Week 2: Foreign Direct Investment and Regional Economic Integration - Discussion

Ethics in International Business (graded)

Under what conditions is it ethically defensible to outsource production to a developing world where labor costs are lower when such actions also involve laying off long-term employees in the firm's home country?

Responses

Responses are listed below in the following order: response, author and the date and time the response is posted. Response Author Date/Time Production 3/9/2013 4:54:33 PM Outsourcing Professor Hamilton We used to complain that companies that outsource are contributing to United States jobs going overseas. This phenomenon in on the rise again.

RE: Production Ermira McCaskey 3/10/2013 3:08:25 PM Outsourcing One reason why companies outsource their production overseas is profit and I don’t think we can blame the companies for seeking ways to increase their profit and taking advantages of cheap labor and materials, and as Friedman says, “for as long as the company stays within the rules of law”. Under this condition, outsourcing would be ethically defensible.However I do think that companies have social responsibilities to their home country and should carefully involve these social responsibilities in decision making when deciding to outsource.

RE: Production Daterryon Sturghill 3/10/2013 4:39:16 PM Outsourcing I see that a lot of American companies are outsourcing not merely blue collar labor, other than white collar positions to the rising world. We are in front of a questionable job market where positions that they may have sought when they started their college degrees are being “shipped abroad.” Some of us will dispute that companies have to perform what is best for all stakeholders, and if that means taking benefit of cheaper labor costs somewhere else, subsequently is the suitable plan. Additionally on the other hand, will almost certainly disagree that companies be indebted a social debt to their home countries, and that devotion from long term employees should be satisfied.

RE: Production Bethuel Toroitich 3/10/2013 5:19:01 PM Outsourcing I agree with you guys that home companies will continue to outsource jobs as long as the conditions and the cost of production at the home country are not favorable i.e tax codes. Because one the reasons why companies outsource is in order produce cheaply and to sell their goods and services at a cheaper price which everybody likes. With the global competition where people buy things online people look for