Chapters 20, 21, TAL Podcast

       Chapter 20 provided an interesting insight into the operations of Chinese factories. It showed how a large part of China's success as a global superpower comes from their manufacturing and their exports, which is something I knew prior to reading this chapter. However, I did not realize how dependent certain groups of people were on these factory jobs, and how they can assist in helping them escape rural poverty. This made the manufacturing industry seem all the more sinister when just a few lines later, you learn that most of the employees are young women, and that casualties in the workplace are so common that they are seen as relatively insignificant. Not to mention that the Chinese factories are praised for being fast by businessmen like Liam Casey while a description of a typical workday at one of these factories shows us that this fastness is at the grueling expense of their employees

      The bar graph in Chapter 21 analyzing the increase in revenue for athletic footwear shows the steady percentage shares of Nike through the 80s, but also the booming increase in shares of Reebok in the late 80s to early 90s. This demonstrates the shifts in consumer trends brought up in the chapter with shifting trends in the athletic footwear market, with brands like Reebok and LA Gear surpassing Nike in becoming the more effective brands at marketing to the aerobics side of the market. When I think of Nike, my mind goes to sports like basketball and track and field, so it makes sense to see that when other forms of exercise like aerobics had a boom in the 80s, Nike was unable to compete in the market and was surpassed by these other brands.