Outsourcing w przedsiębiorstwach sektora MŚP

Abstract

Small, medium and micro enterprises constituting the SME sector are dynamically developing companies with a growing importance for particular countries. It is most of all showed by the number of already functioning businesses in this sector, as well as their job-generating abilities and GDP participation of this sector in Poland. Companies of the SME sector have basic and essential feature, that is high level of ability to adjust to the turbulent surrounding, in terms of both a product and a process. They function in numerous areas, including trade, services, production, etc. Many of them function in the field of new technologies, for example information and communication technology (ICT). Companies of the SME sector offer their products and provide clients with their services also in Internet-based virtual economic space. Many of the enterprises in question offer what is called value-added products that are developed basing on the companies’ own, unique and highly specialized, input of work that is based on employees and owners knowledge. For instance, there are enterprises carrying out project from the field of culture, author services and other. The development of the SME sector triggers the development of particular regions as well as particular countries. Outsourcing is definitely among the methods and concepts that develop the sector and stabilize its functioning. In the present work the following definition of outsourcing has been adopted: outsourcing is sectioning off the selected areas, functions, processes, projects of a given enterprise’s organizational structure, or using sources that are outside (functioning in near or far surrounding of a company) to the enterprise. The definition especially indicates areas for the companies of the SME sector to explore in the future. Those areas are currently not inside the organizational structures, but soon they will become indispensable (taking different criteria into account, for example quality) for them to function, develop or simply survive. Applying outsourcing (according to all of its generations and kinds) in companies of the SME sector creates innovative ways (constructing — organizational structures, companies of the SME sector, basing on the chain outsourcing) to maintain them. The research findings presented in the book have been worked out on the basis of the study regarding the application of outsourcing in randomly selected companies of the SME sector in the following voivodeships: śląskie, małopolskie and dolnośląskie. The area in question embraces regions that are: industrial, postindustrial but also farming as well as tourist and health resort. Consecutive chapters of the book describe: — identifying small and medium enterprises (SME) sector. The following areas have been presented in the chapter: characteristics of companies of the SME sector; the SME sector in strategies and on various levels; selected aspects of globalization in the functioning of the SME sector; identifying virtual economic space in functioning of companies of the SME sector; conditions for development of companies of the SME sector; cultural circumstances in functioning of companies of the SME sector; — identifying outsourcing. The following areas have been presented in the chapter: concepts and kinds of outsourcing; reasons for applying outsourcing; fields of applying outsourcing; the process of introducing and monitoring outsourcing projects; outsourcing in the virtual space; — outsourcing in functioning of the companies of the SME sector. The following areas have been presented in the chapter: identifying the fields of outsourcing in the companies of the SME sector; reasons for applying outsourcing in the companies of the SME sector; the fields of the companies of the SME sector where outsourcing was applied; the reasons for success and failure of the outsourcing projects in the companies of the SME sector; selected categories in strategies of the companies of the SME sector applying outsourcing; — application scenarios for introducing outsourcing in the companies of the SME sector. The chapter presents selected methods of using outsourcing in functioning of the companies of the SME sector, including characteristics of applying capital budgeting and controlling. Using the analyses included in the book as well as conclusions regarding the characteristics of the companies of the SME sector, and most of all referring to applying outsourcing projects in their functioning, enables the readers to working out the innovative behaviors (of employees as well as entrepreneurs), increasing the intellectual capital of the SME sector companies (outsourcing group creating), and giving them more social responsibility. A demand to create and develop micro enterprises is of a special significance.