Should Nike change its approach to global sourcing?

In this essay I am going to talk about Nike the sportswear company. I will talk about why and why not Nike should think about changing its approach to global sourcing. Over the years Nike has done many good things but also has made some bad ones and questionable things. This is why people think that the company might want to rethink its ways and look for new alternatives. I will explore the pros and cons to making the change.

There are many reasons as to why Nike should not change its approach to global outsourcing. These reasons are things like, the prices would rise to much, hard to pay workers more, people would not buy because of high cost this would cause the eventual collapse of the company. Wages although by far not the worlds highest paying job Nike was found paying workers on average 5 times more than the minimum legal wage in countries like Vietnam. This shows that many workers are actually paid a decent wage. Another reason that Nike should not change its global sourcing is because it employs thousands of workers around the world. If Nike did not employ so many there would be a very large amount of people unemployed seeking a job on the street. People how work at Nike have a higher chance at giving the next generation a better future. This is because the wages that they pay can be enough to give their children a formal education, allowing them a better and brighter future. Nike employees also get health care, which is a luxury not given by all sweatshops and low paying jobs. This also helps a country as a whole because they have a population with less unemployed people.

As there are many reasons as to why Nike should not change its global sourcing approach there are also reasons as to why Nike should. Nike is a company that over the years has made massive amounts of profit by paying off cheap labor and exploiting workers. One writer described it as “ the wealth was built up upon the backs of the poor”. Nike should also look at other approaches not because of their own fault but also because of their international sweatshop contractors. Many contractors make the poor workers lived in cramped and appalling conditions. This wont hurt the contractors’ image but it will harm Nike’s global image and it has a couple of times before. Another approach should be taken because many workers are forced to work extra hours for no pay at all. This makes people unhappy and there be a human rights issue involved with the company also harming its international image. Nike also makes very cheap

product but for a very high wage. Most of these profits go to the large bosses and company leaders then the money left flows down to the bosses at the contracted sweatshop factories in the third world countries and the “scraps” are divided amongst the workers who of the high profit receive the very least of this. The distribution should be fairer in order for the workers to have a better life in the future.

In conclusion I believe that there are many things that Nike does well and should continue on that path. But there always has to be a balance in life. Nike also has many things it could improve on. By finding this new approach to different things it might give a better reputation to the company and it might even boost the profits. Nike is a large company with lots of power and by making some changes it can really help change the life of many.

Stephen Sheedy