The story of Apple Computers, especially after the death of Steve Jobs, has taken the form of a certain hagiography in the American media: the company can do no wrong. Yet the scandal that erupted when Tom Cook took control of the company involving the Foxconn production plant has changed this image. Namely, the workers at Foxconn, which is a key supply plant in China for Apple, in January 2012 threatened to take their own lives because of their working conditions. (Drew 2012) Such an event clearly shows that some of the “forward thinking” rhetoric surrounding Apple is a complete farce, as workers threatening suicide shows that Apple has neglected the basic conditions of workers.
Certainly, such an ethical dilemma exists at the extremes of what businesses will be faced with. But at the same time, this is what makes it such a pertinent example; furthermore, because of the world wide success of Apple this makes the issue even more crucial. Obviously, such a situation, because of its extremity, requires an equally extreme response. Something is fundamentally wrong in Foxconn’s treatment of workers to force them to threaten such actions. In this regard, Apple would have to take a thorough overview of their supply chain. Namely, Apple would have to ask the questions: to what extent are our own business policies creating the situation at Foxconn? On the other hand, to what extent are these problems those of Foxconn alone? In the case of the latter, Apple would clearly have to break with this supplier, and seek alternatives. While this may cause a loss in profit, the ethical dilemma and neglect of human life is too great to continue with such a practice. In the case of the former, Apple would have to understand the extent to which its own success may have caused pressure for increased production all across the supply chain. This could potentially mean that Foxconn is not an anomaly, but such ethical dilemmas may continue to arise. In this regard, Apple must fundamentally re-evaluate their ethical policy vis-à-vis their workers, not only in the Apple corporation itself, but also in its supply chain.
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"Business Dilemma: Apple and Foxconn".
- Drew, K. (2012). “Apple’s Chief Vists IPhone Factory in China.” The New York Times, March 19. Accessed at: http://www.nytimes.com/
