Business Ethics

The Interplay of Organizations Ethical Code & Organizational Employee Health

Shehrbano Farooq

Business
Ethics

Sherman Khan Saddozai

Business Ethics

The Interplay of Organizations Ethical Code & Organizational Employee Health

Shehrbano Farooq

(a) Explain the background and development of theoretical ethical

approaches in business.
The business ethics basically is the attitude and ways in which a business is formed
and also the way in which a business deal with the world. Businesses behave in a
different ways which depends on the way it is formed by the owners of that
Particular business. It can be described as the principles and the standards that are
guiding the behavior of the people in the business. Every business have different
reputation which depends on the way they are formed, some have good reputation
while others have bad reputation. Some businesses are formed just to make money
and they are least bothered about what their customers think about them while
some businesses are making money from their businesses but at the same time
they want their customer to be satisfied by their products. Every business should
follow the principles of ethics and a value that a business should embraced in order
for a business to be successful. Every business should have the code of ethics in
order for the business to have a principle guiding the business so that the
businesses can be flourishing.
Deontological or Universalism:
This is a Greek word which means deno, which mean duty and the logos, means
science. It focuses on moral rules and duties. In order for us to make moral choice,
we have to know our moral duties and how we can adjust to those duties. If we obey
our duties we are doing morally things and if we fail to follow our duties we are
doing immoral things. In deontology our duties, rules and obligation is according to
God wishes In the deontological ethics the action is considered morally good
because of the fact that it involves the actions itself, obviously not because of the
product of that action is good. The first philosopher who defined the deontological
principles was Immanuel Kant, a German founder if 18 th century. Kant believed that
nothing is good without qualification except for good will, and according to him a
will is the one that wills to act in accord with the moral law and out of respect for
that law rather than out of natural inclination. Kant considered that the formulation
of the categorical imperative to be equivalent, he suggested to act that you treat
humanity in your own person and in the person of everyone else always at the same
time as an end and never merely as means even though the connection between
these formulation have never been entirely clear. In every event Kant critics
questioned his views that all the duties can be derived from a purely formal
principle and always argued that. He neglected with rational consistency to
concrete the content of moral obligations.
Business ethics is the attitude and ways in which a business is formed and the way
in which a business deal with the world. Many businesses behave in divert or
different ways depend on the way it's formed by the owners of the business.
Sherman Khan Saddozai

Business Ethics

The Interplay of Organizations Ethical Code & Organizational Employee Health

Shehrbano Farooq

Business ethics can be described as principle and standard that is guiding behavior
of people in the business. Many business have different reputation depends on the
ways in which they are formed some business have good reputation while some
have bad reputation. Some businesses are formed for money making venture while
some are formed because they want to make money and at the same time want to
give its customers maximum satisfaction. The way in which a business is formed
brings about ethical behavior. Ethics is a set of moral principles that a business
should follow and values that a business should embraced in order for a business to
be successful. Most business should have a code of ethics in order for the business
to have a principle guiding the business so that the business can be flourishing.
There are different types of business ethics, such as:
TYPES OF BUSINESS ETHICS:
MORAL OBJECTIVISM: This can be describe as what is morally wrong or right in
term of the behavioral attitude of a person. These are fact that and this is not
individual physical facts, or what we feel or assume to be morally fact. Moral
objectivism is very easy to express, it is either good or bad and moral objectivism
can be said to be non-consequentiality.
MORAL RELATIVISM: What is morally wrong or right depends on what individual
belief and it vary from one person to another and also from one culture to another
and it can be link to the society cultural belief and its belief that different people
have different background which can be linked to our individual moral belief and
culture. The general belief is that it is wrong to say that one culture or belief of
individual is superior to another culture. We can base what is right or wrong on what
individual belief and environment which we have our self also contribute to what will
belief.
CONSEQUENTIALISM: This is the theories which result into the consequences of a
particular action which has a valid and moral judgment about the action. Moral
judgment about the action must have evidence and must be valid. The
consequentialism can be describe as an act that tell us whether the consequence of
a behavior is morally or ethically right and it can also be right or wrong. The
judgment about consequentialism should be significant.
This theory is a consequentialist theory of right and wrong is dependent on the
outcomes of the decisions. Jeremy Bentham and Mill are the acknowledged founder
members. Mill is prominent for his greatest pleasure principles, which provides that
our nation resolve ethical dilemmas by bringing the maximum good to the greatest
numbers of individuals. There will always be a few disgruntled souls in most ethical
dilemma situations, so we just do the good that we can. It is calculated
consequence or result of an action regardless other principles that determine the
means of motivation. This rule hold that the general rules should be established and

