Social Responsibility of Business

QUESTION

Social Responsibility of Business

• Research a Fortune 500 company. Examine the company’s social responsibility policies. How does the company demonstrate its duty? For example, you may choose areas such as labor practices, environmental and human rights issues or special interest (e.g., animal rights, women’s rights, technology transfer, philanthropy, etc.) to describe how a company demonstrates its duty.

The requirements below must be met for your paper to be accepted and graded:

• Write between 750 – 1,250 words (approximately 3 – 5 pages) using Microsoft Word in APA style, see example below.
• Use font size 12 and 1” margins.
• Include cover page and reference page.
• At least 80% of your paper must be original content/writing.
• No more than 20% of your content/information may come from references.
• Use at least three references from outside the course material, one reference must be from EBSCOhost. Text book, lectures, and other materials in the course may be used, but are not counted toward the three reference requirement.
• Cite all reference material (data, dates, graphs, quotes, paraphrased words, values, etc.) in the paper and list on a reference page in APA style.

References must come from sources such as, scholarly journals found in EBSCOhost, CNN, online newspapers such as, The Wall Street Journal, government websites, etc. Sources such as, Wikis, Yahoo Answers, eHow, blogs, etc. are not acceptable for academic writing.

ANSWER

Social Responsibility of Businesses

Introduction

Apple Inc., an American giant technology company, has been in the recent years been doing very well in the technology industry, having been ranked as number 3 in the 2017 Fortune 500 list of companies. The tech giant has achieved great success in the mobile devices industry, with its iPod and iPhone products being at the top of the world mobile devices market listings. Their other products: the iPad, Mac, Apple TV, HomePod, and Apple Watch, have also done very well in the world market. Apple Inc. has risen to become one of the most profitable public traded firm.

Social responsibility refers to the ethical duty of a firm or company has towards the society at large, to sustain the economy and ecosystem. It relates to the actions or productivity of a company and the social welfare of the community. Every company is expected to consider its business environment and factor in ways to give back to the community.

Apple’s Social Responsibility

Apple Inc. has put in place several corporate social responsibility initiatives and programs, aimed at focusing on social welfare. The company’s CSR programs include:

1. Supporting the local communities: Apple donates millions of dollars to world charities and non-profit organizations all over the world. They also launched a volunteer program to enable employees to volunteer in any community programs, where employees are able to choose specific programs and activities that they would be interested to undertake in their communities. Since the launch of Apple’s global volunteer program, more than 70 billion dollars have been donated to charitable organizations in the world.
2. Education and empowerment of employees: Apple offers development and entrepreneurial education to its employees without any charges. The firm also has employee benefit programs that are very considerate, such as long paternity and maternity leaves, and parental leaves. In 2016, more than 250,000 Apple Inc. employees were engaged in the empowerment education programs offered by the company.
3. Human rights and labor: with the Supplier Code of Conduct in place, Apple Inc. enjoys almost full compliance from suppliers, with most of them working for 60 hours a week. The company investigates any complaints from foreign workers, with reimbursements closely followed up.
4. Employees’ safety and health: Apple Inc. has an employee academy, Apple Supplier EHS Academy, which is a program that runs for 18 months, training employees on occupational safety and health in all the global outlets and branches of the company. The company also carries out research to identify any ergonomic risks. This has benefitted the firm as it has led to better working standards for all Apple Inc. employees.
5. Minorities and gender equality initiatives: Apple Inc. has percentage directives on the composition of its workforce. The firm maintains a 32% female, 9% black, and 12% Hispanic workforce composition. Minority groups that are not represented are also given a percentage in each new recruitment in recent years. The firm gives equal pay to employees in the same job categories, since 2016. The firm’s CEO, Tim Cook, has achieved success through a diverse workforce. He himself is the only CEO of a Fortune 500 company who is openly gay.
6. Apple’s energy consumption: the firm’s Mac mini, a desktop computer, is the world’s most energy-efficient computer, surpassing Energy Star specifications. Apple also generates most of the energy used in its facilities, from renewable energy sources. Their data facilities all over the world utilize 100% renewable energy. The company has been awarded a 100% on the Clean Energy Index.
7. Water policy: the Clean Water Program of 2013 was started by Apple Inc. to ensure that suppliers save water, helping in the conservation of water used by the firm. The cooling systems in Apple’s facilities are properly-fashioned to recycle water as many times as possible, to regulate its consumption. The company also harvests rainwater for use during dry seasons, at its many facilities, minimizing water requirements from local providers.
8. Waste management and conservation of the environment: Apple Inc. conducts recycling operations in all the countries that it operates in. The company has robots that can sort recyclable parts of electronics before their disposal. They use recycled paper in their packaging, to conserve the environment and protect forests. Most of Apple’s paper is produced from recycled wood fiber while minimizing the use of paper in its packaging. Apple works with various recycling firms in the US to harness e-wastes and reuse waste electronics. The company is also involved in environmental conservation projects and has planted at least 9000 trees at their headquarters.
9. Apple has in the recent past discontinued the services of underage labor at their facilities, in accordance with labor legislation. The company is also very strict on eliminating any form of employee harassment, eliminating unsafe working environments, and fighting bribery.

All these corporate social responsibility initiatives have propelled the technology giant to a height that many other tech companies can only dream of. The quality of their products and their dedication towards giving back to the community have led to the achievement of consumer trust and loyalty.

References

The 2017 Fortune 500 Companies

EBSCOhost: Gender, Business Ethics, and Corporate Social Responsibility: Assessing and Refocusing a Conversation by Kate Grosser, Jeremy Moon, and Julie A. Nelson.

The Wall Street Journal: http://quotes.wsj.com/AAPL