Outsourcing IT resources.
Paper Topic 3: This paper topic is concerned with how stained glass windows told Bible stories. Stained glass windows have been called the Bible of the Poor. The illiterate peasant could not read the Bible, but saw the stories in the art of the church. To appreciate how this works take a look at the Moses window at St. Denis. The pictures with their corresponding Bible passages are below.
Guidelines
1. This paper is similar to the first topic in that it is a comparison of literary passages to artistic reproductions of the words. I suggest you start at the bottom of the window with the discovery of baby Moses and work up. This is the chronological development of the story. Now with the scene of the discovery of Moses, first tell me what the Bible passage says, then how does the window show it. For example, the pharaoh’s daughter found the basket with the baby in it. How is she depicted to let the viewer know she is the pharaoh’s daughter; how is the basket shown? There is going to be a certain simplicity in the window scenes, but the Christian viewer would know the basic outline of the story and that is where the Bible text will help you. There are also some quotes from Abbot Suger that tell us what he wanted to show and you can refer to them as well, but the major reference is the Bible.
2. The comparison is to be made to the Biblical passages below.
3. Do not expect the window to be an exact rendering of the scene. The exercise is to see how someone interpreted it in the art of glass. I think some scenes are fairly clear and some are not. Do not be afraid to say that the scene is not clear, but do not just say that, since I cannot tell if you read the Bible passage or even looked at the window. Tell me what you read, what you see, and why it is not clear.
The Finding of Moses Exodus Chapter 2
1 Now a certain man of the house of Levi married a Levite woman,
2 who conceived and bore a son. Seeing that he was a goodly child, she hid him for three months.
3 When she could hide him no longer, she took a papyrus basket, daubed it with bitumen and pitch, and putting the child in it, placed it among the reeds on the river bank.
4 His sister stationed herself at a distance to find out what would happen to him.
5 Pharaoh’s daughter came down to the river to bathe, while her maids walked along the river bank. Noticing the basket among the reeds, she sent her handmaid to fetch it.
6 On opening it, she looked, and lo, there was a baby boy, crying! She was moved with pity for him and said, “It is one of the Hebrews’ children.”
7 Then his sister asked Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and call one of the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?”
8 “Yes, do so,” she answered. So the maiden went and called the child’s own mother.
9 Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child and nurse it for me, and I will repay you.” The woman therefore took the child and nursed it.
10 When the child grew, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, who adopted him as her son and called him Moses; for she said, “I drew him out of the water.”
The Burning Bush Exodus Chapter 3
1 Meanwhile Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. Leading the flock across the desert, he came to Horeb, the mountain of God.
2 There an angel of the LORD appeared to him in fire flaming out of a bush. As he looked on, he was surprised to see that the bush, though on fire, was not consumed.
3 So Moses decided, “I must go over to look at this remarkable sight, and see why the bush is not burned.”
4 When the LORD saw him coming over to look at it more closely, God called out to him from the bush, “Moses! Moses!” He answered, “Here I am.”
5 God said, “Come no nearer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.
6 I am the God of your father,” he continued, “the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob.” Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
7 But the LORD said, “I have witnessed the affliction of my people in Egypt and have heard their cry of complaint against their slave drivers, so I know well what they are suffering.
8 Therefore I have come down to rescue them from the hands of the Egyptians and lead them out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey, the country of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites.
9 So indeed the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have truly noted that the Egyptians are oppressing them.
10 Come, now! I will send you to Pharaoh to lead my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.”
11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and lead the Israelites out of Egypt?”
12 He answered, “I will be with you; and this shall be your proof that it is I who have sent you: when you bring my people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this very mountain.”
13 “But,” said Moses to God, “when I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ if they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what am I to tell them?”
14 God replied, “I am who am.” Then he added, “This is what you shall tell the Israelites: I AM sent me to you.”
15 God spoke further to Moses, “Thus shall you say to the Israelites: The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. “This is my name forever; this is my title for all generations.
16 “Go and assemble the elders of the Israelites, and tell them: The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, has appeared to me and said: I am concerned about you and about the way you are being treated in Egypt;
17 so I have decided to lead you up out of the misery of Egypt into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites, a land flowing with milk and honey.
18 “Thus they will heed your message. Then you and the elders of Israel shall go to the king of Egypt and say to him: The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has sent us word. Permit us, then, to go a three days’ journey in the desert, that we may offer sacrifice to the LORD, our God.
19 “Yet I know that the king of Egypt will not allow you to go unless he is forced.
20 I will stretch out my hand, therefore, and smite Egypt by doing all kinds of wondrous deeds there. After that he will send you away.
21 I will even make the Egyptians so well-disposed toward this people that, when you leave, you will not go empty-handed.
