Introduction
Many competing theories of cross-cultural management exist today to explain how multinationals operate across national borders. According to Jackson (2020), Geer Hofstede can be considered to be among the first scholars to successfully offer a simple theory that has persisted for decades. Hofstede is also the first person to quantify cultural orientations upheld by individuals across more than 60 nations (Beugelsdijk & Welzel, 2018). Many multinationals face cultural problems that can be assessed by Hofstede’s cultural dimensions theory. This paper seeks to use Hofstede’s theory to explain Apple’s employee management problems in China. The management problem under investigation is the management of working conditions and the violations to labor laws reported by Choudhury (2019). An overview of Apple and its problems in China will be presented after which the challenges will be viewed from the perspectives of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions theory. Additionally, potential solutions that can be implemented at Apple will be recommended.
Apple’s Cross-Cultural Issues in China
Apple, Inc. is one of the world’s largest producers of smartphones and other digital gadgets. The company designs, markets, and manufactures personal computers, accessories and wearables, and smartphones, which are also accompanied by different related services. Among the major brand lines for Apple include the iPad, Mac, and iPhone. Such home accessories as AirPods, Apple TV, HomePod, Apple Watch, and other Apple-branded items are also offered (Reuters, n.d.). Apple serves multiple geographical locations that can be categorized into the Americas, Greater China, Europe, Japan, and the Rest of Asia Pacific. Americas comprise both South and North American countries. Europe includes all of Europe and other such regions as the Middle East, India, and Africa. Greater China is China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. The Rest of Asia Pacific covers Australia and the rest of the countries in Asia (CNN Business, n.d.). Therefore, Apple is a global brand with operations spanning the entire globe planet.
One of the most sensitive markets that Apple serves is China mainly because of the country’s communist tendencies and an autocratic government. Apple’s presence in China has been controversial for many years. Most notably, Apple is one of those multinationals that sought to utilize cheap labor in China where the concept of ‘sweatshops’ implies poor working conditions and low wages (BBC, 2020; Merchant, 2017; Brown, 2019). While this is a major management problem, it could be argued that the greatest challenge the company faces is its relationship with the Chinese government. Many large tech companies face two major issues in the business environment: regulatory and cultural challenges. Regarding management challenges, such issues as human resource management and innovation also emerge (Froese et al, 2019). China has initiated multiple crackdowns on large businesses, especially those offering internet services, for such reasons as displaying monopolistic behavior. in other words, many foreign businesses are increasingly finding it difficult to operate in the country.
In the case of Apple, the main issues have to do with employee management issues mostly associated with working conditions and compliance to Chinese labor laws. For many decades, Apple has been facing criticism over its employee management practices in China. According to Bloomberg News (2018), workers have claimed to work in conditions that threaten their health. For example, they have to stand for more than 10 hours a day in hot workshops. The working conditions have been labelled by some people as a matter of life and death, which illustrates the seriousness of the situation (Merchant, 2017). Such problems can be labelled cross-cultural because they could not exist in the western markets where workers have more bargaining power to force companies improve the working conditions.
Applying Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions Theory
Apple faces a different national culture in China as compared to many markets across the world. Hofstede’s cultural dimensions theory comprises six components: power distance, masculinity, individualism, long-term orientation, uncertainty avoidance, and indulgence (Sannino et al., 2020; Escandon-Barbosa et al., 2021). Therefore, the idea of cultural distance can apply to this scenario as it highlights how cultural values differ between Apple’s home country (The United States) and China (Beugelsdijk et al., 2018). Of the six dimensions, four apply to the case of Apple in China: power distance, uncertainty avoidance, masculinity, and individualism.
Power Distance
Societies tend to differ across such aspects as social status, wealth, power, laws, and rights. According to Elmoez et al. (2021), power distance is a concept that implies the level of acceptance of unequal power distribution in organizations and institutions. Higher power distance is an indicator that the society is very stratified and that decisions are made centrally through autocratic leadership. The scenario in China can be described as having extremely high power distance. The employers in China have more power than the workers, which means that employees work in conditions that resemble a dictatorship. Apple’s Chief Executive Officer, Tim Cook, illustrated this argument when asked by President Biden if the company can manufacture iPhones in the United States. Cook stated that it was not possible to do so without some dictatorial practices (Carr & Gurman, 2021). The power distance means that the company can exercise autocratic practices in employee management evidenced by the poor working conditions.
