Essay Homework
PART I: Are they better off?
In this module, through video links, we explore the impact of outsourcing on the people who are hired by US companies to complete the work for much, much lower wages. We watched videos by Jim Keady including the one where he tries to live on Nike wages as workers do.
Question A: To determine for yourself whether you believe Nike workers in other countries are better off because NIKE is there and provides jobs, RESEARCH and answer THREE of the following questions. You must support your answers with RESEARCH and URLs/Sites for that research. You must go beyond the clips and information I provided:
1) What is the cost living in the worker's country and how do the wages compare with average earnings?
2) Do the workers have to do this work? Why/why not?
3) Does having the US company there have a chilling impact on other home-grown industries?
4) How corrupt is the government there?
5) What is the life of a worker like since the US company came to the worker's country?
6) What do local people say about the company?
7) What benefits does the US company bring to the local community?
Question B: Based on your research above, is Keady telling the truth or is he wrong? Are workers making those wages better off? Conduct research beyond what I provided you to find information on whether workers at a Nike facility of your choice are better off because the US company is doing business there?
Part II: Look at the Board of Directors for Nike
Look at the NIKE corporate board members. Be sure you are looking at the corporate board members and not shareholders and not executive leadership only.
1) What do you notice about this board in terms of their gender, age and experience they bring to the board?
2) Based on perspectives which are missing, who would you recommend serve on the board and why?
3) How likely is this board to decide to limit CEO pay? Why do you believe that?
4) How likely is this board to look closely into the issues that Jim Keady raises? Why do answer that way?
Part III: Do the Math - Hidden Face of Globalization
As you watch the video of Hidden Face of Globalization, jot down this information:
In the clip at 6:03, it says:
A sewer makes between __11__ cents to _17___ cents an hour or as little as $__5.28________ a week. A sewer can work up to 107 hours a week.
The young girls who remove the string from the garments make __as little as $3.84 a week___.
The corporations have practically wiped out the cost of labor.
Now, do some math.
1) For a sewer working 12 hours a day for 7 days of week getting paid 11 cents an hour, it costs a company ______ a week.
2) Repeat, they are getting 84 hours of labor for __________ a week. (same answer as 1)
3) In the USA, a worker in TN would have to make minimum wage of $________ an hour. (can Google to find)
4) The first 40 hours of work would cost a company $ __________.
5) The remaining 44 hours would cost a company $ ____________ (rate of time and half) 44 Hours x (minimum wage + ½ minimum wage)
6) In Bangladesh, it costs a company $ ___________ for 84 hours of work. (same answer as 1 and 2)
7) In USA, it costs a company $_____________ for 84 hours of work. (add 4 and 5 together)
8) A COMPANY OUTSOURCING LABOR TO BANGLEDASH WOULD SAVE HOW MUCH TO DO SO ON ONE WORKER IN COMPARISON TO WHAT IT WOULD COST THEM TO HIRE SOMEONE IN TN TO DO THE WORK AT MINIMUM WAGE.
(7 - 6 = COST SAVINGS TO COMPANY)
So what?- Remember the Rule of Thumb
1) Now, what could the Board of Directors decide to do with those cost savings which are magnified for each worker it outsources to a country like Bangladesh? When answering think about the stakeholders (sewers doing work in factories, factory owners, towns where factories are located, customers, employees of the company back home, shareholders).
2) What do Board of Directors typically do with all these cost savings?
3) What do you believe the ethical action is for a board in using these cost savings? Why do you believe this way?
Part IV: Board of Directors for your Selected Documentary Company
Remember the Rule of Thumb
Look at the corporate board members for your selected company or nonprofit you are using in your documentary case analysis. Be sure you are looking at the board members and not shareholders, employees/ executive leadership only, or founders.
1) What do you notice about this board in terms of their gender, age and experience they bring to the board?
2) Based on perspectives which are missing, who would you recommend serve on the board and why?
3) You will have to RESEARCH to find this answer. What did the board know and/or do with regards to the unethical actions of the company? Did they ignore it? Did they defend the actions? Did they cover it up?
4) Why do you think the board did what it did as you discussed above in question 3?
Part V: Lessons Learned - Advice for the Board of Directors
The last part of the Documentary Case Analysis asks you to give advice to the company or organization you focused on to provide guidance to keep the unethical conduct from occurring again.
See the language from the documentary case analysis template:
Lessons for Other Organizations and Leaders
In this section, provide at least three lessons you take away from this book or Documentary and paper that you think other organizations and leaders need to realize if they want ethical organizations with ethical people within them.
Of course, provide no less than a paragraph discussion each lesson.
To get you thinking for that last part of the documentary case analysis, think about your advice to the Board of Directors. Give three specific ideas to the Board of Directors on what they should do to have ethical organizations with ethical people within them. You need a total of 22 quality sentences across the three ideas.
1) Idea 1 for Board of Directors
2) Idea 2 for Board of Directors
3) Idea 3 for Board of Directors
Format your homework according to the following formatting requirements:
(1) The answer should be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides.
(2) The response also includes a cover page containing the title of the homework, the student's name, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
(3) Also include a reference page. The Citations and references should follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length.