Summary
This essay examines “Case 15: Apple Maintains Strong Ethical Roots” through the lens of the Global Principles for Ethical Business Conduct (Ferrell et al., 2018). It aims to address how Apple aligns with these principles, identify instances where the company may deviate from them, and provide evidence supporting these evaluations. By exploring these aspects, the discussion seeks to assess Apple’s commitment to maintaining ethical practices within its global operations.
Principles Which Apple Follows
The global principles for ethical business conduct outline specific issues essential for every business to conduct itself fairly and rationally. These points are fairness, honesty, integrity, respect, compassion, and leadership. Even the most prominent companies, such as Apple Inc., should follow these rules to conduct a successful business. Notably, the company consistently achieves this and derives specific benefits from it.
For example, Apple demonstrates respect not only for its customers but also for its employees. Attributes such as excellent compensation and extensive training enable its workers to advance in their positions within the company (Ferrell et al., 2018). This respect plays a crucial role in the company’s success and its market perception. In addition, a critical issue for Apple is its commitment to ethical principles, particularly its efforts to become a green company. In other words, Apple adopts approaches that assume a simpler nature when producing its products and providing services.
Principles Which Apple Does Not Follow
When considering technological companies such as Apple Inc., particular attention should be paid to the customers’ privacy. Smartphones, tablets, laptops, and other devices contain significant data about people’s private lives, information about their relatives, and others. It is worth noting that new technologies emerge every year. One is Apple Pay, which utilizes a person’s data regarding bank accounts and credit cards. Although Apple Inc. strives to establish various security practices, sometimes data leaks occur. Therefore, Apple Inc. should strictly adhere to this global principle of privacy and confidentiality to avoid adverse consequences.
Evidence to Support
One essential piece of evidence supporting the arguments mentioned above is the situation with Apple’s stock. Notably, these stocks often directly reflect people’s reactions to a company’s products and situations (Ferrell et al., 2020). When some adverse issues happen, the stocks decrease significantly. On the other hand, with the arrival of new, successful products, the reaction of society and the company’s stocks increases remarkably.
References
Ferrell, O. C., Fraedrich, J., & Ferrell, L. (2018). Business ethics: Ethical decision making & cases (12th ed.). Cengage Learning.
Ferrell, O., Thorne, D. M., & Ferrell, L. (2020). Business & society: A strategic approach to social responsibility & ethics. SAGE Publications.