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The Interplay of Organizations Ethical Code & Organizational Employee Health

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followed, even though in some instance using these rules may produce less overall
pleasure then not really following them.
PRINCIPILISM: This is ethics that focuses on medical healthcare. This as to do with
ethical issues relating to health care provider who are in charge of health care of
individual or group of people. Principilism focuses on moral principles namely
autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence and justice.
In conclusion ethics is all about moral principle which is ruling what is right or wrong
in human being conduct whether the principle governing right or wrong is accepted
by individual or groups in our society. Some business activities that human being
engage in might be lawful and unlawful which will also be unethical to human being,
for example selling a good that the cost of manufacturing is low wages to
developing countries will be regard as unethical also using animal as experimenting
can also be unethical.

B) Compare and contrast absolute and relative ethics. Use an example of a

business to do this task.
If we talk about absolute and relative ethics it is necessary to define relative and
absolute ethics with reference to morality. Relative means any theory in which
something is judged in relation to something else and is therefore open to change
where absolute means any theory in which the rules are absolute.
Absolute Ethics:
Kant says that we should act according to maxims that we would want to see as
universal laws. These laws are absolutist - we can work them out logically prior to
experience; they are not verified through experience (they are known 'a priori').
The consequences of our actions are irrelevant to whether they are right or wrong evil actions may have unintended good consequences, and someone might act
heroically without any guarantee that the consequences will be good. No character
quality is absolutely good (good without exception) - for example, it is possible to
act kindly but do the wrong thing. The only good thing is a good will that does what
is logically the right thing to do. (rsrevision.com)
Absolute rules will never change. An absolute command is a command that is true
all the time, in all places and every situation. The system is easy to apply as a crime
will be crime regardless of the circumstances. For example stealing is always wrong

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The Interplay of Organizations Ethical Code & Organizational Employee Health

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no matter the culture of the person, when it happened or what were the reasons
which make no difference, stealing is universally wrong and everybody knows it.
Absolute ethics at Green Valley could be observable as if a man or a women was
caught while stealing food from the store then the reason why he was doing so
would not be considered as according to this theory stealing anything is considered
wrong for every individual no matter what the purpose was.
Relative Ethics:
Relativism is the position that all points of view are equally valid and the individual
determines what is true and relative for them. Relativism theorizes that truth is
different for different people, not simply that different people believe different
things to be true. While there are relativists in science and mathematics, ethical
relativism is the most common variety of relativism. Ethical relativism represents
the position that there are no moral absolutes, no moral right or wrong. This
position would assert that our morals evolve and change with social norms over a
period of time. This philosophy allows people to mutate ethically as the culture,
knowledge, and technology change in society. Slavery is a good example of ethical
relativism. Repeatedly the value of a human being is determined by a combination
of social preferences and patterns, experience, emotions, and rules that seemed
to bring about the most benefit. (www. Allaboutphilosophy,2016)
Relative ethics at Green Valley could be noticeable as if some individual men or
women is caught for stealing the food from the store because of the fact that there
is nothing at his home for his/her family to eat and he/she does not have the money
to buy that food from the store, then according to the relative ethics theory it can
be said that the individual did wrong obviously as stealing is considered wrong
throughout the world but as the consequences are legit that he/she was forced to
steal the food therefore it may not be considered wrong.
Relativist are usually teleological as they believe that the moral activity depends on
the consequences of that specific act. Therefore inferring that they base what
should be moral by looking towards the end result of that activity. Whereas
absolutist are deontologist as they believe a moral act itself have moral significance
in most situation, it is stated that they have a duty to do what exactly is considered
right in each circumstances.
C): Using the example of a business you chose for b, explain the ethical
issues that can affect the operational activities of the business.
Ethics refers to a prescribed or accepted code of conduct. Ethical issues are a set of
moral values that need to be addressed while carrying out business. Businesses
operate in a society that is structured around moral values. Therefore, when
conducting its operations, a business has certain responsibilities which are to
provide the society with quality goods and services that will improve the peoples
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The Interplay of Organizations Ethical Code & Organizational Employee Health

