Apple Inc.'s Ethical Success And Challenges - Essay Example

Apple Inc.’s Ethical Success and Challenges Answer to Question 1. Steve Jobs, the CEO of Apple Inc. embraced ethical leadership in the following ways to create an ethical culture in Apple Inc. Corporation. The first way in which Steve Jobs embraced ethical leadership, which ultimately created culture in Apple Inc. was through creating flattened organizational structure. The flattened organizational structure meant that as the CEO of Apple Inc., Steve Jobs could directly address the employees of the Company, without the unnecessary bureaucracy that requires CEOs to go through layers of management before they deal with the employees. Jobs’ decision to create flattened organizational structure is, indeed, an ethical decision because it is based on respect and equal treatment of all the employees of Apple Inc. The second way in which Steve Jobs as the CEO of Apple Inc. embraced ethical leadership is through encouraging debate within the organization. This in effect meant that the employees of Apple Inc. could freely share their ideas with each other on what they thought was good for the organization; through allowing the employees to express their views and their feelings, the employees felt valued and respected because of being allowed to make their input on the various issues in the organization, this in effect made the employees of Apple Inc. more loyal to the Company. Jobs leadership, therefore, helped create an ethical culture in which the employees would honestly and openly share their ideas and their feelings with each other. The third way in which Steve Jobs as the CEO of Apple Inc. embraced ethical leadership was through creating a vision for the Company that the employees of the Company could believe in. Through creating a vision for the Company that the employees could believe in, Steve Jobs helped create a culture of shared goals and objectives among the employees of Apple Inc.; through Steve Jobs’ leadership style of creating a vision for the Company that the employees could believe in, the employees of Apple Inc. were motivated to worker harder towards realization of the goals of the Company that they believed in. Steve Jobs’ ethical leadership style, therefore, helped in creating a culture of hard work in Apple Inc. Question 2Answer. The following steps were taken in Apple Inc. to ensure an ethical culture within the organization. The first step that was taken by Apple Inc. to ensure an ethical culture within the organization was the creation of a conducive environment for the employees; through the flattened organizational structure that the Apple Inc. adopted, the Apple Company created a conducive working environment for the employees of the Company because the employees did not need to go through layers of bureaucracy to express their views and their feelings to the top management of the Company. The implementation of this form of organization structure helped the employees of Apple Inc. to develop a culture of honesty and openness. The second step that Apple Inc. took to ensure ethical culture within the organization was to encourage and to request their employees, especially retail employees, to treat their customers with utmost respect ; the Apple Company actually encourages its employees to make their customers feel welcome and to serve them promptly upon entering into the Apple stores. This directive by Apple Inc. has helped create an ethical culture in Apple Inc. in which the customers of the Company are served with respect, without any form of disrespect or exploitation. The third way in which Apple Inc. ensures ethical culture is through motivating their employees through fair remuneration, training, and giving them opportunities for upward carrier movement. The retail employees of Apple Inc. for instance are paid better than the retail employees of similar companies. Through motivating their workers and through treating them fairly and honestly, the Apple Inc. has helped create an ethical culture of hard work and honesty because the employees feel that their services to the Company are appreciated. The third step that the Apple Inc. took to create an ethical culture was to encourage and to sensitize its employees to be environmentally conscious and responsible. Apple Inc. for instance gives its employees transit subsidies so as to encourage them to use public means of transport, so as to reduce environmental damages caused by carbon emissions. The fourth step that Apple Inc. took to ensure ethical culture is to require its employees to maintain a high level of integrity. According to Apple Company’s code of ethics,there are four principles that constitute integrity; these principles are honesty, respect, confidentiality, and compliance. All the employees of Apple Inc. are required to strictly observe these four principles. Question 3 Answer. A Comparison of Apple Inc. with IBM Company and Coca-Cola Company 1. A Comparison of Apple Inc. with IBM Company A comparison of Apple Inc. and IBM Company shows that the two Companies are generally similar, but they also have some differences. The main similarity between the two Companies lies in the fact that both Companies emphasize the need for high level of integrity upon their employees. Among the principles of IBM Company, the principle of respect for the individual is actually the first principle; this principle requires that the IBM Company should treat its employees with respect and dignity, without violating any of their inalienable rights (IBM Management Principles and Practices, web). The principle of respect for the individual also requires that the IBM Company should help its employees to fully exploit their potentials in life. The IBM’s individual principle is actually similar to Apple Inc.’s principle that demands that the employees of the Company should be treated fairly and justly by the organization. The other important similarity between Apple Inc. and IBM Company is that both Companies emphasizes on the need for treating the customers or the consumers with utmost respect and dedication; the two Companies are also similar in that they both emphasize on excellence in their services. Despite these similarities, the two Companies are, however, different in that they have different organization structure. While Apple Inc. has flattened organization structure, the IBM Company has an organizational structure with layers of management levels; the IBM’s organizational structure is actually the traditional organization system. 