Evaluation And Reflection For Transaction Cost Economics Essay.

Discuss about the Evaluation and Reflection for Transaction Cost Economics.

The following assignment is based on the personal reflection of the group work done during this course, along with evaluating my personal development. Our group of four members conducted a range of assignments that spanned the majority of the duration of the course. These assignments were based around the telecommunication company PTG. The project was carried out to analyze the locations and market to render the services in order to successful expansion of IT business. As a member of the team, I was responsible to research the economic conditions of the IT sector within and across the country Australia. Other than that, I was also responsible to assist the group in planning the most feasible outsourcing plan with respect to the best organization, maximizing revenue and profitability

Our group members started with finding five organizations that were in need of advanced and upgraded technological software within and across Australian territory. The team followed the project by identifying the benefits and opportunities on the implication of the company’s software services to those five organizations (Ravindran et al. 2015). The team also identified the risks and threats with respect to the services to be provided by our company and the competitors in the information technology industry. The team planned the price structure of providing the services and measured the profitability for outsourcing the services.

The goal of my consulting team of PTG telecommunication was to prepare a feasible plan and selected three companies within Australia and two companies outside the country. In the process of one-week time, the group was able to achieve its target and presented the best plan that revealed significant opportunities and threats with an approximate 15% profit on undertaking the proposed outsourcing project. We prepared a team action plan and team charter that assist in processing the project work more effectively and efficiently. Following are the requirements that need to be observed by the team:

• Development of network and service infrastructure
• Development of business operation support system
• Identification and acquisition of resources and equipments
• Management of customer relationship
• Identification of the core areas to gain maximum consumers and their demands

Goal	Action description	Members responsible	Start date	End date
Research client company	Five organizations that are in need of IT services within and across Australia	Me, members A and C	1.08.16	2.08.16
Identification of benefits	Identification and analysis of advantages that clients would have on implication of IT software packages	Me, members B and C	3.08.16	4.08.16
Identification of challenges	challenges our company have to face while approaching for rendering the services	members A, B and C	3.08.16	5.08.16
Pricing Structure	Drafting a structure for expected price of each software application services according to the market industry and by maintaining the benchmark of our company's service standards	Me, members A, B and C	5.08.16	6.08.16
Results and outcome	Measurement of expected profits and identification of opportunities	Me, members B and C	7.08.16	7.08.16

Table 1: Team Action Plan

(Source: Created by author)

1. Class Date and Time: OWN ongoing online
2. Team Coach: X
3. Team Name: HCTP 10
4. Team Members:

Me

Member A

Member B

Member C

List of the team goals along with the suggested measures of success

Team Goals	Measure of success
1. Distinction standard for project	Achieving 75% or above for the individual as well as group division of the project
2.Completion of task within allotted time	Finishing task within the timeline
3. Clarity in communication between team members for their roles and responsibilities	Creation of initial task for each team member on Gantt chart and regular explanation via team meetings or discussions
4. Equal contribution by all team members & clear understanding of each other’s  function within the team	Functions and works produced to be critiqued and accepted/rejected by other members where majority vote will stand
5. Regular communication	Completion of tasks within the time

Members	Strengths	Weaknesses	Preferred role
Me	·         Planning ·         Writing style ·         Financial Analysis ·         Punctuality	·         Extensive research ·         Marketing	·         Organizer of group to keep things on track ·         Finance manager ·         Analysis
A	·         Writing style ·         Financial Analysis ·         Punctuality	·         Marketing ·         Advertising	·         Calculations ·         Editing ·         Research
B	·         Report writing ·         Calculations ·         Research ·         Communication skills	·         Use of Technology ·         Compatibility in working with other members	·         Writing sections ·         Part of communication and discussions between the members
C	·         Research ·         Communication skills ·         Editing ·         Presentation	·         Works a lot ·         Underestimate time	·         Designing ·         Presentation ·         Co-ordination of work of other team members’ work

Expected dates of completion and handling- in for all the group activities provided as under

Group Assessment Tasks	Scheduled Date of Completion	Scheduled Date for Handing-in
Response to the assignment	05th August	06th August 11:15 AM
Analysis report of external environment and industry	10th August	11th August 11:15 AM
Reports and presentation to the clients	15th August	16th August 11:15 AM

Assessment Tasks	Allocation of Work
Response to project	Website, Team Charter and Action Plan to be contributed to by all team members
External environment and industry analysis report	All the team members will be responsible to complete within their specific fields during the research, writing and initial editing stages
Written report & Presentation to Client	All the team members will be responsible to complete during the research, writing and initial editing stages and at the final presentation to client

Members of the group are required to meet to discuss the development of the project at the following mentioned dates:

The members should update their work progress through the discussion of Black Board for the relevant sections. The members need to update their tasks in every two days until the finalization of report at the end of the project date.

Team action plan

The team members agree to abide by the following guidelines for the team conduct

Behavior	Consequence of breach
1. Regular meetings and communication in keeping the project on track	Detailed explanation for failure to attend in first case uploaded on Blackboard. In case of 2ndfailure to comply with the target date, team coach will decide next course of action, in consultation with other team members
2. Contribution of tasks equally	Failure in compliance with the team objectives will be remarked on the Blackboard in the first case
3. Completion of allotted tasks on time	Failure in adherence to deadlines must be inform to the other team members and required to update the documents on the Blackboard
4. Agreement to provide respect the command and instructions of the team coach for the procedures	The specialized leading member of any task is required to notify the members for any kind of breach to make others aware of any problems for the purpose of smooth work flow

Member A

Member B

Member C

Me

Date: 01.08.2016

Personal Learning Goals

Considering the project of Information Technology outsourcing by PTG telecommunications, including me and other three members of the organization, my personal administration and skills on conducting various activities have been developed. I participated in four out of five activities that involved research, planning and drafting several information regarding the research and execution. I analyzed the areas of strength and the areas to develop my skills and competence along with the opportunities and threats of performance in a team.