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living standards. There are many different ethical factors which affects the way the
companies operate and the policies they adopt (Barnett, Bass &? Brown, 1994)
There are different types of ethical issues which can affect the operational activities
at Green Valley such as environmental issues, employment law issues and cultural
issues.
Environmental Concerns Issues:
Environmental issues are becoming an area of increasing concern for every
business nowadays. Such as the growing concern of global warming is increasing so
many businesses are working hard to reduce the use of carbon dioxide and are now
promoting the production of energy efficient equipment and appliance. Other
environmental Issues that can affect the operational activities of the businesses are
in aspect of water utilization and pollution such as waste management.
Employment Law Issues:
These are the issues relating to working for, or taking up a role in an organization.
Every company have to follow the employment law and regulation of their society.
These employment laws relate to the working condition such as minimum wages,
wages fairness and working hours etc. These law differ from place to place
according to the culture of the specific place.
Advertisement and Marketing:
Advertisement is the process of creating the awareness for product and service, in
which the products are priced and the promotional strategies are generated by the
businesses. Customers trust can jeopardized if the company use the deceptive sales
tactics such as false or misleading market communication. These can effect
business operations. Many business try to adopt ethical standards for the
advertising and marketing.
Conclusion:
To avoid unethical issues in the future, Green valley must establish a good
governance. Good management and business governance ensure the success and
economic growth of the business. Green valley should always take their employees
in confidence they should never have any problem relating their wages. Very good
corporate governance also reduces the wastage, corruption and the
mismanagement at Green Valley it could help in brand formation and can also help
in development at Green Valley.
TASK 2
A): Assess the role of H&M as moral agent.

Sherman Khan Saddozai

Business Ethics

The Interplay of Organizations Ethical Code & Organizational Employee Health

Shehrbano Farooq

A moral agent is the one who makes ethical decisions and implement those. A moral
agent can be held responsible for the behaviors and decisions. The role is obviously
to follow the ethics. Responsibilities varies from the posts (i.e the upper managers
would have more responsibility as they have more knowledge and vice versa). The
Swedish clothing firm, H&M, is a firms that outsource none-core operations. H&M
does not own any factory, Instead H&M buys clothes and other items through an
abundance of detached suppliers.
At H&M they have a rule to act with integrity all the time, their business principles
commit to comply with all rules and regulation in each country where they operate
and are not allowed to accept any form of corruption. They implemented this
commitment through the code of ethics, which they placed in 2003. This code of
ethics states that zero tolerance policy on corruption and demand compliance with
all the relevant laws and their own business principles.
Shareholders:
As a vital piece of arranging and audit H&M has a continuous procedure to set up for
recognizing, assessing and dealing with the critical dangers to accomplish their
business objectives. H&M is owned by the people and association that put resources
into their shares. They are centered on constructing a realistic business for the long
haul, producing shareholders esteem through steady gainful development. They
keep fair and exact record of their execution, and are focused on exclusive
requirements of administration and straightforward reporting. Therefore they are
committed to working closely with their suppliers and business partners to achieve
a long-term sustainable standard.
Wages, Benefits, Working Hours and Leave:
Wages must be paid regularly, on time, and must reflect the experience,
qualifications and performance of the employee. H&Ms minimum requirement is
that employers shall pay at least the statutory minimum wage, the prevailing
industry wage or the wage negotiated in a collective agreement, whichever is
higher. All other types of legally mandated benefits and compensations shall be
paid. No unfair deductions are allowed, and the employee has the right to a written
specification of how the wage has been calculated.
Ordinary working hours must not exceed the legal limit and shall never exceed 48
hour per week. Overtime hours must not exceed the numbers allowed by the law of
the country. If such limits do not exist, overtime work should not exceed 12 hours
per week. Overtime work must always be voluntary and compensated in
accordance with the law. Piece-rate work should not be exempted from the right to
overtime compensation. Employees are entitled to at least one day off in every
seven-day period.

