Apple Ethics Case Study

Apple’s Ethics Related to Foxconn

Apple Corporation - a name known around the world. No other company has helped revolutionize the U.S. consumer electronics market like Apple. With its launch in January 1977, and almost unstoppable growth since the iPod release in 2001, could Apple’s good reputation be tarnished by the ethics and social responsibilities violations made by its suppliers in China?

From their first computer, a do-it-yourself kit hand-built in Steve Jobs’ parent’s basement, to the hugely popular IPhone, the Apple Corporation has been putting sophisticated technology in the hands of the masses. They claim to make their consumers lives better and easier. Apple has held the market on computers and smartphone alike for years, but with Google on its tail, price is starting to become a large concern. As Tim Cook, Apple Inc.’s CEO said, “We never had an objective to sell a low-cost phone. Our primary objective is to sell a great phone and provide a great experience, and we figured out a way to do it at a lower cost.” This “lower cost” is possible by using manufacturers in China. Using a Chinese supplier can significantly reduce costs for many reasons. They have a large number of specialized workers needed to do this type of job. Not to mention, the materials needed for the devices are also manufactured nearby, saving on time and shipping costs. This seemed like a perfect solution for Apple, until the release of publications of ethics and social responsibilities violations made by Apple’s supplier, Foxconn. Reports of poor working conditions, extremely long hours, forced overtime, harassment, and suicides flooded the media, causing Apple to almost completely overhaul its audit system for its manufacturers.

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...tphones and nearly two-thirds of its tablets. One way Apple could overcome this dilemma would be to acquire a low-cost smartphone maker like Xiaomi. Such an acquisition would allow Apple to enter the low-cost smartphone market in rural China and Southeast Asia without undermining its brand image.

Though the release of the ethics and social responsibilities violations made Apple look bad in the public’s eye for a while, this may have actually been good for the company. They have so many audits and trainings in place now, there has to be an increase in the overall well-being of their workers; and happy workers make for a much stronger company. Now that they have seen the problems and have, for the most part, fixed them, Apple can go back to focusing on what they do best; making outstanding products that can simplify and bring joy to the lives of their consumers.