Apple Ethical Issues: Conduct & Practices (2024)

FAQs

Apple Ethical Issues: Conduct & Practices? ›

Despite its commitments, there seem to be several ethical issues with Apple (see Figure 2 below). These include poor working conditions such as health and safety risks, child labour, poor environmental reporting, contribution to e-waste and tax avoidance.

Is Apple ethical? Although Apple is ethical overall, there are certain ethical issues that still remain. For example, iPhones are produced with consideration for social responsibility, yet Apple has previously faced accusations of human rights violations, creating e-waste, and tax avoidance.

Respect—Treat customers, partners, suppliers, employees, and others with respect and courtesy. Confidentiality—Protect Apple's confidential information and the information of our customers, partners, suppliers, and employees. Compliance—Ensure that business decisions comply with applicable laws and regulations.

Apple has faced heat in recent weeks over its compliance with Chinese laws in order to continue its operations in China. Obeying local law in China means that Apple shares consumer data with the government and censors content according to Chinese government standards.

Yes. Apple should apply different ethical standards to different countries because different countries have different cultures. Multinational companies need to respect different employees' ethical standards.

The ethical issue in this case is user privacy and government overreach into that user's privacy. The government's attempt to force a tech company to create a back door into a secure product could set a dangerous precedent for future companies.

What Are the 12 Ethical Principles? Business ethics is an evolving topic. Generally, there are about 12 ethical principles: honesty, fairness, leadership, integrity, compassion, respect, responsibility, loyalty, law-abiding, transparency, and environmental concerns.

There are many different metals, rare earth materials and plastics used in each one. These come from areas all around the world. According to Apple's 2021 environmental progress report, one of Apple's main goals is to only use recycled and renewable materials in their products.

At Apple, we work every day to put people first — by empowering them with accessible technology, being a force for equity and opportunity, creating an inclusive and diverse work environment, and respecting the human rights of everyone whose lives we touch.

A group of current and former Apple employees are publicly challenging the company on its workplace culture, following allegations that widespread incidents of racism, sexism, discrimination, harassment and abuse were being ignored by the consumer tech giant's human resources (HR) department.

What are Apple and Foxconn ethical issues? ›

Over the past decade, Foxconn has made headlines over its exploitation of employees and poor working conditions. Apple, in turn, has faced heavy public scrutiny for continuing to benefit from low labour costs, which promote poor conditions and the unethical treatment of workers inside its iPhone factories.

Ethical issues are defined as situations that occur as a result of a moral conflict that must be addressed. Thus, ethical issues tend to interfere with a society's principles.

MINNEAPOLIS --(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mar. 13, 2023-- For the ninth consecutive year, U.S. Bank has been named one of the World's Most Ethical Companies by the Ethisphere Institute , a global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices.

" Differentiation is used by Apple to create offerings tailored to a specific markets overseas, and to stand out from the competition internationally. Through this strategy, the company has been able to establish a strong presence around the world.

With standardised global branding, Apple treats the whole world as one market and provides the same kind of products and services to everyone. This strategy allows them to get the most out of their technology and can meet the varying needs of people in different countries.

Microsoft makes World's Most Ethical Companies list, Apple, Google, Facebook don't.

At the time, Apple refused to create decryption software for the FBI, saying the request violated the company's First Amendment and Fifth Amendment rights. If such software were created, some fear, it could get into the hands of hackers and other bad actors who could use it for their own nefarious ends.

For instance, political crisis and wars in Europe are causing disruptions. Recent lockdowns in China have also affected Apple's performance (Gurman, 2022). Similarly, rising tensions between the USA and China may also become damaging for its performance.

The European Commission, the EU body investigating the charges, says Apple breached antitrust laws by stopping rival music firms like Spotify from advertising where and how users could subscribe to their apps.

The most widely known is the one introduced by Beauchamp and Childress. This framework approaches ethical issues in the context of four moral principles: respect for autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, and justice (see table 1).

What are the three 3 types of ethical issues? ›

The three major types of ethics are deontological, teleological and virtue-based.

The 4 basic ethical principles that apply to forensic activities are respect for autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, and justice.

You may be done with your devices, but chances are they still have more to give. We make it easy to recycle them for free. So you can protect the earth's resources and help get us closer to making every product with only recycled and renewable materials.

The company directed more than 38,000 tonnes of e-waste to recycling globally in 2021. Apple aims to eliminate all plastic from its packaging by 2025. The company is committed to minimizing resource use and the associated generation of non-hazardous or hazardous waste.

Apple's Employee Giving program, corporate donations, and grants support organizations in communities around the world, including those helping empower students, counsel people in crisis, and put food on the table for families around the globe.

