Introduction In the relentless pursuit of continuous gains today’s corporations often make strange bed fellows to acquire these ends. These agreements are often made with developing and under developed nations whose laws and regulations fall well below international standards. For many years these back room deals in far flung countries where of no concern to most consumers. However, in recent years many multinational corporations have made headline news with accusations of human rights violations. Such allegations erodes corporate image in the eyes of consumers. Apple Corporation has fallen under public scrutiny for the treatment of its factory workers in China. These allegations have forced Apple Inc. to bring forth solutions to answer the question. What are the social and ethical responsibilities of Apple Corporation, and how can these strategies be employed to restore corporate image to better market products?

Apple’s current position on ethical and social responsibilities. Corporate Social Responsibility or CSR is defined by The European Union as ‘the responsibility of the enterprise for their impact on society’. The US has no governmental regulations concerning CSR. This leaves US manufactures like Apple little legal incentive to enforce a code of conduct. Apple’s choice to further implement a strict business conduct policy reflects a commitment to the highest standard of social responsibility. Apple has always operated under a Supplier Code of Conduct that outlines expectations as a condition for doing business with Apple. Implementing this across a multinational supply chain that employs 60,400 full time employees and some 2,000 to 3,000 part time and contract workers was not always a high priority in Apple’s corporate culture. With increased occurrences of child labor, excessive work hours, ethnic discrimination and instances of suicide