Apple Ethical Dilemmas Analysis: Ethics in Technology Management Assignment Sample

Introduction: Apple’s Approach to Ethical Challenges and Corporate Responsibility

Ethical theories provide with the nuances of the range of ethical perspectives. An efficient ethics framework unite with the Apple’s workforce under the common objective which create the improved workplace culture in the procedure (Lefkowitz, 2021). This will help the organization to make decision with purpose as well as enhance the decision ability. The report will focus on Apple, a technological company, which revolutionizes the technology industry with the range of software, personal computers, smartphones, mobile tablets as well as other wearable accessories (Apple, 2024). The firm’s success has driven with the capability to launch and create new products & services to meet the customer requirements as well as expectations. Organization ethics assist the company to comply with the laws which helps them to avoid the ethical dilemmas which have major influence on the health of business.

Theory

Virtue Ethics

Virtue ethics signifies as a tradition in the ethical theory which relies on the virtues, traits and excellence. This theory is a guiding framework for the building the community. This include moral philosophy, moral behavior as well as uphold virtue. This allow Apple to motivate employees to demonstrate the virtues like diligence, honesty, compassion and diligence at work (Zhang et al, 2021). This judges the morality of the employees’ actions which act as guiding framework for the characteristics as well as behavior. The firm works to reduce the carbon emissions which is major part of their ethics. Apple has made the major progress in reducing their carbon emissions which include redesigning the product packaging with more eco-friendly and responsible sourced materials. The company works closely with the suppliers to transition with the renewable energy sources as well as adapt the energy efficient manufacturing procedure. The firm use recyclable materials to reduce waste as well as reduce environmental impact.

By fostering the culture of ethics, Apple can improve their innovation and creativity which motivate the diverse perspectives, collaboration, promote trust as well as stimulate learning (Russell, 2023). Virtue ethics can promote the innovation as well as creativity at the own level of employees which enhances their self-efficiency, motivation as well as moral imagination. Self-efficiency includes the ability of employees to perform the task with ethical feedbacks. Ethics also promote the creativity and innovation in the team which facilitates the collaboration, trust as well as diversity. Collaboration is the procedure of working together as a team to accomplish the common goals which enhanced by the ethical norms. Diversity is the presence of the range of perspectives, backgrounds as well as experience among the team members which leveraged by the ethical empowerment. Apple with diversity empowers their employees to share their opinions which tap into collective expertise and wisdom. Virtue ethics promotes the innovation as well as creativity which create the culture of learning, ethics as well as experimentation. Apple provides ethical education as well as training to their employees which enhances their competence, awareness as well as judgment.

The firm ensures fair labor practices which include protecting employees from exploitation, human rights, unfair wages as well as unsafe working conditions. Apple upholds the high labor standards which enhance their brand reputation, long term sustainability as well as gain customer loyalty. By enhancing the employees’ welfare firm can enhance productivity, lessen turnover as well as motivate employees which is better for both the organization and broad economy. Regular audits of the suppliers assist in compliance with the labor standards. Apple uses third party auditors to offer objective evaluation as well as identify the areas of improvement (Bag et al, 2023). CSR programs include training sessions for the employees and suppliers. These initiatives can enhance the understanding of the labor rights such as enhance productivity as well as workplace safety. On the other hand, poor workplace condition can lead demotivation among the workers, enhance risk of workplace incidents as well as poor productivity.

A good work ethic at Apple can helps in creating the environment of mutual respect and sense of integrity. Workers with the strong workplace ethics are more trustworthy which is framework of professional setup to sustain without ethical behavior. This responsibility assists organization in handling the issues efficiently as well as makes necessary improvements. Workers adhering to the ethical principles like honesty and discipline tend to be more productive in their roles (Slote, 2023). This will assist workers to maintain their professionalism at work such as respect employees, punctuality and customers.

Consequentialist Theory

Unitarianism is an ethical theory which analyse right and wrong by emphasizing on the outcomes. This implies the obligation for the company to act in the way which maximize satisfaction as well as reduce stress. Apple has made the major contribution the donations and charities programs. The firm supports the work of food banks as well as other non-profitable organization that handle food disparity. The firm regularly team up with the non-profitable organizations which provide shelter, food and other services for those in needs (Schaubroeck et al, 2021). Utilitarianism motivates company to engage in the fair as well as ethical practices. This comprises being transparent with the customer and pricing strategies to meet safety and quality standards.

This also promotes responsible marketing practices; Apple avoids manipulative and misleading marketing which focus on the specific information regarding the products. This helps the customers to take informed decisions, overall wellbeing as well as make informed decisions. Technology innovation has the major influence on the life of people. These advancement has allowed people to do things more effectively and faster. Apple focus on the elegance and simplicity which is better for the physical design of their devices as well as user experience (Nelkin and Rickless, 2023). The organization marketing emphasize on the seamless incorporation of technologies in everyday life. This highlights the features which improve the user’s convenience. The firm emphasizes on their products to enhance the user lives with the better focus in the ease of use as well as intuitive interfaces. The organization marketing highlights their devices as significant part of the modern lifestyle.

