Monday, December 9, 2013
TWIF Flattener #8 - Insourcing
Use one of the current events sources linked at http://svhs-hwc-spring2014.blogspot.com/2013/12/approved-sources-for-twif-current.html to find a recent news article that relates to, supports, or refutes Friedman's assertion that insourcing was a "flattener." Your comment should include the title of the news article, a link to the article, and a summary of the article including an explanation of how the article relates to this point. Don't forget to check your rubric for evaluation criteria!
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President Visits Wisconsin Factory to Hail ‘Insourcing’ Plan
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/16/us/politics/obama-hails-insourcing-at-wisconsin-factory.html?_r=0
This article explains a lot about insourcing and relates to TWIF. The article tells that the United States and other countries are starting to hear enough about outsourcing and are starting insourcing. Insourcing is where services can be done by other companies. An example that is used in TWIF is UPS. The main job for UPS is to ship items. UPS can also perform insourcing by fixing broken or damaged items. After performing the insourcing, UPS will then ship the item. In the article, it tells how Obama plans to use insourcing more to bring jobs from China. The article and TWIF relate because both tell about the newer ways of countries choosing to use insourcing rather than outsourcing.
After Carriers Falter, Questions for Web Shopping
ReplyDeletehttp://www.reuters.com/article/2013/10/31/us-walmart-manufacturing-idUSBRE99U0NF20131031
Thomas Friedman discusses in-sourcing and how the United States Parcel Service(UPS) helped small companies sell goods to people through a process where UPS would pickup,repair, and return products to people without the companies having to do so. This article however, provides an example of how UPS , or in-sourcing could ruin a company. In this article, UPS became overwhelmed during the holiday season. Complaints poured in from across the country and this led some people to think about ordering products from places like Amazon to get fast shipping. The article shows a possible problem with Friedman's argument about in-sourcing.
Is 'Made in the USA' coming back?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-21541858
This article is about an American company, General Electric, that is beginning to take away its production in other countries. The company has exported their services to other countries, but they are reverting back to working in the United States. The article also says that insourcing is becoming the "new trend," and that moving production back to the states is about the economics. This relates to The World is Flat because one of Friedman says that companies use insourcing to their advantage to make the company more efficient and productive, just like General Electric.
President Visits Wisconsin Factory to Hail ‘Insourcing’ Plan, http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/16/us/politics/obama-hails-insourcing-at-wisconsin-factory.html
ReplyDeleteIn this article it talks about the way Obama it trying to encourage companies to manufacture here in the US rather than going o other countries. He aims to bring workers, from places like china, back to the US and to create millions of jobs because of the demands to work at these companies. Obama plans to get more companies, like Master Lock(mentioned in the article), to follow the plan to produce in the US rather than go to other countries.In TWF Friedman talks about UPS and how it ships for many companies all over the country, they insource in ways like directly taking and fixing computers for a company rather than take it then send it to them for repairs.
Outsourcing, Insourcing and Automation
ReplyDeletehttp://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/29/outsourcing-insourcing-and-automation/
Friedman describes insourcing as using the expertise of a company’s certain department in other ways to add value to the department and its products. He believes that this can increase efficiency and provide an easier way to solve problems throughout the company. This article talks about the benefits and problems of workers for certain companies. It also explains the reasons for structural unemployment. This article relates to Friedman’s assertion because factories that relocate back to the U.S. are looking for people in certain fields that are qualified to use their skill set in many different ways. For example, jobs that used to require manual labor would now require workers in that same field to use computers to operate machinery for more efficient work.
Apple Stores now fixing cracked iPhone 5C screens
ReplyDeletehttp://money.cnn.com/2014/01/20/technology/apple-store-iphone-5c/
Apple stores are now fixing iPhone 5C screens on-site for $149. Before the stores would have to ship it to the manufacturing company located somewhere else, have the phone fixed, then shipped back to that particular store. But with this new screen repair program it doesn't take nearly as much time to get the phone fixed. This is a perfect example of the flattener insourcing because now employees are able to perform the task of fixing a cracked iPhone. This is a new form of collaboration for Apple between the customer and the employee.
http://www.npr.org/2013/01/04/168616446/after-outsourcing-boom-an-insourcing-comeback
ReplyDeleteThis article discusses that some companies are going back to using manufacturers in the U.S. (insourcing) after many years of sending out work to be manufactured in China or Mexico (outsourcing). Companies are now starting to realize that it is not worth sending their products overseas because it eventually costs their company more money to make their products there rather than in the U.S. On the other hand, it is also expensive to bring their manufacturing back to the U.S. For example, it is costing GE appliances eight hundred million dollars to bring their assembly lines back into the U.S. This article also states that insourcing allows companies to grow and maintain the business. All of this flattens the world. This relates to Friedman’s argument that insourcing is flattening the world because it is not worth companies switching back since it costs more money; making it good and bad for companies.