#43, Apple

Apple is the most valuable company in the entire world.  Their current cash reserves equal more than the bottom 45 countries GDP combined.

Apple products are in high demand globally so a massive supply of their products is constantly being produced.  Obtaining a contract to make Apple products is highly lucrative because of the sheer volume of business and the status of being an Apple partner.  There is cutthroat competition to obtain an Apple contract by offering them the lowest possible prices.

In China, this competition has lead several manufacturers to institute some questionable policies.  One such manufacturer, Foxconn, has been under an especially high level of scrutiny.  There have been several points of controversey in regards to their working conditions,

• Frequent suicides (in 2010, 18 suicides; in 2012, 150 threatened suicides to date)
• Exposure to toxic chemical cleaner N-hexane that causes damage to the nervous system
• Factory line employees aged as young as 16
• Employee work weeks of up to 70 hours a week during the peak times

Apple is a business and one goal of a business is to make profit.  By choosing the manufacturer with the lowest costs, Apple is ensuring that the consumer will get the lowest cost for their products.  As a consumer, do you care how Apple products are made?  Would you be willing to pay more for an iPod if you knew it was made under ethical working conditions?  Does Apple have a responsibility to ensure that the businesses making their products are treating their employees fairly?  Defend your position.

Optional: Does an American company have the right to dictate how a Chinese company runs its business?

-Brenden Lee Teacher

shine & shine & shine & shine