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The Interplay of Organizations Ethical Code & Organizational Employee Health

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The employees shall be granted and correctly compensated for any types of paid
leave to which they are legally entitled. Examples of such leave include annual
leave, maternity/parental leave and sick leave. (www.hm.com)
Safety:
H&M also have an obligation to agree to security principles and methodology and
take sensible considerations of their own wellbeing and the wellbeing of the other
people whom maybe influenced by their activities or exclusions for e.g their clients,
guests, associates and suppliers. H&M has a compulsion to sustain a protected
working environment. The employees have an obligation to ensure representatives
know about health and safety regulations and the need to report all mischances and
unsafe events to the rightful individual.
Customers:
As they say we have a responsibility toward everyone who involves in their success,
so H&M will reliably attempt to ensure their marking, publicizing and different types
of correspondence are clear, fair and precise and will dependably work to regard
social and ethical conviction. H&M also offers customers criticism and makes an
attempt wherever conceivable to follow up on it to persistently ensure the
administration the company offer. They wont giveaway the safety of their clients
and will consistently strive to satisfy and offer the most eminent credible standards
of Quality.
The customers play the key role in all the businesses, this is the main reason for an
organization to satisfy its customers need so that they can expand their business
rapidly, because the satisfied customer will probably send more business to the
organization and on the other hand the unsatisfied customer will effect the business
in a bad way as he will share his bad experience which he had with the organization
to the other customers, because of which the company might lose their customers
and thus the profits will fall automatically.
All the organizations must center their strategies towards customers as the
customers are the key role player in the success and the profitability of any
organization. An organization can lose their business if they fail to understand their
customers needs. As there is so much competition in every business so their
competitor might take advantage of the situation. An organization must constantly
drive to satisfy its customers. There is no specific department which can be held
responsible for the satisfaction of their customers, if an organization wish to keep
their customers happy and loyal then it should be the concern of whole organization
to take this responsibility.
b) Analyze the development of mechanism used by H&M for achieving
employee involvement and empowerment.

Sherman Khan Saddozai

Business Ethics

The Interplay of Organizations Ethical Code & Organizational Employee Health

Shehrbano Farooq

When an organization truly wants to create a positive work environment that is

based on high trust, exceptional customer service, collaborative teamwork,
operational excellence, and creative problem solving, then the leadership team
must begin to understand, invest in, and be responsive to the needs of the group
that represents the organizations most valuable assets, and is also one of its most
important customers, the employees. The return on such nominal investments will
come in the form of higher levels of employee motivation, creativity, productivity,
and commitment that will move the organization forward with greater profitability. A
fundamental Total Quality Management precept is that employees must be involved
and empowered.
Employee involvement: means that every employee is regarded as a unique
human being, not just a cog in a machine, and each employee is involved in helping
the organization meet its goals. Each employees input is solicited and valued by
his/her management. Employees and management recognize that each employee is
involved in running the business. (Urenio.org 2000)
Benefits:
Employee Commitment:
The major reason why employee commitment has been growing is because it has
been shown to increase employee commitment to their organizations, if the
company involves the employee actively in decision making, then they affirm the
value of their employees. Then naturally the employees develop deeper
commitments to organizational and departmental objectives when they help in
setting them and are involved in achieving them offering input.
Better Ideas:
When company leaders create an environment that encourages employees to share
ideas and to get involved in decision making, they often get more informed
perspective with regard to what the customers want and ask. Customers also
benefit when company seek employees input. When the top managers make all the
critical decisions on their own without employees involvement, their ideas are
limited to their past experience and perception.
Drawbacks:
Opening the door:
Most of the employees would see a slight drawback to offering input in an
evaluation other then the potential that unethical comment could be used against
them from their managers. Whereas some managers believe that enabling
employees to have a voice in the evaluation could allow them to negatively criticize
or vent. Allowing employees to share ideas and make decisions without having them
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The Interplay of Organizations Ethical Code & Organizational Employee Health

