What is the exact difference between outsourcing and offshoring?

Ans 1) The two are different concepts and can co-exist. "Outsourcing" is where a company contracts with a third party to do some of the company's work on its behalf. The outsourcer may do the work within the same country, or may take it to another country (i.e. offshored). Opposite would be "in-sourcing" -i.e. doing the work within the company. "Offshoring" is where you take a function out of your country of residence to be performed there (generally at a lower cost). This may be kept internal, within the same company group, or it may be external, contracted to a third party (i.e. outsourced). Opposite would be "on-shoring" - keeping within the same country. An example of outsourcing is where a bank may give a large IT company in that country the responsibility for managing its network and IT infrastructure. The IT company would then procure people to do that as part of the contract. Offshoring would be either of these: where the bank in country 1 (e.g. UK) would use its subsidiary in country 2 (e.g. South Africa) or any other country to perform the work OR where the IT company would use personnel in country 2 to perform the work (in which case it is outsourced AND off-shored). Source(s): Have recent experience of both.

Ans 2) Although the two terms sound similar, and are connected, offshoring is is not the same as outsourcing! Here is a simple way to remember the difference between these two terms:

Looking at these two definitions, it is possible to illustrate some different options for a business looking to change its operations:

The fundamental advantage of offshoring is the potential gains for competitiveness: Access to lower unit costs Access to more specialised suppliers and services Economies of scale from operating in larger international markets However, the decision to take operations offshore should not be taken lightly. There are many examples of businesses that have undertaken offshoring and experienced problems relating to: Customer service: a combination of poor training, cultural differences and local management sometimes lead to worse customer satisfaction Higher than expected costs: low-wage economies like India and China might seem attractive, but there are many hidden costs associated with offshoring and some firms find that lower productivity from the overseas location actually means higher unit costs Public and employee relations: a decision to move jobs from the UK to a low-wage economy is a sensitive one. Handled poorly, the damage to public and employee goodwill can be significant Protection of intellectual property: the legal protections for business information, processes and brands are not as strong in many countries as they are in the UK. A risk of offshoring is that intellectual property (know-how, trade secrets) is lost and that a potentially stronger future competitor is born.

What is the difference between Recruitment and Staffing?

Manpower planning seeks to maintain and improve an organisations ability to achieve corporate objectives by developing strategies which are designed to increase the present and future contribution of manpower. (Robert C Appleby). A wrong plan can lead to the disruption of the activities, affecting the brand value of the company adversely. Manpower planning is followed by staffing function. Staffing includes recruitment, selection, training, promotion, demotions, transfer and retirement. The first task of the personnel manager is recruitment. Recruitment is a conscious process, a slight error can result as a threat to the organization. Define the key skills for the role, the educational qualification, past experience, if any required. Then choose the method of inviting applications. Check for the necessary qualification within the organization. This will prove to be very effective as a background check on the individual is made very easy. For external applications, the assistance of a placement consultant, internet, an advertisement in the newspaper or the company website, in case of a company enjoying a good brand image, can be adopted. On the receipt of the applications, use a software for screening the applications and shortlisting those which have the basic skills required for the job. Inform the candidates on the recruitment process which might involve a written test, group discussion and an interview. The interviewer should be able to get the required answers from the candidate without cornering him. There ends the recruitment process. Staffing, on the other hand, exists through every stage of the employee in the organization. Once the candidate and his role is finalized, identify the individual skill of the employee and compare it with the skill required for the task, measure the difference and then bridge the gap through proper training. Training makes an individual competent to face the task before her. Staffing function also includes promotions and demotions. The path up the career ladder must be blueprinted and well communicated. A good performance appraisal system helps in the identification of the key players who are crucial to the attainment of the company objectives. Promotion, better monetary and non-monetary remuneration etc with prospects for the accomplishment of their personal growth helps in retaining them in the long run. But at times, badly performing employees need to be identified to improve their talent, and if it fails, demoting or even forcing them to leave the organization. To retain the employees, the staffing department should be aware of the personal goals of the individuals. It is the duty of the staffing department to lay the route to assist them in achieving their goals. Job rotation is one way for providing better career prospects. The responsibility of checking whether the skills of the employee match with the new job is that of the staffing department. This department conducts the exit interview at the time of resignation of the employee to know the reasons for the same to reduce the attrition rate in the entity. On knowing the reasons for attrition, they should take steps for the rectification of the same. Recruitment is just one small, but crucial job of staffing. Staffing starts from the entry of the individual to an organization and continues through all stages until her exit from the company.

Ans 2) RECRUITMENT means hiring people for a particular job

Recruitment is a part of staffing. Staffing deals with a comprehensive term for all operative functions namely recruiting, placing, appraisal, rewarding, assessing, developing performed in HR management

What is the difference between Recruitment and Selection?

Both recruitment and selection are the two phases of the employment process. The differences between the two are: 1. Recruitment is the process of searching the candidates for employment and stimulating them to apply for jobs in the organisation WHEREAS selection involves the series of steps by which the candidates are screened for choosing the most suitable persons for vacant posts. 2. The basic purpose of recruitments is to create a talent pool of candidates to enable the selection of best candidates for the organisation, by attracting more and more employees to apply in the organisation WHEREAS the basic purpose of selection process is to choose the right candidate to fill the various positions in the organisation.

3. Recruitment is a positive process i.e. encouraging more and more employees to apply WHEREAS selection is a negative process as it involves rejection of the unsuitable candidates. 4. Recruitment is concerned with tapping the sources of human resources WHEREAS selection is concerned with selecting the most suitable candidate through various interviews and tests. 5. There is no contract of recruitment established in recruitment WHEREAS selection results in a contract of service between the employer and the selected employee. According to Edwin Flippo, "Recruitment is the process of searching for prospective employees and stimulating them to apply for jobs in the organisation According to O. Donnell, Selection is the process of choosing from among the candidates, from within the organization or from the outside, the most suitable person for the current position or for the future poistion. Basis Recruitment Selection

Meaning

It is an activity of establishing contact between employers and applicants.

It is a process of picking up more competent and suitable employees.

Objective

It encourages large number of Candidates for a job.

It attempts at rejecting unsuitable candidates.

Process

It is a simple process.

It is a complicated process.

Hurdles

The candidates have not to cross over many hurdles.

Many hurdles have to be crossed.

Approach

It is a positive approach.

It is a negative approach.

Sequence

It proceeds selection.

It follows recruitment.

Economy

It is an economical method.

It is an expensive method.

Time Consuming

Less time is required.

More time is required.