Apple is a global company that has over the years taken the codes of conduct seriously. As a company that has an aim of maintaining its competitive advantage across the world, it must ensure that all its products are distributed in a manner that is efficient and in compliance with the ethical standards. The aspects of the codes of conduct are also used to ensure that the workers are treated most humanely and that their social responsibility is positive. Apple has over the years made several changes to the codes of conduct to ensure that they comply with the world standards of operation. The discussion will analyze the changes made by Apple to its code of conducts in the recent years and also the changes made to the suppliers to ensure that they are in tandem with the demands of the company.
Changes Made To the Code of Conduct
Apple has made changes to its code of conducts over the years to ensure that it creates a humane working condition for its employees and the general public as a whole. The standards are meant to strike a balance between profitability and the social responsibility to its employees and their clients. Clarke and Boersma (2017) asserted that the company has focused on the labor and human rights to ensure that the workers in the supply chain are accorded a fair and an ethical conscious working environment. The labor and human rights provision ensure that the employees are treated with respect and dignity. Secondly, the anti- discrimination policy ensure that the suppliers cannot apply any form of bias to a worker based on ethnicity, gender, age, disability, religion, and race among others. Thirdly, the anti-harassment and abuse code has been emphasized to ensure that the working environment is free from harassment and any form of abuse. It is against the code of conduct for any supplier to threaten an employee or subject them to a treatment that is harsh or inhumane.
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Several changes are also made to ensure that forced labor and human trafficking are prevented. The suppliers have a moral duty to ensure that work is given voluntarily. Involuntary labor can be described as recruitment of workers through force, threats, abduction, coercion, fraud, etc. with the aim of exploiting them. To ensure that the suppliers do not employ underage workers, the minimum threshold age for employment is 15 years. The student workers are also subject to protection through maintaining their records, maintaining good relations with their educational facilities, and protecting their rights in a manner that is in tandem with the laws and regulations. The code of conducts also provides that student workers should be accorded necessary support and training.
To enhance the welfare of the employees, the codes of conduct have provided for a maximum of 60 working hours with an off of one day in a week except under emergency situations. The regular working weeks are not required to go beyond 48 hours. In any case of overtime, it should be made in a deliberate way ( Morrison, & Black, 2014). Other than the working hours, suppliers are required to be critical of the wages and other benefits of duty. They are supposed to pay the minimum wages and provide the benefits as stipulated in the contract or the applicable law. Proper communication concerning the pay structure and periods must be made to the employee. Also, the workers are provided the freedom and the right to associate with fellow workers to form or join an organization that is geared towards bargaining collectively. This should be done without intimidation, harassment, or retaliation. Suppliers are supposed to provide a work environment that is safe to enhance safety and health. The workers have a right to refuse to work in the unsafe environment and report to relevant authorities.
Changes Made To the Supplier
Over the recent years, Apple has included a section on its website containing information with regards to supplier responsibility and the steps it has made in improving its relations with their suppliers. Apple has always been criticized for the nature of its working conditions used by its suppliers that are marked with unethical behavior. Such practices include the use of forced labor, underage workers, and a high number of suicides as pointed out by Clelland (2014). Apple has strived to act in good faith by auditing the facilities of the suppliers and using third party groups like Fair Labor Association to manage the investigations, but suppliers have continued to encounter several challenges. Clelland (2014) asserted that Apple carried out audits to 451 of its suppliers in 2013 more than they did in 2012. The audits targeted close to 1.5 million employees who engage in making Apple products. The company employed two types of specialized audits, process safety, and environmental audits.
After the audits, the Apple Company analyzed the violations it identified in the facilities that comprised of discrimination, failure to protect underage workers, and long working hours. The company also included the corrective measures that it took to solve the infringements. The first corrective measure that the company took was to deal with the aspect of juvenile hiring and forced labor. The suppliers were required to make what is known as the financial reparations in both cases. To the underage workers, the suppliers were required to take them back to the school of their parents’ choice. The company also required that the suppliers finance their education, providing them with income that is equal to what they received as employees.
The report also covered various aspects of the environment that the suppliers were supposed to comply with. The focus in this regards was mainly directed to the minerals which were under conflict. The third party auditors carried an investigation on the Apple's supply chain with regards to the use of tantalum, and the result was that they were conflict-free. The company has also taken steps to investigate the use of other conflict minerals such as gold, tungsten, and tin that is used in the manufacture of Apple products. Apple has taken several steps that include releasing a comprehensive list containing the smelters and refiners it utilizes. The company also released the smelter’s and refiner’s verification status which is geared towards enhancing accountability and providing information to the stakeholders.
Another major reform that Apple has made in dealing with its suppliers is the release of the Supplier Responsibility Standards. The rules contain the expectations that Apple has when dealing with the supplier companies. The standards cover a broad range of aspects that include environmental issues, labor expectations, and human rights. Together with the standards, the company also produced the code of conducts that include the ethical guidelines and the social cooperate responsibility that the suppliers are required to adhere to. Apple has also made several major strides in trying to end the excessive working hours. Stengel (2009) asserted that the company has also initiated an employee education program that enlightens the suppliers on various issues such as the environment, safety measures, and health among others.
In conclusion, Apple Company has made tremendous steps in ensuring that its suppliers adhere to the codes of conduct that ensure that the company maintains its global reputation as one of the best companies in the world in terms of provision of quality. The company has faced many challenges in their course such as legal battles and implications, but until to date, it is still making genuine attempts to ensure that it strictly complies with the world standards and all the applicable laws.
References
Clarke, T., & Boersma, M. (2017). The governance of global value chains: unresolved human rights, environmental and ethical dilemmas in the apple supply chain. Journal of Business Ethics , 143 (1), 111-131.
Clelland, D. A. (2014). The core of the Apple: Dark value and degrees of monopoly in global commodity chains. Journal of World-Systems Research , 20 (1), 82.
Morrison, A. J., & Black, J. S. (2014). The character of global leaders. In Advances in global leadership (pp. 183-204). Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
Stengel, R. (2009). For American consumers, a responsibility revolution. Time magazine , 174 (11), 38-42.
