Introduction

Ethical analysis refers to a logical approach to figuring out the correct moral judgments in a given situation. A rational analysis of the situation guided by codes of ethics helps an individual to select the best moral option. Ethical analysis helps an individual to have the actual picture of the case before undertaking any action (De George2011, p. 26). Ethical review is beneficial in business operations since one can bring the business back into the track when coworkers or employees perform unethical activities. An excellent and successful enterprise is based on ethics. A company ethic refers to how an organisation responds to either external or internal stimuli. The organisational culture strongly interdepends with corporate ethics. Code of ethics in an organisation applies to the doctrines used in the institution to guide in its strategies, decisions, and programs. An ethical organisational culture demand that all the staffs adhere to the code of ethics.

Ethical leadership

Ethical leadership refers to governance which is guided by great respect for ethical beliefs, dignity, morals, and rights for others. Ethical leadership is characterised by honesty, fairness, trust charisma and consideration. Leaders who embrace ethics do the right thing, in the correct manner and at the right time. Consequently, their teams are loyal, committed, dedicated and ethical. Ethical leadership is essential since it assists in the creation of s positive environment with industrious interactions over three levels; personal level, team level, and the general organisational level (Craneand Matten2016, p.65).

Promotion the bond at each level results in various benefits such as improvement of the well-being of the individual. Creating a close rapport amongst the workers would ease communication and also motivate every individual to the worker.  Secondly, help in increasing the energy of the team. A strong relationship between the employees and the management help in empowering the team members thus increasing the productive capacity of each team. Lastly, healthy interaction between each level would yield to a health organisation. When people respect one another, the level of conflict significantly decline. As a result, the organisation builds a strong reputation hence, high-quality products and services. This paper will focus on the ethical analysis of Apple (Trevino and Nelson 2016, p. 433).

Overview of Apple organisation

Apple Inc. is an international technology corporation which develops, design and sells consumer electronics, computer software, and online services. It has its headquarters in Cupertino in California. The company was founded in April 1976 by Steve Wozniak, Steve Jobs, and Ronald Wayne.  The firm’s hardware include; iPad tablet computers, iPhone smartphones, Apple watch smart watch, iPod portable media player, Homepod intelligent speakers.  The company’s software includes; iOS and macOS operating system, iTunes media players, safari web browser, iLife, and iWork creativity and productivity suits. The firm also has online services such as iCloud, Apple music, Mac App Store and iOS App Store (Hartman, DesJardins, and MacDonald  2008, p. 57).

The evolution of Apple from computer to Electronics Company is extraordinary. Different companies have tried to copy Apple’s move but all in vain. The firm has invested in skilled employees who are committed to the production of valuable products and services. Customer loyalty is an added advantage to the company. Due to its reliable and committed employees and customers, the firm has embraced the concept of evangelism.   Just as religious evangelists who spread the gospel, Apple’s brand evangelist spread the good news about the company’s products. Such evangelists can convince more customers and as a result, the volume of sales increases (Ciulla et al.2007, p. 33).

Apple Inc. also invests in employee training and development.  Unusually, this reduces the turnover rate within the enterprise. Training the staff also help to increase productivity since the employees can understand the organisational culture. The company also promotes customers from within and therefore reduces recruitment costs. The company offers a chance to the youths through internship programs. It is during the internship that the company identifies strong and productive candidates who are their potential employees (Gonin, Palazzoand Hoffrage2012, p. 44).

Apple is familiar due to its size and financial position. In 2018, the company raised a total of $265 billion making it the most significant information technology company in the world. Notably, the company holds the third position in the manufacturing of mobile phones after Samsung and Huawei.  The enterprise has over 123000 full-time employees. In the US, Apple Inc. was the first company to be valued over $ 1 trillion. In 2018, it operated in 24 countries, and it maintained 504 retail stores. iTunes Stores is one of the largest music retailers globally. The company in 2018 had the highest brand loyalty hence ranked as the world’s most valuable brand. The firm, however, has had a lot of criticism concerning the labour practices and unethical business activities.

Evaluation of Apple’s Ethical leadership

The firm ensures that all the staffs and associates display appropriate behaviours in all circumstances.  The success of the enterprise is grounded on the commitment to the production of innovative, high-quality products and services and signifying honesty in all business dealings. The corporation believes in the following four principles; confidentiality, reliability, compliance, and respect. Apple has also instituted a business’ code of conduct which applies to all their business interactions. The code of conducts does not only apply to the entities in the mother country but also those overseas. To ensure transparency, the employees are provided with Business Conduct Helpline which uses to report any harassment and mistreat from Apple’s Audit and Finance Committee(Jennings2014, p.554).  In its website, the entity has availed its strategies of corporate governance, executive conflict of interests and a recommendation on reporting questionable behaviours.