Nevertheless, utilitarianism theory also needs analysis of the negative significances. The impact of e-waste on the environment is complex. The Apple’s e-waste contains mercury and lead flame which pollute water, soil and air. Inappropriate electronic device disposal may compromise privacy and data security. Reducing the adverse impact of e-waste on the environmental needs a cooperative efforts such as corporate responsibility, individual initiatives, global cooperation as well as governmental regulations. The firm is making efforts in reducing the carbon emissions (Zamulinski, 2022). This involves redesigning product packaging with more eco-friendly and responsible sourced materials. The company is also taking steps to reduce the emissions in their supply chains which is responsible for the carbon footprint. The firm also works with the suppliers to transition to the renewable energy sources as well as implement effective manufacturing procedures.

The firm identified the significance of handling emissions linked with the transportation (Sylvan, 2020). The firm is accountable for transition to low carbon shipping methods such as sustainable fuels and electric vehicles for the transporting products. The firm is also exploring innovative methods to reduce the carbon emissions of the product distribution. The firm has launched the programs to restore as well as protect the wetland which partners with the conservation companies to make sure positive influence on the environment. The firm is also working on the plastic waste by eliminating the plastic from the product packaging while continuously seeking alternative materials. The firm has also introduced recycling programs which motivates consumers to return their old products for the responsible recycling and disposal.

However, the firm has been criticised for supply chain complexity in enforcing the ethical standards throughout the supply chains. Unethical procurement practices has led to unsafe work conditions, exploitation of employees, environmental degradation as well as economic instability in the community. On the other hand, the rising customer awareness on the ethical issues has led to raise the demand for accountable and transparency in supply chain management (Kornhauser, 2021). Apple is focusing on upholding the ethical standards as well as highlighting their commitment to corporate social responsibility.

Conducting regular audit of the supplier assists Apple to facilitate the operations which assists them to handle non-compliance with the ethical standards. Building the strong connections with the supplier base on the transparency and trust has motivated the cooperation in promoting the fair labour practices. The organization can work with the suppliers to implement as well as develop ethical sourcing practices also offering training on the labour standards. Improvement in the technologies like supply chain management software and blockchain allows Apple to monitor and track labour conditions in their supply chain for transparency.

Non-Consequentialism

Kantian ethics signifies as the morality of the actions on moral law that is absolute and universal. This is an ethical action which stems from the goodwill as well as adheres to the universal principles of morality. This focuses on rationality and autonomy which people must act without the regard to the personal desires.

According to Kantian ethics theory, Apple’s privacy policy is designed to protect the data which ensures that their personal data is handled with the care. The firm collects the range of information from the customers such as location, device information as well as usage data. This is used to enhance the organization’s products and personalizes the user experience. The firm is committed to protect the user privacy with the strict guidelines for the way information is gathered. The company has incorporated the range of measures to protect the user privacy such as end-to-end encryption for facetime and iMessage with the strong security featured for the user accounts (Lee-Stronach, 2021).

The organization has strict policy on the data sharing which does not share with third party. The firm also allows users to control and handle their privacy settings about the data being collected. Apple has included high profile case where law enforcement agencies have accessed to user data. The firm also has strong stance on the user privacy which refuse to offer access to user data. The organization also set strong password which allow two factor authentication, disable unnecessary features as well as review privacy settings in using the third party applications.

Kantian ethics criticize on the practice that treat workers as a tools for the production objectives. The major ethical issues with the organization include child labour, poor environmental reporting as well as bad working conditions. The firm handle ethical issues by launching the business conduct guide for the workers as well as partners to follow. However, the firm emphasize on treating employees with the dignity, respect and suppliers to uphold with the high standards of the human rights. Safe working conditions prevent injuries, accidents, death, illness as well as reduce turnover costs.

This allow employees to reflect their contribution which allow them to maintain the standard of living. Paying fair wages contributes in employees’ satisfaction, enhance productivity as well as reduce turnover. This also promotes the positive connections with the employees as well as their communities. Apple invest on safety measures to prevent accidents, lessen absenteeism as well as protect the brand image. Transparency motivate employees to understand their rights, hold firms accountability as well as product journey.

Conclusion

In conclusion, by focusing on ethical conduct firm can reduce the risk as well as protect them from the costly consequences. Ethics are the moral duty which guide the employees and management behavior, actions and decisions. Workers who feel that they can trust the managers and leaders are more probable to be motivated as well as productive. An efficient ethical culture can also assist in preventing the workplace conflicts. Ethical theories helps in stimulating the culture of respect, integrity and empathy among workers and organization.