Business Ethics - Research Paper Example

Download file to see previous pages The Case of Apple Jonathan Watts (2011) has laid open the lid over the assumed business ethics of such big businesses as Apple Inc., for letting its overseas supply chain damage the environment and degrade the pollution. The leading Chinese environment group has blamed the IT tycoon of not adhering to transparency in its business operations because of which the workers are suffering on health issues and lack of transparency is also causing loss of environment. The statement by the 36 Groups working for the Green Choice Initiative has heightened the controversy over the company’s incapacity in ensuring that work ethics are adhered to in the factories where ipads and iphones are being produced. Environment violations by suppliers of big IT companies are occurring to the dismay of all, the cause of which needs to be confirmed; why workers are being forced to function in such environment that is poor in safety standards. A number of tragedies are occurring at the Chinese factories; workers are committing suicides and workplace poisonings are taking place from the heavy metal pollution. It is clearly evident that the Chinese labor is paid less and workplace safety and regulatory parameters are not enough relatively to the West (Watts, 2011). Although Apple’s supplier code of conduct vouches adherance to globally identified standards to further the cause of business ethics but accountability can not be determined by the third parties as companies like Apple do not share facts on the name of corporate confidentiality. Political confidentiality and red tape in government transactions has further deteriorated the working conditions due to non-transparency used as a cover. Apple is one of the 29 companies least interested to share relevant information about its suppliers. There are a number of companies working for Apple’s supply chain, involved in waste discharge violations. A dozen employees died unnatural deaths in Foxconn electronics in Shenzhen, a supplier of computer parts for Apple and other big IT companies operating through outsourced locations (Watts, 2011). Moren (2010) states that Apple is employing tactics such as issuing the progress report on supplier responsibility, coinciding it intelligently with the shareholders meeting. So that the company management could not be attacked aggressively by shareholders on the social responsibility issue, the report on supplier responsibility was issued just 2 days before the meeting. Apple like other American companies has been exploiting the lenient labor laws in third world countries, which can affect its reputation, as in 2006 the company’s image was tarnished with the news that workforce at Foxconn’s Langhua was working 15-hours a day and was forced to live in unhygienic conditions, as published by a British newspaper. The company level inquiry found evidence of the same and from thereon suppliers’ yearly auditing was strategized to check suppliers’ adherence to code of conduct. The audit conducted in 2009 outlines the reforms and precautionary steps taken by the company. In the near past, in 2009 Apple initiated training programs for assembly-line workers on various educational programs such as Supplier Employee Education and Development (SEED) among others, protection programs such as reducing recruitment fee, educating workers on their rights and audit programs on component making suppliers and nonproduction suppliers to the final assembly production ...Download file to see next pagesRead More