Assignment 1: Social Performance of Organizations
Assignment 1: Social Performance of Organizations
Due Week 4 and worth 290 points
According to the textbook, the current world economy is increasingly becoming integrated and interdependent; as a result, the relationship between business and society is becoming more complex. Use the Internet to research Apple. Use a tablet, smartphone, laptop, desktop, or traditional video recorder to record a maximum of a five to seven (5-7) minute dynamic video on the topics detailed below. Alternatively, you may submit a four to six (4-6) page paper instead of the video submission.
Note: If you are using a tablet or smartphone you will need to email the video file to yourself, then save it to a computer in order to upload to Blackboard. You may want to upload your video to a file sharing service, such as Dropbox, if your email will not let you send a large video file. Dropbox is accessible from all smartphones and tablets from the Dropbox app.
Once you are ready to upload your video to Blackboard, view the Kaltura video tutorial found in your online course shell (Week 4).
Please use the following naming convention in the popup window for your video once it is finished uploading:
We're going to use the first 2 sentences in the instructions and base the paper on that. Research Apple and the sentence before that will be the topic.
Social Performance of Organizations
By (Name)
Institution Affiliation
Social Performance of Organizations.
A lot of allegations have been made which concerns Apple’s abuses of labor rights by its suppliers. Nevertheless, the company has been hands-on to address the working conditions that exist within the walls of the factories which produce their electronics, Hodgkins (2014). The firm made steps to establish a code of conduct for their suppliers in 2005, just one year earlier than the first allegation which was made about sweatshop working conditions. In numerous occasions, the company has made statements affirming its commitment to work in close association with its suppliers to make sure that they observe and uphold strictly the code of conduct. The company started to carry out audits on its suppliers while posting the reports on its own website in 2007. The company’s critics nevertheless, have raised concerns about the true intensions of Apple in conducting the audits as merely a move to improve its public relations through addressing most seen of the abuses. In spite of the censures, a few of the company’s actions have truly led to the improvement in the working conditions for the employees working under their suppliers. Apple had exerted immense pressure on the suppliers and as a result, excessive overtime, child labor, as well as use of unsafe practices by suppliers have been dealt with while in the meantime, pay and overall benefits for the workers have been increased considerably. A few of the improvements which have resulted to better working conditions provided by the suppliers are discussed below.
Training of managers and workers
From when Apple started publishing its supplier’s responsibility reports in 2007, it has obliged the suppliers to start offering training programs tailored by Apple themselves to workers and managers of the respective factories. The programs aim to train supervisors and managers on the proper management practices which include worker protection, anti-harassment policies and worker-management communication. Subsequently, the workers are informed of the existing worker’s rights, local laws and occupational safety and health. The two group are taught about Apple’s Supplier Code of Conduct as the sessions proceed. Moreover, the company decided to give special training programs since 2007 with rapid growth in participation.
Starting in 2008, the company has given a program dubbed the Supplier Employee Education and Development (SEED) to offer assistance to the workers in their personal and professional development. Besides giving classes in management, software, technical among other skills, workers are enabled to make the most of the partnership between universities that offer advanced degrees and higher education and Apple itself. Apple has given a rough estimate of about 200000 beneficiaries of the SEED program. Caplan et al. (2016).
Removal of child labor, excessive overtime and safety hazards.
According to Apple’s Corporate Social Responsibility, employees totaling to 350 have been trained to handle process safety topics and have since been sent to the suppliers’ factories from 2011 as a way of improving conditions of workplace and safety. Furthermore, 261 individuals have also been trained for the suppliers to be able to handle personal protective equipment, 95 more individuals to be able to manage chemical safety while 77 more to take control of hazardous energy which is in the storage within the equipment found in the factory. Apple has additionally demanded its suppliers who were found to have violated the guidelines for occupation safety set within the Supplier Code of Conduct to make prompt corrections of the violations. Such suppliers are required to avail appropriate protective equipment to their workers, ensure that there are available emergency exits easily located within their facilities and carry out monitoring activities with regards to occupational hazards which may occur within their ...