The Benefits Of Sweatshops

1601 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Essay on whether sweatshops are ever acceptable with ethical theory

There are lots of sweatshops established in developing and less developed countries such as China and India. The main reason is the labor costs in those countries are much lower than developed countries. Due to the huge population in China and India, the wages will stay low in long term. Most of the workers are uneducated and unskilled, and they have to accept the low wages in order to pay for their daily necessities. The multinational companies like Apple Inc., IBM, H&M, Nike opened factories or outsourcing their products in China. These are unethical factories. A lot of people criticize the owners of these factories. However, all things are created by the demand. If sweatshops were useless, then they wouldn’t develop. Corporations want low …show more content…

Setting up sweatshop can help developing countries improve their technology level through the process of production. Developed countries usually transport modern technology such as machinery to their sweatshops in less developed areas, it gives the opportunities to sweatshop workers to access the advance technology. Also, they might use same or similar leadership styles and management methods as their home countries. For example: Laissez-Faire (To lacks direct supervision of employees and fails to provide regular feedback to those under his supervision), Autocratic (Allows managers to make decisions alone without the input of others. Managers possess total authority and impose their will on employees) and Participative (values the input of team members and peers, but the responsibility of making the final decision rests with the participative leader). The opening of sweatshops is also benefit the supply chain in developing areas. Sweatshops are usually used to produce variety components for technology and retail companies. In the production process, sweatshops have to purchase raw materials, transportations and installation services from local supply chains. For example, Apple’s sweatshops produces the components of iPhone and MacBook, the factories have to purchase steels and plastic from local firms. It will boost the revenue of the whole supply chain, and also help to increase …show more content…

The factors of production include land, labor, capital, and enterprise. Sweatshops must extract natural resources during the production process, which refers to one the factors of production: Land. Land not only including soil, but also means gas, river, oil, coal, and so on. Running a factory must involve all those things. When a country has plenty of factories, then the natural resources in that country will be overexploited. Moreover, heavy industrial will cause air pollution because they combusted large amount of coal. Usually factories occupy huge place, therefore company will cut down all the trees in the forest. For example, Shanghai has very serious smog problem. According to “Aqicn”, a real-time Index of air quality website for over 60 courtiers, the PM2.5 index in Shanghai is between 100 to 169in the last two

Show More
Related

  • Sweat, Fire and Ethics by Bob Jeffcott

    729 Words  | 2 Pages

    It is often said that products made in sweatshops are cheap and that is why people buy those products, but why is it behind the clothes or shoes that we wear that make sweatshops bad? In the article Sweat, Fire and Ethics by Bob Jeffcott is trying to persuade the people and tell them how sweatshops are bad. Bob Jeffcott supports the effort of workers of the global supply chains in order to win improved wages and good working conditions and a better quality of life of those who work on sweatshops. He mentions and describes in detail how the conditions of the sweatshops are and how the people working in them are forced to long working hours for little money. He makes the question, “we think we can end sweatshops abuses by just changing our individual buying habits?” referring to we can’t end the abuses that those women have by just stopping of buying their products because those women still have to work those long hours because other people are buying their product for less pay or less money.

    Read More

  • It Is Unethical To Pay Cheap Wages In Developing Countries

    333 Words  | 1 Pages

    In today’s world, increasing big companies open factories in developing countries but many people said it is unethical and the factories are sweatshops. Most of the sweatshops were opened in east Asia and third-world countries and regions. The companies open the sweatshops in order to get more benefits is a kind of very irresponsible behavior. For example, Apple's factories in China are not good and unethical. Audit finds

