International Business, Business world
Of late, there has cropped up many issues in the business world that were previously unheard of. The current competitive business world calls for numerous strategies. This has inspired change in decision taking and behavior of business enterprises. Sometime back, the manufacturing industry was the backbone of the American economy (Houseman et al., 115). However, with time the manufacturing industry was overtaken by the service industry which grew at a fast pace. The two industries are intertwined, and existence of the manufacturing industry boosts existence of the service industry while the vice versa is also true. In essence, the manufacturing industry provides room for innovation, which is very crucial for any economy (Ettlinger et al., 86). The question I choose to tackle in this context is ‘Are Manufacturing Jobs Better than Service Jobs?'
Manufacturing is turning raw materials into finished products. It involves the use of machines and human labor (Ettlinger et al., 101). Manufacturing is normally done on a large scale bearing in mind the concept of economies of scale. In my opinion, manufacturing jobs are better than service jobs. The manufacturing industry sector is the backbone of any economy (Houseman et al., 121). Unlike the service industry that is mainly domestic, the manufacturing industry gives rise to international business relations. For example, excess production results to trade between countries and hence earning of foreign exchange. Although manufacturing jobs are not as glamorous as the service jobs, they are the ones that keep the economy running (Avella et al., 710-711).
[...] As stated earlier in this context, a worker can improve his skills and capability, and this can play a motivator role to start an own job (Houseman et al., 115). Many people who were previously employed after gaining knowledge can become self- employed. This is unlike most service industries which are quite rigid and do not give workers a chance to progress. In manufacturing goods made are standardized. This means that there is uniformity in goods produced. Standardization creates of the goods results to perfection. [...]
[...] Manufacturing also helps improve the trade deficit of the nation. This sentiment is especially true where surplus products are manufactured for export. This promotes international trade. Furthermore, numerous researches show that manufacturing jobs pay higher wages and benefits than non- manufacturing jobs by nearly 20 percent (Avella et al., 715). This makes manufacturing jobs more appealing. Another issue is the fact that manufacturing companies have taken advantage of the globalization (Ettlinger et al., 149). They have done this by finding and producing where the highest advantages can be reaped. [...]
[...] The policymakers should put in place measures to advance the prosperity of the manufacturing industry. Issues that the policy makers should address include infrastructure upgrading, regulation, taxation, and the cost of energy. The policies named play a critical role to develop and address challenges in the manufacturing sector (Ettlinger et al., 2011). Bibliography Houseman, Susan, and others “Offshoring Bias in United States Manufacturing today,” Journal of EconomicPerspectives 25: 111-132. Ettlinger, Michael, and Kate Gordon. Importance and Promise of American Manufacturing.”Washington: Center for American Progress Are manufacturing jobs better than service- International Business? [...]
[...] Manufacturing jobs offer more satisfaction to the worker. This is because the worker transforms raw material into a finished product (Avella et al., 713). Manufacturing jobs also provide an arena for innovation and creativity as the workers can continuously discover a new way of doing things. A case in point is the Alcoa plant in Davenport, Iowa that supplies aluminum to both Boeing and Airbus. Although several manufacturing workers need to be educated, the education is not that high. This means that even less educated workers can get employment in manufacturing industry. [...]
[...] Not only do these countries provide employment to their people but they also have a high export capacity. These countries focus on engineering and sciences as the wealth creator, rather than the United States that focuses more on the services industry, which is the wealth distributor (Ettlinger et al., 133). Manufacturing jobs have realistic targets. For example, output is pre- planned and meditated (Houseman et al., 127). This is unlike the service sector that pressurizes its workers by setting unrealistic goals sometimes. [...]
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