2. A Comparison of Apple Inc. with the Coca-Cola Company Although Apple Inc. and the Coca-Cola Company deal with completely different kind of products or services, the two Companies, however, have both similarities and differences in their organizations and management. The main similarity between these Companies lies in the values that guide them. Both the Coca-Coca Company and the Apple Inc. Company uphold the values of integrity, excellence, and respect for individual persons in their management and in their operations. Despite this similarity, however, the two Companies vary in terms of their organizational structure. While Apple Inc. has flattened organizational structure with no bureaucracies, the Coca-Cola Company has hierarchical organizational structure with the decisions being made by the top management (Management andLeadership at Coca-Cola Company, web). Unlike Apple Inc., therefore, the junior employees of the Coca-Cola Company do not participate in making important decisions for the Company. Question 4Answer. The Apple Inc.’s principles have shaped the ethical behaviour of the Company in the following ways. To begin with, through requiring its employees to observe the value of integrity, the Apple Company has substantially shaped the behaviour of its employees. This is because the employees of the Company will always seek to act with integrity, so as to comply with the requirements of their employer. Secondly, through treating their employees fairy and justly, the Apple Company has shaped the ethical behaviour of the employees because the employees will feel respected and honoured. Once the employees feel that they are respected and honoured, the employees are less likely to engage in unethical behaviour. For instance, through paying its employees fairy, the employees of Apple Inc. are not likely to engage in corrupt practices so as to get money. Thirdly, through requiring its employees to treat the consumers or the customers of the Company with respect and dedication, the Apple Inc. has shaped the ethical behaviour of its employees because the employees of the Company will always seek to treat the employees of the Company with respect and dignity. Question 5 Answer. Apple Inc. has empowered its employees in the following ways to practice accountable and responsible leadership. Firstly, through promoting a culture of openness in the organization where the employees can freely debate important issues going on in the Company and make their inputs on important decisions about the Company, the Apple Company has given its employees a chance to make important decisions and to own up to their decisions. This is because through the inputs that the employees of Apple Inc. make on important decisions of the Company, the employees will feel responsible and accountable for the decisions that the Company will make. Allowing the employees to make their inputs on important decisions of the Company, therefore, helps the employees to be accountable and responsible leaders in the future. Secondly, through giving its employees opportunities to grow in their carrier and to be promoted even to the top management, the Apple Company is helping its employees to practice accountable and responsible leadership. This is because all the employees of Apple Company will act in responsible and accountable manner, so as to be promoted in their carrier. Question 6 Answer. My Opinion about Apple Inc. In my view, Apple Inc.’s leadership and management style is a good example of leadership and management style. There are two main reasons why I believe Apple Inc.’s leadership and management style is a good system of management. First, I think that flattened organizational style is the best form of organizational style for a Company like Apple Inc. This is because since innovation is one of the pillars of Apple Inc., all the employees of the Company should be given an opportunity to express their views on what they think the Company need to do so as to be more successful. Creativity is not something that only a few of the top managers of an organization can do, but any employee of an organization can have an important creative idea. For that reason, therefore, it is actually in the best interest of Apple Inc. for all of their employees to have a chance to freely debate and make contributions on important matters pertaining to the Company. Secondly, Apple Inc.’s leadership style and management fosters ethical behaviour among its employees. This is because Apple Inc. has a raft of rules and guidelines to give the employees direction on how to act ethically and to develop an ethical culture. Practising ethically right actions for a long time actually enables one to develop an attitude or a culture of acting in a morally right way. This view is supported by Aristotle in the Nicomachean Ethics when he says that habituation to morally right actions enables one to be virtuous, while habituation to morally wrong actions makes a person to develop vicious character (Aristotle, 1926). Apple Inc.’s management and leadership style, therefore, fosters morally right behaviour among its employees. Question 7Answer. In my view, the success of Apple Company can be attributed to the effective leadership in the Company, especially when Steve Jobs served as the CEO of Apple Company. This is because a look at the leadership style and the leadership values of Steve Jobs as the CEO of Apple Company shows that Steve Jobs was an authentic leader; this is because Steve Jobs was sincere and honest in his work as the CEO of Apple and he was, also, a role model to his juniors. Sincerity and honesty in one’s leadership duties and responsibilities are the hallmarks of authentic leadership (Avolio and Gardner, 27-28). Through authentic leadership, therefore, Steve Jobs was able to make Apple Company a very successful Company. Works Cited Aristotle. Nicomachean Ethics. Rackham, H. (trans.). USA: Harvard University, 1926. Avolio, B.J., & Gardner, W.L. (2005). “Authentic Leadership development: Getting to the Root of Positive Forms of Leadership”.The Leadership Quarterly. Ferrel, O.C., Fraedrich, J., and Ferrel. Business Ethics: Ethical Decision Making and Cases. USA: Cengage Learning, 2013. IBM Management Principles and Practices.Web. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j &q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CB4QFjAA&url=http%3A% 2F%2Fwww.ibm.com> Management and Leadership at Coca-Cola Company.Web. http://www.researchgate/sesse_ Munyua/publication/264546311_Management__Leadership_styles_at_Coca- Cola_Company/links/53e478470cf21cc29fc8f905> Read More