Which term describes using an outside provider to perform work that could otherwise be done by an employee?

• A. In-house
• B. Delegation
• C. Outsource
• D. Internalize

Answer: (C)

Outsourcing means using an outside provider to perform a function that could be done by employees. This arrangement lets a business tap specialized skills, scale more quickly, or reduce costs by not maintaining those staff in-house. In hospitality, you might contract laundry processing, IT support, or payroll services to a third party rather than handling them with on-site staff, which is why outsourcing fits this description precisely.

Keeping work in-house means the tasks are done by your own employees. Delegation refers to assigning tasks to others within the organization, still internal. Internalize means bringing a function that was previously external back inside the company. None of these capture the external contracting aspect as clearly as outsourcing.