Outsourcing Is the American Way - Coursework Example

 Outsourcing Is the American Way Canto argues that America and its corporations benefit far more from outsourcing than we are led to believe. There would be a lot of retaliation going on if there were no outsourcing present. However, Lou Dobbs, conservative former anchor on CNN, says that “the chairman of the President's Council of Economic Advisers couldn't go beyond saying outsourcing is ‘probably’ a plus for our economy, ‘in the long run.’ The problem is, there's no empirical evidence to support that position.”1 Without a doubt, the U.S. probably benefits from outsourcing more than dissenters argue from the opposite viewpoint. Although the issue is that outsourcing exports jobs, it actually helps import other jobs. 1. Were the problems or issues expressed effectively? Describe how the problems or issues were or were not best expressed. Lou Dobbs does not do an effective job of arguing against outsourcing jobs. In fact, most of the jobs that are outsourced are because the technological capabilities to run many of these customer service centers with phone banks and high-speed Internet capabilities would be difficult—not to mention expensive—to maintain in the United States. Since India already has expanded its WiFi networks to accommodate several workers at cheaper prices, this actually keeps the production costs of products low because the customer support can be cheaply outsourced, thus giving companies more opportunities to invest their revenue elsewhere which can significantly increase their profit—and in turn, benefit employees and vested interests here in the U.S. 2. How would you determine the credibility of the sources of information used by the authors in the articles when investigating the problems or issues presented by your topic? The National Review is a well-known source, with writers that tend to give even-handed, centrist views on all the topics they cover. Lou Dobbs, on the other hand, is a conservative—and it could even be said ‘right-wing’—commentator who only projects personal opinions supported by very little factual evidence. Mr. Dobbs is discriminatory against minorities and any other factions that don’t agree with his corporate elitist attitude and approach to the real issues at hand—ultimately making his claims that much less credible. Ultimately, Mr. Canto, seeing as how he writes for the Review, has much more credible insights. 3. Compare two steps that would be most effective in refining solutions to the problem and resolutions to the issues presented by your topic. Two issues that might be well to be researched include: 1) whether or not outsourcing is truly the issue; and 2) how we might be able to create jobs in America since outsourcing is a way to get cheap labor to significantly reduce a company’s overhead. Regarding the first point, we need to realize if outsourcing really is the big problem some conservatives make it out to be. “In spite of what is said in much of the press, the greatest beneficiary of outsourcing is the U.S. itself. We import many more jobs than we export. Foreign companies all over the world are attracted by our political stability and high worker productivity.”2 If we consider the fact that more jobs in America are created due to less capital being spent on low-skill jobs that could be outsourced, outsourcing might not be considered the demon that many people think it is. 4. Identify three strategies that could help you foster criticism when evaluating both arguments for your topic. Three strategies that could help foster criticism when evaluating both arguments for the topic include: finding out how many jobs that are actually outsourced are paid at wage levels acceptable to ordinary Americans; finding out distinct statistics as to how many outsourced jobs would actually be feasible to create jobs in the United States; and finally, researching whether U.S. companies—and workers—actually benefit more than they suffer as a result of outsourcing. All three of these issues should be thoroughly researched in order to make sure that there are no hasty decisions being made in totally doing away with outsourcing—which, it can be argued, actually help the U.S. economy. 5. Identify three approaches that would be most effective in refining solutions to the problem. Three approaches that would be most effective in refining solutions to the problem include: finding jobs for workers that were jobs that did not need to be outsourced; cutting outsourcing completely when, in certain circumstances, it is found that U.S. workers could just as adequately perform the jobs necessary to be completed; and finally, another approach that would be helpful in refining solutions to the problem would be having a Congressional task force evaluate the legitimacy of claims that outsourcing hurts the American people and American companies—at which point outsourcing could be outlawed. These are just three viable approaches. 6. Identify at least three errors affecting truth and validity in the arguments for your chosen topic. At least three errors affecting truth and validity in the arguments for outsourcing include the following. Outsourcing does not really take away jobs, it actually allows room for more good salaries to be provided by companies who do not want to give these low-skill jobs to American workers. Secondly, outsourcing frees up a lot of income that could otherwise be utilized by companies in investments as well as the creation of American jobs that are quality and high-paying. Third, outsourcing provides opportunities for foreigners to obtain economic advancement, whereas keeping such jobs in the United States would provide little to no economic advancement for Americans doing the same work. 7. Summarize the steps you completed while evaluating both sides of your topic. The steps that were completed, in order to evaluate both sides of the topic, were the following. The first step was to read both articles objectively in order to assess what the position each writer took in his arguments. The second step was to read the articles over a third time for clarifying their positions in my own mind. The third step was reading short biographies of the two writers’ different background. The fourth step was to critically evaluate the materials, considering the background or biases of each writer involved. The fifth and final step was to draw my own conclusions based on the evidence and fill out this report. 8. Explain what techniques you would use to present your ideas on this topic and persuade others effectively. In order to logically persuade people about the benefits of outsourcing, I would provide several statistics showing how outsourcing does not hurt Americans, but actually helps themselves as well as American companies. First, I would demonstrate how American companies actually save revenue by outsourcing to cheaper labor that no American would be able to live on. Secondly, it would be noted that supporting foreign outsourcing of these low-skill jobs would actually be able to give some poorer people some upward financial mobility in their own countries. Third, it would be duly noted that these outsourced jobs are completed by workers who are actually providing 24/7 live phone support and other services that Americans regularly use but for which they don’t want to have to pay much if anything at all—something that would be impossible to accomplish if these jobs weren’t given to people in foreign locales. 9. Identify three approaches you will use to apply these techniques to effective writing and speaking skills. Three approaches that I will use to apply these techniques to effective writing and speaking skills would include the following. First, in writing, I would always read first to find out what the position of the person’s argument would be. Secondly, I would read detailed evidence about the writer’s biography so I could find out that person’s biases. Third, I would write a piece that would take into account the author’s personal biases and present a balanced view of the subject. With regard to speaking skills, I would produce a speech that would first include an introduction, body, and logical conclusion based upon the empirical and statistical evidence (hard knowledge) as well as soft knowledge upon which I had proven my points in the body of the speech. This is how I would present convincing evidence within my written pieces and speaking engagements. WORKS CITED Canto, Victor A. "Outsourcing Is the American Way: In Spite of What Pundits Say, the U.S. Wins When Jobs Go Offshore,” National Review Online. Retrieved 6 April 2004. Available: . Pgh. 2. Dobbs, Lou. Exporting America: Why Corporate Greed Is Shipping American Jobs Overseas. New York: Warner Books, 2004. Pp. 104. Read More