The Ethics and Benefits of Outsourcing

Paper Summary:

This paper presents the business and political argument against outsourcing. It looks at the case of plant relocation by Karen Musalo, director of the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics International Human Rights and Migration Project and discusses the ethics and benefits of outsourcing. The paper then studies the impact to business operations if the company, Electrocorp, moved to Mexico, the Philippines, South Africa, or stayed in the United States.

From the Paper:

"Both the government and unions have been working to increase those rights, especially when it comes to safety and the environment, and this work shows a step in the right direction for democracy and human rights. According to Esslaar, however, employees in South America still see outsourcing as derogatory and "socially suboptimal" (2002). According to Esselaar, who completed a study of outsourcing in South Africa, employees saw outsourcing as suboptimal because it decreases the availability of jobs and pay, allows employment conditions to suffer, and thwarts the power of Unions (Esselaar 2002). Just as the company's presence in the other two countries would have enabled them to continue to pay workers low wages and allow poor working conditions, so to do laborers in South Africa agree that the case is the same with them. When outsourcing does work, Esselaar argues, it is when workers are treated not as employees but as independent contractors, able to be in control of their own working environment (2002)."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Esselaar, Jeanne. (2002). The Debate over Outsourcing in South Africa: Evidence from a case study. Proceedings from Development Policy Research Unit Conference '02. Muldersdrift, Johannesburg.
• Casale, Frank J. (2006). The Outsourcing Institute: Mexico Trends & Opportunities. Retrieved June 1, 2008, from, http://www.outsourcing.com/mexico_trends/mexico.html
• Roberts, Russell (2000). The Choice. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
• Unknown. (n.d.). The Future Is Bright for Outsourcing Done Right. Retrieved June, 1, 2008, from http://pioutsource.com

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• Analytical Essay # 3904 : "Global Outsourcing in American Industry"

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