Introduction
The chosen documentary film is exciting because it shows something that could never be found in Western countries. More precisely, the documentary is dedicated to EUPA, a Chinese factory located in Fujian, the size of which could be compared to Monaco. It is curious to know that the workers of EUPA could spend their entire life without leaving the territory of this factory because there is everything that a person needs for living: a school, a hospital, grocery stores, restaurants, and sports facilities. The employees marry, give birth to children, and live right near their working place. Three major themes discussed in the paper are China as the world’s factory, the cost of labor, and the employees’ devotion to their place of employment. The present essay discusses these topics and analyzes how the given documentary film might be helpful to supply chain professionals.
Main body
China is a peculiar country, the culture, traditions, and ideology of which enormously differs from the ones of the Western part of the world. Since the beginning of the 21st century, China has been known as the world’s factory. Indeed, many companies have produced its good in Chinese plants for a long time because of the low taxes and cheap labor costs. By the way, ten years the mark “made in China” was frequently recognized as a sign of low quality. In the documentary Factory City: EUPA, the presenter numerous times calls China the factory of the world (Snooze Tube, 2011). Therefore, one could infer that companies should relocate their production to China to reduce production costs. Nonetheless, in 2021, supply chain managers should give up on this stereotype and accept that China has changed.
The documentary cannot be criticized for calling China the world’s factory because these words corresponded to reality at the time of filming. Still, China is no longer the main source of cheap labor and low-quality goods in modern times. The trade war between the US and China that has continued since 2018 reveals that China is no longer an economically weak, underdeveloped country that could only manufacture goods for low prices. Furthermore, due to instability provoked by the trade war, increasing tariffs, and the ongoing rise of China, many companies, including Apple, Nike, Adidas, and Samsung, to name but a few, are shifting their production from China to Vietnam (Lee, 2020; Wolf, 2018). Indeed, some companies find it troublesome to replace China with Vietnam for various political and economic reasons (Mandhana, 2019). Nevertheless, it is possible to trace the tendency toward the shift of production out of China to other countries that provide better conditions for manufacturing. From this, a supply chain professional could infer that the search for a place of production should not be limited to China because other countries such as Vietnam and Thailand, for example, can provide better conditions.
The second idea discussed in the documentary is the cost of labor. As it is stated in the video, the salary of an average employee who works on an assembly line is only a part, less than half, of a salary of an average employee with the same responsibilities in Western countries (Snooze Tube, 2011). Even though it might seem inhumane for a citizen of North America or Europe to pay low wages for the workers, in the interviews, all of them are deeply satisfied with their way of living (Snooze Tube, 2011). Without a doubt, a low salary is not a reason to be proud, but in the case of the EUPA factory, it provides them with a place to live, feeds them, and educates their children (Snooze Tube, 2011). Therefore, generally speaking, even though the wages are low, the assembly line workers do not suffer from hunger and have a roof over their heads. In the case of factories in North America and Western Europe, it is essential to provide the workers with decent pay because factories there do not offer as many benefits as Chinese factories do.
The final point that is not explicitly discussed in the video but could hardly go unnoticed is the devotion and loyalty of the employees. For example, the chief of one of the restaurants for EUPA’s employees notes that “he is not just serving meals, he is feeding the workers that power the factory of the world” (Snooze Tube, 2011, 26:25 – 26:32). One of the reasons for the employees commitment undoubtedly lies in the ideological education of Chinese people and their trust in the ruling Communist Party. If to neglect the ideological aspect, it could be noticed that the staff members are sincerely grateful for the working conditions and the chance to escape poverty. The factory encourages relations between the employees because the administration believes that couples are more loyal to the organization and less likely to quit (Snooze Tube, 2011). Besides, for young people from poor regions of China, such factories are a chance to get employed and get out of poverty (Snooze Tube, 2011). In other words, to increase the employees’ loyalty, high salaries and benefits are not enough; an organization should also show that it cares about the well-being of the staff members.
Conclusion
To conclude, the chosen documentary film is incredibly interesting because it shows a life that significantly differs from the one Western people got used to. The critical purpose of the video is to show how goods that we use daily are produced. After watching this film, it is impossible to escape thoughts on the future of the thousands of hardworking people in the epoch of digitalization and robotization. Still, the Factory City: EUPA shows supply chain managers how to optimize production and raise the efficiency of the employees performance.
References
Lee, Y. (2020). Exclusive: Foxconn to shift some Apple production to Vietnam to minimise China risk.Reuters. Web.
Mandhana, N. (2019). Manufacturers want to quit china for Vietnam. They’re finding it impossible.The Wall Street Journal. Web.
Snooze Tube (2011). Factory City: EUPA. Documentary China labors and the largest factory in the world[Video]. Web.
Wolf, C. (2018). Nike and Adidas are moving away from manufacturing in China.GQ. Web.