[Writer’s Name]
[Institution’s Name]
Ethics and business are co-related terms and have intense influence on each other. A good business has to be ethically good, and good ethics is a good business in itself. Every business has a code of conduct according with the employees, investments and customers set their interests and preferences for the organization.
A glance at few previous years a number of well reputed organizations have been witnessed to disappoint its customers and employees by not following the ethics and upsetting the trends; in the market and in the minds of its people. What is right, wrong, and appropriate and what are the rules and regulations of the system etc. all these features come under the belt of the “ethics”. Avery recent issue in this regard is ethical dilemma. Unfortunately, the very famous Apple management has also been a part of it.
In 2010, one of the suppliers of Apple reported that the company was using a chemical named as n-hexane. This chemical has been known for polluting the environment dangerously. It not only effected the environment but also poisoned 49 of its employees. Right after that, a report showed that the company was also involved in issues concerning to the child labor. It was a major source of the production of the iToys and other multiple items. . On the following year, the company was also held accountable for not paying the taxes to the government. The investigations with the technology giant showed that they were considering three key subsidiaries which were based in Ireland only. It was to avoid all the tax jurisdictions. According to the report by one of the Irish affiliates, the Apple Sales International had sales income of around $74billion for the past four years. The company did not pay any tax to the government. In the year 2011, ASI earned around $22 billion and only paid $10 million for the tax. This is just 0.05% of the amount.
These are some of main ethical issues associated with this company over the past two to three years. They are extensively important for building or declining the customer ship. These decisions are very much lethal to the reputation of the company and when the company has a name and fame not just in the country it belongs to but worldwide, such concerns must be of chief priority. Unfortunately, Apple was labeled unpatriotic and unethical for the obvious reasons. Many people came up with the religious injunctions regarding the tax payment and loyalty of the country, its employees and customers. Sadly, most of these issues have not been resolved yet. The company still follows the practice of “don’t ask, don’t answer”. But the customers need the justification of these decisions in particular as they are the only assets and source of fame, name and just everything for Apple. Their concern must be addressed or else the company would end up losing a number of loyal firms and people who trust it and keep on the top of the list of their priority. Apple has been investigated regarding all the issues stated above and even called for justification. But no significant answer or justification has been made by the CEO or any other official of the company.
Good decision-making is very important. It has the tendency to take up any organization and bringing down the one who was on the peak of fame and success. Mistakes can be a part of every journey and being humans, we are prone to such issues. But the intelligence is, to address them and fix them as soon as possible. Apple is, on the other hand, justifying some of its wrong decisions and practices and not talking about many which have been reported by its supplies. This is another unethical approach. To sort out its loyal customers and make the employees adhere to them, Apple needs to answer and justify the decisions it has taken for late. If they were a mistake, it must fix it and take necessary actions. If it really cares about its reputation and success, it must put the policy of “don’t ask, don’t answer” aside and take a blatant step.
References
Bentley, C. (2013, May 23). Apple’s tax ethics: Unpatriotic or shrewdness in action? Retrieved November 25, 2013, from Washington Post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/on-faith/wp/2013/05/23/apples-tax-ethics-unpatriotic-or-shrewdness-in-action/
Enderle, R. (2010, March 01). Apple and the Ethical/Business Problems of Child Labor and Other Unsavory Practices. Retrieved November 25, 2013, from IT Business Edge: http://www.itbusinessedge.com/cm/blogs/enderle/apple-and-the-ethicalbusiness-problems-of-child-labor-and-other-unsavory-practices/?cs=39724
