Cross Cultural Perspective

How can you use these experiences to enhance your understanding of others?
How have these experiences affected the way you see your world and interact with others?
What other activities have you tried or can you think of that could facilitate your cross cultural knowledge base?
Are you currently involved in relationships or activities in which you have ongoing interactions with people of other cultures?
What is your comfort level while interacting with people who are culturally different than you?
Are you able to talk with people who are culturally different from you about these differences?
What language do you speak other than your own primary language?
What words, phrases, or nonverbal behaviors do you know that have different meanings in different cultures?

Cross-Cultural Perspective

IntroductionNike is among organizations that are known globally. The headquarters of Nike are in Beaverton,Oregon and it has expanded to other countries in order for them to reach the markets which are untapped so that they can increase their profit margins. For a very long time now the organization has been sourcing its labor from other countries. This is because just as other corporations Nike is escaping the strict regulations which the United States gives them. They easily and readily find cheap labor in third world countries such as Pakistan, Taiwan, China, South Korea and Vietnam (Teather, 2005). This company views this cheap labor availability to be quite beneficial when it comes to the fulfillment of the needs of the customers while maintaining low production costs. The media has highlighted some of the malpractices that global companies such as Nike have bee part of. The paper will look at the cultural issue within Nike .it will also look at the social and ethical responsibility issues which Nike must deal with due to its status as a global organization.

Cultural issue in Nike

Nike started out as an organization for Blue Ribbon sports whose main region of operation was the United States but it further went global in order to expand the product line of the company. Nike’s expansion to Pakistan has been faced by various cultural issues among them is their use of child labor and subjecting employees to poor working conditions. There were various allegations against them such as their use of children for the stitching of soccer balls and sports garments. The production of soccer balls for Nike has been centered in Pakistan for a period of many years.it has been estimated that many children are being used as workers during the process of producing the goods offered by the company (Wilsey, &Lichtig, 2010).

Several cultures in the world hold varied views regarding the issue of the type of responsibility that should be given to children. There are different perceptions of childhood not only across countries but also in particular cultures and ethnic groups. For instance in poor countries such as Pakistan, parents have no problem with children helping their parents in giving support to their family through working. However, this is not the same as United States where there are child laws in place for the protection of children against being used at a young age as laborers. Familiesthat are struggling for instance, in Pakistan theydeem it necessary for children to work for the survival of the entire family. Therefore the main cultural issue that Nike faces is child labor and this is what has affected how the company interacts with other countries that are found outside the United States.

Ethical and social responsibility analysis

In order for Nike to remain competitive without them reducing their workforce they decided to outsource manufacturing companies overseas. Therefore, they had a cost advantage in comparison to their competitors thus they are able to go into emerging markets globally. This can be perceived as being unethical since it involves the shifting of the manufacturing company that was based in the U.S.if Nike is unable to maintain its competitive advantage in the market and expand to new areas it will not grow thus there will be the loss of jobs by employees.

Customers also have to be considered which falls under the field of ethical consideration.in the case of Nike, clearly there was an underestimation of consequences of failure to follow the base market ideologies that are required in an area where stringent labor regulations are not required particularly with its production facilities which are offshore. Job creation or the moving of jobs from the U.S is an issue that can not be easily justified but when children are being given these jobs based on the views of customers then this is a problem.

Labor conditions in factories found in china and Indonesia were also questioned when they a comparison of pay scales of Asian workers and this is what led to Nike being blamed for their decision to abandon the manufacturing industry that had its base in the U.S.there were accusations of Nike lowering the standard of human rights purposely for profit maximization. There has always been a link between the products from Nike and slave wages, forced overtime and habitual abuse.

Conclusion

The main problem when it comes to the diversification of organizations should be on the basis of cultural adaptability and the maintenance of social and ethical standards. The paper has clearly shown that any organization’s ground work is only described when a clear analysis of what happens in the organization practically is done. The corporate social responsibility laws has forced Nike to follow their recommendations so that there can be an improvement in working conditions of their companies which are located overseas.

References

Teather,D. (2005).Nike lists abuses at Asian factories. RetrievedJuly 29, 2013 from http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2005/apr/14/ethicalbusiness.moneyWilsey, M, & Lichtig,S. (2010).The Nike controversy.RetrievedJuly 29, 2013 fromhttp://www.stanford.edu/class/e297c/trade_environment/wheeling/hnike.html