The Unglamorous Interface of an iPad - Research Paper Example

28 July The Unglamorous Interface of an iPad Everywhere you look the world and its inhabitants are enveloped in a lifestyle filled with their genius creation – the technology. In the contemporary era, an average person possesses at least one electronic gadget for what used to be a luxurious option of a lifestyle turned out to be a necessity and a way of living. The basic compositions of one’s electronic companions are the mobile phone, laptop, camera, music player, tablet PC, and the list goes on. Since man’s discovery of this brilliant tool, people now tend to breathe and live by these devises in aim to make life easier and better. For some, it’s a declaration of who they are and what they can afford, but for most, it’s merely coping to the dictates of the society. With this virtue, capitalists please consumers by delivering the sleekest, fastest, and newest innovation on devices almost every week pushing their limits far from what used to be impossible and pulling its realization to the now. Who does not drool with the sight of an iPad, or with the sleeked digital SLRs in the market, or the sleekest smart phone? Who would not want a lifeline device that can answer any query or do things for you with just a touch of your hand? Man’s means comes way out of hand sometimes in order to meet an unachievable goal so as the capitalist’s aim to manufacture more even if this equates to considerably creating environmental of humanitarian damages. These electronic devices do not end up on the shelves of a gadget store in a whisk on the capitalist’s wand for the consumers to buy it. It goes to a tedious process of conceptualizing, engineering, manufacturing, and marketing. And like in any organization, this process can be echoed as a pyramid with the product on the high end exposed to the world of consumers and the manufacturers at the bottom kept hidden from everyone’s awareness (Lacy, p.32). Since labor costs and manufacturing is costly when done in the mainland of the United States, capitalists discovered the benefitting scheme of outsourcing. This economical trend has reached its popularity in the nineties as it covered more than half of most American manufacturing company’s operations (Kobayashi-Hillary, p.68). As it proved to be a cost saving method, the giants seek suppliers from low-wage high-labor countries in Asia (Kwok, 776). In the beginning, it was seen as a win-win situation where companies attain their production goal at a very low cost while the labor country receives employment and compensation to salvage their economy. Yet, as time goes, this gratification became one sided tilting the better end to the capitalists and leaving the laborers on the grim end. It is with everyone’s knowledge that manufacturing evolves chemicals and materials that are damaging to the health of the people and the environment. Policies and regulations have been made to control this situation. Unfortunately, not every company placed this on their priority list. Just like the incidence that occurred in one of the factories in Chengdu, China, where a twenty-two year old man, named Lai Xiaodong, died from an explosion while at work due to combustion of chemicals. It is the factory that polished thousands of iPad cases every day. Even the world’s mightiest company such as Apple cannot come clean when it comes to ethical issues of their manufacturing scheme. As the demands for the latest recline so as their demand for these manufacturers on the other side of the world. And meeting these demands is parallel to long working hours for the laborers, poor compliance of policies, risk of negligence in monitoring safety precautions and even sorting to usage of cheaper more volatile chemicals to lower the production costs (Duhigg, par.9). Above are the images of industrial districts of China depicting its hazardous consequence to the environment and its people (Lu Guang). “Apple never cared about anything other than increasing product quality and decreasing production cost… Workers’ welfare has nothing to do with their interests” said Li Mingqi, a former employee of Foxconn Technology which is one of Apple’s most relevant suppliers. The explosion that killed Mr. Lai was rooted to aluminum dust that combusted spontaneously in the factory but Foxconn insisted that their operations are in accordance to existing regulations. Few days after, they delivered Mr. Lai’s ashes to his family together with a $150,000 worth of check. They further stated that they ensure the families of the deceased were given the required support and that those injured are being treated with highest quality medical care (Duhigg, par. 80-88). Mr. Lai’s death is not the first and definitely not the only one that occurred in China factories. Aside from deaths and injuries from explosions, there was more alarming occurrence of suicides. As specialists