Crossing the Red Sea Exodus Chapter 14
21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the LORD swept the sea with a strong east wind throughout the night and so turned it into dry land. When the water was thus divided, 22 the Israelites marched into the midst of the sea on dry land, with the water like a wall to their right and to their left. 23 The Egyptians followed in pursuit; all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and charioteers went after them right into the midst of the sea. 24 In the night watch just before dawn the LORD cast through the column of the fiery cloud upon the Egyptian force a glance that threw it into a panic;
25 and he so clogged their chariot wheels that they could hardly drive. With that the Egyptians sounded the retreat before Israel, because the LORD was fighting for them against the Egyptians. 26 Then the LORD told Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the water may flow back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots and their charioteers.” 27 So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at dawn the sea flowed back to its normal depth. The Egyptians were fleeing head on toward the sea, when the LORD hurled them into its midst. 28 As the water flowed back, it covered the chariots and the charioteers of Pharaoh’s whole army which had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not a single one of them escaped. 29 But the Israelites had marched on dry land through the midst of the sea, with the water like a wall to their right and to their left.
30 Thus the LORD saved Israel on that day from the power of the Egyptians. When Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the seashore� 31 and beheld the great power that the LORD had shown against the Egyptians, they feared the LORD and believed in him and in his servant Moses.
Tablets of the Law Exodus Chapter 31 and 32
18 When the LORD had finished speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two tablets of the commandments, the stone tablets inscribed by God’s own finger.
1 When the people became aware of Moses’ delay in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said to him, “Come, make us a god who will be our leader; as for the man Moses who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has happened to him.” 2 Aaron replied, “Have your wives and sons and daughters take off the golden earrings they are wearing, and bring them to me.” 3 So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron, 4 who accepted their offering, and fashioning this gold with a graving tool, made a molten calf. Then they cried out, “This is your God, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.” 5 On seeing this, Aaron built an altar before the calf and proclaimed, “Tomorrow is a feast of the LORD.”
6 Early the next day the people offered holocausts and brought peace offerings. Then they sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to revel. 7 With that, the LORD said to Moses, “Go down at once to your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt, for they have become depraved. 8 They have soon turned aside from the way I pointed out to them, making for themselves a molten calf and worshiping it, sacrificing to it and crying out, ‘This is your God, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt!’
Brazen Serpent Numbers Chapter 21
4 From Mount Hor they set out on the Red Sea road, to by-pass the land of Edom. But with their patience worn out by the journey,
5 the people complained against God and Moses, “Why have you brought us up from Egypt to die in this desert, where there is no food or water? We are disgusted with this wretched food!”
6 In punishment the LORD sent among the people saraph serpents, which bit the people so that many of them died.
7 Then the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned in complaining against the LORD and you. Pray the LORD to take the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people,
8 and the LORD said to Moses, “Make a saraph and mount it on a pole, and if anyone who has been bitten looks at it, he will recover.”
9 Moses accordingly made a bronze serpent and mounted it on a pole, and whenever anyone who had been bitten by a serpent looked at the bronze serpent, he recovered.
Outsourcing IT resources
Executive Summary
Schaeffer is a corporation that consists of three distinct divisions Reitzel, Colber and Kinzel. The company has been successful at its Reitzel division which has led to the company developing ambitious goals to maximize profits and revenue. To meet its future needs, Schaeffer has to choose an IT solution that would meet its future needs. The company has to choose between a centralized IT structure or outsource its services.
Schaeffer seeks the services of Ganter Consulting Group to help them to develop a Request for Proposal (RFP) to examine its IT resources and their needs. The company finally settled for ABC as its outsourcing company of choice. The benefits of outsourcing include saved time, quality services and experienced staff. Outsourcing is also has its associated disadvantages such as dependency on ABC, the cost may spill over what is stated in the proposal and goodwill may be lost between Schaeffer and ABC. The process also has an associated high cost and risks. The issue raises a lot of questions and Schaeffer has to make a decision whether to utilize a centralized IT system or outsource its IT services.
What benefits does Schaffer hope to achieve from outsourcing its IT infrastructure?
Schaeffer would save costs by outsourcing its IT infrastructure. This is because the company had not invested heavily in IT and hence the company did not have the requisite know how to manage such a department (Brown et al., p. 629). Such a move would remove the extra investments and baggage that comes with managing an IT department. They include infrastructure and human capital. Hence it would save costs.
