Human Resource Article Essays
This article compares the human resource practices in the US and those abroad. It seeks to explain why most successful US companies, especially Apple have outsourced their manufacturing to Asia and Europe leaving the American worker without a job. The authors of the article studied human resource practices in Asia as compared to America. They interviewed relevant human resource and business professionals seeking to understand the developing trend of outsourcing American jobs.
The article pays close attention to Apple. Considering other American companies in their successful days such as General Motors and General Electric which employed Americans even when the decision was not the best financially, the article suggests that these companies felt an obligation towards the American workers. However, present companies especially in the electronic field do not feel any obligation to give Americans manufacturing jobs. The article suggests that one of the reasons Apple outsources manufacturing to Asia and China in particular is that the workforce there is cheap and amazingly flexible. For Apple, the article suggests, the cheap labor isn’t paramount to them as is the workforce organization in Chinese manufacturing companies. The workforce is huge and available for work at any particular time if needed. Companies have even built dormitories for workers to live in and the workers work twelve hour shifts. The article gives an example of a change that former Apple CEO, Steve Jobs made only six weeks towards the launch of the iPhone. Workers were woken up at midnight in China, given a snack and in 96 hours the change had been made and 10,000 iPhones were being manufactured every day. Apple executives, according to the article, say there is no march for this in the US. The US lacks in numbers of mid-level workers, only being dominant in highly educated workers, which unfortunately is not what is needed in the manufacturing business.
Another reason for outsourcing jobs is availability of inputs to the manufacturing plants in China. The distribution channels of electronic parts in China are well established making it the best point of distribution for Apple. The cost of sourcing parts in China is subsidized and the parts are quickly available making it attractive to electronic companies.
The article, however acknowledges that Apple employs more people in the US than ever. The company also provides employment to people in the distribution businesses and thousands in software companies. Apple acknowledges that it does not have an obligation towards the US job market but has an obligation to make the best devices for the US and other markets.
Human resource practices in the US have been overtaken by other countries which have improved themselves and attracted US companies with their cheaper and more productive workers. The US on the other hand has continued to train high level workers who cannot work at manufacturing plants because they are too expensive and lack the knowhow. Even as the labor market in the US is being improved, policy makers should consider factors that will affect manufacturing in the country. Raising wages for companies in the US will make some workers more comfortable but will lead to more job loses as more companies turn to the East for manufacturing and distribution solutions. At the level of production that the iPhone is manufactured, there is no plant in the US which could handle such a load and with the efficiency like the one China provides. The US labor stake holders ought to think of ways to ease their workers transition from their present form to be able to compete with their counterparts abroad and bring back jobs to the country
