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Corporate Responsibility

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Corporate Responsibility
Corporate Responsibility and Marketing Strategies
Examine Apple’s current position on the company’s ethical and social responsibilities, and determine whether or not the company has met these responsibilities. Provide two (2) examples that support your position.
In addition to maximizing profits, one of the main objectives to many corporations today is to be well known for their responsible management and ethical performance. Apple is one of the most important companies throughout the world because of its size and their innovative products and services (Sanchez-Barajas, 2012). Nevertheless, innovation is what drives the sector development and the basis for the economic development.
Furthermore, Apple has created about 514,000 jobs in 2011, which is an astronomical commitment to the economy (Sanchez-Barajas, 2012). Additionally, because of their business model focusing on outsourcing and their product characteristics, Apple could summarize material issues in two categories: environmental impact and supply chain management (Sanchez-Barajas, 2012). These issues seem to be the basis for understanding Apple’s corporate social responsibility.
First, Apple products are designed to eliminate environmental impact, by using less energy consumption, small packages, and recycling methods (Sanchez-Barajas, 2012). However, there are criticisms with the danger of some materials used for IPads or IPhones, and the development of material for production. When it comes to supply chain, Apple’s ethical performance policy aligning with the entire supply chain is very well explained. This goes further than the Foxconn scandal. According to Tyson (2013), “Foxconn, which is a popular Apple contractor for Apple, had terrible working conditions, where employees would rather kill themselves than build an Apple product. The lack of effective corporate governance and forceful establishments in where they do business has added to the challenges of the control of several suppliers, and high



References: Business Dictionary. (2014). Brand loyalty. Retrieved January 22, 2014. From http://www.businessdictionary.com./definition/brand-loyalty.html. Goodson, S. (2011). Is brand loyalty the core to Apple’s success? Retrieved January 22, 2014. From http://www.forbes.com/sites/marketshare//2011/11/27/is-brand-loyalty-the-core0to-apples-success-2/ Hays, J. (2013). Apple and Foxconn: Work conditions, problems and changes. Retrieved January 22, 2014. From http://factsanddetails.com/china/cat9/sub61/item2282.html. Kaiser, T. (2012). Report: Apple’s suppliers continuously violate code of conduct, Apple does nothing to change it. Retrieved Januray 22, 2014. From http://dailytech.com/report+Apples+suppliers+continously+violate+code+of+conduct+Apple+does+nothing+to+change+it/article23867.htm. Karimova, H. (2012). Apple’s road to innovation requires some sacrifice. Retrieved January 22, 2014. From http://eoi.es/blogs/hokumakarimova/2012/05/13/apple%/E2%80%99s-road-to-innovation-requires-some-sacrifice/ Moorman, C. (2012). Why Apple is a great marketer. Retrieved January 22, 2014. From http://www.forbes.com/sites/christinemoorman/2012/07/20/why-apple-is-a-great-marketer/2/ Sanchez-Barajas, D.P. (2012). Case study: Apple Inc. and the challenge of a social responsible management. Retrieved January 22, 2014. From http://eois.es/blogs/dianapatriciasanchez/2012/05/28/case-study-apple-inc-and-the-challenge-of-a-social-responsible-management/ Stark, K. & Stewart, B. (2012). 3 strategies to adopt from Apple. Retrieved January 22, 2014. From http://www.inc.com/karl-and-bill/3-strategies-to-adopt-from-apple.html Supplier Responsibility. (2014). If companies want to do business with us, they must act fairly and ethically at all times. Retrieved January 22, 2014. From http://apple.com/supplierresponsibility/labor-and-human-rights.html. Tyson, B. (2013). A look at Apple’s record of corporate social responsibility. Retrieved January 22, 2014. From http://www.insidebusiness360.com/index.php/a-look-at-apples-records-of-corporate-social-responsibility-2611/

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