Apple Corporation Corporate Responsibility and Marketing Strategies - Essay Example

Apple Corporation Corporate Responsibility and Marketing Strategies This paper is an analysis of the ethical and social responsibility position of Apple Inc. It will be established whether the company has met these responsibilities with regards. This will be in light of a publication of ethics and social responsibilities violation made by its suppliers. Examples of such violations will be provided. This paper also contains recommendations on how Apple Inc should ensure that its suppliers are able to implement the set up standards on wages and employee benefits. Finally the marketing strategy of Apple Corporation will be examined and recommendations made on ways it would improve its global competitive edge. Apple Corporation like many other multinationals has a code of conduct that guides its operations (Leipziger, 2010). It prides itself to being committed to the highest social, environmental and ethical responsibility. The company warns that failure to abide by the code of conduct attracts penalties among them termination of any business engagement with the supplier in question (Lashinsky, 2012). Some of the issues addressed in the company’s code of conduct guide are addressed bellow: Apple Corporation expects those who work for their suppliers to be treated with dignity and with respect (O’Grady, 2009). As such fundamental issues of human rights need to be addressed and employees should not be discriminated on basis such as age, religious affiliation, gender, sexual orientation, belonging to labor unions, marital status among other issues. In addition, harassment of any nature is discouraged by the company including forced labor or slavery. Also, the company warns its suppliers against restricting movement of its employees or confiscating identification documents belonging to them so as to hamper their mobility. The code of conduct also warns employees against employing persons who are under age and proposes a minimum age of 15 years (Linzmayer, 2004). Those employing students should ensure that their education is not interfered with and that proper records should be kept to check on their progress. Safety of all employees is to be observed which includes availing reasonable working hours and providing employees with proper working tools and equipment. Health of all employees is to be observed through provision of clean working environment including toilets, eating, sleeping places and other social places. With regards to environment, Apple Corporation demands that its suppliers employ proper waste management issues that will safeguard against air and soil pollution (Linzmayer, 2004). This should be accompanied by relevant government certification documents. The company also expects suppliers to adhere to proper business ethics. They should not engage themselves with issues of corruption, bribery or embezzlement of funds. Despite the code of conduct for suppliers stipulated by Apple Corporation, issues have arisen which have put into question whether they are being adhered to (Leipziger, 2010). A publication of ethics and social responsibilities violation made by Apple suppliers attest to this. In this publication, Catcher, a company in China which makes iPhone and iPads for Apple Corporation and which employs 20,00 people is accused of violating a number of social responsibility issues. The publication made in 2014 showed that Catcher had grave health and safety, human rights and environmental violation issues (Fisher, 2015). Apple Corporation had been informed about the violations by China Labor Watch (CLW) and Green in 2013 which investigated them (Fisher, 2015). However, contrary to the promise that it would address some of the problems arising from the report, Apple has not made any headway. As such, employees at catcher continue to work with inadequate personal protective equipment for handling harmful products, there are no exit points in case of a fire outbreak and there is continued use of benzene and n-hexane despite a ban by Apple Corporation. With regards to environmental violations, Catcher continues to dump wastes and industrial fluids into adjacent rivers Catcher employs student workers of 16 to 18 years and put them in similar position as adult workers subjecting them to more than ten hours wok time. In addition, they are compelled to work for overtime without pay. Those who protest such work conditions are punished Discrimination with regards to age and tattoos on body parts are employed by Catcher, a clear violation of Apple Corporations suppliers’ code of conduct. Another example of how the suppliers’ code of conduct is violated is portrayed in the case of Philippines. It is reported that Apple Corporation and NXP Semiconductors, its supplier in the Philippines had breached its moral responsibility by firing 24 union leaders during collective bargaining negotiations of May 2014 (Fisher, 2015). The trade unionists are said to have been sacked using unjust means. NXP intimidated the rest of the employees by charging them with what they referred to as unbecoming behavior that included loitering in the company’s premises. The above two examples clearly indicate that Apple Corporation has failed to check on its supplier’s conduct (Fisher, 2015). This has resulted to the battering its reputation globally as some of the violations attributed to the suppliers such as forced labor and low wages go against the fundamental human rights adhered to globally. Work conditions at another Chinese supplier, the Foxconn, has added to Apples decline in terms of reputation (Leipziger, 2010). This is especially after an exposure by the New York Times led to more media firms in the United States focusing on the supplier. This even prompted Apple Corporation to seek services of Fair Labor Association (FLA) to look into issues raised by the media regarding Foxconn (Fisher, 2015). This measure was meant on repairing the company’s reputation long thought to stand for global human rights and which had now turned to the role of oppressor with some people threatening to boycott Apple’s products in protest. Experts however warned that focusing on Foxconn alone would not solve the issue as supplier violation of ethical conducts were widespread (Fisher, 2015). When about 62 