Photo 1: Apple Logo
http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/jan/25/apple-child-labour-supply
In the last year, The Guardian released the news article “Child labour uncovered in Apple’s supply chain” which informed the public that Apple discovered numerous “cases of underage labour” and reports of “a series of worker suicides over working conditions.” Although Apple has the net worth of billions of dollars, the business is seen adopting the practice of child labour. In the case of Apple, value-based management can be seen as relevant as the employees are neglected and forced to work in poor conditions. For instance, the chief executive of Apple, Tim Cook, was previously responsible for building these supply chains; however, Cook made an attempt to resolve the issue by hiring an independent auditor thus displaying proper business ethics.
Milton Friedman believes that the social responsibility of business, i.e. individual proprietors or corporate executives, is to increase profits while complying to social standards. This includes “conduct[ing] the business in accordance with [the employees’] desires”. Regarding the article on Apple, the business does submit to this responsibility as many cases of underage labour has been uncovered. As can be assumed, the company’s success and income overcome the working state of the employees, in the management’s point of view.
According to R. Edward Freeman, a successful business needs to “create value for customers, suppliers, employees, communities, and financiers.” This is the stakeholder theory. As can be seen in the article, the stakeholders of Apple do not work together as crucial information is withheld from auditors in order to stray away from the repercussions. On the other hand, for the case Apple, the company is still successful regardless of its unethical practices.
Works Cited
Article: http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/jan/25/apple-child-labour-supply
Friedman: http://site.ebrary.com/lib/ubc/reader.action?docID=10187339&page=171
Freeman: https://www.youtube.com/embed/bIRUaLcvPe8