The “Made In China” label is one of the
most recognizable labels in the world today due to China's
rapidly developing, large manufacturing industry. Apple is known for making
their infamous products in Chinese factories. However, rising energy prices and
a global market for computers are changing the way companies make their
machines. Apple has decided to make some of its computers in the United States
instead of China. This is not only a positive for American jobs, but it is also a marker of where much of the global computer industry is going.
The author of this text is Quentin Hardy, a Journalist
and lecturer at UC Berkeley, where he also attended college. Hardy was prompted
to write this article to address the emerging trend in computer manufacturing. Rather
than having China manufacture everything in sight, computer companies are beginning to
use specialized robots and US manufacturing instead of cheap, Chinese labor. Therefore,
the purpose of this article is to offer countless examples to support this
trend and prove that manufacturing is truly starting to go in a new direction. The
audience of this text is any American adult concerned with the economic status
of our country, and wants to bring manufacturing back to America.
There are several rhetorical
elements used in this article; however, the one that is most prominent is
comparing and contrasting. Throughout the article, the author compares the
manufacturing techniques and experiences of various computer companies including,
Hewlett Packard, Dell, Gateway, Intel, and of course Apple. To offer some
examples, when talking about Hewlett Packard’s relation to the new
manufacturing trend, Hardy writes, “Five years ago, H.P. supplied most of
Europe’s desktops from China, but today it manufactures in the Czech Republic,
Turkey and Russia instead.” Additionally, “Hewlett-Packard, which turns out
over 50 million computers a year through its own plants and subcontractors,
makes many of its larger desktop personal computers in such higher-cost areas
as Indianapolis and Tokyo to save on fuel costs and to serve business buyers
rapidly.” On another side, when discussing Dell, Hardy explains how Dell, “made
its mark by developing lean manufacturing techniques in Texas.” As observed, the author uses the rhetorical device of comparing and
contrasting to show how individual companies are exhibiting the trend of moving
manufacturing away from China, and to robots and US factories. The use of this
device allows reader to feel like they are getting a wider field of information
and examples, rather than a single view. This allows them to analyze the
material in more depth in order to discern patterns, which leaves the reader with a stronger understanding
about the subject at hand.
I do believe the author accomplished
his purpose of offering additional examples to support the upcoming manufacturing
trend of using robots and US manufacturing rather than Chinese manufacturing to
make products. Hardy gives dozens of examples to support his claim, which
leaves readers with no room to question or refute Hardy’s claim. At the end of
this article, the reader does not just have information on Apple. Instead
he or she has information on about five other corporations as well. Overall, the
author successfully achieved his purpose by utilizing comparing and
contrasting and other strategies to get his message across.
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