might in the long run result in reductions of investments in internal research and development especially where outsourcing appears to be a more cost-effective solution to new ideas and innovation. Recently increased usage of outsourcing as a strategic tool raises other concerns;not only about erosions of knowledge and skill bases in firms but also the depletion of organisational learning and new technology development capabilities.This results in what Bettis et al1992 term ahollowcorporation as,in the short run,an outsourcer may lose more of its knowledge and innovative capability than it gained.Outsourcing offers a number of benefits to organisations;it can have positive impacts on both costs and quality and can strengthen competitive position by allowing an organisation to focus attention on managing its core competencies and capabilities.However,reliance on outsourcing also has potential pitfalls.Immediate problems arise where service providers opportunistically turn into competitors after gaining access to key information about the outsourcers processes.In the longer term,outsourcing may become a substitute for creating and nurturing core skills,and capabilities,because of the costs of developing these in-house.It is therefore important for a firm faced with an outsourcing decision-making process to have a clear understanding of the possible pitfalls and benefits. 译文在英国金融服务外包产业:亚洲离岸市场资料来源: 克里斯讨论文件系列-2004作者:克里斯 奥?奥丁多,斯蒂芬?戴康,克里斯汀?恩纽 传统上,公司倾向于区别大众商品化方面的业务流程和他们的核心竞争力。一般而言,前者是适合外包,而后者通常保留在公司内部. 有一些证据表明,那些区分被模糊了。去年,例如,布雷克莱顿,他们把工作外包给以前认为是在英国以高收入金融分析师做的核心活动。为了保卫他们的决定, 董事长总经理布莱恩奥吉弗先生,指出他公司至少百分之九十活动外包海外。事实上,实证研究表明,目前的应用范围在金融服务业外包不再局限于大众商品而已。2003年进行的调查的决策者金融服务业在英国由金融世界显示,超过75%的100个调查对象认为岗位正成为增加的趋势外包所直到现在核心业务活动。 问题的选择的行动来外包、英国财经房子面临着是否有决定,否则对某些海上地点和供应商选择传统正在扩大的地点,如印度面对日益激烈的竞争亚洲国家正在采用日益进取的营销策略除了所带来的问题选择正确的位置,同时这也减少了充分准备让他们识别并决定对谁是可信的供应商。 同样重要的是,限制远方操作和面临的挑战,计入当期损益,解决公司。除了通常与管理带来的挑战监控关系,在一臂偏远地区能介绍特殊的困难就提供客户服务。越来越多的客户表达焦虑和不适在使用的前景,通过海外呼叫中心最近的民意调查,来自可信赖的民意测验专家都喜欢森喜朗和米塔尔似乎显示,大多数英国公共不喜欢外包和处理他们的财务事项透过海外呼叫中心等方面。然而,正在不断全球化当然给消费者的选择有他们的电话发送到自动化服务或被提供的人通过对外呼叫中心显然有些消费者会喜欢后者。 外包的挑战是不仅仅限于消费者可能发生的不良反应。为实践往上移动价值链开始包括更复杂的业务过程,企业应关心知识的迁徙服务者和其他第三方,和影响,这将可能对自身竞争基地。给外包的战略重要性组织来说是很必要的问题的深入了解和相关的过程文献上越来越多的人这一学科从内部学术和专业人员都设法理解源的原因外包如何发生。一些这样的文学下面逐个讨论这部分的首发外包的概念界定它简要探讨了在概念的讨论关键点的外包决策过程。 3.1定义外包 外包描述一个组织情形允许其全部或部分业务承办过程第三方供应商。一些评论员将外包看作是另一种供应商,而另一些人则认为外包对公司的运作做出有意义的贡献。 离岸外包(有时被形容外包)不同于在岸外包。在以前,活动都被转移到其他组织在国外的位置而在后者中,英国公司它的业务部分进行相同的地缘其他地区的区域或分别爱尔兰和加拿大文化相似。公司也可以战略定位像马来西亚或印度海外地点通过了大量的商业模式这些可以混合关系例如合资伙伴关系,建立操作和转移BOT行动或俘虏。 外包作为一个概念,并不是新的新出现的组织越来越多地发挥外包尝试中取得竞争优势,最显著的通过经营的转移从高到低成本,世界上的部分地区。 3.2核心竞争力与能力 实践能力或能力是一个组织的特殊性质需要,从而创造独特的顾客价值。他们通常技巧或以知识为基础的例如服务设计或客户服务工作而不是实际产品或实物资产普拉德哈默尔,1990;奎因。所有组织需要一个特别的能力或能力上以方便操作在一个特定的市场上。那些能力或能力在公司有一定强度相对于竞争常被形容为核心能力,并提供基于竞争优势可以兴建。外包通常涉及之间做了一个区别一个公司的核心和无能力。在已建立模型的外包中,公司会将保留那些核心竞争力的活动把那些非核心的活动或能力寻求外包。 清楚地区分核心和无活动是重要的。这需要一个组织更多的去关注资源,管理的时间及它能做到的最好的事情。没有清晰、搞好战略性的外包方向,公司可能发现以核心资源为代价投资转化为非核心业务方面。这一事实恰当的说明了核心竞争力决定的竞争优势应当被保护。奎因和希尔默1994建议公司不给外包第三方获得任何知识或技能的核心的活动。这将使别人的机会进入自己公司的竞争战略空间,以及阻止潜在的竞争者本田公司的战略块,比如,绕着它的小型电机的设计。因此,我们不允许任何第三方访问这方面的业务。 3.3 决定外包什么 虽然仍在更广泛的外包活动,公司正越来越多地用外部供应商,一系列的其他活动提高他们的价值链大多数是寻求外部的能力,此类零件的工艺流程和人力资源,工资,外包在英国金融服务行业