Apple Code of Conduct

Apple incorporated is one of the most respected and prosperous companies in the entire world. Apple is known for their strategic releases against the competition and their reputation of keeping up very high standards. Apple started in the garage of Steve Jobs in 1976. Steve Jobs and his counterpart Steve Wozniak were passionate computers junkies that did not believe in the hassle that surrounded corporate companies and their mediocre technology. Apple began as a small start-up company that simply built and fixed computers for individuals in their neighborhoods. Jobs saw the potential of their efforts early on so he found monetary backing for their company (Moisescot, 2012). Apple is defined as the leading digital asset Management Company and global smart phone provider. It is the only one who generates and runs both soft-wares and hard-wares. Apple is an extremely successful company and they continue to expand.
Apple’s Code of Conduct is used to keep high standards for their suppliers and maintain the image and reputation that Apple is known for. Apple is deeply committed to expanding opportunities for the people who make our products and ensuring these workers are treated with respect and dignity. We will continue to work closely with our suppliers and stakeholders to provide fair and safe workplaces and protect the environment wherever Apple products are manufactured. Apple is committed to the highest standards of social and environmental responsibility and ethical conduct. Apple’s suppliers are required to provide safe working conditions, workers with dignity and respect, act fairly and ethically, and use environmentally responsible practices wherever they make products or perform services for Apple. Apple requires its suppliers to operate in accordance with the principles in this Apple Supplier Code of Conduct (“Code”) and in full compliance with all applicable laws and regulations. Apple’s code of conduct is broken down in to categories. These categories are empowering workers, labor and human rights, health and safety, environment, ethics and commitment to management (Supplier Responsibility 2014 Progress Report).
In regards to empowering their workers, Apple has made some very large steps to ensure that their staff is completely competent in their positions within the company. They trained 1.5 million workers on their rights in 2013 and over 3.8 million since 2007. Apple doubled the Supplier Employee Education and Development (SEED) program from 9 to 18 sites. Apple provided free courses to more workers through SEED, with over 280,000 participants in 2013 (Apple Supplier Code of Conduct, 2014). Apple has a very high reputation within the business industry and only the most qualified companies gain an opportunity to work with Apple. It is the responsibility of Apple to keep a high standard and require their suppliers to do the same.
In regards to labor and human rights, Apple made some very large changes in the year 2014. They tracked weekly work hours for over one million workers throughout the supply chain. Apple drove their suppliers to achieve an average of 95 percent compliance with their standard maximum 60-hour workweek. Apple also conducted 33 specialized audits at facilities employing migrant workers who may be at risk for unfair treatment (Apple Supplier Code of Conduct, 2014).
The changes made all fall in to the subcategories that Apple has for the labor and human rights portion of their code of conduct. The subcategories are antidiscrimination, anti-harassment and abuse, prevention of involuntary labor and human trafficking, prevention of underage labor, juvenile worker protections, student worker protections, working hours, wages and benefits, and freedom of association and collective bargaining. The labor and human right laws in other countries are not as strict as they are in the United States of America. The USA already has laws that prevent overworking of employees and fair pay. This is not the same for other countries and it is the responsibility of Apple to ensure that their employees are taken care of. This is imperative since Apple incorporated is based out of the United States of America.
Apple made some important changes in regards to health and safety in 2014 as well. They launched the Apple Supplier Environment, Health, and Safety (EHS) Academy. Apple enrolled 240 supplier participants covering over 270,000 workers in the EHS Academy. This strengthened ergonomic standards for managing workstation design changes. In Apple’s code of conduct for suppliers, the health and safety portion is broken up in to important groups. These groups are occupational health, safety, and hazard protection, emergency prevention, preparedness, and response, incident management, ergonomics, working and living conditions, health and safety communication, and worker health and safety committees. Apple has very strict standards for their workers because a large number of suppliers and employees are oversea workers. Apple changed their environment in 2014 by completing more than 520 site profile surveys to help determine environmental risks and conducting 62 focused environmental assessments. Apple also launched the Clean Water Program pilot with 13 supplier sites to increase reuse and recycling (Apple Supplier Code of Conduct, 2014).
In regards to Accountability, Apple has conducted 451 audits at all levels of our supply chain, a 51 percent increase from 298 audits in 2012. These audits covered facilities where nearly 1.5 million workers make Apple products. Apple publicly released more than 100 pages of comprehensive requirements behind Apple’s Supplier Responsibility Standards for the first time. This allowed the public and suppliers to put more trust in to Apple incorporated. When this type of information becomes released to the public, it allows smaller businesses to use it for a guideline and it gives the consumer the opportunity to look deeper in to the company that they endorse. Apple has made changes to their code of conduct in every area listed above. They felt like these changes were necessary because there were previous areas that had holes that needed to be covered. Each change has also been made in the eye of the public. Being a supplier for Apple is a huge responsibility and an even larger privilege. Suppliers of Apple gain profit from their deals almost immediately. The use of their company by Apple will also guarantee a boost in reputation and popularity within the company. Both of these characteristics are ideal for a company that keeps gaining profit in their best interest.
Most Apple suppliers provide their products in mass. The suppliers must uphold a standard of quality and confidentiality. Confidentiality is a huge skill needed when working with Apple. Apple very rarely leaks any information pertaining to their software or hardware. It would be imperative that the Apple suppliers have no issues with maintaining an extremely high level of discretion when working with Apple incorporated. Apple is an innovative company that continues to grow and dream beyond what is known. It would be in the best interest of any supplier to work with a company of this magnitude.

References
Apple Supplier Code of Conduct. (2014, January 1). Retrieved February 22, 2015, from https://www.apple.com/jp/supplier-responsibility/pdf/Apple_Supplier_Code_of_Conduct.pdf
Moisescot, R. (2012, March 7). All about Steve Jobs.com. Retrieved February 1, 2015, from http://allaboutstevejobs.com/bio/shortbio.php
Supplier Responsibility 2014 Progress Report. (n.d.). Retrieved February 21, 2015, from https://www.apple.com/kr/supplierresponsibility/pdf/Apple_SR_2014_Progress_Report.pdf