Corporate Responsibility and Marketing Strategies Apple Inc. Ethics and social responsibility

Apple is known across the globe for its quality products and up-to-date technology that allows the users to feel to be ahead of other brands hence forming an ardent brand community with great brand loyalty. In order to achieve these technologies, Apple often outsources parts and even services from developing nations particularly in the Asian world. The reason for the preference of the Asian workforce is due to the ability to achieve unprecedented turn around time on new products with speed and flexibility unlike any other regions. They also prefer the sourcing for the production of parts in China which helps them to be close to the hundreds of the manufacturers of components that may be needed as well as the engineers who are central in the production of the final products (Harjani A., 2014). This model of business has proven to be profitable to Apple hence successfully used over several years.

However, this outsourcing of services and manufacturers comes at some human costs especially when the concerned companies outsource from countries with labor laws that are lax or do not exist in totality. The suppliers in such countries often juggle the lives of the employees as they wish, they hire and fire employees in their thousands as they wish in line with the production cycles. They are also known to push them to works extremely long hours, a fact that leaves the employees ill and physically famished. These suppliers are known to also ignore safety issues, have no regard at all for environmental issues and never provide appropriate healthcare as is needed in a working environment. These factors often contribute to the negative perspective on the companies that use their services and products and casts blemish on their corporate social responsibility accreditations as indicated by Hawthorne F, (2012).

Apple's ethical and social responsibility guideline

It is in the face of such possible loss of integrity for the company that Apple Inc. decided to put in place guidelines that define their ethics and the social responsibilities that must be adhered to by al their suppliers and the secondary organizations that are linked to their suppliers. These measures are geared towards ensuring that the Apple customers do not become indirect perpetrators or supporters of inhumane production process and make the Apple products acceptable and ethical from the infancy stage to the display shops.

The supplier code of conduct that is upheld by Apple requires that suppliers observe the highest possible standards of environmental and social responsibility as well as ethical conduct within their areas of operation and with the employees. It is compulsory for the suppliers to provide safe working conditions, have respect for the workers and handle all employees them with utmost dignity, act ethically and fairly towards each employee and are required to use practices that are friendly to the environment whenever they make their products or carry out the services that they give Apple Inc.

Apple also believes in the upholding of the human rights and any supplier is forbidden from discrimination and bias against any employee on whatever grounds especially during the employment period. Indeed, Apple emphasizes that there is no pregnancy test that is needed to be conducted on an individual or any medical test except and only in the situation where the law for that country requires so or if such is prudent for the safety of the employee at the unique working environment. However, discrimination based on these results is not acceptable as well.

Suppliers are also forbidden from harassing the employees or even using abusive language on them. Subjecting the employees to inhumane treatment, harsh treatment, physically coercing them, mental and psychological harassment is also strictly forbidden by Apple as unethical. The subjecting of people to involuntary labor and the human trafficking is also unethical in the Apple code of conduct for the suppliers. The involuntary labor comes in many forms like using threats, involuntary transportation, harboring against will, abduction, employing through fraud among other such malpractices.

The Apple Company further needs their suppliers to refrain from using underage labor in line with the International Labor Organization guidelines or the applicable minimum age within the sense of the individual government guidelines. It also requires that the suppliers protect the juvenile employees (those under 18) and should not work at night or carry out overtime jobs. This special treatment extends to the student workers who must have schedules that will allow them to continue pursuing their educational needs as they desire.

It is also required that the employees have at least one day off duty. Suppliers are also required to follow all the guidelines regarding working days as stipulated by the individual nations and regions and all overtime that may be engaged in need to be voluntary.
The compensation for the work done needs also to adhere to the minimum required by the individual countries and vacation times and leave periods as well as the recognized holidays must be adhered to by the suppliers. In the event that an employee engages in overtime, the compensation needs to be in line with the legal premium rates which must be communicated prior to all the employees.

Apple also insists that all employees under their suppliers must be allowed the freedom of association and engage in collective bargaining. The suppliers will also ensure that the employees have the avenues to present their grievances and that the management has a free and open communication channel with the employees.

The health and safety of the employees working for the Apple suppliers is also something that Apple as a company takes seriously. The suppliers are required to provide safe working environment and use the appropriate safety management practices and maintain these standards at all times. It is the right of the employees hence to refuse unsafe working environment and report any unhealthy conditions. The suppliers, in respect to this, will also ensure they communicate all the necessary safety precautions and the health standards to the employees in a manner that they understand and can take part in reducing workplace associated incidents.

The suppliers are also required to handle in the best way possible the hazardous waste and contribute towards protecting the natural environment within which they operate. They require the suppliers to identify, manage, reduce and dispose of responsibly or if possible recycle hazardous substances that would otherwise harm the environment. Environmental responsibility, indeed, is at the core of the operations of Apple Company. This hence extends the careful handling of other materials which may end up in the surrounding areas like waste water management, storm water management, reduction of noise and generally acquiring all the necessary environmental permits needed (Apple Inc., 2012).

It can be said that Apple has largely achieved these responsibilities since Apple ensures that the above standards are implanted and adhered to the highest standards possible by regularly assessing the compliance of the suppliers to the set standards and codes and a violation of these codes, if proven by the independent auditors, may result in severing of the business relationship with the supplier as was the case with Guangdong Real Faith Pingzhou Electronics in 2012, among other strict measures that might be taken (Campbell M, 2013).

To ensure that there is no forced labor, Apple demands that no single supplier should ask the employees to surrender their original documents that were issued to them by the government as well as the necessary travel documents. Apple also ensures that the suppliers spell out clearly the conditions and terms of the employment of an individual on the contract that they sign and that the employees clearly understand the conditions spelled therein. It is also required that no supplier imposes unreasonable restrictions on movement within the workplace or on getting into the facility or out of the facility. In the case that the supplier uses a third party to recruit employees, then the contractor will ensure that the agency is fully aware of the conditions that are spelled out by Apple and are adhered to. The recruited employees will also not be subjected to incurring the recruitment fees by the agencies and not deduct from their salaries. These are requirements that are checked randomly by independent auditors who visit the firms without notice and on regular basis (Arthur C., 2012).

Supplier violations impact in Apple

Though undesirable, some suppliers still breach these spelt out codes of ethics and conduct hence affecting the Apple Company significantly. There have been situations where there have been mass protest especially online where petitions are signed demanding that Apple improves on the conditions that their suppliers subject their employees. A significant instance was the 2012 online petition where more than 250,000 signed the petition calling for ethical, fair and safe conditions for employees in the Apple suppliers. Such reputations touching on Apple negatively affects the perception that people have about Apple products and consequently negatively affecting their sales and the share prices as well.…