    Read More

  • the trounle with sweatshops

    795 Words  | 2 Pages

    The controversial issue of sweatshops is one often over looked by The United States. In the Social Issues Encyclopedia, entry # 167, Matt Zwolinski tackles the issues of sweatshops. In this article Matt raises a question I have not been able to get out of my head since I have begun researching this topic, “ are companies who contract with sweatshops doing anything wrong?” this article goes on to argue that the people who work in the sweatshops willingly choose to work there, despite the poor environment. Many people in third world countries depend on the sweatshops to earn what they can to have any hopes of surviving. If the sweatshops were to shut down many people would lose their jobs, and therefore have no source of income. This may lead people to steal and prostitution as well. this article is suggesting that sweatshops will better the economy by giving people a better job than what they may have had. Due to this the companies contracting with sweatshops are not acting wrong in any way. This was a deductive article it had a lot of good examples to show how sweatshops are beneficial to third world countries. Radly Balko seemed to have the same view point as Matt Zwolinski. Many people believe the richer countries should not support the sweatshops Balko believes if people stopped buying products made in sweatshops the companies will have to shut down and relocate, firing all of the present workers. Rasing the fact that again the worker will have no source of income, the workers need the sweatshop to survive. Balko also uses the argument that the workers willingly work in the current environments.

    Read More

  • Sweatshops In The 1800s

    907 Words  | 2 Pages

    Look down at the clothes you're wearing right now, chances are almost every single thing you are currently wearing was made in a sweatshop. It is estimated that between 50-75% of all garments are made under sweatshop like conditions. Designers and companies get 2nd party contractors to hire people to work in these factories, this is a tool to make them not responsible for the horrendous conditions. They get away with it by saying they are providing jobs for people in 3rd world countries so its okay, but in reality they are making their lives even worse. These companies and designers only care about their bank accounts so if they can exploit poor, young people from poverty stricken countries they surely will, and they do. A sweatshop is a factory

    Read More

  • Summary Of Sweatshops Choice And Exploitation By Zwolinski

    982 Words  | 2 Pages

    In his article “Sweatshops, Choice, and Exploitation” Matt Zwolinski attempts to tackle the problem of the morality of sweatshops, and whether or not third parties or even the actors who create the conditions, should attempt to intervene on behalf of the workers. Zwolinski’s argument is that it is not right for people to take away the option of working in a sweatshop, and that in doing so they are impeding on an individual’s free choice, and maybe even harming them. The main distinction that Zwolinski makes is that choice is something that is sacred, and should not be impeded upon by outside actors. This is showcased Zwolinski writes, “Nevertheless, the fact that they choose to work in sweatshops is morally significant. Taken seriously, workers' consent to the conditions of their labor should lead us to abandon certain moral objections to sweatshops, and perhaps even to view them as, on net, a good thing.” (Zwolinski, 689). He supports his argument of the importance of free choice by using a number of different tactics including hypothetical thought exercises and various quotes from other articles which spoke about the effects of regulation business. Throughout the article there were multiple points which helped illuminate Zwolinski’s argument as well as multiple points which muddle the argument a bit.

    Read More

  • Taking a Closer Look at Sweatshops

    550 Words  | 2 Pages

    With the continued rise of consumer "needs" in "industrial" countries such as the United States, and the consistently high price that corporations must pay to produce goods in these countries, companies are looking to "increase (their) profits by driving down costs any way possible... To minimize costs, companies look for places with the lowest wages and human rights protections" (Dosomething). Countries with lax or unenforced labor laws grant multinational corporations the leeway to use cheap foreign labor to mass-produce their commodities so that they can be sold in countries like America. These inexpensive, sometimes borderline illegal, establishments are known as sweatshops. In his book Timmerman discusses the topic of sweatshops in great detail. Originally in search of "where (his) T-shirt was made(;) (Timmerman) (went) to visit the factory where it was made and (met) the people who made (it)" (Timmerman5).

    Read More

  • Third World Sweatshops

    1409 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...e their product. Sweatshops are found usually all over the world and need to make a better decision as in more labor laws, fair wages, and safety standards to better the workers' conditions. It should benefit the mutually experiences by both the employers and the employees. Most important is the need to be educated about their rights and including local labor laws.