and investigators go through it, they found out that it is due to overwhelming stress from the job. Working seven days a week on hours beyond the limited time dictated in the labor code, surely one will be burnt out (Duhigg, par. 60-65). When the former CEO of Apple, Steve Jobs, was asked about these disturbing incidences, he stated that their company is doing their best to give a better life for the outsourcing company workers. Boasting that the factories has restaurants, movie theatre, hospitals and swimming pool adding “I actually think Apple does one of the best jobs of any companies in our industry, and maybe in any industry, of understanding the working conditions in our supply chain” (Duhigg, par. 24). But is it enough? Do providing recreations and paying checks for the bereaved pacifies the need of a safer and more environment friendly way of manufacturing? And the most relevant question to ask would be, what can we do to help (Singer, p. xiii)? Since climate change and its devastating effects have reached the senses of humanity, several non-profit environmental and humanitarian organizations publicize dialogues and debates with capitalists in hope for salvation of now polluted industrial lands and depleted morality of the poor laborers accordingly. As it can be seen, this production continues due to inescapable financial needs of the marginalized people from developing countries. Poverty entraps them to continue working in these hazardous factories even if it posts great danger to their health. And while thousands of men die each day caused of poverty and hunger, people from developed countries continue to spend decadently on things they that they hardly notice if it were not there (Singer 12). Directing closure of incompliant factories is out of the law makers’ option. Sadly, the dilemma goes that stopping these factories from production will result to unemployment of thousands of people equating to thousands more of hungry stomach and inevitable deaths. Nevertheless, the death of factory workers and its detrimental effect to the environment must meet its end. One of Singer’s goals in his philosophy of helping the poor is “to challenge you to think about our obligations to those trapped in extreme poverty” (p. xiii-xiv), and this is, indeed, a calling for those in the lucky end to stretch their hands to salvage them in this situation. In this malevolent scenario, labor codes from the state and code of conducts from global companies exists yet remains fangless as its execution remains at the bottom of the management’s agenda (Lum, par.3). The fate of its resolution lies not only in the hands of the government but also amongst all members of the system, as Singer suggests that people have the notion of not doing anything if the people in position are not being attentive or active on it too (53). It fairly means that if the government itself is not putting any sustainable action to improve the laborers’ working situation, so will its factories’ management even if they are much capable to do so. In a positive notion, if the government does prioritize the marginalized and let everyone be aware on the implications of incompliance to the existing laws and codes in the society and environment then these citizens may also be willing to spare some of their time and effort to act on these situations. According to him helping the marginalized is not optional but an obligation (Singer 20). Ultimately, relevance of human lives and the environment must prevail over profit and not otherwise. The end does not justify the means so as the exploitation of the poor people of developing countries can never be justified by the increasing demands of the consumer nor the competition in the global market. The damage it has done has already been overwhelming and more will perish if this culture in industrialization and manufacturing remains heartless and careless for both the community and the land where it exists. Works Cited Duhigg, Charles and David Barboza. “In China, Human Costs Are Built Into an iPad.” The New York Times. 25 Jan. 2012. Print. Kobayashi–Hillary, Mark. Outsourcing to India: The Offshore Advantage. 2nd ed. Germany: Springer – Verlag, 2005. Print. Kwok Hung Lau, and Jianmei Zhang. "Drivers and Obstacles of Outsourcing Practices in China." International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, 36.10 (2006). Print. Lacy, Sarah. Brilliant, Crazy, Cocky: How the Top 1% of Entrepreneurs Profit from Global Chaos. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, 2011. Print. Lu Guang. “Amazing Pictures, Pollution in China”. China Hush (2009). Web. 28 July 2012. Lum, Thomas. Workplace Codes of Conduct in China and Related Labor Conditions. Congressional Research Service (2003). Web. 28 July 2012. Singer, Peter. The Life You Can Save: Acting Now to End World Poverty. New York: Random House Publishing Group, 2009. Print. Read More