Identify the problem
While companies have been outsourcing various activities for centuries, in recent decades, the increased growth of products and services that businesses have moved offshore has not only contributed to increased global economic growth and prosperity but also has faced much controversy and debate while Americans today attempt to protect the domestic business against offshoring. The overall problem includes transportation costs, disruption in innovation and productivity, reduction of quality of products and services, job displacement, and more importantly the loss of 3.3 million domestic jobs (Sao & Gupta, 2013). From an ethical standpoint, Kantian ethics states that people should never treat other as a “means to end, but …show more content…
It would be their moral duty to set up a fund to educate and train American workers for other kinds of work that cannot be outsourced. Unfortunately, not all employers feel morally obligated to do this. I would suggest the federal government step up and support these workers by passing mandatory laws in the event a company decides to take their work out of the country. The American Society of Civil Engineers has estimated that we need to invest $3.6 trillion by 2020 to rebuild our deteriorating roads, ports, airports, as well as fixing our fresh and waste water systems and other critically needed public facilities. This can be made possible if we train workers to fill these types of jobs and invest in rebuilding America’s declining infrastructure (Scott, 2015). If we consider creating affordable training opportunities, we can create millions of jobs right here in the United States, especially good jobs in manufacturing and construction. This would raise U.S. wages and begin to reverse the growing U.S. income inequality that has held back the economy for the past 30 years. New generations today are told early on in public school that college is paramount for future success, unlike many of our blue collar workers who because they were not educated had difficulty finding good paying jobs. It is this reason that companies who chose to outsource work should …show more content…
Companies, I believe, have a moral responsibility to both current and retired employees, domestically and abroad. If we use Emmanuel Kant’s categorical imperatives, which describe several “formulations” that we should follow no matter what, we can investigate the responsibilities of these companies as they make decisions to expanding their outsourcing endeavors. Kant’s practical imperative mandates that people should never be treated as a means to an end (Van Camp, 2014). This means that employers have an obligation to be concerned for the welfare of their employees, and not treat them as tools to achieve their own goals and satisfy selfish needs. When we look at outsourcing, although the company itself may benefit by way of revenue, the employees that make up the company may be left behind and are often overlooked, despite the hard work and dedication they have put in. Another Kant formulation says to follow ethical rules, or maxims, that one would want everyone else in the world to follow. Much like the golden rule, this categorical imperative begs employers to consider whether their actions are ethical enough to become universal rule (Van Camp, 2014). Considering the maxim, ‘I ought to lay off my domestic labor force and bring my jobs abroad in order to increase my profit,’ if we were to universalize this statement,
While companies have been outsourcing various activities for centuries, in recent decades, the increased growth of products and services that businesses have moved offshore has not only contributed to increased global economic growth and prosperity but also has faced much controversy and debate while Americans today attempt to protect the domestic business against offshoring. The overall problem includes transportation costs, disruption in innovation and productivity, reduction of quality of products and services, job displacement, and more importantly the loss of 3.3 million domestic jobs (Sao & Gupta, 2013). From an ethical standpoint, Kantian ethics states that people should never treat other as a “means to end, but …show more content…
It would be their moral duty to set up a fund to educate and train American workers for other kinds of work that cannot be outsourced. Unfortunately, not all employers feel morally obligated to do this. I would suggest the federal government step up and support these workers by passing mandatory laws in the event a company decides to take their work out of the country. The American Society of Civil Engineers has estimated that we need to invest $3.6 trillion by 2020 to rebuild our deteriorating roads, ports, airports, as well as fixing our fresh and waste water systems and other critically needed public facilities. This can be made possible if we train workers to fill these types of jobs and invest in rebuilding America’s declining infrastructure (Scott, 2015). If we consider creating affordable training opportunities, we can create millions of jobs right here in the United States, especially good jobs in manufacturing and construction. This would raise U.S. wages and begin to reverse the growing U.S. income inequality that has held back the economy for the past 30 years. New generations today are told early on in public school that college is paramount for future success, unlike many of our blue collar workers who because they were not educated had difficulty finding good paying jobs. It is this reason that companies who chose to outsource work should …show more content…
Companies, I believe, have a moral responsibility to both current and retired employees, domestically and abroad. If we use Emmanuel Kant’s categorical imperatives, which describe several “formulations” that we should follow no matter what, we can investigate the responsibilities of these companies as they make decisions to expanding their outsourcing endeavors. Kant’s practical imperative mandates that people should never be treated as a means to an end (Van Camp, 2014). This means that employers have an obligation to be concerned for the welfare of their employees, and not treat them as tools to achieve their own goals and satisfy selfish needs. When we look at outsourcing, although the company itself may benefit by way of revenue, the employees that make up the company may be left behind and are often overlooked, despite the hard work and dedication they have put in. Another Kant formulation says to follow ethical rules, or maxims, that one would want everyone else in the world to follow. Much like the golden rule, this categorical imperative begs employers to consider whether their actions are ethical enough to become universal rule (Van Camp, 2014). Considering the maxim, ‘I ought to lay off my domestic labor force and bring my jobs abroad in order to increase my profit,’ if we were to universalize this statement,