BAE Systems evaluated five strategies for radically cutting HR costs without cutting HR services: do it all in$-$house; hire an external consultancy to oversee a onetime, big$-$bang project; use a fee$-$for$-$service external provider of HR services; develop a new HR capability as a joint venture with an external firm; and, develop an enterprise partner relationship with an external firm. They chose to pursue the latter strategy. Create a table that summarizes.. from a BAE systems perspective, the advantages and disadvantages of each strategy. Then, use this table to explain BAE Systems' decision to pursue the enterprise partnership relationship with Xchanging.

This enterprise partnership is a textbook example of the huge enabling role that IT can serve in transforming an organization's business activities. Explain how IT is being used to drive this transformation effort.

BAE Systems went against accepted convention by choosing a partner without proven, strong capabilities regarding the business activities being outsourced. What are the risks with such an approach? Why did BAE Systems decide to go this route despite these risks? Why has such a strategy worked here?

Should BAE Systems manage the relationship with Xchanging with a tight or loose governance approach? Explain your answer, being sure to provide a few illustrations of performance metrics that might be used.