Apples Corporate Social Responsibility
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Apple’s Corporate Social Responsibility
From global environmental and social concerns to micro-level business ethics, CSR is an emerging corporate concept that encompasses a wide range of challenges. CSR focuses on the welfare of society and the company’s adherence to the basic principles of fairness and honesty (Vallaster, 2017). Essentially, managers have a moral obligation to act in the best interest of society as a whole, not just shareholders and the corporations (Capaldi, 2016). Apple’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts are examined in this paper by scrutinizing the company’s current CSR policy, emphasizing its CSR programs, and recommending ways to improve the company’s CSR image.
In the 21st century, Apple Inc. has become the largest and most lucrative firm in the world. To get to the $1 billion company it is now, and Apple had to become a global leader in both technology and business. It had done so from humble beginnings in a California warehouse in 1976. Apple’s ability to adapt to its new environment may be shown by looking at its financial structure (Ceil, 2018). For a company of Apple’s stature, the deployment of a functional framework may have been terrifying. It’s remarkable, if not astounding that Apple hasn’t changed that despite its 40-fold increase in sales and vastly expanded product line since 1998. Not commodities, but operations are under the purview of the Executive Vice Presidents. Tim Cook’s position as CEO is the only one on Apple’s organizational chart where all of the company’s primary products intersect in terms of architecture, production, service, marketing, and retail.
Apple’s principal goal is to give people goods that improve their lives. The organization may keep track of the whole supply chain, from product manufacture to distribution, without the usual board members, and it is assessed based on the P&L statement. Existing product categories, including the iPhone and Apple Watch, will undergo further evolution and introduce new ones (Dijk & Schipper, 2007). The iPhone camera is perhaps the best illustration of Apple’s unwavering commitment to continuous improvement. Because of the iPhone’s debut, Steve Jobs’ camera was only given six seconds of screen time during this year’s main display to introduce new technologies. Thanks to the iPhone’s sensor technology, there has been a flurry of recent developments in the cryptocurrency sector. A few of the camera’s capabilities include panoramic photos, Real Tone flash, and optical picture stability.
The Company’s Capitalization of Equity
To allocate capital effectively, it is necessary to determine how much stock or debt a firm will require to carry out its activities. A company’s equity is computed based on the number of treasury shares issued and the number of earnings retained in the general store. Currently, Apple’s total net worth is $96.5 billion as of June 29th, 2019. If we assume lower average income, this translates to $43.4 billion in valuation common stock, $53.7 billion in pay-in capital stock, and $639 million on a monetary basis (Ceil, 2018). Apple’s shareholders’ equity is projected to be $4.57 billion at the time of this writing.
The Company’s Debt Consolidation
The debt owed by a corporation is the second component of its financial system, and it indicates how effectively the company has performed in its obligations to its creditors. In the first phase of debt classification, we look at how long it has been since the loan was accrued to determine the debt category. To determine whether or not a firm will repay its investors after a year, its current obligations, including year-end liabilities, must be examined. Based on current estimates, Apple had existing liabilities of $89.7 billion at the end of June 2019, which included $29.1 billion in short notes and $13.5 billion in securities accounts payable, according to the company (Ceil, 2018). Today, Apple’s long-term loans and other non-current liabilities total more than $136 billion, representing an increase of around 63 percent in the previous three years, bringing the company’s total debt to $225.8 billion.
The Company’s Leverage
Apple began issuing its first securities and notes in 2013 due to the Federal Reserve’s Zero Interest Rate Policy (ZIRP), reinsurance for a total of $64.46 trillion of debt. Although Apple did so primarily because it could create a significant amount of money for free, it also did so because it felt obligated all the same. Several Apple bonds with marginal interest rates below 3 percent came close to beating the trend when it comes to inflation. It is possible to get real yields with this product (Dijk & Schipper, 2007). Despite this, Apple’s increasing debt burden has had a substantial negative impact on the company’s market value. Between 2010 and 2013, Apple’s current and rapid ratios increased by 33 percent and 59 percent, respectively, over the preceding five years. In the previous three years, long-term borrowing has risen by roughly threefold.