Most of the company’s products are manufactured in countries where labour cost is relatively low. Outstandingly, this increases the chances of misconducts due to varying standards of labour and a reduced amount of direct oversight. Consequently, the suppliers are made to sign Suppliers Code of Conduct and they also undergo factory audit thus ensuring compliance. Though the company has been one of the most admired globally, in recent years, the company has experienced many ethical issues. Such issues would have a severe consequence on the corporation’s future success. The strong reputation created in the last fifteen years could be severely damaged in case the misconducts are not addressed correctly.

The management should have a regular oversight on the quality of a product. Most of the customers believe that Apple products are reliable and valuable. A disaster in the quality of their products would cause severe loss and consumer mistrust thus affecting the progress of the company. Introduction of the iPhone 4 raised a lot of concerns from the consumers. The brand had reception problems resulting from antenna interference. The company quickly responded to minimise the problem. The company has been criticised due to its attempt to reduce the problem instead of fixing it completely (LeBaron 2013, p. 237).

Apple Inc. values consumer’s privacy. The cell phones are made in such a way that they have features which collect data on the location of the telephone as disclosed by Google and Apple. The government agencies negatively reacted to the disclosure arguing that the phones are designed to infringe consumer’s privacy. In response to the government reaction, Apple announced that the users have the capacity to disable the feature on their cell phones. However, even after disabling the feature, the phone could still access data on the phone’s locality. As a result, Apple accredited this to a problem that it improved with new software. Both companies, Google and Apple, have continuously defended their data collection mechanism though most government officials do not agree (Etzioni, 2018, p. 10). The authority is concerned with the privacy of the citizens and looking forward to passing laws on mobile privacy. Markedly, this action would harmfully impact on Apple and other electronic corporations.

Sustainability is also a key concern for the firm. Apple has embraced a policy of becoming a green company thus ensuring environmental management and conservation is given a priority. The company acknowledges that the majority of its discharges come from its commodities. In the year 2009, the firm highlighted that its processes contribute to 9.6 metric tons of metric gases emitted into the atmosphere. 97% of the emissions are linked to the life cycle of their products while their facilities release 3%.

Since the company keeps on upgrading its products, the consumers have greatly criticised obsolescence. Whenever a new technology is set in place, people are forced to adopt new technology and dump obsolete expertise (Etzioni, 2018, p. 6). Continuous production of new products would lead to tossing aside of the older technology. To address the problem the company builds technology which can be recycled and long-lasting. The enterprise has also created a recycling program to encourage their customers to recycle their products. Consumers are encouraged to recycle their gadget at their stores. A discount is offered to those who recycle their old devices and buy new ones. The program is environmentally friendly which has been endorsed by most of their consumers. The company has also publicly declared to reduce the level of toxic chemicals within their products such as cathode-ray tubes. The firm has already eliminated the use of polyvinyl chloride and brominated flame retardants (Lock and Seele, 2015, p. 39).

The firm has been severally accused of unfair treatment of their employees. The workers are subjected to high working hours and stiff supervision which is aimed at reducing the cost of operation while maximising returns. An investigated carried out in 2011 indicated that Apple’s employees in China were supposed to sign an anti-suicide contracted. Notably, this was due to the high employees’ death rate. The Chinese law indicated that an individual was not expected to work for more than 36 hours of overtime per month. Nevertheless, Apple’s employees were found to work for 98 hours overtime. The employees are given one day off every two weeks. The company also introduced live in dormitories where workers were expected to reside within the company so that they can spend more time working. The rooms were less spacious, and more than five people were to occupy s room. This violated the workers’ right to privacy (Lock and Seele, 2015, p. 37). The firm also introduced anti-suicide nets so that anyone caught in an attempt to commit suicide is brought back to work.

The concept of business ethics can be explained by various theories which are also applicable in the case of Apple Inc. the first is the theory of individualism; the theory states that; senior staff should do all they can to maximise their profit as well as that of their shareholders.  Apple management does not go contrary to this theory. However, the means they are using to maximise their profits are inappropriate and unethical. The company produces its products overseas where labour is less costly and labour laws are more flexible. Workers are therefore subjected to heavy tasks and low wages. For instance, in China workers are not permitted to strike and therefore subjected to a violation of their rights.

The second theory is known as the Kantian theory which states that; while making business decisions, one should act rationally, helps others in making rational decisions, respects others and does the right thing. Apple Inc. violated this model by disrespecting the employees and subjecting them to tough working conditions. The firm has been found to operate for selfish interests while exploiting the works who help in the day to day activities.

The third theory is referred to as virtue theory which holds that; one should do something in a virtuous manner abiding by the following virtues; honesty, courage, justice, and temperance.  The firm dishonored this theory first by a lack of courage to stop their actions since they were unethical and inhuman.  The firm’s main aim is to dominate the consumer electronics industry.  The corporation feared that diverting funds to restore their market dignity would allow their competitors to overthrow them.

Secondly, the firm was dishonest to the consumers and shareholders about what was going on in the workplace. Workers signing for the anti-suicide contract are a clear indication that the management was aware of the challenges facing the employees. The workers’ expectation was unreasonable thus infringing the virtue of temperance. Lastly, Apple did not compensate or even apologize to the employees for the conditions they were subjected to. Thus the virtue of justice is infringed.

