1.What are the ethical (or unethical) activities that Apple has been engaged in, either directly or indirectly? How do you think Apple has handled the various ethical issues that it has faced in the past?
2.Explain how Apple’s philosophy and organizational culture have impacted how it handles ethical decisions.
3.Apple won first place as the World’s Most Admired Company, yet it was discovered that the company was collecting data on customers without their knowledge. Apple then claimed it stopped, yet continued collecting data despite claiming it has disabled the features. Why do you think the company continued to be held in high esteem and does this respect for the company provide more free reign to commit unethical actions?
4.Why is Apple’s industry so competitive and how could this affect the ethical risk in Apple’s operations? What effect did Apple’s deal with Google, Adobe and other large companies – the deal in which the companies informally agreed not to recruit one another’s employees – have? Who were the stakeholders affected by this agreement?
5.How much responsibility does Apple bear for its suppliers’ unethical actions? How much responsibility does Foxconn bear for the events within its factory given the pressure put on it by Apple to meet production goals? What are Foxconn’s specific responsibilities? What are Apple’s specific responsibilities?
6.Do iPhone (and other Apple product) buyers share responsibility for any mistreatment of people by Foxconn (or any other company, not just the Apple case) by buying iPhones, given that they could purchase other company’s products, boycott, and/or demand changes?
7.Are you concerned about the collection of your data through your phone, which is used by the companies and sold to third parties? Does your purchase and use of their products imply that you give up your privacy?
8.Do you think Apple has a social responsibility to unlock the iPhones of murderers and terrorists to assist law enforcement? Do they have a responsibility to their customers not to unlock phones, even if it means keeping law enforcement from accessing evidence of crimes? Do iPhone users have a right to privacy that takes precedence over aiding law enforcement? Would unlocking the iPhones create a “slippery slope,” meaning, would Apple have to unlock iPhones for other crimes, such as rape, robbery, assault, etc.?
9.Are consumers who buy Apple products complicit in any way for enabling human rights abuses? Do purchasers incentivize Apple? Is quiet acceptance of Apple’s behavior, without demands for correction of human rights abuses, the same as participating in the system of abuses