Schaeffer had ambitious growth goals which would see it expanding to other countries as well as acquiring other companies. To do this, the company requires improved Information Technology services. This is because they had an IT support team in place that was already over stretched. The support team was unable to successfully complete the day to day running of the company (Brown et al., p.629). An outsourcer would however provide well trained and experienced staff, hardware and software resources that were in line with the company’s business line. Consequently, they were more dynamic with the needs of the company. On issues such as adjusting to the company’s unforeseeable future goals and objectives with little difficulty (Dhar & Balakrishnan, 2011, p. 1686). The outsourcer would therefore meet the needs of the company which were bound to change based on the prevailing business environment and changes within the company.
Outsourcing IT services, could relief the management and employees of some concerns. For instance concerns about the help desk or the Wide Area Network (WAN) in the company had been rife (Brown et al., p. 630). If the company outsourced IT services it would mean that such concerns would be left to the outsourcer to take care off and ensure that the company was up and running efficiently (Hirschheim & Dibbern, 2009, p. 17). The move would mean that the company would be more focused on its objectives rather than the hic ups it was experiencing in IT management.
Describe the steps taken to develop the RFP and the role that an outside consultant played in this process.
Schaeffer first partnered with a consulting company Gartner Consulting. Together with the consulting company, they decided to find out what services they wanted to outsource, the equipment required as well as understanding their IT process (Brown et al., p. 629). The company then found out the scope of the services to be outsourced and specified the objectives of these services. The company then filled out templates on information of their IT services and resources. The resources include data centres, data networks, voice communications as well as the company’s help desk.
The company then spent several months preparing the Request for Proposal (RFP). The proposal was to be given to potential outsourcing vendors. The document contained the IT services and infrastructure that they currently had as well as the services they wanted to outsource (Brown et al., p. 629). The document called for bids and had specifications on how these services would be provided as well as their cost.
The company then reached out to potential outsourcers. They then brought them for meetings with the main focus being on the IT operations that were in place as well as input on what they wished them to do for them (Brown et al., p. 629). The vendors were then given the RFP and a timeline of two months to look at it and formulate a response to it. After two months the companies replied with their responses as well as their bid.
Gartner consulting company played a critical role in the formulation of the RFP. The consulting company played an advisory role on what approach they were to follow in finding a potential outsourcer as well as costs of such a system and cost constraints. For instance, they helped the company know what services they needed to outsource as well as understanding their IT services as well as the scope of the services that they need to outsource. The Consulting Company helped in knowing the services to be provided especially that may be provided without much thought since some services have an associated cost if the outsourcer provides them (Brown et al., p. 630). They also brought to the attention of the company’s management that outsourcing services could be expensive in the long run because the company was efficient.
The consulting company also provided templates to be filled by IT technocrats in the company. The data to be filled in these templates was collected from the company’s towers which included data centres, desktops, telephones, help desks and data networks (Brown et al., p. 630). The consulting company advised the company on which outsourcers could fully fulfil their needs. They helped the company settle on ABC Corporation and DEF Corporation.
What are the perceived disadvantages to outsourcing raised by its managers?
According to Vivian D. Johnson, vice president of IT for the Kinzer division, outsourcing would be similar to getting married without a clear picture of how the future looked like. For instance the priorities of the outsourcing company may change in the future and hence it would not fully meet the needs of Schaeffer (Brown et al., p. 632). The new scenario would not be covered in the contract and hence the company would be forced to renegotiate yet at that point in time the company would have lost its bargaining power.
Secondly, some outsourcing relationships have ended up being sour. Especially when of the parties is dissatisfied with the other. In the long run the IT performance capabilities of the outsourcer would be eliminated and the process has an associated cost which might be tremendous (Brown et al., p. 632). The broken ties would directly affect the company’s dreams of growth that are heavily dependent on IT support. Her final take was that the company had underfunded its IT division and utilising the services of an outsourcer services that they would have to pay for rather than developing its own IT services. The move would make them dependent on the outsourcer.
Carol J. Hanna, vice president for finance of the Colbert division, felt the cost was the main disadvantage. Her take was that the process was risky and expensive (Brown et al., p. 632). The process would be complex for the company and hence they may not be in a position to define all that is needed to be included in the contract. Consequently, the company would have to bear additional costs to an already expensive process.
Outsourcers are known to play low ball in the first years of the contract because they know they can make up for these costs in later years. Moreover, it is common knowledge that in the years to come, the client will not have bargaining powers in the face of inevitable changes (Brown et al., p. 632). When the issue is coupled with the cost of administering the contract as well as managing the relationship of the outsourcer means the cost could only go up.
Carol was concerned that the proposal would only benefit the company’s Reitzel division with the other divisions only bearing additional costs that do not have associated benefits. The consultancy company Gartner which Schaefer was working with had also pointed out that the company’s present IT services were efficient hence the deal with the outsourcer was not fair. In fact, the company should only have outsourced part of the data centre, network and phone system while leaving the rest of the management to be internal (Brown et al., p. 632). Failing to do so would mean a loss of jobs for IT specialists in the company. If the outsourcing deal was to fail, then they would have a fall back plan but in the current proposal they were at the mercy of the outsourcer.
