Final answer:
The phenomenon that uses everyday people as a cheap labor force is called crowdsourcing, which differs from outsourcing and offshoring, the latter two involving hiring external companies or moving operations to other countries to reduce costs.
Step-by-step explanation:
The phenomenon that enables companies to use everyday people as a cheap labor force is known as crowdsourcing. This process involves obtaining required services, ideas, or content by soliciting contributions from a wide audience, often via the internet. Crowdsourcing is a form of modernization in the business realm that leverages the collective intelligence and skills of the masses rather than relying on traditional employees or specific contractors.
While crowdsourcing emphasizes leveraging a dispersed crowd to perform tasks or generate ideas, the concept of outsourcing involves contracting jobs to an outside source, which can also be in another country. This is often done to reduce costs and focus on core business activities. Offshoring is when a company moves its operations overseas to benefit from cheaper labor markets. Both outsourcing and offshoring have reshaped the demand for workers, contributing to structural changes in the job market.