The Ethics in Outsourcing Decisions Discussion

In today’s business environment, many companies have elected tooutsource work overseas in order to reduce costs and increase profit.Concurrently, this reduces the number of available jobs and level ofdisposable income in the American economy, potentially causing areduction in the sales of their products.

Do you feel these decisions are sound business practices being employed by the company or not?

Do the discussion and response each posted #1-3 down below.

Posted 1

Quantitatively, outsourcing is a sound business practice, It allows companies to reduce

labor costs and focus their capital on their main business functions. This, in turn, can increase profits.

Qualitatively, however, outsourcing is questionable. It is difficult toquantify customer trust. It seems like as the number of overseas callcenters has grown, so has the number of scan artists impersonatinglegitimate companies. Brand and company loyalty can also be hurt byoutsourcing, especially if the consumers take a harsh view on the lossof domestic jobs (Hayes, 2020). Additionally, outsourcing lowersbarriers to entry and increases competition, which benefits theconsumer, but hurts the companies that are unable to hold their own(Hayes, 2020). Finally, it eliminates domestic jobs in favor of cheapoverseas labor, but as this continues the labor costs in the countriesbeing outsourced to will increase, eliminating the advantage theyoriginally provided (Hayes 2020).

Overall, I think outsourcing is a sound business practice only in termsof profit for the individual company. In terms of economy and labor, Ithink it is questionable.

Posted 2

Outsourcingis a big part of business today. It does save a company, but thecompany must cut back on the quality of the product since the parts tomake the product are cheaper overseas then it is here in the U.S. TheU.S. gives the country money back for making the product in thatcountry. Although making product in other might be good for the companyin some ways it is bad for the company. Since there are people that donot want to buy product that were made in another country which can hurta company. The decisions to come back to the U.S. will help the companygrow. It will also bring back jobs as well and having jobs here willhelp to cut down on unemployment. Even though in the U.S. minimum wageis a lot higher in the U.S. compared to other country so that issomething to take into consideration when looking at start up cost of acompany.

Posted 3

Outsourcingwork overseas has been a major issue for some time now. Many peoplehave boycotted companies, due to their involvement with foreignsweatshops. Working conditions are hazardous and harsh. Children andadults are overworked with little pay and benefits. It’s unethical foremployees to be treated that way, but I believe that should be aseparate issue from the business decisions being made. Unfortunately,running a successful business would require one to make tough decisionsthat do not please everyone. In the present day, it is unrealistic for acompany to produce all of their products in the US and offer them toconsumers at a fair price. If work wasn’t outsourced, I’d expect thecost of goods and services to go up in value. Imagine the cost of yourfavorite products doubling. That doesn’t allow for much disposableincome. I feel that the decision to outsource work is completely thoughtout because it is some of the larger organizations that engage inoutsourcing. They know exactly what they are doing. With high corporatetaxes and desired wages in America, outsourcing will always be the mosteffective way to minimize expenses. It also keeps the US connected tothe global market, allowing Americans to obtain foreign goods at adiscounted price. Well-known establishments like Nike, Apple, CiscoSystems, Walmart, and IBM who possess strategically planned out businessstructures, conduct manufacturing overseas. Because of this, consumersare able to afford the electronics and goods they desire so much. IfApple products were only manufactured in the United States, it would bemore expensive to produce which means that the price to buy thoseproducts would also increase drastically.