• Ensure all the tasks are completed on deadline
• Being able to apply learned subject content to work place situations
• Work effectively with group members throughout the project
• Being able to apply business principles, overviews, discipline issues and knowledge to a real-world

Being involved with the telecommunication company PTG since six months, I have acquired immense knowledge in the sector of information technology with respect to several technological software applications. Being a member of the project team, I developed the knowledge of current economic conditions and market scenario within and outside Australia while researching about the organizations. Apart from that, while analyzing the benefits of outsourcing the technological services, I could enhance the different business functions that are important to render best services and generate maximize profitability.

As a member of the group, I gained confidence to cope up with the working efficiency of other team members with respect to the speed, technology of research and presentation of ideas. I learnt to be composed and calm while working in a team of four members because it is difficult to maintain the work balance and time management in a group activity. I learnt that there should be proper communication between the members so that there is effective outcome of the team project. The most essential factor of a sound group activity is management of time and well co-ordination among the members (Jaber et al. 2015). I learnt that I have the ability to perform my activities within the limited time and with better quality.

Analyzing and measuring the progress of project is essential since it directly relates to the success or failure of the assignment project. Performance of the work should be evaluated as per the projects requirement and actual work done. Following are the steps necessary to adapt for measuring the work progress:

• Documenting the learning objectives
• Setting of effective principles and standards
• Segregation and structure of the work to be undertaken
• Preparing a time schedule for completion of each section of the project
• Evaluating the actual performance with the target standards
• Identification of the deviation and reasons thereof
• Making amendments

Individual performance and group performance are two different aspects one can identify the strengths and weakness as their capability (Lacity and Khan 2016). I found the same for me. Working within a team with three fellow members, I realized the areas where I need to develop my efficiency and competence. As the most important factor of successful performance in a team is management of time and communication to co-ordinate among the members. I need to develop my skills of communication with the team members to present the work more effectively.

Team charter

Further, I learnt that I have to be more patient and manage research study and executing the data and information. It is also important to have a planned structure of the different activities to balance the work with other members. Hence, I have to enhance my quality on planning a proper and effective structure to save time and better presentation with maximum information. It is very common in any group activity to have certain conflicts, which should be handled carefully and patiently. It is one of the essential criteria of group activity I have to progress for better results and outcomes.

The group activity brought certain opportunities for me that are beneficial for the development of career. The ability to perform with team members within the allocated time and with the best quality is a biggest challenge of a group activity. I exhibit to my reporting manager the ability of performance with a balance between the research study and execution of the activities.

This project activity gave me an opportunity to lead a particular activity for identification of benefits of outsourcing the information technology services. Conducting a survey for the organizations that need updated software services was also a challenging work for me. It was a great learning experience for me on management of time, co-ordination between members, relevance of specific information and execution of the same in final presentation.

Since the company requires knowledgeable and experienced employees and team members to proceed with the objectives of business operations. The requirements of the team members are:

• Experienced and proficient personnel in technical support
• Efficient persons for the purpose of identification of required marketing area
• Knowledgeable personnel in the area of marketing the technical products
• Knowledgeable people in identifying the customer requirements and needs

Challenges

One of the biggest challenges or risks of group activity are to maintain the work and communication balance with the team members. Another significant challenge is leading a team to generate the desired and successful outcome. Therefore, I need to focus on two factors that drive a group activity to perform in the best manner.

Therefore, the project was one of the advantageous projects that gave me opportunity to prove my efficiency and explore knowledge in different areas other than the typical information system department. Involvement in the activities of analyzing the organizations of different areas, identification of benefits, preparation and measurement of price structure were various essential activities that gave me the opportunity to enhance my knowledge. I also learnt to manage the time to complete and review the allotted work so that there should be proper and accurate results and outcomes of the project. Group activity helped me to develop my capability of communication with the fellow members and understanding the style of performing work by others. Being a leader of one of the project activity, I got an opportunity to manage the work of team members effectively to produce the desired result of the information technology outsourcing software.       

Conclusion

Since, the sector of information technology is very important for all the organizations in the globalization era, it is essential to be aware of the current economy and industrial market scenario. Therefore, research study helps to enhance the knowledge on the global financial position and economic factors. The project on information technology outsourcing was a great help to explore the business functions in large perspective and at different levels of strategic analysis. So, this proposal was an immense prospect for me to develop my awareness in economic and financial sectors as well.

Reference List

Jaber, J.O., Elkarmi, F., Alasis, E. and Kostas, A., 2015. Employment of renewable energy in Jordan: Current status, SWOT and problem analysis.Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 49, pp.490-499.

Lacity, M.C. and Khan, S.A., 2016. Transaction Cost Economics on trial again: A commentary on “The Role of Transaction Cost Economics in Information Technology Outsourcing Research: A Meta-Analysis of the Choice of Contract Type”. Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 1(25), pp.49-56.

Ravindran, K., Susarla, A., Mani, D. and Gurbaxani, V., 2015. Social capital and contract duration in buyer-supplier networks for information technology outsourcing. Information Systems Research, 26(2), pp.379-397.