I will upload the research paper and all i need is a presentation on it and i will upload as well a presentation to summarize the points in

 

Ethical Audit for Apple Inc.

Farah Najm

Salma Alamir

Noura Alrashed

Maha Alsaud

Prince Sultan University

ETHC301

Dr. Jolly Sahni

 

 

Abstract

Background

Apple Computers, Inc. was established a year after Microsoft on April 1, 1976. Unlike Microsoft, Apple founders Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak began the company intending to transform the computer industry and make them more consumer-friendly, mainly by reducing their sizes(Apple.inc). Although their first computer, Apple I achieved the size reduction goal, it lacked components like keyboard and monitor and did not gain significant market penetration. However, their model’s success was realized in 1980 after the introduction of Apple II, whose novelty was not only reduced size but also the introduction of color graphics. The model amplified the company sales significantly from 1978, $7.8 million to $117 million. Since then, the company has diversified its products to include electronics, and software would rise to become a global brand (Heracleous & Papachroni, 2016).

 

Support By Top Management

Apple is known to be one of the most ethical companies out there. One reason that made apple as ethical as it is today is the support that top management gives regarding the ethics of the company. One way the top management ensures ethical behavior and appropriate conduct is by having the suppliers sign a “Supplier Code of Conduct”. This code of conduct guarantees the best standards of social and environmental responsibility and ethical conduct. Apple believes the key to enriching the social and environmental well-being of the supply chain is sound management systems and commitment. The supplier can find the business members responsible for ensuring the management processes are enforced and regularly reviewed. Thus, the supplier has a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) or sustainability representative who reports directly to executive management and has the responsibility and authority to manage the company’s social and environmental compliance requirements. Apple releases an annual Apple Supplier Responsibility Report to highlight its commitment to responsible supplier conduct that explains its supplier expectations as well as its audit conclusions and corrective actions that the company will take against factories that have violated the code. Due to the support from the top management, Apple has maintained their good ethical reputation.

Incorporation of ethics at all levels of the organization

The first step of creating an ethical environment is to employ people who always complete their tasks considering ethical values in every step of the way, after making sure that supervisors are ethics-oriented, then train them to detect any signs of unethical behavior within the organization. In the case of Apple, they definitely succeeded in creating an ethical organization and work-place environment. They always make sure that their employees’ work is ethically oriented and value-based as Apple was known to be one of the most ethical work-places. Sometimes, companies tend to select the cheaper suppliers to create their product in order to make the highest profit margin as possible, but in the case of Apple, they tend to use the best material in terms of quality to serve their customers the best product they can offer. Some people might disagree on that since Apple manufacture their products in china, but in fact all high-end companies prefer to manufacture their products there since it is much cheaper than any other country and moreover, the quality of products is not being decreased or affected. Another ethical aspect that Apple definitely covers is in their customer contract. They always receive customer acceptance as Apple is always very blunt and clear with their customers in their repairment policies and privacy policies for example. The contracts are always fair for both sides as it protects customers’ and the company’s rights starting from what personal information Apple is keeping on their servers and their cause of keeping it to repairing or even replacing the malfunctioned devices that go under AppleCare. Apple has never announced or had a scandal regarding internal unethical behavior, on contrast, they have been known to have the most ethical and outgoing environment in their fields, as every employee there is very comfortable and happy as long as they are not trying to do anything unethical.

 

 

Components of an Ethics Program

 

Business Ethics

Ethics are defined as the moral compass that guides and ascertain appropriate individual behaviors and interactions with fellow humans. Consequently, although the concept of business ethics is engraved in the definition of ethics, it is broader extending beyond the maxima of right and wrong. For instance, Crane et al. (2019) define business ethics as a measure of a company’s moral obligation spanning beyond the poor alignment of its operations to the established rules and regulations in a given country.

Ethics Code

Apple has two documented ethics codes: “Apple ethical and business principles” and the “Supplier Code of Conduct.” The documents underline the company’s commitment to foster safe working conditions, treat workers respectfully and with dignity, and be environmentally responsible in the manufacture and accrued processes. In this case, the codes are drafted as a framework to uphold social and environmental responsibility in the company operations.

Primarily six principles underline the Ethical code of conduct for the employees and their business dealings. The principles outline the requirement that Employees and third party uphold

1. High “standards of business conduct.”
2. Honesty and ethical conduct in all dealings.
3. Avoid situations that instigate conflict of interest.
4. Uphold confidentiality of company and customer information.
5. Ensure business conduct is in accordance with all applicable laws and rules to upholding cooperate citizenship.
6. Conducts business in a manner that benefits the community they operate in.