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push the envelope and try to take on responsibilities that are reserved for
management levels is at risk.
Time:
Another slight issue which might arise because of employees involvement in the
evaluation is that it requires more time for both the managers and the employee.
Generally the managers and the employees spending time together improve the
communication but the extra time required for the evaluation may make it more
difficult for the business managers to schedule.
Communication:
When more employees have decision making ability then more communication is
needed to make certain that the decisions are consistent all across the organization.
This may be critical to brand recognition and consistency. The managers may have
a hard time monitoring the decisions and activities with employee involvement to
protect against negative consequences and to restrict the potential for chaos. More
lines of communication and the potential for inconsistent decision making are the
disadvantages of employee involvement system.
Employee empowerment is a somewhat different concept. It means that in
addition to involving employees in running the business, employees and
management recognize that many problems or obstacles to achieving
organizational goals can be identified and solved by employees. Employee
empowerment means that management recognizes this ability, and provides
employees with the tools and authority required to continuously improve their
performance. The management states its expectations about employees
recognizing and solving problems, and empowers them to do so
Employee empowerment is giving employees a certain degree of autonomy and
responsibility for decision-making regarding their specific organizational tasks. It
allows decisions to be made at the lower levels of an organization where employees
have a unique view of the issues and problems facing the organization at a certain
level. (Berk & Berk, 2000)
Benefits:
Improved Quality:
The most important factor in effective employee empowerment is bilateral
communication. Employee surveys and evaluations show repeatedly that
empowerment and communication rate highest in regard to employee satisfaction
in an organization. Companies committed to employee empowerment provide more
information in greater detail than the average company. Empowering employees to
increase their satisfaction and the organizations performance will require a greater
amount of communication than ever thought possible. This will require
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The Interplay of Organizations Ethical Code & Organizational Employee Health

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management to invest in increased amounts of time communicating to employees

and allowing for feedback. In addition, it will require that management honestly
evaluate the communication styles and methods that are being used in the
institution to ensure the most efficient processes possible. (cutimes, 2012)

Increased productivity:
Empowering the employees to make decisions on their own can increase the
productivity obviously. When employees dont have to wait for an approval from the
superior or manager, then they can work much faster. By doing so they can increase
their self-satisfaction, they can solve their own problems and directly move to the
other task which will save a lot of time. Such employees feel that their contribution
matter as the company trust them to make decision, morale increases and as the
result so does the productivity. H&M can realize many benefits from learning how to
properly empower its employees not all of which are strictly monetary. An
empowered employee helps a company involve service delivery and gain a
competitive edge.
Drawbacks:
High Risk:
The disadvantage of employee empowerment include, Employees can abuse the
increased power given to them because it is too much responsibility for some
employees. Employees who focus on their own success rather than group's may
leave so the managers must be better trained to facilitate through sharing of
information, cooperation, and referrals to appropriate resources. All employees must
"buy in" to the concept for it to be effective as there is an increased cost to the
organization for training and education, and there is increased time in groups or
committees which takes away from regular jobs, there may be increased conflict or
power struggle between employees due to group work. Some employees may not
be knowledgeable enough to make good business decisions and the decisions made
on the basis of personality versus logical reasoning.
Conclusion:
H&M can provide several leadership opportunities for non-management top
performers to further improve their involvement available. These opportunities
include being able to lead teams, initiatives, job forces, and meeting together with
established policies, procedures and programs. H&M can facilitate retreats, group
actions, and team building events to enhance collaboration, interaction and the
team atmosphere to construct camaraderie throughout their businesses. Some
team building is fun and social to make uplifting team surrounding while other team
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The Interplay of Organizations Ethical Code & Organizational Employee Health

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building instructs or trains employee on team different strategies or skills like

communication and trust. Further team building is targeted on a work related
objective or need. H&M can improve their strategies by empowering and involving
their employees in their business in some ways such as, team building, leadership
options and innovation. These will assist H&M to establish the link between
company ethical insurance policies and employees satisfaction.

