From the inception of the company till today, Apple.
inc have carried flawed policies of
business ethics towards its consumers, government agencies and its competitors. Had it undertaken preemptive approach in policy making towards a specific product or service, it would not have faced various ethical issues like breach of privacy of its consumers, fixing of prices, environmental implications from the production of its products, planned obsolescence, threatening other companies and supply management issues. However, it has very well kept its intellectual property intact by filing various lawsuits against companies like Franklin computer corporation and Microsoft. Apple turned off the location features on its new devices by default after it disclosed that some apps were tracking location of users through use of phone’s internal GPS, such disclosure created a backlash and the consumers and government saw it as an infringement in the privacy of its users. Subsequently, Apple Pay and iCloud were hacked by the hackers resulting in them gaining information of payment through Apple Pay and breach of privacy of 26 accounts as hackers leaked nude pictures of celebrities. These patterns of Apple handling privacy issues show that it doesn’t take advanced actions but when its users are subject to privacy infringement then only such steps are taken by Apple.inc. When it comes to privacy, every company wants to be known as one of the most trusted in its industry. However, some companies simply don’t live up to expectations in this department. Unfortunately for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), the Cupertino-based company is not among the 20 most trusted for privacy as ranked by the Ponemon Institute’s 2012 list. Every now and then, Apple.inc keeps launching newer products with new features forcing its consumers to upgrade their existing devices or technology. Since, Apple invests a lot in research and development of its products it means it is on the consecutive search of features to add to its products which results in planned obsolescence of its products and services. On the other hand, Apple’s production facilities emitted into atmosphere 33.8 million metric tons of greenhouse gases as stated by it, which is quite alarming and calls attention of environmentalists around the globe. Apple’s success is dependent on constant development and production of new products, therefore, it is the environment which gets damaged. As far as greenhouse emissions are concerned, Apple has poorly handled the situation and it removed 39 of its products from Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT). However, it has taken measures for the ensure that products it produces are incorporated with such materials that are suitable for recycling. It has encouraged the process of recycling by implementing a program where old iPods, iPhones and Macs could be recycled. Another measure undertaken by Apple is possibility to trade in old products and get reward in the form of gift cards and discounts. Apple.inc has teamed up with hundreds of recyclers and has initiated recycling programs in the countries where Apple’s products are purchased by the customers. However, many customers tend to throw away their products particularly when they have no value despite of the recycling programs.