Apple Inc. Ethical Success and Challenges

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CASE STUDY                          APPLE INC.  ETHICAL SUCCESS AND CHALLENGES

Legal and Ethical Issues in Management

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Table of Contents

Case Summary        

Challenges        

Recommendations        

References        

Case Summary

Apple incorporated as a world’s biggest information technology company. IT industry has been revolutionized by the innovative products of Apple Company. Apple provides a wide range of technological products including computer, mobile, printers etc. but the in mobile industry Apple has transformed the mobile technology. Apple has always ensured to display right conduct in every situation to its employees and others related persons. This results into creating the high quality and innovative products along with representing integrity in whole business interaction. The culture of an organization affected by the way it handles the ethical decisions. Organization culture is grounded on norms, rituals, customs, and principles of the organization (Ferrell, Fraedrich, & Ferrell, 2010). Apple Company believes on the four major principles of integrity that include; 1) honesty, 2) respect, 3) confidentiality & 4) compliance. In this regard Apple has devised a code of conduct that employs all its business operations and particular policies are presented on its official website.  Moreover, Apple company employers are also facilitated with a “Business Conduct Helpline”, through which they could report any offense to Company’s Audit & Finance Committee.  Various company’s products has been manufactured in those countries where labor cost is too low so, there is a great risk of misconduct due to conflicts on labor standards. Thus, Apple’s suppliers are assured to sign its “Supplier Code of Conduct” in addition with, periodic factory audits are must to perform in order to ensure compliance. In order to highlight supplier conduct commitment, company annually releases a report named, “Apple Supplier Responsibility Report” that covers supplier’s expectations, audit inferences and remedial activities on all type of violations. Despite the fact that Apple is considered as the World’s Most Admired Company, it has been also facing certain ethical concerns from last few years. In future, there is a strong probability that Apple would face consequences in the form of damaged reputation due to misconduct. Apple have to face multidimensional dilemmas including; product quality, privacy, sustainability, intellectual property and patents.

Challenges

Today the biggest ethical concern is customer’s privacy, this concern has been more highlighted since Apple and Google were uncovered in 2011, on certain product features that were involved to gather consumer’s location through default GPS settings. It was highly unethical issue, involved in violating the privacy of user. For instance, many companies provide option to disable the location identifying features on their phones. But Apple did not provide complete privacy and to stop collecting the location information rather than user had disable the location feature on iPhone. Google and Apple companies protect this concern with an argument of their data-collection mechanisms, but numerous government officials are not agreed. Many states are going to pass legislation on mobile privacy. This is one of the crucial areas that Apple Company is not able to deal completely with concerns spinning around ethics.

In current period people want to advance technological devices with supreme quality, in this regard Apple have to maintain its product quality. As Apple is attributed with an excellent product quality, thus faults could lead to sever ethical concerns. Nowadays identification of mistakes prior to the product introduction is very difficult because of rapid inauguration and supply of devices. If Apple brand will provide sub-standard or minor defected products, it can surely impart wrong alarm to the consumers. Such as in the case of iPhone 4, Apple Company got a lot of complaints about this, having issues of reception. The problem was associated with antenna (due to interface) when held in a particular manner. At the start Company tried to reduce the issue by providing free of cost bumpers for the certain time period till the problem was resolved. However, this problem could not stop people to purchase this product but it fixes by the good care. After that company introduce iPhone 4s having no antenna issue. Apple brand cannot bear any kind of mishap regarding quality issues because mistake in this dimension may leads to brand’s strength damage.

Apple is responding vigilantly in order to become an environment friendly company by minimizing its environmental burdens. Company officially admitted that large emissions are due to its products in this regard Apple is successfully developing and introducing new environment friendly products. Now Apple is manufacturing its products with recyclable material and to encourage the recycling company has started recycling scheme for old iPhones, iPods, and Macs. Company is providing incentive of 10% discount on new version product. Various customers are reluctant to give their old electronic products so, E-waste would continue a considerable concern still consumers use to throw away their old products. Company has affirmed its success to reduce the toxic substances by Apple products i.e. cathode-ray tubes containing lead has been completely eliminated and iPods are being manufactured through LEDs instead off fluorescent lamps having zero mercury levels. In addition with Apple has restricted use of two hazardous substances in product manufacturing including, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and brominated flame retardants.