Tuesday, February 14, 2012
iPhone
Title: Should you feel guilty for buying your iPhone?
Published: January 31, 2012
Source: CNN Tech
I read the article on whether or not we should feel guilty about buying an iPhone or Apple products in general for that matter. There is a company known as Foxconn that resides in China, this is the place where Apple products are made. This article discusses the claimed harsh work conditions that the employees face while working there. The article states that some of the employees work twelve hour shifts for sometimes up to six days a week. The article also goes on to say that there are many workers that are underage and there has even been reported suicides of workers who decided to jump off buildings. If people are attempting suicides due to their harsh work environments, then I see a huge problem at hand. There is a suggested boycott that could be taken against Apple products but I really don't see people doing that. People treasure their Apple products and I couldn't see many turning against them no matter what the circumstance is, which is sad to say but is most likely true. Many people stand in line hours before the release of the next Apple product. People like to be the first to have the newest product from them. Apple is a very well recognized brand and is extremely successful. Apple is said to be wealthier than the U.S. is altogether. If people were to boycott and have a successful one at that, it would surprisingly hurt the consumers more than the Apple company. If Apple were to bring a Foxconn company to the U.S. instead of staying with the company in China then the prices for Apple products would increase a substantial amount. I don't believe that many consumers will accept that concept. Also, Apple is not the only company to be linked to bad working conditions with their manufacturers. Other factories in Asia make gadgets for several other major consumer brands. So, Apple is not the only company that could be found guilty of terrible work environments. It is really sad to hear this, however, because I really like Apple products and to have a story like this linked to their well-known brand is upsetting.
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I agree that it is upsetting to read such a sad story linked to such a popular and great brand. Hearing about the harsh work conditions, such as working underage, twelve hours a day, six days per week, and also the suicides and illnesses people get from such harsh conditions is something that makes many people question the Apple brand and the products they sell. There are people in the world who will choose not to buy Apple products after reading the article, but I personally would not give up my iPhone and iPod. It is upsetting to read and see and it is sad to see people live such hard lives, but if it isn’t Apple then it’s another company. There are so many companies that have workers in China and many other countries that live through the same work environment. I agree that something definitely needs to be done to give these people more fair and healthy working lifestyles because it is just not right for a human to be treated that way.
ReplyDeleteI would have never thought that they treat their employees this poorly, it is a shame that some billion dollar franchise is allowing this to happen. They are almost treating them as slaves. It says that the shifts are twelve hour long and up to six days a week, which I am not even sure if that is legal. There is no way that employees should be committing suicide due to the amount of stress in their job with the company. When I look at Apple, I would never imagine something like this that they are held responsible for. I also agree with Katie, this is really sad to read about. It is not like Apple cannot afford to do something about this.
ReplyDeleteApple has $100 billion sitting in the bank as per the report. Why can't they spend at least a billion for the betterment of their workers? In china just a Billion dollar can very easily take care of this issue. They don’t want to take care of their employees.
ReplyDeleteThe western corporations outsource everything to the east where labor is cheap, and the authorities are easily bribed to "overlook" certain violations. The countries where these abuses occur have laws against abuse of their workers, however, enforcement is derailed via bribery and or general ignorance of the workers - they don't know they can go for help when they can.
The fundamental problem lies within these corrupt systems where the rule of law can be "overlooked" for a big enough check; it is the country's responsibility to protect its people from any threats - foreign and domestic. They are failing in that task, the solution for this lies not with Apple but with the PRC government.