دانلود رایگان ترجمه مقاله روش MCDM جهت تصمیم ترکیبی استراتژی برون سپاری در پروژه های فناوری اطلاعات (نشریه الزویر 2010)

روش تصمیم گیری چند معیاره جهت تصمیم ترکیبی استراتژی برون سپاری در پروژه های فناوری اطلاعات

A MCDM approach for sourcing strategy mix decision in IT projects

Abstract

It is widely accepted that a business requires constantly evolving strategies that can not only adapt to external environmental change but also identify internal value-added activities and, even more effectively, achieve the goals of management. A sourcing decision about whether to keep IT functions in-house or contract with a third-party service provider is nevertheless entirely strategic and contingent upon organizational goals and contextual and project-specific factors. In order to adequately evaluate such sourcing decision and ensure that tasks can be assigned appropriately, this article proposes a Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) approach to achieve effective problem-solving by combining the following three methods: decision making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL), analytical network process (ANP), and zero-one goal programming (ZOGP). The final research results reveal that an organization can – simultaneously – not only take advantage of its internal or external resources to set priorities for task arrangements within the portfolio of sourcing decisions, but also optimize operating strategy and management despite limited resources after consulting with the expert panel.

1- Introduction

1-1 Optimal operations strategy and management

As the out-sourcing services market for information technology (IT) evolves and grows, the sourcing decision models that involved no integrated approach to project management and were prevalent during the 1990s may now be less applicable, given both the decision maker’s needs and external environmental change. This is not only because IT or information systems (IS) stays in the era of turbulent marketplaces, global competition, and volatile technology but also because past sourcing decisions used an entire IT/IS department as a unit of analysis rather than treating individual task arrangement of IT/IS projects separately. A business, moreover, has to expose its services to customers, partners and third parties continuously via new technologies in the race for better customer service, shorter cycle times, higher operating efficiency and growth (McBride, 2009). While the Worldwide Web, RFID, location based services and search engines can greatly expand the possibilities, these technologies also place significant burdens on IT infrastructures at a time when insufficient investment is being made. Traditionally, there have only been two primary choices in the management of IT infrastructures. An organization can either manage its infrastructure in-house, or it can outsource the process to a third party, which will typically take over IT assets and run them with a mixture of on-site and remote services. There is a ‘‘third way,” often called, ‘‘the Co-sourcing model” however, combining the two tried and tested means of in-house team control with remote operations support, utilizing remote-infrastructure management. Under such circumstances, the IT department is best seen not simply as a service provider concerned exclusively with internal resources or capability, but as a resource center with the capability of integrating all internal and external IT resources with the objective of obtaining, managing, effectively utilizing and combining the technology and services required to achieve business objectives. This means that the new operational environment to IT/IS department will be more complex. IT department require an optimal operations strategy which enables IT department take good advantage of internal and external resources efficiently, so that it can concentrate on its core competences and capabilities. Dominguez Machuca, Alvarez, Domınguez, Garcıa, and Ruız (1995) point out that operations strategy is basic to the development and maintenance of competitive advantage. The key to developing an efficient operations strategy lies in understanding each task attributes usually engaged in IT/IS department and the value that each task can generate in the department. Distinguish task attribute and assessing value-added activities can be achieved by stressing the different priorities of IT/IS task arrangement (Davis, Aquilano, & Chase, 1999; Krajewski & Rizman, 2000). An organization with such operations strategy will have the capabilities enabling direct CIO of IT/IS department to set priorities for task arrangement within the portfolio of sourcing decisions in order to obtain competitive advantage and operational flexibility. Davis et al. (1999) state that the operations strategy is a longterm plan which allows the organization to determine the best way to use the IT/IS department’s resources so that the end use of the resources and task arrangement are compatible with the corporate operations strategy and objectives. Espino-Rodriquez and Padron-Robaina (2004) argue that one of the aspects that the company must take into account when developing an operations strategy is the relative extent to which operations are outsourced or performed in-house. The decision to keep IT/IS functions in-house or contract with a third-party service provider is nevertheless entirely strategic and can dramatically impact the bottom line of any organization. Also, the factors motivating the IT department to achieve effective management might be different one another and might include factors other than cost that relate to operations objectives, such as quality, flexibility and technology acquisition. This gives companies different strategic advantages, since they must pursue different competitive priorities simultaneously in order to succeed (Ferdows & De Meyer, 1990; Johnston, Chambers, Harland, Harrison, & Slack, 1993). Consequently, the IT/IS department not only has to take good advantage of internal and external resources but also has to consider new ways of planning and managing operational activities and making sourcing arrangement for the delivery of IT/IS services. Also the role of the IT/IS department, as well as the supply of its contents to organization should be re-examined and aligned more closely to yield a successful operation result after objectives, strategy and alternatives are more clearly understood and articulated.