5.4 Location
Keep a Personal Checklist:
Explain quantitative factors that affect the location decision. [AO2]
Explain qualitative factors that affect the location decision. [AO2]
Distinguish between bulk-increasing and bulk-reducing industries. [A02]
Distinguish between outsourcing, subcontracting, offshoring, and reshoring [AO2]
BE A CRITICAL THINKER: [AO3]
Discuss ways of reorganizing production, both nationally and internationally
More Food For Thought:
Why might a location decision be said to be 'irreversible'?
How might e-commerce affect the location decision?
How might government incentives help to boost assisted areas (enterprise zones)?
Consideration for Location of Production
Featured Case Studies
Why Arizona Is Becoming A Hotbed For Tech
"Arizona has rapidly become an epicenter for electric vehicle and self-driving tech, and it’s now the site of three big new semiconductor factories as the U.S. struggles to increase production during the global chip shortage.
In 2020, Phoenix attracted more residents than any other U.S. city for the fourth year in a row, as highly skilled remote workers flocked to the lower cost of living and wide open spaces of the Grand Canyon State". (CNBC, 2021).
Why are companies moving from California to Texas?
"California has ranked among the most desirable places to live on earth...But all that seems to be changing. An exodus of tech firms has recently decided to up sticks from the Golden State and make their homes in a very different corner of the United States...The most popular destination for these re-locaters? Texas" (Tech Vision, 2020)
Reorganizing Production
BM CONNECTIONS
Unit 2.1: Functions & Evolution of Human Resource Management, HR Strategies
"Some jobs, once thought to be forever lost to cheaper labor overseas, have already started to return." (PBS NewsHour, 2016) Why?
"Why would governments get companies to do their work for them, and what's at risk if it goes wrong?" (BBC News, 2018)