B1 – Intermediate
Every company wants to reduce its costs. Some Western European companies outsource jobs to Eastern Europe because its cheaper and workers there are highly qualified.
Read about outsourcing in Europe from the link below and be ready to answer the questions that follow.
Discussion Questions:
1. What is your opinion on outsourcing?
2. What are the advantages and disadvantages of outsourcing?
3. Do you think outsourcing to other countries is positive or negative for a country’s economy?
4. Does your company outsource some of its functions to other countries?
5. What are ways companies lower their expenses?
18 replies on “The West Outsources More IT Jobs to Eastern Europe”
Discussion Questions:
1. What is your opinion on outsourcing?
I think outsourcing is a key factor in big companies, not only to safe money but about all to have the capacity to do more projects, to be on time in the deadlines of some difficult project, etc… It’s very important to have an internal workforce stable and maybe 40% of external people in Outsourcing companies… It also a way to avoid cutting jobs if the situation become worse.
2. What are the advantages and disadvantages of outsourcing?
Upsides: To increase very fast the IT-Members that you need for some period of time. To hire some very specialized profiles. To have part of your workforce in another time zone, etc.
Downsides: Sometimes is more expensive have Outsourced people than to hire them if you are going to need this profiles for a long period of time. Outsourced people have a different culture that your internal people and therefore some risk and different aims. Also, there are some risk because of the confidentiality of information and data they could access.
3. Do you think outsourcing to other countries is positive or negative for a country’s economy?
I think you should outsource in other countries only if it is needed. For Example: if you need a Team working and support some units in another countries with different times zones… even if you need people that support other countries in Oher languages…
But to outsource in other countries only for the cost (to safe money) would be an error, for instance, there are a lot of problems because of languages barriers, etc.
4. Does your company outsource some of its functions to other countries?
Yes and sometimes was a complete disaster due a languages problems, time zones problems and so forth… So it is very important to think beforehand to avoid this and other similar problems.
5. What are ways companies lower their expenses?
Outsourcing is one of them, other may be to training internal people to upskills them, put in motion some new methodologies (like cooperative working – team working), remote working can also save a lot of money because you don’t need a lot of facilities to do your work…
But for me the Main and Foremost is before to start a project to have very clear all of the requirements, have almost daily a review of then to try to be
It’s great to see you staying consistent with working on your writing skills.
Here is a sentence you can write better:
Revised version:
Keep practicing to improve your skills more.
1. What is your opinion on outsourcing?
It is a market rule. We must not forget that a company must optimize its costs, its production capacity and reduce risk. Outsourcing, especially in IT is one way to do this.
2. What are the advantages and disadvantages of outsourcing?
The advantages of outsourcing for an IT company is to be able to reduce costs, and use workers with the same level of training as in Europe but with a lower salary, also the possibility of reducing taxes to be paid to the government. Among the disadvantages we can indicate the difficulty in obtaining the loyalty of the workers and the difficulty in building a sense of team and belonging to the company.
3. Do you think outsourcing to other countries is positive or negative for a country’s economy?
For the economy of a country, outsourcing is negative, especially because tax revenues will be reduced and the level of unemployment will also increase.
4. Does your company outsource some of its functions to other countries?
No, we have only outsourced the production of some products for which we do not have the technology.
5. What are ways companies lower their expenses?
There are different ways to reduce expenses: Outsourcing, automation of different functions, reduction of raw material costs,…
Job well done practicing your writing skills through this exercise.
Here is a sentence you can still revise:
Keep up the good job!
1. What is your opinion on outsourcing?
Outsourcing is a good opportunity to others to apply for a position. It’s is true that if companies move it’s offices to other countries for finding people with special skills because to a special taxes, this is not necessarily related to a lost jobs where Company is based . I think, at the end it is circular economy.
But it is just a personal opinion
2. What are the advantages and disadvantages of outsourcing?
Advantages: Growth economy thanks to Big Companies that invest in Countries with low rent. Companies gains access to other markets thanks to not to pay so high wages because they’ll find similar or equal professional skills
disadvantages : The cost-time to move and lose positions from one Country to others.