The working relationships are also likely to be adversely affected. With the current IT support, employees have better relationships because these individuals are neighbours and people with whom they have enjoyed cordial working relationships. Hence they are people they can trust (Brown et al., p. 632). With an outsourcing company, the relationship might change. Consequently, working relationships may be strained.
Some managers suggested a third alternative: Outsource the IT infrastructure for the Reitzel division only. Which alternative do you think Schaeffer should choose, and why?
The best alternative for Schaeffer would be to fully outsource its IT needs from the outsourcer ABC Corporation. The option offers flexibility to the company because the company would no longer be required to worry about the management of the IT division. Hence the burden over employing and overseeing the process would be lessened. ABC would be concerned with the entire process that is hiring, procuring and training staff (Brown et al., 631). The effect on Schaeffer would be that it would have an opportunity to reassign its resources into the development of its business rather than worrying about an IT process.
Furthermore, ABC has access to talented employees who have higher technical skills than what is available to Schaeffer hence has the capability to attract qualified staff to their company (Brown et al., p. 631). Schaeffer was also facing a challenge of dealing with dissatisfied customers especially their help desk and hence the company’s IT vice president Charles Gibbs was of the opinion that outsourcing IT services would alleviate these problems.
The alternative would also mean that all resources would be reallocated towards production. Hence the company would be able to attain its development goals especially its growth goals and acquisition. This is because the IT division is integral in the growth of any company. A company that is projecting growth may be forced to hire more IT staff and the process of hiring might be expensive (Brown et al., p. 631). The process would come at a cost that is projected at about $200 million which is relatively high.
Why do you think so many disadvantages were raised after the task force recommendation had been developed? How could this controversy have been avoided?
The issue arises from the fact that Schaeffer has a unique business situation that is different for each division because various divisions have different business functions. That some divisions are concerned with distribution, manufacturing and other financial services. Hence they have different growth and profitability opportunities. In this case, the Reitzel division, was operating on a larger scale having greater opportunities for profit and sales growth. The proposal that was developed, was therefore in line with the needs of Reitzel. In fact, only the Reitzel division is in support of the proposal to outsource IT services.
The disadvantages therefore rose because the proposed strategy would not benefit all divisions. Hence the solutions that ABC Corporation was providing them with would not benefit them in any way. As a result of this, the smaller divisions would bear more cost when outsourcing its IT resources. Because they do not have similar opportunities as compared to Reitzel having to bear an extra cost which might be counterproductive in the long run. The issue is strongly supported by the Colbert finance division concern about expenses and risks. Their take is better because they are not entirely dependent on IT services (Brown et al., p. 632).
The controversy could have been avoided if all the division heads had been involved in coming up with the proposal. All heads should have been involved in coming up with the benefits as well as disadvantages of the process. Each division should also have been educated individually and hence decreased controversy levels of decision making in outsourcing. With this in mind, the company would have come up with a plan to divide the company based on its outsourcing needs. Hence focusing on the needs of the company as a whole as compared to focusing on the needs of one division of the company.
Another concern was that Schaeffer has three divisions which are distinct in terms of their functions, profitability and goals it would therefore be wrong to make decisions with a single goal in mind. Hence collaboration would have led to a more realistic approach to outsourcing decisions. There is also a common believe in the company that ABC is expensive. Schaeffer should therefore consider working with a smaller company that can customize its services to meet the needs of the company that good customer relations as well as a reliable IT support system. Outsourcing for one division only has the negative effect of failing to maintain order and control which means information cannot be compiled easily and the process would be directly contravening with the provisions of the Sarbanes Oxley Act,(“Introduction to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act,” 2012,p. 26).
References
Brown, C.V., DeHayes, D.W., Hoffer, J.A., Martin, W.E., & Perkins, W.C. (2012). IT Infrastructure Outsourcing at Schaeffer (A): The Outsourcing Decision. Managing Information Technology, 7th Edition (pp. 628-633). New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
Dhar, S., & Balakrishnan, B. (2011). Risks, Benefits, and Challenges in Global IT Outsourcing. IT Outsourcing, 1670-1701. doi:10.4018/978-1-60566-770-6.ch107
Hirschheim, R., & Dibbern, J. (2009). Outsourcing in a Global Economy: Traditional Information Technology Outsourcing, Offshore Outsourcing, and Business Process Outsourcing. Information Systems Outsourcing, 3-21. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-88851-2_1
Introduction to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. (2012). Essentials of Sarbanes-Oxley, 21-37. doi:10.1002/9781118384596.ch2
