SOC 2151 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Global Value Chain, Neoliberalism, Outsourcing

• School: University of Ottawa
• Department: Sociology
• Course: SOC 2151
• Professor: Aline A Coutinho

Document Summary

Chains" is a metaphor used to imply the interconnectedness of the production system. Value-adding activities in the production process beginning with raw materials and ending with a finished product. ". Bread, scrap-metal trade, nine dragons and waste paper. A more complex concept that encompasses global supply chains (distribution, consumers). It includes: value-adding chains, global industries, the sellers of the global products. From regional production-sharing arrangements to full-fledge global supply chains, with a growing emphasis on east asia. ". Retailers set up, orient, and control the global sourcing network. Buyers that specify orders and product standards. Preference to countries with weak labour and environmental standards. Common for capital and technological intensive industries. The lead firm delegates manufacturing to other countries to produce cheaper: mexico: cable sets, south africa: exhaust pipe, malaysia and philippines: circuit boards, romania: wooden parts. Brand producers as well as wholesalers and retailers work together. Companies assign factories to produce goods: contract suppliers and subcontractors.