In the corporate world, it is easy to think that the ultimate goal is to make profits. However, it is this type of thinking that can ultimately lead to the failure of an organization. When a company simply thinks of profits, it is likely to find itself in trouble with the government, with stockholders, and with the public. In today’s world, more so than ever, it is important for a company to thinking about its ethical and social responsibilities to its employees, its consumers, its shareholders, and to the general public. By focusing on ethical and social responsibilities, a company is likely to be able to gain recognition as a good employer, a good investment, and a good company to purchase products and services from.
One company that
…show more content…
Next, the “Mass Suicide” protest at the Foxconn factory in China where workers were deeply upset by the poor working conditions (Moore, 2012). Then, in 2013 there were reports of deaths of workers at the some of the same Chinese factories from fatigue, pneumonia, and other causes (Barboza, 2013).
All of these poor conditions by its suppliers and factories overseas contradict the values that are set forth by Apple in their own ethical guidelines. Early in 2012, Apple announced that it would hire an outside agency to investigate the charges of forced overtime and child labor in its Chinese suppliers and factories, including other poor work conditions. While it appears on the surface that Apple was taking swift action in regards to these charges, it is clear that the abuse has been going on for some time and regular audits performed by Apple, or even routine check-ups on its suppliers would have uncovered at least the deplorable working conditions. Apple even admits that it was lax in its auditing procedures during the times when these issues were occurring, leading inquisitive minds to believe that it the company knew what was going on but only felt the need to address it once it had become public knowledge and began to hurt Apple’s image. According to Apple’s website reports a 51% increase in the number of audits performed since 2012, which covered facilities where 1.5 million workers labor to
In (Cohen, 2008), the author quotes (Drucker, 1946) in noting that “Every organization must assume full responsibility for its impact on its employees, the environment, customers, and whomever and whatever it touches”. According to (Cohen, 2008; Drucker, 1946), that is the very definition of social responsibility. There are many ambiguities surrounding the concept of social responsibility; everything from definition to terminology, even what actions constitute responsible behavior is unsettled (Vogel, 2005). For purposes of this paper we will use the term corporate social responsibility (CSR).
There is lot of things that are kept from thousands of people. Apple has been label as unethical and they have their reasons. They show that they are one of the most famous and elegant companies there has ever been. Apple has been doing a lot of things that are not right, and people don't even know about it. Here are some of the examples why they have been label as unethical. They force children to work for them, they use them to make their products. All employees from adults to children they work in dangerous conditions. Their working time is ten hours a day, working seven days a week. The condition on the working plant is just horrible for all the employees. Also Anti-suicide nets were installed after 17 deaths they had of their employees. Unethical tax practice they avoid paying billions
The aim of this essay is to evaluate that within a competitive world, companies should become ethical throughout many perspectives. Ethics refers to the standards of right and wrong in an attempt to influence behaviour. (Kinicki 2015 p.83) In stating this, companies can become ethical in such occasions being effective in the long run. These include ethics and financial performance in how companies can maximise profits and market share, ethical performance in discussing how companies can perform at its highest level. Also, ethical competition such as competitive advantage and ethics and sustainability can enable companies to become ethical within a global perspective. Despite the positive aspects, there are also some negative implications towards ethics.
Many believe that business entities should have an ethical duty to be socially responsible, to work towards increasing its positive effects on society while decreasing its negative effects. Many organizations look for opportunities to be socially responsible while also creating shareholder wealth.
The corporate world has an unfavorable view of itself by being selfish, evil, and against the average American. Companies market themselves and their products in certain ways that makes them and their products appealing to everyone and if not everyone then a certain group of people. Every company has a mission to follow and values to go by, but some companies lack ethics and morals. In this paper I am going to talk about one company that engages in ethical behavior and another that doesn’t.
In comparing and contrasting two articles which analyze and evaluate ethics in business, the impact of corporate social responsibility and ethical behavior by corporation and their managers can be understood by the public perception documented in a survey of Hawaiian residents, as well as the argument of negative value to consumers when self-interest and lack of ethics are part of an organization’s business model. The survey results in Choy’s article demonstrate the impression of a decline in corporate ethical behavior over the past twenty years. Both articles use the environment of competition to discuss the characteristics of ethical and moral behavior in the corporate realm. The recommendation based on the evaluation of information in the two articles is for business organizations to employ ethical and moral practices that include the values of society, and use traditional morality in all business dealings. The value of corporate social responsibility will be acknowledged and appreciated by consumers, and both economic and social gains can be achieved.