The Company’s Inflation vs. Deficit
Additionally, the company’s debt-to-equity ratio has decreased. When you compare the company’s ownership to its debts, you get an accurate assessment like this. It is computed by dividing the total liabilities of a firm by the total assets of the corporation. Apple’s debt-to-equity ratio was 50 percent in 2016, according to the company. It has surged by 112 percent in the last three years, indicating how swiftly the financial markets may shift.
The Company’s Organizational Profitability
The acquisition price of a company may also be used to measure the worth of an investment by an investor’s financial advisor. To compute the company’s EV, the market value and total liabilities are calculated and subtracted from the company’s gross capital amount and cash equivalents, respectively. From $600 billion at the end of 2017 to $1.12 trillion at the end of 2018, Apple’s EV has increased by a factor of two (Orrange, 2020). The market value of the company’s assets and its total assets have been steadily increasing. It is expected that Apple’s gross assets would have decreased from $50 billion this year to $14 billion by the second half of 2019. Considering that Apple is the most valuable corporation in the United States, investors cannot afford to ignore this reality (Dijk & Schipper, 2007). Apple’s long-term financial health is not jeopardized as of June 29, 2019, when the company has more than the US $50 billion in liquidity and $45 billion in short-term equity investments.
Financial Results of Apple Inc.
Apple’s success can be ascribed in part to its determination to meet its corporate and social responsibilities (CSR). As a result of their efforts, stakeholder organizations help companies fulfill their social responsibility duties while also hindering operational effectiveness. Shareholders have a significant impact on Apple’s market sentiment and profit margins throughout the case study. Even though Apple’s brand has maintained a continuously good reputation, the company has successfully engaged stakeholders in its policy and strategy (Orrange, 2020). With a clean materials procurement program, for example, the company addresses the environmental concerns of its shareholders (Vallaster, 2017). As far as the sector’s primary players are concerned, it appears that Apple has a solid and complete strategy. Apple’s interests are aligned with those of specific groups of stakeholders, and this has a positive influence on the company.
Research and Analysis of Apple’s Monetary Growth and Investment
When examining Apple, keep in mind the possible benefits of universal stakeholders, change and progress, and logical shareholders in mind as well. Apple and the class rounds of stockholders whose investing activities are speedily becoming more and more popular worldwide, as evidenced by the medical research included in the Johns Hopkins university app, may now share a fundamental affinity for promoting a healthy and prosperous society. Reasonable shareholders can identify returns in the current portfolio theory (Vallaster, 2017). The necessary actions of the suitable investment are primarily dependent on market costs, as long as they are reasonable. Corporate leadership attempts to assist underprivileged groups and create social and environmental criteria for investment collecting are just a few of the investing activities that have been identified as having a positive impact on the ecosystem and society.
Stakeholder Groups of Apple
A wide range of stakeholders are considered in Apple’s corporate responsibility initiatives and activities. Stakeholder groups have varying standards for different areas of the market. There are several factors that contribute to Apple’s success:
Customers/Clienteles.
Apple has to focus on its customers when developing a corporate social responsibility policy. The human and corporate purchasers of Apple products make up this shareholder community. Reliable and reasonably priced items are most important to customers. The prices of Apple products are higher (Dijk & Schipper, 2007). However, the company’s premium pricing approach is reasonable because it meets these products’ high quality and esthetic standards. In addition, the company offers environmentally friendly recycling methods and responsible supply to meet the demands of its clients in the sector.
Employees of Apple
Employees are an essential stakeholder group for Apple’s initiatives in corporate social responsibility (CSR). Apple’s approach to CSR places its employees as a secondary stakeholders. Employees at Apple’s facilities make up this stakeholder group. The primary concerns of these stakeholders are salary and advancement in the workforce. Workers are a stakeholder category because they directly affect Apple’s ability to innovate and manufacture lucrative goods (Dijk & Schipper, 2007). The firm’s remuneration packages are competitive in Silicon Valley, addressing the interests of its employees.
The Company’s Investors
When it comes to corporate social responsibility initiatives, investors are often the most critical stakeholders and decision-makers. Investors in Apple are concerned with increasing their profits. This stakeholder group is well-served by the company’s sound financial results (Ceil, 2018). Apple, for example, is now one of the world’s most lucrative corporations. Profit margins are high for the company. A substantial quantity of cash is also part of Apple’s excellent financial situation, including a high liquidity level (Kahney, 2019). In addition, the business has been able to stay out of debt. Apple can meet the needs of its shareholders by adhering to these corporate social guidelines.