In this regard, drawing from the six principles, Apple’s ethics code covers multiple areas key among them conflict of interest, financial irregularity, and compliance with the law. For instance, conflict of interest is covered under employees’ conduct whereby all employees a required to “avoid situations where a conflict of interest might occur or appear to occur.” Financial irregularity and compliance with international laws are covered in two sections: business integrity and disclosure of information. Notably, the employees and suppliers are required to abide by the international laws and regulations and those of the countries they operate in. Besides, all business activities must be in a record and disclosed to ascertain transparency. The code stipulates clear guidelines against any form of financial misappropriation, including embezzlement and corruption. As a publicly-traded company, Apple has ensured that the documents of the company code of ethics are available to the public through the company website. The information is also updated as deemed appropriate in line with national and international laws.

 

Ethics Training

As a well-known company, Apple endorses an Apple supplier code of conduct, which provides a set of principles that are followed by their employees, these laws and regulations ensure their ethical behavior. Apple employees receive training which complies with the international standards of responsibility, it includes labor, human rights, health, and safety. Also, management practices and protection of identity and various other aspects of ethicality which the company believes in.

Furthermore, Ethical training is a big part of Apple’s ethics code of conduct. In fact, all regulations that are sated in it are elements of ethical behavior and morality that Apple prompts its employees to follow. Through ethical training employees and suppliers learn a wide-range of points ethicality by which they must follow through, categories include human rights such as anti-abuse and harassment. Besides, environmental behavior that is hazardous substances restrictions, and most relevantly and importantly ethical considerations like business integrity, protection of intellectual property, disclosure of information, and community engagement.

Ethics Hotline

Apple provides a business conduct helpline to all of their employees so that they can report any misconduct. This business hotline is available 24 hours a day so that employees can ask about any misconduct issues, policies, or requirements. This helpline also allows you to report any suspicious situation where you think Apple should investigate or direct their attention to. Moreover, this helpline ensures your identity to be confidential and anonymous when you report misconduct issues to the company.

 

Ethics Awareness

The importance of ethics undeniably communicated by apple regularly using several different methods. First and foremost, Apple ensures that its code of conduct is attentively and effectively understood. It is being universally shared all over the world on all platforms such as PDFs, links, articles, and social networks to expressively convey Apple’s commitment to ethical practices. In addition to the code of conduct, Apple actively participates in spreading awareness of their ethical beliefs around the internet. Articles, formats, and social media posts have been made regarding Apple’s practices. These are including but not limited to Daniel’s funds long initiative on Apple’s ethical success and challenges, google site’s reassuring article on Apple’s statement, and the ethical unwrapped, (University of Texas) produced video further explaining Apple’s devoted ethical practices. In the end, all of these methods are considered communicative of ethical and moral behavior toward Apple’s employees due to how extensively they are being shared with them.

 

Conclusion

An ethical environment is always the base of a successful company, a company must have and keep their ethical values in every aspect starting from manufacturing and management and down to consumer satisfaction. Several scandals came out against Apple, but Apple always confidently proved otherwise. Keeping an ethical environment is like a chain that starts from management creating the correct base to the company, then training supervisors to detect any unethical behavior of employees, and down to serving customers and being very clear about their products and providing all the help they can provide for customer satisfaction within the ethical values and code of conduct.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

Apple.com. (2019). Supplier Code of Conduct. 2019 Progress Report (PDF) retrieved from https://www.apple.com/supplier-responsibility/

Apple.inc. (n.a). Ethics: The way we do business worldwide. Accessed from. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/320193/000104746903041604/a2124888zex-14_1.htm

Crane, A., Matten, D., Glozer, S., & Spence, L. (2019). Business ethics: Managing corporate citizenship and sustainability in the age of globalization. Oxford University Press, USA.

Heracleous, L., & Papachroni, A. (2016). Strategic Leadership and Innovation at Apple Inc. SAGE Publications Ltd.

Noga, G. (2016) “Apple and Microsoft Century Visit.” Jewish Business Journal 18 20-56. Print

 

Apple (2020). Business Conduct [PDF file]. Retrieved from

https://s2.q4cdn.com/470004039/files/doc_downloads/gov_docs/business_conduct_policy.pdf

University of New Mexico (n.d.). Apple Inc.’s Ethical Success and

Challenges [PDF file]. Retrieved from https://danielsethics.mgt.unm.edu/pdf/Apple%20Case.pdf

Apple.com. (2020). Supplier code of conduct PDF

https://www.apple.com/supplier-responsibility/pdf/Apple-Supplier-Code-of-Conduct-January.pdf

Atkinson,L (2020). Apple’s ethics unwrapped. The university of Texas at Austin.

Google sites. (n.a). Virginia community college. Articles on Apple’s ethics.

https://sites.google.com/a/email.vccs.edu/bus100mlmuseappleinc/home/apple-inc-code-of-conduct

Daniel fund’s initiative/Article (n.a). Apple’s ethics code of conduct.

https://danielsethics.mgt.unm.edu/pdf/Apple%20Case.pdf