Please use the internet sources or the additional sources listed in your materia
ID: 1156978 • Letter: P
Question
Please use the internet sources or the additional sources listed in your materials or any other internet sources ( sources must be documented in MLA format) respond to the following question: (Minimum 250 words)
There has been a dramatic change in the past two or three decades as U.S. corporations switch from a manufacturing to a service based economy. Using information from your text and internet research, discuss the differences between manufacturing and service companies, especially with regards to labor, and how this change will effect your career choices.
Thank you so much!
Explanation / Answer
There are various differences between manufacturing and service companies with respect to tangibility, inventory levels, customer demands, labor requirements and physical location. A servive delivery firm produces intangile good, has no inventory level, service delivery is deprendent on customer demand entirely and physical location is not very important. On the other hand, in the case of manufacturing firms, the products produced are tangible, inventory levels are high, consumer demand forecasts are not very important and physical location of the firm is very vital. Considering the case of labor requirements, a service firm recruits people with specific knowledge and skills in service disciplines that it offers. Currently, it is labor intensive which requires people with specialized knowledge and cannot be easily automated. On the other hand, manufacturers can automate their production process to reduce their labor requirements. However, in low labor cost countries manufacturing is labor intensive.
The above difference will make the service sector as a more preferable career choice option as compared to manufacturing sector and will induce people to gain specialized knowledge.