ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an overview of the concept of outsourcing, and its implications for the HR function. The term and concept of ‘outsourcing’ became part of the business lexicon during the increased economic and corporate growth of the 1980s. Outsourcing is essentially the transfer by a firm of products or services to an outside vendor or supplier as opposed to sourcing the same work within the firm’s own facilities. It is a strategic decision by the firm in question, and often taken in the interests of achieving cost efficiencies.
