Apple China Business - Essay Example

This is evident by studies that have been carried out by the department of labor, among other associations such as the Fair Labor Associations. Labor Issues Allegations of sweatshop conditions among Apple Inc.’s contract manufacturers in China have been proved beyond doubt to exist in their business operations, considering its aim of using cheap labor to maximize profitability. Although many companies all over the world seek to access cheap labor to enhance profitability, there are limits to such measures, particularly to international organizations.

International companies such as Apple Inc. ought to standardize rewards to labor such that no huge disparities exist from one country to another. According to “Cheap Robots vs. Cheap Labor” (Para 6), Chinas manufacturing industry workers are paid an average of 1.36 dollars per hour, which almost four percent of what is being paid in the United States. This is a clear indication of huge disparities in the international scene against human rights in labor. Inventec and Foxconn contract manufacturers of Apple Inc.

, which operate the Chinese factories that manufacture iPod to products, have been evidently found to use cheap labor against human rights provisions. . Irrespective of limited opportunities of employment and the massively huge population in China, such working conditions as depicted by reports on Apple Inc. sub contractors shows the less concern such organizations have for human rights. However, Apple Inc. launched an audit on the matter after the allegations were bought forward by media houses, labor Associations, and the department of Labor in China.

The yearly audits were enhanced to ensure all Apple Inc. manufacturing contractors adhered to workers rights issues, and did away with those were unable to comply with acceptable labor force rights. These strategies undertaken by Apple Inc. went a long way in reversing the impact that human rights violation against the labor force had caused on the Chinese labor market. According to Lamar (Para 9), Foxconn manufacturing factories experienced a series of suicides among their employees, which were reasonably linked to the frustrations and depression in the work environment.

Suicide among many employees of a single organization precludes serious issues that are dehumanizing such as gross violation of human rights by the employer. Foxconn, as an employer, has received human rights violations allegations that it has propagated against its employees. The company has not only violated human rights of their employees through low pay and long working hours, but also white-collar prison. The working environment at Foxconn is rather described as a white-collar prison, where guards are reported to be beating employees due to theft claims.

Indeed, an employee who was mistreated and beaten up after theft claims hade been made was later reported to have committed suicide. More so, four workers at Foxconn