Final answer:
Outsourcing and offshoring are strategies used by companies to reduce costs and improve efficiency. Offshoring is a subset of outsourcing, and companies can engage in both practices. The product life cycle is not directly related to offshoring and outsourcing.
Step-by-step explanation:
Outsourcing and offshoring are both strategies used by companies to reduce costs and improve efficiency. Outsourcing is the practice of hiring an outside firm, sometimes located abroad, to perform tasks that were previously done internally. Offshoring, on the other hand, involves the company physically moving its own operations overseas to access cheaper labor markets.
Therefore, statement 1 is true: offshoring is a subset of outsourcing. However, statement 3 is false: outsourcing is not a subset of offshoring. Companies can engage in both outsourcing and offshoring as separate strategies to achieve their goals.
Regarding statement 2, it is incorrect to say that companies typically engage in either outsourcing or offshoring. In fact, companies often use a combination of both practices depending on their specific needs and circumstances.
Lastly, statement 4 is not directly related to offshoring and outsourcing. The product life cycle refers to the stages a product goes through from development to decline, and offshoring practices are not specifically associated with any particular stage of the product life cycle.