Multinational companies are becoming increasingly common in developing

countries.  What are the advantages and disadvantages of this?

More and more transnational corporations are setting up branches and

factories in less developed nations. This essay will first suggest that reduced
labour costs is the primary benefit for these companies, while bad publicity
because of Human Rights abuses is the main drawback.

The main reason multinationals set up shop in poorer countries is because it

is much cheaper for them to get their goods manufactured there, due to
comparatively lower salaries. In an ever more competitive marketplace, it is
simply unsustainable for most companies to pay Western wages when they
can pay someone a fraction of the cost to do the same job. For example, the
only reason an iPad or iPhone can be sold for less than $499 is that a worker
in China can assemble the unit for approximately one-tenth what an American
would expect to be paid.

Despite this economic benefit, Apple has recently come under scrutiny
because of appalling conditions in many of its Asian factories. Workers in
their Foxconn plant in China had to work under such grim circumstances,
including 15-hour shifts, pressure to meet unrealistic quotas and low wages,
that several of them committed suicide by leaping off the factory roof. The
New York Times reported that this resulted in a 12% drop in the sale of Apple
products, especially after it was reported that Apple had installed nets to stop
any employees killing themselves in the future.

In conclusion, huge global companies may reap the rewards of low operating
costs in developing countries, but they should also keep in mind that they
have a responsibility towards their workers and any infringements of their
rights could negatively affect their image and stock price