Task 3
a) Explain how business objectives of apple Inc. are affected by ethical
consideration.
You can use a number of different methods and approaches to define corporate
goals and objectives, using formal and informal procedures. Doing this can provide
the organization with a definition of its goals and objectives that represent its
current thinking. These goals and objectives can then be integrated into the
decision-making process so that decisions made with the decision model are
structured to impact all levels of the organization and are quantifiable and
defensible. In establishing corporate goals and objectives, consider using
management to get a group consensus. Available group decision-making techniques
vary in degrees of formality and you can use them to facilitate this process.
Techniques range from simple brainstorming to more sophisticated methods. The
end result should be a clear definition of what a corporation views as its goals and
objectives. When defined, these goals and objectives can then be built into the
decision process. Following is a sequence of steps that you can use to establish the
goals and objectives of an organization. (Frank A. Tillman, 2012)
The objectives of Apple Inc. as stated on the apples website Apple Inc. 2012 are
that they must obtain products and services within tight timeframe, at the cost
which provides the best value to the customers and its shareholders. Secondly they
must keep creating and releasing computers and consumers electronic which are
user friendly. And their objective is to open more store even on national locations to
increase their sales and they dominate the world market and their main objective is
to innovate on regular basis.
Mission statement of Apple Inc is: Apple is committed to bringing the best personal
computing experience to students, educators, creative professionals and consumers
around the world through its innovation hardware, software and internet offering.
Vision Statement of Apple Inc. (2012), and thats not charging. We are constantly
focusing on innovating. We believe in the simple not the t we need to own and
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control the primary technologies behind the products that are complex. We believe
that we make, and participate only in markets where we can make a significant
contribution.
Ethical Consideration to Apple Inc.
Apple Inc. complies with the rule, laws and fair dealing : as per the standards,
directors of Apple Inc. try to comply and also try to oversee the compliance by their
officers, directors, and employees through the help of the rules and regulations and
laws, which could be applied in the company. It is important that, directors should
get comply with fair dealing and should try to oversee the fair dealing that are
made by competitors, customers, employees, officers, and suppliers.
Apple Inc. encourages the report on illegal behavior: it is important that, directors of
Apple Inc. should initiate the ethical behavior and should ensure the company
should encourage the staff to interact with managers whenever they hold any
doubt, so that proper actions could be taken. Directors should try to encourage their
employees to report about the rules, laws, and violation of regulation, and inform
the employees that dont allow about retaliation of report.
b)
Evaluate the implications for Apple Inc. and its stakeholders to
operate ethically.
There are some inferences for Apple Inc. as well as stakeholders to operate ethically
as discussed below:
Benefits to Organization:
There are lots of benefits of operating ethically. To begin with, as Apple Inc. plays
ethically it might result in improvement in sales and earnings. As Apple has aims so
it ought to be ethical. Secondly, new investors could well be attracted towards
Apple as new way to obtain financing. Thirdly, Apple would gain competitive
advantages in excess of its competitors. Fourthly, therell be an increase in staff
loyalty, motivation and fewer employees turnovers. Fifthly, Apple Inc. could have
less legal problems. Lastly, operating ethically will lead to the companys good
publicity.
Drawbacks to Organization:
Operating ethical can result in lower profits, since ethical behavior probably will lead
to higher price tag, and conflict with existing objectives such as profits
maximization or progress. Apples cost will increase as a result of payments to
ethical manufactures, maintaining quality standards along with high expenditure on
advert. This will not increase sales as you expected which will eventually bring
about lower profits. It is visible that effects involving ethical consideration on Apple
Inc. will be negative.
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Benefits to Suppliers:
There are many advantages to suppliers if Apple operates ethically such as,
payments on time towards the supplier. Secondly, fair trade could well be done.
Suppliers would be given the right payments inside a right way. As Apple Inc. is
operating ethically it is good for its suppliers as a great image/publicity of the
company they are supplying to. Others companys might want to buy from it for the
association with the ethical company.
Benefits to Employees:
Employees of ethical companies pick up opportunities such as they work inside a
good and safe natural environment at Apple Inc. Employees pick up fair wages and
identical benefits.
Benefits to Buyers:
Apple Inc. operating ethically would affect customers in beneficial way such as;
customers of Apple will be getting products for right prices, good and protected
products, and customers can readily trust an ethical firm. Increase in customers
satisfaction will be an incentive for Apple Inc.
Benefits to Competitors:
As Apple Inc. operating in an ethical way, the competitor wont need to exit the
business because of predatory pricing. Secondly, danger of building false
expectation and therell be higher costs of sourcing from fair trade materials.
C)

Research a current ethical issue affecting Apple Inc.

Apple Inc. Severe Employee Abuse (2011)

Apple Inc., in 2011, were accused of treating their employees cold-heartedly and
like machines. To cut costs and increase profits, Apple hired roughly 500,000
employees and started to manufacture their products at two factories in southern
China. At the plants in Shenzhen and Chengdu, there were reported complaints
about the conditions within and around the working areas. Once investigated, the
truth was much worse than the speculation. There were multiple cause of unethical
behavior from Apple and the terrible things they put the employees through.
Before an employee can work for Apple, they must sign and anti-suicide contract
pending that they will not attempt to commit suicide due to the large number of
deaths in 2011. Once they get hired , they will not most likely work excessive
amount of overtime. Chinese laws states that an employee must not work more
than thirty six hours of overtime during a month. Apple makes employees work
around ninety eight hours of overtime, almost three times as much. Works also can

