The companies you keep
They say you can judge a person’s character by the company they keep. I think the same could be said about companies. When I read today that a worker commited suicide because they “lost” a prototype of the next generation iPhone I wish I could say I was surpised. Everyone likes to talk about Apple as this great American company. It is generally accepted that they are somehow different or better than everyone else. They have cool products and better technology than their competitors, or at least a lot of people feel that way. In reality though, they may have good designers. They obviously are good at marketing, but when it comes right down to it, they are like every other company. Outsource to other countries where the cost per widget is the cheapest it can be. You can’t blame them. They have to do this in order to compete. Business is about keeping cost as low and profit as high as possible. It truly is the American way and Apple is really really good at it.
Apple’s response to the news; they are saddened by the death and their suppliers are required to treat workers with dignity and respect. This is basically saying, it wasn’t our fault, it was our supplier’s fault. Well, according to the reports the worker lost a prototype of a next generation iPhone. His apartment was searched by security personnel from his company and in the process he was beaten. A few hours later, he ended his life.
If it is Apple’s policy that its suppliers treat their employees with respect, yet it is verified this employee was beaten in his home for losing a prototype, what will Apple do about it? Are they going to continue a relationship with that supplier? In this case, doing so it would seem, could be bad for Apple’s reputation, and what is bad for Apple’s reputation is bad for business.
Apple is good at making money. They made 1.23 billion dollars in profit last quarter in a terrible economy, but is it worth it? I guess it depends on who you are.
It is sad that American companies can distance themselves from shady business practices by outsourcing manufacturing and then blaming anything bad that happens on the supplier. It wasn’t us, it was only the people we hired to do our work for us. It isn’t just tech either. It is toys, it is clothes, it is food. If you outsource your product to a third party, you are responsible for whatever they do to produce it on your behalf.
I doubt this will change anything. I am surprised it got as much press as it did.