SOC 2151 Lecture 8: (8) Global Commodity Chains (pt.2)
11 Feb 2017
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
New corporate culture: democracy through consumerism, wal-mart values linked to american way of life values: hard work, democracy, and consumerism, management style. Gender discrimination also in promotions and job placement. Global value chains: holistic view of global industries. Top-down view: focusing on lead firms and the organization of industries. Bottom-up view: the strategies used by countries and other economic actors to move from low- value to high-level activities (upgrading), four types of industrial upgrading. Product upgrading: how industries are making products better quality. Process upgrading (transforming the process): upgrading the process of adding value to products. This can be done through the introduction of technology. Functional upgrading (skill content): introducing skills; some workers are better at using the machines required to produce the products. Chain upgrading (move into new industries): certain companies are changing the chains and moving to more complex industries.