3. Do you think outsourcing to other countries is positive or negative for a country’s economy?
For the Company who do the invest could be a good decision and a great decision with big profits as result.
4. Does your company outsource some of its functions to other countries?
I’m not sure 100% sure neither which percentage the do it , but it could be the do it.
5. What are ways companies lower their expenses?
Paying less wages for same professionals skills
Reducing working ours.
Facilitate working from home.
Nice work writing your answers to this lesson’s discussion questions!
Here is a sentence you can revise the structure of to improve it a little:
To see more progress, keep practicing.
1. I don´t have an opinion.
2. The advantage is the low price in the hiring. The downside I don’t know
3. I have no economic knowledge
4. I think so
5. I don´t know
Good job trying to answer all your lessons’ discussion questions. Keep striving to be expressive and elaborate in your responses.
Here is a better way to express this sentence with better word choice:
Keep practicing expressing yourself through writing. You can definitely do it!
1. What is your opinion on outsourcing?
There are many companies using outsourcing so it seems to be cheaper but the service decreases a little
2. What are the advantages and disadvantages of outsourcing?
The advantage is the price and the pool in charge of IT system.
The disadvantages are the poor service because the rotation outsourcing companies is very high and the new hires have to be trained continuously
3. Do you think outsourcing to other countries is positive or negative for a country’s economy?
In my opinion, the impact is negative as that kind of job could be done by the own country’s people
4. Does your company outsource some of its functions to other countries?
Yes my company has both models , IT outsourcing and his own IT department and employees realize the difference
5. What are ways companies lower their expenses?
Outsourcing could be one but reducing offices, using cloud and thinking in a long term could be a possibility to reduce costs
You are doing good in your writing practice so far. Continue with it.
This is how you can rewrite this sentence to make it a bit better:
Keep working on your writing skills.
1. I don’t like this because in my opinion it cuts the development of my country.
2. I think there are only disadventages. There are too many people in my country without work, and companies abuse people in other countries just to save money.
3. Only disadventages, and also for the employees because it is difficult to understand people from other countries to resolve technical incidents.
4. Yes, and communication is complicated, including in the same language because the accent is different
5. They used employees in other cheaper countries, and hired interns for example
Good work writing your answers. Continue doing this exercise to improve further.
Here are some better word choices for the following sentences:
Happy writing!
1. What is your opinion on outsourcing?
For companies outsourcing it is a good option to reduce hiring costs since the salary they have to pay is lower.
2. What are the advantages and disadvantages of outsourcing?
Advantages of outsourcing: lower costs and access to a larger talent pool.
Disadvantages of outsourcing: negative impact on staff and prolems with data protection.
3. Do you think outsourcing to other countries is positive or negative for a country’s economy?
I think that outsourcing to other countries is negative for a country’s economy as it creates more unemployment
4. Does your company outsource some of its functions to other countries?
Yes, I am the outsource since I work for a foreign company
5. What are ways companies lower their expenses?
The companies can reduce their expenses: utilizing virtual technology and improving worker training
Good job writing your opinions down.
See how this sentence can be revised:
Revised version:
Keep going with your writing practice.
1. Outsourcing is a good option for the companies in order to control costs and reduce costs. I think it is an option for the big companies.
2. Advantages of outsourcing: Increased efficiency, Controlled costs
Disadvantages of outsourcing: Confidentiality and security – which may be at risk, Management difficulties, Lack of control, You reduce the quality control etc.
3. I think outsourcing to other countries is negative for a country’s economy.
4. Yes, my company outsource some of ITs functions to other countries as Asia and India.
5. The companies reduce their expenses: virtual meetings, reduce business travel, home-work…
You keep doing your best in improving your skills. Good job!
Remember not to use the same word twice in a sentence:
Writing more means improving more. Keep at it!
The last sentence may be the answer ‘Although it is not a problem yet European companies may be facing an employment problem in the IT sector in the next ten to twenty years.’
Thank you very much for sharing your thoughts. You can try and answer the discussion questions next time to practice writing. Cheers!