What is a disadvantage of doing this?

Harry runs a hotel and has recently decided to contract an external supplier to provide the cleaning of the rooms .

What is a disadvantage of doing this?
A . This allows staff to focus on other areas
B. There is dependency on the supplier, which increases risk
C. The supplier will not perform as well as an internal team
D. This will be more expensive than providing the service in house

View Answer

Answer: B

Explanation:

Using an external supplier always comes with increased risk, as you become dependant upon them, and have less control over their performance (compared to an in-house team). In this example Harry will have the increased risk that the contract cleaners turn up late to their shifts, or don’t do a good job. However, there is no reason to believe that the supplier will not perform as well as an internal team- we don’t have enough information from the QUESTION NO: for this to be true .

What is true is the RISK is greater. The other answers are incorrect; the QUESTION NO: doesn’t indicate whether outsourcing the cleaning will be more or less expensive for Harry. Allowing staff to focus on other areas is an advantage not a disadvantage. See p.4 for more information on ‘External Suppliers’