Hi all,
A week hasn’t passed, yet last Friday seems like an eternity ago. During our intense debate, I indirectly referenced the incident that got Apple into a lot of trouble and made the infamous Foxconn a household name in the United States. The New York Times article below goes into excruciating detail about the inhumane and unsafe living and working conditions at Foxconn’s factories.
Please skim the article below to better understand the situation:
Given the intense pressure, Apple hired a labor auditor to review the practices and conditions in the Foxconn factories. The auditor’s report confirmed what everyone already new: Foxconn bad. 😉
In all seriousness: imagine a sweatshop type environment the next time you play with your iPad or Xbox or just about any other piece of high-end electronics, as it is likely to have been assembled by one of the 1.2 million Foxconn workers. Ultimately, Foxconn had to make concessions and improve the environment. They also had to increase wages.
Now you ask, why do we care Leo? Well, the pressure from the American people, which forced Apple to audit and eventually pressure Foxconn to resolve these issues, which is forcing Foxconn to improve the working and living standards for its employees, came along with an interesting, yet unexpected side effect. An externality, if you will. The improvements come at a cost; an increase in price to be passed along to Foxconn customers (Amazon, Microsoft, Dell, etc.).
The increase has no bearing on Apple’s bottom line, since it is a negligible portion of the overall unit price. The other technology companies will have a tougher time dealing with potentially higher labor costs because their profit margins are far thinner than Apple’s.
See the irony? The issue that forced the world to force Apple’s hand to solve these human rights violation is literally giving Apple a competitive advantage. Freaking Steve Jobs!
You can follow the rest of the story in the Huffington Post article below:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/30/apple-foxconn-pledge-wages-china_n_1390775.html
Leo Bodden
We need to all understand our role in exploiting others for our recreational benefit. Or any benefit for that matter. It seems that Apple is once again capitalizing from the first mover advantage. And, they should.
Stefanie
I am in agreement with Stefanie. This article addresses the issues at these companies, but only when it starts talking about the “clients” involvement, does it really focus on the issue. Until we the consumer start taking our wallets elsewhere, a few lives is a small price to pay for these companies to make sure their bottom line is covered.