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only take one day off every two weeks. The normal wages for an employee are
around $17-$22 a day.
As it is already known, apple has many products around the world and because of
that, theres a constant demand for i-phones, i-pads, i-pods and mac pcs. to keep
up with the demand, apple built living dorms near the factories for the employees to
live in. these buildings have hundreds of dorms, each of which is not very spacious.
Around 24 people are assigned to a room and are subjected to be woken up at any
time for work, sort of like basic training in the military. Just days before the first iphone was released, Steve Jobs made a call to switch the i-phone screens from
plastic to glass.
The workers are woken up at 3am, given brief instructions on how to use glass
cleaning chemicals and other procedures, and began mass production of i-phones.
situations like these makes their life absolutely miserable for the employees of the
plants. Even if someone wanted to end their life, Apple installed anti suicide nets on
the outside of all their dorms windows so that the people would be caught and
brought back to work. The event going on in southern china are upsetting the and
disturbing Apples action will now be analyzed using the four ethical theories. The
particular report said (Wopschall, 2013)
d) Report on how Apple Inc. could improve the ethics of their operation
whilst meeting objectives and ensuring good employer/ employee
relationships.
The working environment of a good business must be ethically sound. There are
specific requirements that are expected by a business in order to respect the
employment relationship and its effects on the operations of the business.

Non-Discrimination
Apple Inc. is devoted in safeguarding that their colleagues represent their diversity
individuals customers and the residential areas the serve. Apple will not accept
discrimination in employment by race, color, age, making love, sexual orientation,
religion, in capacity, ethnicity, national origin, experienced status, martial status or
every other legally/protected status. Any such discrimination against a buyer or
supplier is also strictly prohibited.
Ethics in Sales and Marketing:
Apples sales and marketing activities must monitor ethical standards in-case they
hope to stay clear of endorsements for regulating agencies and decrease in
reputation with their clients. Ethical conduct within sales and marketing for Apple
could mean employing a professional approach in order to customers, competitors,
members of regulatory physiques and company acquaintances. Characteristics of
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such conduct include respectful interactions, consideration for social diversity and
none discriminatory behavior.
Ethical Trading:
Ethical trading is around the behavior of obtaining companies i.e merchants, brands
and their suppliers and also the steps they take to ensure suppliers companies
respect their workers protection under the law. This trade does not count on
customers awareness. Apple is ought to do ethical trading. This will help in paying
attention to protecting the employees rights during the entire supply chain
e) Design a suitable ethical code for Apple Inc. compare and contrast its
ethical standing with H&M.
An ethical code is referred as a rule that is taken with the company for showing the
way they should behave in the commercial environment and society: and
employees should likewise require ethical code of conduct (Falkenberg and Wyller,
2007).
The new proposed ethical code for apple is as follows. (it is important to mention
here that as apple is an Company which is highly reliable on the suppliers as already
discussed in detail in previous tasks so most of the ethical conduct is based on the
suppliers)
Basic Ethics
Apples Management and their suppliers must be committed to the highest
standards of ethical conduct when dealing with employees, suppliers, and
customers. Corruption, extortion, and embezzlement, in any form, are strictly
prohibited and may result in immediate termination as an Apple supplier and in
legal action. Employees of Apple and suppliers must disclose information regarding
its business activities, structure, financial situation, and performance in accordance
with applicable laws and regulations and prevailing industry practices. Employees of
Apple and their Suppliers may not offer or accept bribes or other means of obtaining
undue or improper advantage.

Apple Inc. must uphold fair business standards in advertising, sales, and
competition. They must offer means to safeguard customer information. Apple must
create programs to ensure the protection of supplier and worker whistleblower
confidentiality and to prohibit retaliation against workers who participate in such
programs in good faith or refuse an order that is in violation of this Apple Supplier
Code of Conduct. According to new ethics code suppliers are encouraged to engage
the community to help foster social and economic development and to contribute to
the sustainability of the communities in which they operate. Apple must respect
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intellectual property rights; transfer of technology and know-how must be done in a

