Assignment 2

Discussion Questions: 1. Do you think Apple should be responsible for ethical lapses made by individuals further down its supply chain? Why or why not? Yes. Because: Worker safety and child labor. Child labor is universally wrong. There is no question about that. If Apple does nothing and things go as they are going, the children will continue to be exploited. Knowing that they are encouraging this, they are responsible. Ignoring this is utilitarian approach. They are not considering health, education and safety of workers. These things are not measurable. Apple pays the factories the amount on the assumption that minimum labor cost of the country and working hours is maintained. E.g. walt Disney case had similar lapses in supply chain. They took measures to rectify.

2. Should Apple continue to work with the suppliers in an effort to change practices, or should they stop working with every supplier, even the conscientious ones, to make sure no “bad apples” are getting through? Explain your reasoning. The children work there to earn money for their families. If Apple stop working with those suppliers, the workers may lose means of income. I think they should continue to work with the companies on certain conditions such as investment in children education, better safety and benefits.

3. Do you think consumers should be expected to take into account the ethical track record of companies when making purchases? Why or why not? Consumers buy luxury items such as Apple products to make themselves feel good. If they find out that the product that they are using is the result of child labor, they will be reminded of this whenever they look at the product. So yes, consumers care about the ethical record of a company. Consumers should care about to ensure justice and fairness everywhere. Especially if it involves violation of child labor laws and basic human rights. They should look from a humanistic perspective where it is morally wrong to encourage such violations.

4. Can you think of other products or brands that rely on ethically questionable business practices? Do you think consumers are turned off by their track record or are they largely indifferent to it? Explain. Consumers buy luxury items such as Apple products to make themselves feel good. If they find out that the product that they are using is the result of child labor, they will be reminded of this whenever they look at the product. So yes, consumers care about the ethical record of a company and are turned off in case of violations.

5. Would knowing that a product was produced under ethically questionable conditions affect your decision to purchase it? Explain with examples. Yes, if I knew that a product is produced under ethically questionable conditions, I will be less likely to buy it. In fact, I will inform my family and friends about the ethical violations and discourage them from using that product. For e.g. Countrywide protests in May 2017 by workers of Khaadi, a leading Pakistani apparel brand. Workers’ grievances included arbitrary dismissal of dozens of workers, unsanitary working conditions, extremely long working hours, and salary below the statutory minimum wage. Khaadi denied these allegations which were later found to be true. Khaadi lost many of its customers including me and my family.

6. If you were part of a third-party regulating body, how would you deal with ethically questionable business practices of multinational corporations like Apple? Would you feel obligated to do something, or do you think the solution rests with the companies themselves? Explain your reasoning. I would compel the companies to take notice of the violations and take action otherwise legal action maybe taken against the company. Human right organization can be used against them. Even though the company may win the legal battle, their reputation will be tarnished. That is why, the company may want to take action themselves and portray themselves as ethical.