Out sourcing is the process of hiring outside workers to complete tasks or functions of the company that would be done at a savings to the business big or small. The work is usually shipped out of the U.S. so the company can pay a lower wage making the work less expensive. This has been growing in popularity, which has many American workers worried whether they could lose a job due to outsourcing. The most common jobs that are outsourced are customer service and computer support. The jobs are sent to places like India and China where the price of labor is much less than in America. Most of the jobs sourced out are those that don't carry a great deal of difficulty.Â
There are some potential advantages to outsourcing. When a company outsources work for cheaper pay in another country, the company can then pass on the savings to the customer. Another advantage of outsourcing is to outsource a component of the work, that the company is not particularly interested in pursuing. This might mean that a company wants to focus on building great computers, but outsources the technical support. The company may not want to put a lot of time and effort into developing a great customer support system, its main interest is to spend the time on developing the best technology for the computers that they sell. The problem is that the customers want both great computers and great technical support, so the company must provide the customer with both.
More advantage of outsourcing is that the company only pays for the services they purchase, and bring opportunities to some impoverished countries. The company does not need to deal with hiring individuals and managing the staff. Also another savings is those foreign workers often do not demand health care and benefits.  The company is able to save money and only needs to pay for the services provided.  The work that is brought to these foreign countries brings revenue into the community helping the people improve their standard of living. While the workers are being paid a smaller wage than their American counterpart, these wages are a fair wage in their country and helping their economy.
There are some potential disadvantages of outsourcing. Every job that is shipped overseas is another lost job for an American. These American workers are angry about potentially losing their jobs. Job losses are not due to foreign workers delivering a better quality products or services, but because the competition will work for a lower wage and no health care benefits.  The outsourced workers have an unfair advantage as compared to the American workers, whose company must offer health insurance and has a minimum wage set by the government. Many places that provide the outsourced services have no organized unions to help them fight for better wages.
The companies can be looked upon as taking advantage of these people. Outsourcing sends a bad message to their employees and customers saying that they care more about making profits then they do their own employees or country, leaving them a negative impression in the minds of the consumers. This negative image may impact the company so that the saving may not be worthwhile to continue outsourcing. The work is typically not highly skilled so if someone had a job with a higher degree of difficulty they could be more secure in the fact that they won't get outsourced. However, business could start to outsource jobs with a higher degree of difficulty. They could train the staff at a lower price and have skilled workers. Meaning a larger group of people could have their job outsourced.
I believe after weighing both the positive and negative aspects of outsourcing, that there is a big financial incentive for a company to outsource to another country. Most of the work that is done in a company is done in the U.S. typically a small part is shipped out to overseas. As long as the amount does not increase and the jobs are those that don't have a high degree of skill. I believe outsourcing is good for the business and good for the consumer. Taking ethics out of the argument it makes perfect business sense to outsource work that could be done at a lower price. However ethically or in the long term will hurt our economy.
Works Cited
Hult, Kaye. "Ethics Of Outsourcing." Christian Century 121.23 (2004): 50. Academic Search
    Complete. Web. 14 Nov. 2011.
.
There are some potential advantages to outsourcing. When a company outsources work for cheaper pay in another country, the company can then pass on the savings to the customer. Another advantage of outsourcing is to outsource a component of the work, that the company is not particularly interested in pursuing. This might mean that a company wants to focus on building great computers, but outsources the technical support. The company may not want to put a lot of time and effort into developing a great customer support system, its main interest is to spend the time on developing the best technology for the computers that they sell. The problem is that the customers want both great computers and great technical support, so the company must provide the customer with both.
More advantage of outsourcing is that the company only pays for the services they purchase, and bring opportunities to some impoverished countries. The company does not need to deal with hiring individuals and managing the staff. Also another savings is those foreign workers often do not demand health care and benefits.  The company is able to save money and only needs to pay for the services provided.  The work that is brought to these foreign countries brings revenue into the community helping the people improve their standard of living. While the workers are being paid a smaller wage than their American counterpart, these wages are a fair wage in their country and helping their economy.
There are some potential disadvantages of outsourcing. Every job that is shipped overseas is another lost job for an American. These American workers are angry about potentially losing their jobs. Job losses are not due to foreign workers delivering a better quality products or services, but because the competition will work for a lower wage and no health care benefits.  The outsourced workers have an unfair advantage as compared to the American workers, whose company must offer health insurance and has a minimum wage set by the government. Many places that provide the outsourced services have no organized unions to help them fight for better wages.
The companies can be looked upon as taking advantage of these people. Outsourcing sends a bad message to their employees and customers saying that they care more about making profits then they do their own employees or country, leaving them a negative impression in the minds of the consumers. This negative image may impact the company so that the saving may not be worthwhile to continue outsourcing. The work is typically not highly skilled so if someone had a job with a higher degree of difficulty they could be more secure in the fact that they won't get outsourced. However, business could start to outsource jobs with a higher degree of difficulty. They could train the staff at a lower price and have skilled workers. Meaning a larger group of people could have their job outsourced.
I believe after weighing both the positive and negative aspects of outsourcing, that there is a big financial incentive for a company to outsource to another country. Most of the work that is done in a company is done in the U.S. typically a small part is shipped out to overseas. As long as the amount does not increase and the jobs are those that don't have a high degree of skill. I believe outsourcing is good for the business and good for the consumer. Taking ethics out of the argument it makes perfect business sense to outsource work that could be done at a lower price. However ethically or in the long term will hurt our economy.
Works Cited
Hult, Kaye. "Ethics Of Outsourcing." Christian Century 121.23 (2004): 50. Academic Search
    Complete. Web. 14 Nov. 2011.
.
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