manner that protects intellectual property rights
Labor and Human Rights
Apple suppliers must uphold the human rights of workers, to treat them with dignity
and respect as understood by the international community. Suppliers may not
discriminate against any worker based on race, color, age, gender, sexual
orientation, ethnicity, disability, religion, political affiliation, union membership,
national origin, or marital status in hiring and employment practices such as
applications for employment, promotions, rewards, access to training, job
assignments, wages, benefits, discipline, termination, and retirement. Suppliers
may not require a pregnancy test or discriminate against pregnant workers except
where required by applicable laws or regulations. In addition, suppliers may not
require workers or potential workers to undergo medical tests that could be used in
a discriminatory way except where required by applicable law or regulation or
prudent for workplace safety. Suppliers must be committed to a workplace free of
harassment. Suppliers may not threaten workers with or subject them to harsh or
inhumane treatment, including sexual harassment, sexual abuse, corporal
punishment, mental coercion, physical coercion, or verbal abuse. Suppliers may not
use any form of forced, bonded, indentured, or prison labor. All work must be
voluntary and workers should be free to leave work or terminate their employment
with reasonable notice. Workers must not be required to surrender any governmentissued identification, passports, or work permits as a condition of employment. Child
labor is strictly prohibited. The minimum age for employment or work shall be 15
years of age, the minimum age for employment in that country, or the age for
completing compulsory education in that country, whichever is higher. This Code
does not prohibit participation in legitimate workplace apprenticeship programs that
are consistent with Article 6 of ILO Minimum Age Convention No. 138 or light work
consistent with Article 7 of ILO Minimum Age Convention No. 138.
Except in emergency or unusual situations, a workweek should be restricted to 60
hours, including overtime, and workers should be allowed at least one day off per
seven-day week. Under no circumstances may workweeks exceed the maximum
permitted under applicable laws and regulations. Suppliers must offer vacation
time, leave periods, and holidays consistent with applicable laws and regulations.
Suppliers must pay employees at least the minimum wage required by applicable
laws and regulations and provide all legally mandated benefits. In addition to their
compensation for regular hours of work, employees must be compensated for
overtime hours at the premium rate required by applicable laws and regulations.
Suppliers may not use deductions from wages as a disciplinary measure. Workers
must be paid in a timely manner, and the basis on which workers are being paid
must be clearly conveyed to them in a timely manner.
Environment
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At Apple, environmental considerations should be integral part of their business

practices. Suppliers must be committed to reducing the environmental impact of
their designs, manufacturing processes, and waste emissions. To ensure safe
handling, movement, storage, recycling, reuse, and disposal, suppliers must identify
and manage substances that pose a hazard if released to the environment and
comply with applicable labeling laws and regulations for recycling and disposal.
Suppliers must post Material Safety Data Sheets in the primary language of its
workers for any hazardous or toxic substances used in the workplace and train
workers who will come into contact with such substances in the workplace.
Suppliers must obtain, maintain, and keep current all required environmental
permits (e.g. discharge monitoring) and registrations and follow the operational and
reporting requirements of such permits. Pollution Prevention and Resource
Reduction Suppliers must endeavor to reduce or eliminate waste of all types,
including water and energy, by implementing appropriate conservation measures in
its facilities, in its maintenance and production processes, and by recycling, reusing, or substituting materials.
Safety and Health
Apple recognizes that integrating sound health and safety management practices
into all aspects of business is essential to maintain high morale and produce
innovative products. In order to ensure it Apple Inc. must be committed to creating
safe working conditions and a healthy work environment for their entire employees.
Apple must provide appropriate controls, safe work procedures, preventative
maintenance, and protective measures (such as physical guards, interlocks, and
barriers) to mitigate health and safety risks in the workplace. When hazards cannot
be adequately controlled by these means, suppliers must provide workers
appropriate personal protective equipment. Workers must have the right to refuse
unsafe working conditions without fear of reprisal until management adequately
addresses their concerns.
Apple inc. Management should ensure that suppliers must identify, evaluate, and
control worker exposure to hazardous chemical, biological, and physical agents.
When hazards cannot be adequately controlled by engineering and administrative
means, suppliers must provide workers appropriate personal protective equipment.
Suppliers must anticipate, identify, and assess emergency situations and events
and minimize their impact by implementing emergency plans and response
procedures, including emergency reporting, worker notification and evacuation
procedures, worker training and drills, appropriate first-aid supplies, appropriate fire
detection and suppression equipment, adequate exit facilities, and recovery plans.
Apple Inc. Management must establish procedures and systems to manage, track,
and report occupational injury and illness. Such procedures and systems should
encourage worker reporting, classify and record injury and illness cases, investigate
cases and implement corrective actions to eliminate their causes, provide necessary
medical treatment, and facilitate the workers return to work.
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