<p> Sample Questions (for structured interview) - Outsourcing Multiple Components of the Value Chain – Markus Biehl, Edmund Prater, Michael A. Smith</p><p>Before we get started, I will define some terms used in the interview to make sure we are talking about the same things. By outsourcing I mean the use of outside people or companies to perform activities that, traditionally, may have been performed by your company itself. Examples include outsourcing of parts of a product, of cleaning or maintenance tasks, or of administrative tasks such as parts of accounting. This definition does not contain activities that, due to the lack of capital of know how, cannot be performed by you and, therefore, has to be outsourced.</p><p>Function = a functional area of your company such as marketing, manufacturing, accounting, finance, and so on. Activity = specific, regularly performed tasks within a function, e.g., bookkeeping and revision as part of accounting or time recording and personnel development as part of personnel. </p><p>First of all, which of the following BEST describes your involvement with outsourcing activities in your company. Would you say you:  1. Make the decision whether to outsource (with or without consulting others in your organization)  2. Have been part of committees or task forces that decide collectively whether to outsource  3. Are consulted by individuals or committees for input into the outsourcing decision  4. Are not involved in the outsourcing decision process but have been affected by a decision to outsource  5. Are not involved and have not been affected by a decision to outsource. I will read some functions that companies have outsourced. As I read each one, please tell me whether you are now outsourcing activities in this area, consider outsourcing activities, or have no plans to outsource any activities.</p><p>(4=outsource entire function, 3 = outsource most activity of this function, 2 = outsource about half of all activities within this function, 1= outsource a few activities of this function, 0=outsource nothing within this function, E = outsource no activities within this function but consider outsourcing some in the future)</p><p>Primary Functions  Logistics  Operations (excluding Purchasing/Procurement/Manufacturing)  Manufacturing  Marketing and Sales  Customer Service Support Activities  Company Infrastructure: Information Systems, Maintenance, Finance, Accounting, Interviewer note exact area  Human Resources Management  R&D, Development  Procurement  OTHER (please specify) Interviewer note exact area Interviewer: mark areas in table (below) Marketing, After-Sales Information (1=yes 2=no) Locistics Manufg. Maintenance Finance Accounting Personnel R&D, Design Procurement Sales Service Systems</p><p>Manufg.</p><p>Marketing, Sales</p><p>After-Sales Service</p><p>Information Systems</p><p>Maintenance</p><p>Finance</p><p>Accounting</p><p>Personnel</p><p>R&D, Design</p><p>Procurement</p><p>Other 1</p><p>Other 2</p><p>Which activities do you consider your core competencies?</p><p>What were the main reasons for outsourcing ______(function)? Interviewer: Please repeat question for all functions outsourced by the company</p><p>Within the functions of which you currently outsource activities, do you consider outsourcing more activities? (Please name.) -- If yes, which were your main reasons? When you made your outsourcing decision for ______(function), did you consider outsourcing ______(function) along with it? If yes, why? If no, why not? Interviewer: Please repeat question for all combinations of functions outsourced by the company</p><p>Is there a relationship between your decision to outsource ______(function) and ______(function)? Interviewer: Answer may be "none". Please repeat question for all combinations of functions outsourced by the company</p><p>To your knowledge, does ______(function) and ______(function) share common activities? Interviewer: Please repeat question for all combinations of functions outsourced by the company Would you say that functions ______(function) and ______(function),exchange or share information? If yes, how strong is the information flow on a scale from 0 to 4, with 0 = no sharing of information, 1 = informal sharing of information, for example through word of mouth, 2 = formal sharing of information through manual systems, e.g., forms, 3 = formal sharing of information through databases, 4 = formal sharing of information through data exchange Interviewer: Please repeat question for all combinations of functions outsourced by the company</p><p>Can you please tell me the sequence in which you outsourced all activities? What is the reason for this sequence?</p><p>Are there any functions most of your competitors outsource and you don’t? If yes, why? Are there any functions you outsource and most of your competitors don’t? If yes, why?</p><p>Interviewer: if the company seems to have undergone an interesting or difficult process regarding an outsourcing decision, it would be interesting to write a case study about this. If so, please ask: Would you generally be interested in participating in an outsourcing case study? In a case study, we would cooperate with you in more depth and analyze in detail the decisions already made and the decision options still available. Such a case would also be used for teaching purposes, with actual data (and other information) changed such that competitors cannot learn anything from it. </p><p>Interviewer: ask about supplemental material about the company such as leaflets, brochures, press releases, or annual reports, if available. </p>