BUSINESS PROCESS OUTSOURCING STRATEGY IN THE AUDIOVISUAL INDUSTRY IN KENYA
Abstract
Purpose of the study: The objective of the study was to determine the extent to which business process outsourcing has been adopted as a strategy in the audio-visual industry in Kenya.
Introduction of Problem Statement:
Outsourcing is a business strategy that applies entrusting business to other people (outsider) to perform them on your behalf. When applying a business process outsourcing strategy it is important to understand the basic assumptions. The issue is not on cost saving or return on investment, but to outweigh the benefits realized in the short term or long term. The government is doing much to set up the ICT infrastructure and encourage the Business Process Outsourcing in the country. The benefits that can be derived from companies outsourcing some of their services are numerous and firms need to take advantage of available opportunities.
Method/methodology: The research design for the study was a descriptive survey design. This was because of the small number of audio-visual media houses that are currently established in Kenya. The target respondents were managing directors and or departmental heads of the audio-visual media houses in Kenya. Data was collected using semi- structured questionnaires and was analyse using descriptive statistics. The data was coded and analysed using SPSS (Statistical Package for social Sciences) and excel packages. The descriptive statistics were then used to present the results.
Results of the study: From the study the researcher found that the audio-visual industry in Kenya practiced business process outsourcing and this was mainly to reduce overall costs, it was a strategic move, to avail more time for other services and also because BPO takes advantage of external expertise / experience
Conclusion and policy recommendation: From the study, the study recommends that in as much as BPO has been adopted in the audio- visual industry in Kenya more need to be outsourced, especially logistics as only 20% of the firms are doing this. For organizations to meet their expectations of the customer there is need to embrace the BPO strategy. This will help them to achieve on competitive advantage over other organizations in the industry. Infect, none of the firms outsourced procurement services. Given that procurement is such an important aspect of all organizations, much time lost in this function can be regained elsewhere if this function can be outsourced. Further research to be conducted in other industries, such that the perception of quality of outsourced customer care services compared to in-house services in private firms in Kenya.
Key words: Outsourcing, business, outsourcing, Process, technology, Competition.
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