Lesson video

Hello, my name is Miss Gilyeat, and I'm going to be your geography teacher for today.

In today's lesson, we are going to be learning about patterns of production, which is the fourth lesson of the Global Trade Unit.

Let's get going.

Our lesson outcome for today is that you can investigate the production of a mobile phone and describe some of the effects the manufacturing process has on people's lives.

We have got four key words for today's lesson.

So supply chain, and supply chain is all the stages involved in producing goods, transporting them, and selling them to customers.

Natural resources are those that come from the earth without human influence and can be used for human needs.

Transport is a way of travelling between places and methods of transport include cars, buses, trains, and bicycles.

And working conditions are the physical and mental conditions that people experience in their jobs.

We've got two learning cycles for today's lesson.

The first one, we are going to look at where have all the parts of a phone come from, and our second learning cycle, we're going to learn about what it is like to work in a phone factory.

Let's get going with learning cycle one, where have all the parts of the phone come from? Now, I want you to have a look around the room that you are in, so whether that be a classroom, your bedroom, another room in your house, and I want you to think and look for the electronic devices that you can see.

Then I want you to think, how do you think those electronic devices were made? Where do you think they might have come from? Okay.

There are lots of different types of electronic devices, and what we're gonna do is we're gonna look at where some of those parts may come from around the world.

Now, electronic devices have complex global supply chains.

Now that means that the parts of your phone, or your TV, or your computer, laptop, iPad, all of those different parts may have come from areas all around the world, and also be produced or manufactured in different parts of the world too.

They are very complex.

Most of the electronic devices we use in the UK will have been made in a different country.

Now that's because the UK doesn't do much electronic device manufacturing.

It does do a little bit, but not much.

Now, the actual pieces or parts that have come into the making of that electronic device will have come from all around the world.

We are going to look at the supply chain of a mobile phone.

It has three main areas.

First of all, the extraction of the natural resources.

Second, manufacturing of the different components, and then the assembly of the product.

So that's putting all the different parts of the manufactured pieces together, the assembly of it.

The supply chain also includes the transport of the natural resources components and the assembled mobile phones.

So when those natural resources are taken out the ground, they will then get moved somewhere else where they would be manufactured into something, and then those manufactured pieces will then get moved again to somewhere where the phone will be assembled, so put together if you like.

Let's check our understanding.

So what I would like you to do is put the three main areas of the supply chain of a phone into the correct order.

So we've got assembly of the product, extraction of the natural resources, and manufacturing of the different components.

Pause the video and see if you can put those in the correct order.

All right, then let's check.

So we've got extraction of the natural resources, that comes first, step one.

Step two, manufacturing of the different components.

And finally, the assembly of the product, putting it all into one piece.

Now, mobile phones are made up of lots of different materials as shown in the pie chart.

They are really, really complicated.

Now, if we have a look at my pie chart, we can see some of the main materials that they are made from.

So silicon is a big one, plastic, iron, okay, aluminium, but also there are loads of other different metals as well.

Okay? Now, sometimes they might just have a tiny piece of that material in, but it still is essential for the construction of the phone.

Many of the natural raw materials will have been dug out of the ground in mines.

Now, some of these raw materials come from all around the world.

Let's have a look at some examples of where they may come from.

So copper is often mined in Chile, tellurium in Japan, lithium in Australia, iron often comes from Australia as well, and aluminium is often mined in China.

So can you imagine, in your phone, if you've got a phone or your parents' or carer's phone, that phone has got probably materials from all, well, not all the continents, but quite a lot of the different continents of the world.

Isn't that crazy? The raw materials then have to be made into different components of the phone, such as the screen, the camera, the battery, the speaker.

Right? And most phones can have over 200 different components all coming from places around the world.

So if you think about it, yes, we've got all those materials, and then they are manufactured into different pieces.

Okay.

It can be over 200.

Most of the actual phone components are actually made in China, so that's where a lot of those raw materials will get transported to.

Now, those different components, nearly 200 of them, have to then get assembled together.

Okay.

Now, again, a lot of the assembly actually takes place in China as well.

Okay.

The final product is then transported somewhere else where it will be sold.

So a lot of them will go to all around the world, so let's check our understanding.

Where are most phone components made? Is it A, Ukraine, B, China, or C, Australia? The answer is B, China.

Now, the top three countries manufacturing the most phones are, number one is China, number two is India, number three is Vietnam.

Okay.

What can you notice about all of those countries? Did you get it? They're all in Asia, aren't they? Now, that leads me onto the next question.

Why do you think large technology companies, such as Apple or Samsung, why do you think they produce and manufacture their phones in countries such as China or India? Why do you think they don't do it in America, which is where Apple is based or is from? Now, there's actually a few different reasons why they might decide to produce and manufacture the phones in China.

One of the big ones is that they can pay the people that make the phones lower wages than they would in their own country.

Okay.

And if they're not having to pay the people as much money, that means the company can make more profit.

Sometimes those countries have less strict environmental laws, okay, And that means the company, again, is able to cut corners, and ultimately it's about money.

Okay, if you are not having to worry about how you are affecting the environment, that is cheaper than if you can just do what you want.

It can often be cheaper production, so producing the actual goods there is cheaper.

So it might cost less money to use the machines.

The machines might be cheaper to buy or instal in that country.

The resources might be more readily available.

So if you imagine some of those raw materials have come from that country or the components have been made there as well, that means that there's less movement of the material.

Okay, so there's less transportation costs, and that leads me onto that one, Cheaper transportation costs if you've got the raw materials, the components, and the assembly within a smaller area.