    Read More

  • Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas By Ursula Le Guin

    1007 Words  | 3 Pages

    Some people of North America know about these sweatshop workers, they feel bad and some also protest. They set up NGOs, send funds and donations but they never try to break the tradition of sweatshop working. They all assume that this is best for the society. An Idea can be drawn from William

    Read More

  • Sweat Shops are an Economic Stepping Stone

    1215 Words  | 3 Pages

    Many people in our society today are constantly asking, "Why do sweatshops exist?" The answer to this question is that companies like Nike and Wal-Mart use sweatshops to produce their goods for a much cheaper rate, to reduce the cost of their products. The problem with sweatshops is that the workers are subject to hard work in often times poor conditions for minimal pay. But although many people may condemn sweatshops, there are some advantages that many people overlook when arguing against sweatshops and their practices.

    Read More

  • Against Sweatshops

    1140 Words  | 3 Pages

    Some companies have acceded to public pressure to reduce or end their use of sweatshops. Such firms often publicize the fact that their products are not made with Anti-globalization activists and environmentalists also deplore transfer of heavy industrial manufacturing (such as chemical production) to the developing world. Although chemical factories have little in common with sweatshops in the original sense, detractors describe them as such and claim that there are negative environmental and health impacts (such as pollution and birth defects, respectively) on workers and the local community.

    Read More

  • Satire Essay On Sweatshops

    518 Words  | 2 Pages

    I don’t necessarily agree with people working their butts off, basically for nothing. The people that work in these sweatshops are under paid and over worked but that is why US companies send their business over to these foreign countries because they make more product for less labor. In some cases, it is a very sad situation. Companies do not operate ethically in these areas that condone human right abuse. Is it right, no but they still do it because it makes the company a profit along

    Read More

  • Negative Effects Of NAFTA

    1300 Words  | 3 Pages

    Sweatshops are factories that violate two or more human rights. Sweatshops are known in the media and politically as dangerous places for workers to work in and are infamous for paying minimum wages for long hours of labour. The first source is a quote that states that Nike has helped improve Vietnamese’s’ workers lives by helping them be able to afford luxuries they did not have access to before such as scooters, bicycles and even cars. The source is showing sweatshops in a positive light stating how before sweatshops were established in developing countries, Vietnamese citizens were very poor and underprivileged. The source continues to say that the moment when sweatshops came to Vietnam, workers started to get more profit and their lives eventually went uphill from their due to being able to afford more necessities and luxuries; one of them being a vehicle, which makes their commute to work much faster which in turn increases their quality of life. The source demonstrates this point by mentioning that this is all due to globalization. Because of globalization, multinationals are able to make investments in developing countries which in turn offers the sweatshops and the employees better technology, better working skills and an improvement in their education which overall helps raise the sweatshops’ productivity which results in an increase

    Read More

  • Sweatshops And Globalization Essay

    872 Words  | 2 Pages

    Globalization and industrialization contribute to the existence of sweatshops, which are where garments are made cheaply, because they are moving production and consumption of those cheap goods. Industrialization has enabled for global distribution, to exchange those goods around the world. They can also set apart the circumstances of consumption and production, which Western countries as mass consumers, are protected from of producers in less developed countries. These factories are usually located in less developed countries and face worker exploitation and changes in social structures. Technological innovation allows for machines to take the place of workers and do all the dirty work instead of workers doing hours of hard work by hand.

    Read More

  • Fashion Factories Uncovered Video Summary

    510 Words  | 2 Pages

    Personally, I am on the middle ground. I can see both sides of the argument. I feel as if the statements that are made to support sweatshops are valid as are the ones to appose them. I do not feel as if this has to do with the differences between China and Cambodia/ Bangladesh. We are from a wealthy economy, and we are privileged in the sense that we have ethics and rights for the workers.

    Read More

  • Persuasive Speech On Sweatshops

    1534 Words  | 4 Pages

    Sweatshop is a common term used to refer to factories that typically produce apparel; that have very low wages by modern U.S. standards, long working hours, and unsafe or unhealthy working conditions; that often don't obey labor laws; and that would generally be considered

    Read More

More about The Benefits Of Sweatshops

Open Document