One of the first questions come in mind about outsourcing is that whether it is ethical or not. My answer to such question would be yes-but of course on condition that business is sustainable meaning that it respects both home and vendor country. Firms considering outsourcing should pay attention to providing same working conditions in vendor country with its home country. Actually ethical concerns in outsourcing lies here since firms not providing such high standards can cause several unethical conditions. For example poor working conditions, unfair wages, taking advantage of weaker environmental laws, taking advantage of weker unemployment laws are the unethical implications of outsourcing which may harm employees in vendor country ( i.e. these workers may be obliged to work in dangerous jobs without enough security).
Not only workers in vendor country is negatively effected but also people in home country may be affected since if too many firms start to outsource then the unemployment rate in home country may increase so these people can become unemployed. The firms itself can be affected negatively if, for example, unethical things in foreign culture like denying the rights of gay people etc. may harm company culture and public opinion of the company.
Actually even broader harm can be created by outsourcing considering the fact that companies taking advantage of weak environmental laws may lead to devastating environmental problems effecting many people.
Having said the concerns, we can point out what can managers do to overcome these concerns. Cost advantage that firms get by outsourcing can be used to increase the working conditions in vendor country. By doing that firms can be a good example to the firms in vendor country and may force them to increase quality in their working conditions to remain competitive. Not to have cultural degradation or abuse of high working standards, managers can assign local representatives which are responsible for checking ethical standarts and satisfaction level.
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