Essay on Optimization of Human Resource Allocation in Software Development
In actuality, outsourcing grows more and more popular in the contemporary business environment, including software development. Outsourcing becomes popular because it allows saving costs and using services of companies or professionals, who have the extensive experience in the target industry, for example, software development. Researchers (Fairley, 2011) argue that outsourcing can provide ready-made solutions fast because the company can use services or products that have already been developed by the company providing outsourcing services or products. Furthermore, outsourcing increases the reliability of outsourced services or products, which are thoroughly tested or already used in other companies successfully. Therefore, outsourcing is the best solution in a short-run perspective that means that if the company needs to enhance its software development fast, then it should better prefer outsourcing.
On the other hand, leveling practices and detailed assessment of employees’ skills and abilities is time consuming and may be costly. The assessment of employee skills and abilities requires time to determine the level of professional level of development of each employee. On the ground of the information collected in the course of the assessment of each employee skills and abilities, the company can start implementing the leveling practices (Futrell, Shafer, & Shafer, 2002). At the same time, there is a risk that leveling practices can fail to bring positive effects for the company, if the professional level of employees is low and they cannot enhance the organizational performance and develop software of the high quality. Therefore, leveling practices may need the further training of employees of the company to enhance its software development. The extra training is time and cost consuming.
On the other hand, practices leveling are more profitable compared to outsourcing in a long-run perspective because the enhancement of the company’s human resources and software development makes the company independent of external suppliers (Schiel, 2009). Moreover, software development within the company increases the safety of the software and data processing within the company that is particularly important today (Martin, 2009). Therefore, practices leveling is costly but long-run effects are more beneficial compared to outsourcing, but the high costs of practices leveling makes it unworthy implemented, if the company needs to enhance its software development fast.
Discussion
The analysis of existing literature and advantages and drawbacks of the two solutions concerning the software development reveals the fact that the choice of either option depends on specific needs of the company. If the company needs to enhance its performance fast and introduce the software development fast too, then the company should introduce outsourcing because this solution will bring positive effects fast. In such a way, the company can save time and costs and enhance its software development fast.
Alternatively, the company should choose practices leveling and the assessment of employee skills and abilities to enhance further its software development practices leveling, if the company has costs and time to spend on the improvement of employees’ performance. In the long-run perspective, this solution is more efficient compared to outsourcing because it makes the company more independent of external suppliers of software development. At this point, the company can choose practices leveling, if the company has well-qualified professionals, who can boost its software development fast or if the company is ready to invest substantial funds into the professional development of its employees with further investments in research and development to enhance its software development by means of internal resources of the company. Such internal resource allocation can bring considerable benefits because all investments remain within the company.
At the same time, outsourcing is disadvantageous for companies, who have already allocated substantial resources to their software development because, in such a case, the company will not only become dependent on external suppliers but also will have to cut jobs. Therefore, the company will need to conduct restructuring after the job cuts caused by outsourcing. In such a situation, other employees of the company can feel uncertain in their future in the company because job cuts, once started, may wreak panic among employees. Hence, there is a high risk of the deterioration of employees’ performance.
Conclusion and recommendations
Thus, the software development should rely rather on practices leveling than on outsourcing. Outsourcing is more efficient in a short-run perspective and can help to boost the software development fast. However, practices leveling help the company to enhance on software development in a long-run perspective,
Hence, it is possible to recommend the company to focus on practices leveling to lay the foundation to the efficient software development in a long-run perspective. In such a way, the company can allocate its resources efficiently and invest into the company’s development.
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