LEARNING INTENTIONS
Students will be able to:
• Identify ethical and social responsibility
issues at each point in the operations system
• Evaluate the business competitiveness
implications of outsourcing
1. ETHICS IN THE OPERATIONS SYSTEM
Let’s try and sort some CSR/ESM issues
into the operation system component
that they would fall into the realm of.
Group the ethical/social considerations in
the envelop into the relevant stage of
the operations system
INPUTS
TRANSFORMATION
PROCESS
OUTPUTS
2. COMPETITIVENESS IMPLICATIONS OF
OUTSOURCING
2. COMPETITIVENESS IMPLICATIONS OF
OUTSOURCING
What are the potential productivity impacts of outsourcing?
Pros:
• a reduction in the fixed costs of capital and equipment
• access to, and quicker supply of products to, emerging markets
• lower labour costs
• lower production costs (less regulation, lower safety standards) ; therefore,
lower product prices and hence greater competitiveness
• immunity from industrial action by Australian manufacturing unions.
2. COMPETITIVENESS IMPLICATIONS OF OUTSOURCING
Cons:
• Communication difficulties with foreign suppliers (order mix-ups, language
misinterpretation etc.) . (Could cause delays or see the need to correct
mistakes, thereby impacting business competitiveness.)
• the risk of political disruption may be higher in developing nations. (Such
disruptions will increase costs and therefore prices and hence reduce
business competitiveness.)
• There could be social responsibility issues (think Bangalore Factory
collapse) that impact negatively on the company’s reputation. Might result
in customer boycotts, thus lowering sales volumes and therefore business
competitiveness
2. COMPETITIVENESS IMPLICATIONS OF OUTSOURCING
Cons:
• The loss of Australian jobs could attract negative publicity. This might then
cause customers to purchase from more socially responsible suppliers.
• Unions might strike in advance, thus raising production prices in the shortrun. It may also result in shortages of finished products for sale.
Competitiveness will therefore decline.
TO DO
• Notes should be entirely up to date (and
include both textbook and lectures)
• Focus should now be on filling in gaps in your
knowledge.
• Reading over your notes continuously is the
biggest time waster ever invented and won’t
help you figure out where your knowledge
gaps are.
• Focus should now be on doing the next
practice exam under exam conditions (timing)
at home.
• Look over feedback/model answers for
practice SACS and try to incorporate any bits
you missed into your notes