The company failed to understand that workers are not machines; they are human beings with feelings. They have right and just as other people they get tired. The organization should also value social values such as family life. Enclosing people within life in dormitories disconnect parents from their children and husbands from their wives. Too much work in progress may affect the quality of the products hence lowering the volume of sales. It may also lead to exploitation and discouraging the employees thus affecting their productivity.

Recommendations

Apple should also focus on the welfare of the society; poor wages to the employees would lead to damage to the company’s strong reputation. Consequently, this would affect consumer loyalty; hence, a reduced volume of sales. Corporate social responsibility is a key concern in the international market. Apple Inc. should, therefore, be concerned of their activities to ensure that the economic, social and environmental issues are addressed.

The company’s decision to get into a green company is highly appreciated. Different nations have set in place policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions into the surroundings.  The concept of recycling products will ensure that environmental hazards are reduced. The consumers are also encouraged to recycle their gadgets in the Apple stores where they will be given a discount to buy updated devices.

The company should also focus on the quality of the products as well as the welfare of the society. One of the company’s codes of ethics is respect. Total respect across the bond would increase the close rapport between all the workers. Certainly, this would increase the level of consultation in the firm among the junior and senior staffs. As a result, productivity per worker would significantly increase.

Transparency and accountability are paramount; hence, every staff should be held accountable for their actions which may ruin the future progress of the company. Managers should also be held responsible for any actions that are contrary to the codes of ethics of the firm. Suppliers who fail to comply with the set ethics should also be taken for disciplinary actions or replaced with other suppliers who will ensure that the firm’s brand remains competitive and valuable.

The government is mandated to protect citizens from mistreatment and violation. The Chinese government, for example, remained silent while the citizens were subjected to heavy work and low wages. The rate of suicide in the firm in 2011 was alarming thus; strict rules should be set in place to control the actions of foreign companies. Cheap labor attracts companies in countries where labor cost is low. However, this should not serve as an excuse for the citizens to be enslaved in their motherlands.

Conclusion

Having evaluated the ethical issues of Apple Inc. it is clear that the firm need to put in place measure that will consider the welfare of the employees. The competition position of the firm is based on its strong reputation, customer loyalty and well trained employees. The strong financial position of the firm should be a motivational factor to improve the consumer electronic sector.

Competition in business is healthy and helps in improvement of the brands of various products. Apple Inc. has adopted various measures to improve quality of their products and services. First, the firm has acquired various entities thus reducing potential competition and also improving their financial and asset position. Secondly, the form has connected with other entities through strategic alliances thus helping the firm to penetrate into various economies and also sharing technology.

Employees in any enterprise are key stakeholder. They determine the quality of products and services delivered to the consumers.Creating a good working environment and maintain a string rapport between the senior and the junior staffs would help to raise the level of productivity of an entity. Apple Inc. has been criticized of mistreating the employees and this may negatively impact on the company in the future.

The main objective of a business is to maximize profit and minimize input. However, the company is also expected to be responsible of their impact on the society. For instance, waste management, economic issues and also social concerns. Apple has significantly underrated the social welfare of the employees by subjecting them to hard work and low wages. The firm has also failed to comply with the host country’s labor laws and therefore strict measures ought to be taken in order to ensure that the employees are compensated.

References

Ciulla, J.B., Martin, C.W., Solomon, R.C. and Solomon, R., 2007. Honest work: A business ethics reader. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 32-35

Crane, A. and Matten, D., 2016. Business ethics: Managing corporate citizenship and sustainability in the age of globalization. Oxford University Press.Pp 64-67

De George, R.T., 2011. Business ethics. Pearson Education India. pp. 23-27

Etzioni, A., 2018. Apple: Good business, poor citizen?. Journal of Business Ethics, 151(1), pp.1-11.

Gonin, M., Palazzo, G. and Hoffrage, U., 2012. Neither bad apple nor bad barrel: How the societal context impacts unethical behavior in organizations. Business Ethics: A European Review, 21(1), pp.31-46.

Hartman, L.P., DesJardins, J.R. and MacDonald, C., 2008. Business ethics: Decision making for personal integrity and social responsibility. Burr Ridge, IL: McGraw-Hill. pp. 56-58

Jennings, M.M., 2014. Business ethics: Case studies and selected readings. Cengage Learning.552-558

LeBaron, G., 2013. Subcontracting Is Not Illegal, but Is It Unethical: Business Ethics, Force Labor, and Economic Success. Brown J. World Aff., 20, p.237..

Lock, I. and Seele, P., 2015. Quantitative content analysis as a method for business ethics research. Business Ethics: A European Review, 24, pp.S24-S40.

Trevino, L.K. and Nelson, K.A., 2016. Managing business ethics: Straight talk about how to do it right. John Wiley & Sons. Pp.432-435.

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