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    Apple Case

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    Abdullah Waraich
    Apple relies on overseas suppliers and factories to manufacture its popular consumer electronics like iPhones. While Apple has had consistent financial success, its supply chain has faced criticism for dangerous and unethical working conditions, such as tin mines in Indonesia where children work in unsafe conditions at risk of landslides. Apple defends its practices by saying it aims to improve conditions through engagement rather than disengaging completely from problematic suppliers. Critics continue to question Apple's responsibility to ensure ethical practices throughout its supply chain given its influence over suppliers.

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    Apple Case

    Uploaded by

    Abdullah Waraich
    173 views4 pages
    Apple relies on overseas suppliers and factories to manufacture its popular consumer electronics like iPhones. While Apple has had consistent financial success, its supply chain has faced criticism for dangerous and unethical working conditions, such as tin mines in Indonesia where children work in unsafe conditions at risk of landslides. Apple defends its practices by saying it aims to improve conditions through engagement rather than disengaging completely from problematic suppliers. Critics continue to question Apple's responsibility to ensure ethical practices throughout its supply chain given its influence over suppliers.

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    Apple relies on overseas suppliers and factories to manufacture its popular consumer electronics like iPhones. While Apple has had consistent financial success, its supply chain has faced criticism for dangerous and unethical working conditions, such as tin mines in Indonesia where children work in unsafe conditions at risk of landslides. Apple defends its practices by saying it aims to improve conditions through engagement rather than disengaging completely from problematic suppliers. Critics continue to question Apple's responsibility to ensure ethical practices throughout its supply chain given its influence over suppliers.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pptx, pdf, or txt
    173 views4 pages

    Apple Case

    Uploaded by

    Abdullah Waraich
    Apple relies on overseas suppliers and factories to manufacture its popular consumer electronics like iPhones. While Apple has had consistent financial success, its supply chain has faced criticism for dangerous and unethical working conditions, such as tin mines in Indonesia where children work in unsafe conditions at risk of landslides. Apple defends its practices by saying it aims to improve conditions through engagement rather than disengaging completely from problematic suppliers. Critics continue to question Apple's responsibility to ensure ethical practices throughout its supply chain given its influence over suppliers.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pptx, pdf, or txt
    of 4

    Apple Suppliers & Labour Practices

    With its highly coveted line of consumer electronics, Apple has a cult
    following among loyal consumers. During the 2014 holiday season,
    74.5 million iPhones were sold. Demand like this meant that Apple
    was in line to make over $52 billion in profits in 2015, the largest
    annual profit ever generated from a company’s operations. Despite
    its consistent financial performance year over year, Apple’s robust
    profit margin hides a more complicated set of business ethics. Similar
    to many products sold in the U.S., Apple does not manufacture most
    its goods domestically. Most of the component sourcing and factory
    production is done overseas in conditions that critics have argued are
    dangerous to workers and harmful to the environment.
    For example, tin is a major component in Apple’s products and
    much of it is sourced in Indonesia. Although there are mines that
    source tin ethically, there are also many that do not. One study
    found workers—many of them children—working in unsafe
    conditions, digging tin out by hand in mines prone to landslides
    that could bury workers alive. About 70% of the tin used in
    electronic devices such as smartphones and tablets comes from
    these more dangerous, small-scale mines. An investigation by
    the BBC revealed how perilous these working conditions can be.
    In interviews with miners, a 12-year-old working at the bottom
    of a 70-foot cliff of sand said: “I worry about landslides. The
    earth slipping from up there to the bottom. It could happen.”
    Apple defends its practices by saying it only has so much control over
    monitoring and regulating its component sources. The company justifies its
    sourcing practices by saying that it is a complex process, with tens of
    thousands of miners selling tin, many of them through middle-men. In a
    statement to the BBC, Apple said “the simplest course of action would be for
    Apple to unilaterally refuse any tin from Indonesian mines. That would be
    easy for us to do and would certainly shield us from criticism. But that would
    also be the lazy and cowardly path, since it would do nothing to improve the
    situation. We have chosen to stay engaged and attempt to drive changes on
    the ground.”
    In an effort for greater transparency, Apple has released annual reports
    detailing their work with suppliers and labor practices. While more recent
    investigations have shown some improvements to suppliers’ working
    conditions, Apple continues to face criticism as consumer demand for iPhones
    and other products continues to grow.
    Discussion Questions:
    1. Do you think Apple should be responsible for ethical lapses made by individuals further down its supply chain? Why
    or why not?

    2. Should Apple continue to work with the suppliers in an effort to change practices, or should they stop working with
    every supplier, even the conscientious ones, to make sure no “bad apples” are getting through? Explain your
    reasoning.

    3. Do you think consumers should be expected to take into account the ethical track record of companies when
    making purchases? Why or why not?

    4. Can you think of other products or brands that rely on ethically questionable business practices? Do you think
    consumers are turned off by their track record or are they largely indifferent to it? Explain.

    5. Would knowing that a product was produced under ethically questionable conditions affect your decision to
    purchase it? Explain with examples.

    6. If you were part of a third-party regulating body, how would you deal with ethically questionable business practices
    of multinational corporations like Apple? Would you feel obligated to do something, or do you think the solution rests
    with the companies themselves? Explain your reasoning.

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