workers in 2010 were hospitalized after inhaling n-hexane, a toxic substance used at Wintek electronics in Suzhou China for cleaning touch screens, Apple Corporation neither confirmed nor denied the allegations even stating that it would not comment on allegations deemed to be personal (Lashinsky, 2012). This was seen as inaction on the part of the company which further dented its global reputation as a champion for human rights. It was viewed as just any other multinational after making profits with disregard for social responsibility. For Apple to address the issue, it needs to ensure that suppliers among other things adhere to wage and benefits standard. The can do this by seeking services of independent monitors just like it did in the Foxconn scandal (Leipziger, 2010). Fair Labor Association which is a global organization dedicated to protecting and improving lives of workers will surely offer a remedy for cases of suppliers subjecting employees to a lopsided wage and benefits standards. In addition to ensuring that all employees are paid minimum wages that are within existing rules and regulations as envisaged in ILO labor laws, the hired organization should carry an audit into the suppliers’ accounts to ensure that they do not embezzle funds or engage in corrupt acts that will have an impact on employees. Apple can boycott products or threaten to look for other suppliers incase those in questions continue to break the company’s code of conduct with regards to social, environmental and ethical responsibility (Leipziger, 2010). This method has been prove effective globally as no company would risk compromising business with a company such as Apple Corporation with a global brand valued at $118.9 billion. It should clearly stipulate that for a company to qualify as a supplier it must have a clear wage structure that rewards talent in line with ILO labour laws. This will in turn ensure that the suppliers do not exploit employees as doing so would result to cancelling of contracts with Apple Corporation (Linzmayer, 2004). Apple customers are thought to be among the most loyal a fact that has contributed to it being ranked the world’s third largest phone maker in the world with a net income of $39.510 billion as per the 2014 statistics. Therefore, cases of customers purchasing competing brands, such Samsung, because of an increase in the prices of its products do not arise. This argument is supported by the fact that Apple brand has established itself as a powerful global brand associated with efficiency through its products such as the iPhone, iPad and Mac computers which rank highly on customers’ wish list (Lashinsky, 2012). In addition to this, some of Apple Corporation customers such as Google and corporations in the United States and Western Europe are supporters of the International Labor Organization and as such would not abandon Apple Corporation products simply because it increased commodity prices to address work rights violation issue. Apple Corporation has put in place an efficient marketing strategy that has made it the brand of choice globally (Shankar, 2012). It does so by among other things operating in secrecy which leads to speculation and buzz. This happens during product creation whereby it thrives on suspense elevated by media interests. As a result the public eagerly awaits the much talked about product, a period that may stretch into weeks (Shankar, 2012). During this period the company releases limited details and even announces conferences such as that of September 2012 without giving a clear indication of what it would be about. This suspense creates consumer interest as opposed to when all information was to be made available prior to a new product launch. Furthermore, Apple Inc focuses on a friendly customer approach to market its products and boost sales. Here the company focuses on products that are easy to use and which have innovative features for example the touch screen gestures which assist in scrolling and zooming (Lashinsky, 2012). This strategy has been proved to create a sense of anticipation among its customers who are always left wondering what other new friendly features that the company intends to include in its future models. The company also creates a community of fans who are passionate about its brand values in addition to designing and packaging its products in an appealing manner (Linzmayer, 2004). Apple Corporation needs to come up with ways whereby it can reach middle income earners especially in parts of Asia and Africa. This is because their products such as the iPhone 5 are expensive and out of reach for many who would want to identify with the Apple’s brand. This strategy has been employed by Mercedes Benz in Africa whereby it lowered the price of its A-Class model in Nigeria, a country with huge potential for luxurious cars with a global appeal. This has in turn eaten into the market of mid range Japanese car models for example Toyota’s Camay. Apple Corporation needs open assembly lines in many geographical regions across the globe so as to identify with potential customers. This strategy has worked for multinationals such as Toyota and Mercedes Benz, from Japan and Germany, which have assembly plants in many countries be it from North America, South America, Asia, Middle East or Africa. The notion here is that people tend to identify with locally made products especially those bearing a global appeal such as Apple Corporation. As such, someone in Africa would want to purchase an iPhone made in Kenya, Nigeria or even Zambia. The above suggestions would surely see Apples fortunes surpass those of competitors such as Samsung or LG. Bibliography Top of Form FISHER, K. L. (2015). Gaming the Herd. Wiley & Sons Canada, Limited, John. Bottom of Form Lashinsky. (2012). Inside Apple: How America’s most admired-and secretive-company really works. New York: Business Plus. Leipziger. (2010). The corporate responsibility code book, Sheffield, U.K: Greenleaf Pub. Linzmayer. (2004). Apple confidential 2.0: The definitive history of the world’s most colourful company. San Francisco, Calif: No Starch Press. O’Grady. (2009). Apple Inc. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press. Shankar. (2012). Handbook of Marketing Strategy. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Pub. Read More