Why would a company choose to outsource? what are the advantages and disadvantages to outsourcing?

A company would likely outsource service or manufacturing to reduce service or production costs; this is why a majority of consumer products are made in east Asian countries, as they have very low manufacturing and labor costs. However, these cheap goods and services tend to have lower quality and/or performance when compared to their domestic, higher-priced counterparts. In short, outsourcing is generally used to cut costs, but the quality of goods or services typically suffers to some degree.