Contemporary Management at Apple China - Essay Example

?Issues in Contemporary Management-Apple China Introduction Cai p.5) s that China is the world’s fastest growing economy currently. The growth has particularly been witnessed over the last few decades as evidenced by the many manufacturing companies and businesses being set up in China. China currently boasts having some of the biggest manufacturing companies in the world and has become a major exporter of electronic devices. So far, China's economy is the second largest in terms of GDP and purchasing power parity, after the U.S. according to Cai (2010, p.6). In fact, some economic pundits project that the economy of China may overtake that of the U.S. in the next few decades. However, despite all these good fortunes, research indicates that China has not improved the working conditions for its workers to ensure their satisfaction (FoxNews.com 2012). This is because the government appears not to have enacted adequate laws to protect its labor force from unethical employers if media reports are anything to go by. The country’s media has reported several incidences of labor unrest in many companies in the country, which generally points at poor working conditions and rights violations by employers. For instance, the media has reported several instances of suicidal tendencies by Apple workers according to Green (2012). What is certain is that most workers at Apple resort to suicide when the management is not ready and willing to listen to their grievances and take action. Such behaviors by management can be termed unethical because it shows lack of management’s commitment to the worker’s welfare and well-being (Gayle 2012). This paper will examine the contemporary management issues at Apple in China in light of the high incidences of suicide in the company over the last few years. It is undisputable that Apple products command very high demand in the world. Nevertheless, the working conditions at most of its supply chain appears wanting if the number of suicides and labor unrest being experienced at its supply chains in Chain are anything to go by. For instance, Foxconn Company, one of the main manufacturers of Apple products in China has been making headlines mostly for bad reasons (He 2009). This is because a year hardly passes without labor unrest being reported. Reports indicate that most of the worker’s at Apple supply chains have been protesting through threats of suicide while other go to the extent of not just threatening, but by committing suicide. What is worrying is that the trend has been in place for quite some time now unabated. Ramzy (2012) reports that at least 14 workers committed suicide at Foxconn in the year 2010. However, Qiang (2012) also noted the number has so far risen to 18 following two reported cases of suicide with the last case having been reported on 14 June. However, to make mater worse, the company appears not to have learnt anything from the past suicides that have been committed in the company. This is because Moore (2012) recently reported another mass protest by least 150 Foxconn workers who were threatening to commit mass suicide in the company over poor working conditions in the company. Moore (2012) reported that the workers climbed on the rooftop of the factory in their numbers before threatening suicide. However, the management of the company pleaded with them before being coaxed away. Moore (2012) reveals that the protest began on 2 January 2012 following a move by the managers of Foxconn Company to shift close to 600 employees to new production lines. However, the managers are reported to have made this move without providing enough training to the workers to be able to handle the new tasks they were being given (Ramzy 2012). In addition, one of the protesters said that as much as this was being done, they were being paid just piecemeal (McGrath 2012). The protesters stated that the salaries they were being offered by the company have made them poorer than they were before since it does not commensurate with the living standards of the country. They also reported that their salaries were very low compared to that offered by other companies in the country something, which they wanted reviewed by the company as noted by Zhang (2012). However, when asked why they resorted to protest, particularly by committing suicide, the protesters said that the management of the company, trade union, and the government has not been willing to hear their grievances citing other incidences that had occurred in the past. This implies that the company needs to ensure that workers are paid competitive salaries that can motivate them to be productive and to avoid protests. The protesting workers also stated that being moved to new production lines without training also put their lives at risk (Reisinger 2012). In this regard, one of the protesters stated that the assembly line they were moved to was running extremely fast causing injuries to the workers. In fact, the worker stated that their bodies were full of blisters and black spots in barely a month in the new production line (Moore 2010). Further, they pointed out that the factory was unhealthy because it was chocked with dust, something that they were not ready to bear (Lau 2010). However, even after reporting the matter to the management, nothing was being done about the state of their working condition thereby prompting them to threat the company with a mass suicide. This move by workers to resort to suicide by climbing factory roofs and throwing themselves to the ground has been of huge concern to the management of Apple according to Malone and Jones (2010). As a result, safety nets have been put around the factory building to prevent deaths that may occur from suicide. In addition, the company has hired counselors to help its employees so as not to continue committing suicide because of labor disagreements. Some Apple workers have been protesting against the company for laying off its workers without following the due process of law. Report indicates that some of the Apple supply chains such as Foxconn have the habit of laying off its employees with following the due process required by the law (Tam 2010). This was witnessed during its recent announcement of closing down the Xbox 360 as noted by Hickman (2012). The company announced that it was forced to terminate the services of some of its workers because of the closer of the production line, a move that did not go well with the workers. This is because the workers expected the management to inform them in advance or train them for a shift to other production lines so as to enable them continue working in the company. However, since the management was not willing to hear none of this, they had to resort to suicide threats, which did compel the management to reverse its earlier decision to lay off some workers thereby transferring them to other production lines within the company as noted by Kain (2012). Report also shows that workers at some of the Apple supply companies in China are discontented with the state of their working conditions (Lavin 2012). It is reported that the work intensity at these companies are every high. As a result, they are being forced to work for about 11 hours daily for a whole week without being given time to rest (Public Intelligence 2011). This is because some of the protesters clearly stated that they are forced by the company management to work even during weekends and holidays failure to which amounts to abscond of duties. Workers can only take a single day off in an entire month and sometimes work for several months without being given a day off (Pomfret 2010). This number of overtimes worked is in excess of the overtime limit of 36 hours of overtime every month in China (Johnson 2011). As a result, they see this as a violation of their rights arguing that like any other person, they also need some time to rest and socialize freely. However, since the management is not always willing to listen to such complaints, some of the workers resort to suicide. Conclusion It is apparent that China’s labour situation is far from perfect. However, since the country still lacks real democracy, free commerce with most managerial states being highly intrusive, it may not surprise one that workers are treated poorly. This has particularly been evident in Foxconn, one of Apple’s supply chains. Nevertheless, it is very important for the management of Apple to find ways of reducing labour unrest in the company so as to avoid tarnishing the company’s brand image. This is because, despite the fact that Apple manufactures some of the most valued phones and electronics in the world, it has been making headlines for the wrong reasons in China based on high incidences of suicides having been reported in the past. To avoid such occurrences in future, Apple needs to ensure that its management respects the rights of its workers by listening to their grievances as and when they arise. However, the company will have to start by improving the working conditions, which has been the main born of contention. 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