Apple’s iPhone 5 release and the Samsung lawsuit has brought Foxconn on the news once again. The high demand for the new iPhone forced workers very demanding, productive, and strenuous conditions. Many students have blogged about this subject (Tanvir Toor, Alex Chua, and Chris Williamson) but the question I am wondering is whether the iPhone 5 will be known as the product that boosts Apple’s overall growth or the product that diminishes its brand image. The Foxconn situation is brought up at a time where Apple has recently dealt with the Samsung lawsuit and can be seen as a less charitable business to competition. Will the news of harsh working conditions stop consumers from endlessly throwing money at Apple?
Despite the demands of citizens in first world developed countries on this supply, we often forget the effects our demand has on the suppliers. The forced conditions could force a strike by the Chinese workers union against Apple and thus proving to be detrimental to the corporation. After Apple’s protection of intellectual property against Samsung and other competition, I can see various rivals in the market exploiting more to worsen Apple’s brand image and their seemingly bad corporate social responsibility. Thus, the decrease in marketshare caused by the lawsuit results in high opportunity costs that put Apple in a vulnerable place after the release of their newest iPhone. As a supporter of Apple products and their dream aesthetic design-oriented products, I am curious what they will do now.
Referenced sources:
1. Huffington Post: www.huffingtonpost.com/shelly-palmer/apple-samsung-good-bad_b_1834733.html
2. Yahoo!: http://news.yahoo.com/samsung-factories-sound-bad-foxconn-214030203.html
3. Tanvir: https://blogs.ubc.ca/tanvirtoor/2012/09/12/horrific-working-conditions-for-those-working-at-apple-factories/
4. Alex: https://blogs.ubc.ca/alexanderchua/2012/10/07/iphone-5-production-on-strike/