Suppliers and Distributors’ Employees.
Apple’s CSR initiatives also consider the working conditions of those in the company’s supplier chain. These workers are not directly involved in Apple’s business but have a significant impact on the company’s corporate social responsibility. This stakeholder group’s primary concern is comparable to Apple’s employees’ concerns about fair pay and job security. This particular stakeholder group also shares a problem with reasonable labor practices. Apple has a Supply Chain in place to address these concerns. Companies in the company’s supply chain are required to comply with the company’s labor standards, which are strictly enforced (Orrange, 2020). Apple has a policy of terminating business relationships with suppliers that fail to comply with this Code of Conduct or refuse to do so. Ninety-two percent of suppliers were found to comply with the 60-hour workweek guideline in Apple’s 2014 audit of suppliers. According to the stakeholder group of employees employed by Apple’s suppliers, Apple’s corporate social responsibility measures meet their needs to some extent.
Performance of Apple’s CSR in Meeting Stakeholder Needs
Stakeholders are satisfied with Apple’s performance in meeting its corporate social responsibility. Customers, Apple workers, and investors all benefit from the company’s products and services. As a result, Apple can enhance its CSR performance concerning its supplier chain’s workforce. Rules for suppliers are difficult to enforce because of the variety of organizational environments they operate (Capaldi, 2016). Apple, on the other hand, can enforce its Supplier Code of Conduct on its suppliers. As a result, the company’s primary CSR activity should be able to enhance supply chain compliance.
Recommendation and Conclusion
Apple used a strategy of focusing on profit margins while targeting a particular market at a later date. They have a high rate of client satisfaction and have been able to sell a lot of things. Due to Apple’s expensive costs, Apple doesn’t have more than paperwork for supplier codes, oblique ease of access to maximum markets, and the app store depends on third-party contractors. Significant customers cannot purchase (Kahney, 2019). Human resource churn is a real possibility, and the company faces criticism for its management style and being a “socially irresponsible” business.
In addition to cost-cutting, Apple should focus on price-cutting. Its profit-maximization aim aligns with the Blues Ocean approach; therefore, it’s a good idea to look forward to it. A billion dollars a year isn’t enough to keep up with the competition. Thus Apple has to invest more (Capaldi, 2016). Competitors have already established a foothold in rising regions like China and India. Apple must broaden its board of directors to improve company performance; they must be more committed than words to social responsibilities, and further, there is a lack of information sharing and appreciating similarities between administration and investors’ company, by which they lost a significant portion of their market capitalization, so it must enhance communication with its investors.
As a company, Apple has a moral obligation to assist its customers with their mental health. Apps for mental health may increase Apple’s profits. Still, according to Ceil (2018), the company must be socially integrated into the interests of the corporation, its shareholders, and a broader range of stakeholders. When developing e-mental health applications, Apple should emphasize its policy to disclose all political donations and other regulations that prohibit stockholders from querying how their revenue is being channeled for anything other than the public’s benefit (Kahney, 2019). Apple’s app development and e-mental health expansion will need to be directed by sound corporate governance and an overarching ethical framework that is meant to safeguard the public with the precision of clinical studies to be successful. Finally, this distinguishes it from its rivals and enables a more comprehensive and proactive risk management strategy to advance e-mental health. Responsible while doing so. An extensive corporate structures and social responsibility.
References
Ceil, C. (2018). Corporate Social Responsibility at Apple. SSRN Electronic Journal. Published. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3520429
Capaldi, N. (2016). New (Other?) Directions in Corporate Social Responsibility. International Journal of Corporate Social Responsibility, 1(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40991-016-0005-5
Dijk, M. V., & Schipper, I. (2007). Apple CSR company profile. Amsterdam: SOMO.
Kahney, L. (2019). Tim Cook: The Genius Who Took Apple to the Next Level. Portfolio.
Orrange, R. (2020). The Corporate State: Technopoly, Privatization and Corporate Predation (1st ed.). Routledge.
Vallaster, C. (2017). Managing a Company Crisis through Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility: A Practice-Based Analysis. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 24(6), 509–523. https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.1424