Many fortune 500 companies have implemented a ethics program (Ruddell, 2015). This paper will examine the goals associated with establishing a ethics program, some action items, and considerations of the essential elements associated with ethic programs.
On January 25, 2012, the New York Times published an exposé of labor conditions at an iPad supplier factory for Apple in China called “Foxconn”. The report documented extensive violations of worker rights; excessive overtime, crowded dorms, and the use of poisonous chemicals causing worker fatalities. It was reported that at least 19 factory workers have attempted suicide. But shortly before the New York Times story came out on “Foxconn”, on January 13, 2012, “The Fair Labor Association today announced that Apple will join the FLA as a Participating Company, effective immediately.” And on February 16, 2012 Steven Greenhouse, writer from the New York Times wrote an article about how Fair Labor Association praise the factory after they took
Apple itself may not have suffered from legal factors, but its supplier company, Foxconn, was known for child labour, as well as lower-than-acceptable wages, and overly long working hours, all illegal acts, which may affect not only Foxconn, but also Apple as well.
Apple is committed to maintaining the highest standards, for both environmental responsibility and ethical conducts. They follow strict
Corporate social responsibility has been one the key business buzz words of the 21st century. Consumers' discontent with the corporation has forced it to try and rectify its negative image by associating its name with good deeds. Social responsibility has become one of the corporation's most pressing issues, each company striving to outdo the next with its philanthropic image. People feel that the corporation has done great harm to both the environment and to society and that with all of its wealth and power, it should be leading the fight to save the Earth, to combat poverty and illness and etc. "Corporations are now expected to deliver the good, not just the goods; to pursue
Some business leaders are taking good moral decisions and the reason behind that idea is that the core part of their business strategy is to create mutual benefit for both wider society and business as well. The growing desire of top management is to find out ways to create mutual benefit for both the organizations and the stake holders but the public still believes that companies are greedy entities which make decisions only in their self-interest, even at the cost of greater public welfare. It is the utmost obligation of the companies to discern the social issues while making the decisions (Yashiro, Yoshida and Suzuki, no date; Godwin, 2006; Schwab, 1996; Godwin, 2008; Werhane, 1998; Werhane, 2002; Heath, 2008; Mehalik and Gorman, 2006).
Despite its global recognition and status, Apple Inc. has come under scrutiny in recent years. Criticism concerning Apple’s unethical labour conditions (causing both physical and emotional distress to employees) on a considerable number of occasions has led to this. Unethical labour conditions has not been an isolated incident, rather a disapprovingly common occurrence for such a well-regarded global brand.
In the 1990s, many multinationals, Apple Inc., Nike, Wal-Mart and including Dell, found themselves involved in the storm of protests when reports revealed that some sweatshops existed in their suppliers. In 2007, students from seven universities in Hong Kong built an investigation team and conducted surveys in Dell Inc’s facilities in south China. After the survey, they found that three suppliers of Dell, Liteon Electronic (Dongguan) Ltd., Silitec Electronics (Dongguan) Ltd and Tairui Plastic and Electronic (Dongguan) Ltd., had done something that was seriously against some regulations in the ‘Law of the People’s Republic of China on
Business ethics, social, and environmental guidelines frame the expectations of an organization's stakeholders including customers, employees, and regulatory bodies. An organization's ethical guidelines encompass how the organization and its employees embody ethical principles in their dealings, with each other, and other stakeholders. Therefore, Ferrell, Fraedrich, and Farrell (2008) have defined Business ethics as "The principles and standards that guide behavior in the world of business" (p.6). In many situations, individuals must incorporate their personal ethics to match those of the organization's ethical culture. For this reason, business ethics theory indicates that an organization's ethics are evident in its organizational mission and vision (Hummels & Timmer, 2004). This is because the mission and vision determine organizational structure and culture, and thereby organizational and individual behavior.