Our research highlights several ethical issues with Apple, including climate change, environmental reporting, habitats & resources, pollution and toxics, arms & military supply, human rights, workers' rights, supply chain management, irresponsible marketing, anti-social finance, and political activities.

Ahead of Earth Day, Apple is announcing progress toward its ambitious goal to make every product carbon neutral by 2030, including a new framework for sharing the reduced climate impact of new models of iPhone, iPad, MacBook Air, and Apple Watch.

Like many large multinational corporations, Apple has been accused of using tax shelters in order to protect its revenues. The company has been accused of using Ireland and Luxembourg to get tax breaks, allegations which the European Commission is investigating.

Apple was criticized in 2021 for its plan to offer a different tool that would start checking iOS devices and iCloud photos for child abuse imagery. At the time, the company said the tool would turn photos on iPhones and iPads into unreadable hashes — or complex numbers — stored on user devices.

What is the controversy surrounding Apple? ›

Apple's antitrust fight isn't spooking investors

Perhaps Apple's biggest existential risk is its antitrust fight with Epic. The “Fortnite” maker sued the tech giant in August 2020, alleging that Apple's App Store payment system and restrictions against third-party app stores violated antitrust laws.

Apple and Foxconn violated a Chinese labor rule by using too many temporary staff at a major factory that makes iPhones.

Apple supplier Foxconn wins AirPod order, plans $200 million factory in India, sources say. Taiwanese contract manufacturer Foxconn has won an order to make AirPods for Apple and plans to build a factory in India to produce the wireless earphones, two people with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

The current working conditions, low wages, and protest in term of committing suicide put the company into ethical dilemma. The main ethical dilemma about the Foxconn is that whether it's ethical for the company to place the firm's benefit ahead of employee's value.

These principles include voluntary participation, informed consent, anonymity, confidentiality, potential for harm, and results communication.

Some examples of ethical dilemma include: Taking credit for others' work. Offering a client a worse product for your own profit. Utilizing inside knowledge for your own profit.

In 2021, 95% of Starbucks coffee was ethically sourced and verified through the Coffee Farmer and Equity (CAFE) practices. CAFE verifies farming practices to adhere to economic, social, and environmental criteria to promote sustainable coffee. In 2021, Starbucks gave the Global Farmer Fund $100 million.

While it is the duty of governments to protect human rights, Amazon recognizes our responsibility to respect and uphold internationally recognized human rights through the ethical treatment of our workforce and those within our value chain.

What are the key strategic issues of Apple? ›

Despite its dominance in the space of mobile devices and computing, the company does face some key challenges. Among these weaknesses are its highly-priced products, entering areas of higher competition, and incompatibility with other software.

Apple's success lies in a strategic vision that transcended simple desktop computing to include mobile devices and wearables. Both performance and design are key drivers of the Apple brand and its ongoing success.

Steve Jobs dared to be different, he catered to creators and dreamers. Apple was created to cater to people, not consumers. Unlike most corporations, Apple makes product decisions driven by design rather than finance and marketing. He sold dreams, not products.

Apple conducts business ethically, honestly, and in full compliance with the law. We believe that how we conduct ourselves is as critical to Apple's success as making the best products in the world.

Among the Apple-less countries are Syria, North Korea, Sudan and Cuba, which face trade sanctions from the United States. That means the “exportation, reexportation, sale or supply” of any Apple goods from the U.S. or an American anywhere is prohibited in those countries, according to Apple's global trade compliance.

Apple is looking to move its production outside of China in order to diversify its supply chain. We may earn a commission from links on this page. Apple supplier Foxconn announced the creation of a major new factory in Vietnam and a $300 million investment to expand its current operations in the country.

APPLE'S ETHICS

They base their success on “creating innovative, high-quality products and services and on demonstrating integrity in every business interaction.” According to Apple, four main principles contribute to integrity: honesty, respect, confidentiality, and compliance.

This company ranked #48 in the Global 100, with an overall score of B-.

As well, Samsung did poorly on Greenpeace's last electronics guide from 2017. Case in point: it scored a D- on hazardous chemical elimination while Apple earned a B. Samsung also flounders when it comes to doing right by its employees.

The most commonly experienced ethical issues include discrimination, harassment, unethical accounting, technological abuse, data privacy, health and safety, and favoritism and nepotism. Most of these concerns are experienced in workplaces.

What impact does Foxconn have on Apple? ›

Foxconn is Apple's biggest iPhone maker, producing 70% of iPhone shipments globally, which in turn makes up 45% of the Taiwanese firm's revenue, analysts at Taipei-based Fubon Research said this month. It also builds the device in India, but its Zhengzhou factory assembles the majority of its global output.

At Apple, we work every day to put people first — by empowering them with accessible technology, being a force for equity and opportunity, creating an inclusive and diverse work environment, and respecting the human rights of everyone whose lives we touch.