We were introduced to the important discussion topic of Business Ethics. Many businesses claim to be ethical, but overlook the fact that its suppliers are involved in unethical practices. Such practices include the use of child labor. Increasingly, businesses are aware of the importance of being viewed as ethical by their customers. Any labor or safety problems that are uncovered need to be quickly addressed and rectified.
In January 2011, Apple released a report that detailed problems it was having with some of its overseas manufacturing facilities. The report details child labor abuses, where quite a few facilities were employing workers who were under the age of 16. Other workers were exposed to a chemical called n-hexane which left them unable to walk. In addition, it was reported that 12 workers committed suicide and one died of exhaustion after a 34 hour shift. Here are the links for the article and the report:
I also found an article on what Apple is doing to address the abuses that they discovered. Some of these measures include returning the young, underage workers to their families, improving employee conditions, and hiring counselors. Here is the link to that article:
Article: http://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/apple-supplier-responsibility-report-addresses-foxconn-suicides-underage-workers/