And sometimes companies go to other countries because they have to pay lower taxes.

So when a company operates or works somewhere in another country, they do have to pay a tax to the government.

Now, some of those countries will have higher taxes, so a good chunk of the money would go to that country's government, but some countries have a smaller tax amount, and that means, again, the company makes more money if they're not having to pay as much tax to the government.

Let's check our understanding.

So why do many companies make their phones in other countries? Tick all that apply.

So we've got all three here.

A bit of a trick question.

So cheaper labour, less environmental laws, and lower taxes.

We're gonna move on to our first task for today's lesson.

What I would like you to do for task A1 is write down the three steps of a supply chain of a phone.

Second, I would like to explain why many companies choose to manufacture their products in countries such as China.

So pause the video.

You could either do this in your exercise book, or there is a worksheet to go with this lesson as well.

Let's check we've got the correct answers.

So the three steps of the supply chain include the extraction of the raw materials, manufacturing of the different components, assembly of the product.

And why do companies choose to manufacture their products in countries such as China? Well, let's read what what I've got here.

Many companies will choose to manufacture their products in China because it is cheaper labour there.

There are less environmental laws, so it is cheaper and more efficient to make the products.

The companies may also have more resources available to them and have to pay less taxes to the government.

All of this means that the companies are able to make more money.

Look at what I've got in my answer, and then see if you can add any extra detail to yours.

Okay, let's going with our second learning cycle.

What is it like to work in a phone factory? Now, as I said earlier, many companies choose to manufacture their products in countries like China because the workers are paid lesser.

This means that it's cheaper for companies to manufacture their products and they can make more money.

So on the slide here, I've got a picture or a map of China.

If you weren't aware, so China is a large country in Asia.

Now, it used to have the largest population in the world.

It's now got the second largest population after India.

Now, lots of people in China may end up working in these phone factories because they need work, they want work.

However, often the working conditions in these factories are not good.

So that's the state people are in when they're having to work.

So they might not be protected very well.

They might be put under a lot of physical strain.

They might be put under a lot of mental strain as well.

So what we're gonna do is we're gonna listen to what life is like for some of these different phone workers.

So the lady here has said, "I have to work 12 hour shifts.

I start work at 7:00 in the morning and often do not finish until 7:00 at night.

I'm doing the same repetitive job for the whole day.

I usually only get half an hour break at lunchtime.

I am completely exhausted." That doesn't sound very good, does it? Poor woman.

Right, we've got another one here.

"The room I work in is very cramped and I don't see any daylight.

It's very hot because of all the people and the machines.

I often end up feeling sick and dizzy by the end of the day." Oh, that doesn't sound very good either.

That sounds like it's really affecting his health.

We've got another lady here.

"I have not been given protective clothing." Now, that's when you are in.

your organisation provides you something to wear to make sure that your body doesn't get harmed in work.

"Sometimes my hands are cooked on the machines and the air I am breathing doesn't feel fresh.

I often have a cough." Again, the working conditions for this lady are affecting the woman's health.

"I'm not paid enough to pay my bills.

I moved here to work in the factory as I was told I would be able to make lots of money.

I'm stuck here now and I can't leave because I need to earn money to be able to feed my family." As I said, a lot of companies will choose to go to another country because they can pay their workers less.

Sometimes they may not even be paying the workers minimum wage.

That is not fair for those people because it means that they don't have enough money to live on, and often they feel trapped because they're worried they might not be able to get another job, and that can lead people to living in poverty.

Let's check our understanding.

So true or false.

Working conditions are very good in lots of phone factories.

That's false, isn't it? Can you justify your answer? Many workers have to work long hours with little breaks and are often not paid fairly for the work that they do.

That's not fair.

Okay, we are moving on to task B.

Now, what I would like you to do is pretend you are the owner of a phone factory.

You are going to create five rules to make the working conditions for your workers better.

Now, I've put one example here to get you going.

So you could use this one if you want, but maybe come up with your own.

That may be better.

All of the workers have a one hour lunch break where they can go to a canteen or eat outside.

So think about what the lives were like for those people that we've just learned about.

So thinking about the amount of time they have to work, their shifts.

Are they given protective clothing? Are they paid enough money? Okay, are they given rest breaks? All of those things really kind of make a difference about what people's lives is like when they go to work.

Think about it.

What do you want to feel when you go to school? Do you want to feel looked after or not? So think of some of the different rules that you could do to make the life of your workers better.

Pause the video.

You could either do this in your book or there is a worksheet as well.

Here are some example rules that I came up with.

In no way did you have to put these, but these are some ideas for you.

So number one, all of the workers have a one hour lunch break where they can go to a canteen or eat outside.

Rule number two, all workers are given protective clothing.

Number three, the longest shift is eight hours, and that must include a one hour break.

Rule number four, the temperature of the building must be no warmer than 24 degrees or air conditioning must be turned on.

And number five, everyone is paid at least enough money to make sure that they have enough money to live on.

I think it sounds okay working there now.

I don't think I would've liked to work in the factory that the other people were in.

Did you come up with any of the same rules that I've come up with? Okay, here we've got a summary for today's lesson.

Electronic devices have complex global supply chains.

The availability of natural resources, workers, and transportation costs influences the location of manufacturing.

The way companies manufacture some products can lead to poor working conditions for people in different parts of the world.

Now, that's it for today's lesson.

You did an absolutely fantastic job.

Maybe do a little bit more research on some of the phone companies that operate in China.

That'd be a good way of finding out a bit more.

Anyway, I'll see you later.

Have a good rest of your day.

Bye.