It is indisputable that Apple has always been ahead of the IT pack, in regards to developing cutting edge technology. It seems as if every three months or so, Apple has figured out innovative ways to improve their products, such as the Ipod and Iphone, to make them more appealing to their consumers. Whether it is a new “App” for your mobile device or the addition of a camera on your Iphone for Skyping, Apple has been the leader among its competitors for improving their products. Although Apple has always been ahead of the curve as far as product innovation is concerned, Apple still ranks poorly among its competitors in regards to making sure that its offshore suppliers have established a safe, healthy, eco-friendly work production site.
China is one of the countries that contains a significant amount of Apple’s product suppliers; unfortunately, these supply chains also operate in conditions that are hazardous to not only their workers, but the environment as well. Individuals who have worked in these supply factories have been forced to work in health compromising conditions. A supplier to Apple, “United Win, allegedly substituted ethanol with a more harmful chemical for workers for cleaning touch screens without giving the workers proper protection, and was once fined 80,000 yuan by authorities for “hazardous waste transfer.” The Institute of Public & Environmental Affairs (IPE), a Beijing-based non-governmental organization, reported that, “IT giants including Apple, Motorola, IBM, Sony, Nokia and Cisco had violated standards, including for wastewater treatment and discharge of pollutants, and that as a result, thousands of tons of harmful heavy metals and arsenic were being discharged from the Pearl and Shenzhen Rivers to the sea. IPE compiled a database of suppliers, noting their alleged violations.”
This savage, unethical, and environmentally irresponsible conduct has put Apple under the microscope, because it has not been enforcing their Supplier Code of Conduct, which includes, “monitoring programs, including factory audits, corrective action plans, and verification measures”. Apple has also been apprehensive and unresponsive as of late about disposing information concerning its offshore suppliers and their workers.
Leaving risky and unsafe jobs to the poor counties is irresponsible for such a big company. Yet, I was wondering if there is any company that managed to fulfil such responsibility as a leading company. Atsushi
ReplyDeleteThis is a good response to the questions posed about ethics. Be careful when selecting companies to use as examples and make sure that they fall within your industry. Apple does fall within the IT Industry however not all of Apple is within the industry. To further explain this, Apple's handheld products (iPad, iPhone, etc) are topics for the consumer electronics industry. However, the Mac OS software, apps, other apple software is fair game for this industry I would review the GICS code document to review what exactly is in the IT Industry. Overall, good first post.
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