Uncertainty Avoidance
Even though all cultures recognize the existence of uncertainties, they approach it differently with some confronting uncertainty while others prefer to avoid it. Those who avoid uncertainty tend to engage in such practices as imposing rules, laws, technologies, and systems (Elmoez et al., 2021). As mentioned earlier, China is a country that seeks to maintain control over its population. At Apple, it is important to emphasize that some practices are outsourced to Chinese firms and other Asian. For example, Foxconn is the company that is largely responsible for Apple’s production in China.as a supplier and producer of Apple’s products, Foxconn is also responsible for many employee management practices that have proven controversial. A large production plant in China operated by Foxconn is currently undertaking massive recruitment, which means it managed worker issues. In terms of uncertainty, it can be argued that many staff members will accept the poor working conditions because of lack of better alternatives. Raising issues to management that has dictatorial tendencies presents uncertain outcomes, which means employee activism may not work.
Individualism versus Collectivism
Societies can be described either as individualistic or collectivistic based on how individuals interact with others. According to Sannino et al. (2020), higher levels of individualism implies a scenario where people are more focused on themselves and their ties with other people are loose. China can be described as a collectivist society, which would require companies to adhere to such requirements as being sensitive to the stakeholders. However, collectivism in China manifests itself in prioritizing families over the individuals. Such practices are characterized by people making personal sacrifices to benefit their families and relatives. In this case, the poor working conditions are tolerated because the employees have families to provide for and the lack of better employment alternatives means that the workers have to endure the poor working conditions. In some cases, student workers are hired on part-time basis to fill gaps in the plants. Their main concern would be to provide for themselves and possibly ease dependence on their parents. These considerations are prioritized over the challenged individuals face in the Foxconn and other production plants in China.
Masculinity versus Femininity
Masculinity and feminism are concepts that are closely associated with a society’s social orientation. Masculinity is the opposite of social orientation where the focus is on such aspects as career, heroism, and assertiveness (Sannino et al., 2020). Feminism is associated with modesty, quality of life, and cooperation. China can be described as a masculine culture because the citizens will sacrifice leisure and family to prioritize work. Therefore, the working conditions will be tolerated as the individuals see an opportunity to build a career. Such aspects as assertiveness are reflected by those in power whereby employers can enforce practices that workers adopt without raising questions. Despite the complaints, the masculinity in Chinese labor market can be regarded as the main driving factor in the persistence of poor working conditions.
Recommended Solutions
The first suggestion for Apple is that it should use more responsible suppliers and partners in China. As highlighted earlier, Apple uses such firms as Foxconn for the production of Apple’s products. Therefore, all issues of employee management are handled by these producers and suppliers. However, their relationship with Apple means that their practices are taken to be that of Apple. Such an association can be detrimental because global consumer bases are fully aware and sensitized over human rights issues and could boycott a company’s products associated with serious moral violations. More responsible partners means that scandals involving employee management will be minimized and Apple’s image will be protected.
The second suggestion is that Apple should establish a compliance framework for all its suppliers and partners in China. A framework would be designed to allow all firms across the company’s supply chain adhere to the Chinese labor laws. Health and safety programs should also be part of this compliance framework based on the assumption that Chinese labor laws also address worker health and safety. A company that meets all standards and complies with the law cannot experience backlashed over malpractices. Based on this rationale, the compliance framework would ensure that critics and activists will find no problems with Apple’s employee management practices.
Conclusion
Apple faced multiple management problems in its operations in China. Most recently, the company’s privacy concerns have been raised as it ceded control over its data center to a government-owned company. Hofstede’s cultural dimensions theory has been used to examine this problem and reveals that Apple cannot have similar operational models and strategies as it has in other countries. The national culture of China is different from that of other markets and the decisions that Apple has to make will have to be aligned with the values of the Chinese national culture.
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