Imagine you are a local businessperson who has to deal with the issue of outsourcing. You want to begin with the facts. How many, if any, jobs have been lost to outsourcing in your area? Are there any foreign firms in your area that are creating jobs (insourcing)? Consider using the Internet to help you find the data you need.

Look through your local phone book to find five businesses that provide services in your area in a domain of interest. List those businesses and, for each, describe how social trends might affect them in both positive and negative ways. Be prepared to explain your descriptions.
U.S. Supreme Court ruled that cities could have school voucher programs that give money directly to parents, who could then choose between competing schools, public or private. The idea was to create competition among schools. Like businesses, schools were expected to improve their services (how effectively they teach) to win students from competitors. The result would be improvement in all schools, private and public, to benefit many students.

a. Do you believe economic principles like competition apply in both private and public organizations? Defend your answer.

b. Are there other public functions that might benefit from more competition, including competition from private firms? What key things would lead you to exclude certain kinds of business?

Many people say that business people do not do enough for society. Some students choose to go into the public sector instead of business because they want to help others. However, business people say that they do more to help others than nonprofit groups do because they provide jobs for people rather than giving them charity. Furthermore, they believe businesses create all the wealth that nonprofit groups distribute.

a. Find the middle ground in this debate and show that both businesspeople and those who work for nonprofit organizations contribute to society and both need to work together more closely to help people?

b. How could you use the concepts of Adam Smith to help illustrate your position?