Description:  (Excerpt from essay) What exactly defines an American corporation? The obvious answer would be the company that is headquartered in the United States. But as obvious answer as this may seem it is not always the correct standard for approaching this question. How can a company be considered American when more than half its workers belong to other countries?

What exactly defines an American corporation? The obvious answer would be the company that is headquartered in the United States. But as obvious answer as this may seem it is not always the correct standard for approaching this question. How can a company be considered American when more than half its workers belong to other countries? What about those companies while they are in fact stationed in other countries, the workers within those corporations are Americans? Robert Reich states that “…the American workforce, the American people, but not particularly the American corporation” is what defines who is an American company (Reich).

In the article there are two companies, A and B, in which Robert Reich differentiates. The first company, Company A is headquartered in the United States. And while the directors and its shares are American, most of the companies’ employees are not. When it comes to terms of labor, “…the company undertakes much of its R&D and product design, and most of its complex manufacturing, outside the borders of the United States in Asia, Latin America, and Europe” (Reich). In comparison, the second company (Company B) is actually headquartered abroad. However unlike the first company, Company B while located overseas looks to the U.S. for its labor division. Furthermore it “…does most of its manufacturing in the U.S… [and] …exports an increasing proportion of its American-based production, some of it even back to the nation where Corporation B is headquartered” (Reich).

After reading the article the same question arises when looking at two different companies, Honda and Gateway. Which one of these should be considered an American company?  This is not a question that can be answered so easily as learned by reading the article Who Is Us. There are many attributes that have influence over the answer. So in order to be able to come up with a proper answer both companies must be examined inside and out.

The Honda Motor Company, like company B in the article, is in fact headquartered outside of the United States – in Tokyo Japan to be specific. Most of the facilities that Honda has are located in the United States (more than 10 to be exact) and it even shares trade with the New York Stock Exchange. Then there is the second company, Gateway, which is a corporation that is headquartered in the U.S. However most of the manufacturing needs that Gateway has are sought out in other countries overseas where things such as labor costs is cheaper. Furthermore, as of “…April 2007 Gateway notebook computers were produced in China and its desktops had made in Mexico stickers” (“Gateway, Inc”). Only in recent months has Gateway been moving back some of their manufacturing and customer support back into the U.S.

So after analyzing both companies and having to make the decision of which should be considered an American company, I have to say that I believe Honda Motors is an American company. The decision comes from the fact of how Honda has allowed the U.S. to venture in and create numerous job opportunities. After all what sense does it make for a company to be considered American if no Americans can find jobs at that company? Honda Motors is more of an American company because  “corporations that invest in that United States, that build the value of the American work force, are more critical to our future standard of living than are American owned corporations investing aboard” (Reich). It is hands down the investment that Honda is taking in the United States that surpasses Gateway in claiming an American company status.

While Gateway is recently turning more productions capability in the U.S. hands it does not compare to the work that Honda has put in. Honda has been working for years with the U.S. and its citizens in everything from building automobiles that are appealing to Americans but also in building a solid relationship with us. Speaking in a business point of view it does make sense to want to do whatever possible in cutting manufacturing costs by seeking labor from other countries but this strategic idea does not account for the future economic of the United States. How can American’s afford to build appliances from companies like Gateway when these companies are taking away the money from U.S. citizens and given it to people overseas. What jobs do young people have to look forward to in the future, if all companies decide to take the approach of looking overseas for employees? What happens then to college educations, health care benefits for families, and overall what happens to these families who see no income coming in? Honda has taken these circumstances into consideration and by providing job opportunities to United States it has also provided future customers to their company. Honda has made a name and a home within the United States, making it an American company.

Works Citied

• “Gateway, Inc.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 18 Jan 2008, 00:57 UTC. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 21 Jan 2008.
• Reich, Robert B. “Who is Us.” (1990).