The Impact of International Outsourcing and Its Relationship to Unemployment in America

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The Impact of International Outsourcing and its Relationship to Unemployment in America December 4, 2011 Introduction This essay will explore the impact of international outsourcing and its relationship to unemployment in America. The author will identify how the legal system does not appear to hinder the current trends of outsourcing and will compare the legality of practice with the ethical decisions facing today’s business managers. We have learned thus far that there are many differences between the various countries we have investigated. Cultural, social, political, economic, and legal systems all affect the way that an organization is allowed to operate and how it can treat its employees. Perhaps one of the most commonly known differences between some countries and a reason that outsourcing is so popular is that wages vary from nation to nation. For example, the hourly rate of production workers varies widely across the globe; those in Mexico are paid the equivalent of $2.38 per hour while their counterparts in Germany are being paid $25.08, with a range of rates in between (Wienclaw, 2008, p. 2). Outsourcing, also known as offshoring, occurs when a firm moves a business process or function from one country to another. One might assume that it involves the loss of jobs that perform this business activity in one country and the creation of jobs in another. In order to discuss outsourcing and its impact on U.S. unemployment, it is important to further explore some interpretations and connotations of global outsourcing. Prior to the 1980’s doing business internationally focused mainly on obtaining natural resources, raw materials and cheap labor. As long as the jobs that were going overseas were the very low-skilled and low-paying jobs that American citizens didn’t necessarily desire, outsourcing was of no real economic concern.

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