Julia Hood’s article in PR Week is a response to the recent controversial New York Times article, “In China, human costs are built into the iPad”. To provide some background information, the article exposes the grim working conditions in the Chinese plant: stress, fatal accidents, and suicide attempts are all covered.
Hood states that the sentence “Apple was provided
with extensive summaries of this article but the company declined to comment”
was no surprise, and that Apple’s “no comment” policy is getting old.
It is true that Apple computer is notorious for
their lack of transparency. (In fact, Hugh Forrest, SXSW Interactive director
and mass communication week guest speaker, spoke of his frustration with Apple
Computer’s unwillingness to work with other companies during his time at Texas
State.)
Apple Computer did release a supplier responsibility
report, and a report of an email from CEO Tim Cook to employees. Hood argues
this is not enough.
Hood goes on to question why the public won’t
tolerate “no comment” on safety issues from a mining company or squeezing
margins at the expense of employees from a discount retailer (AKA: Walmart), She
thinks it’s imperative to not accept it from companies we love, but to hold
them to a higher standard.
Beyond the accusations and the obvious human rights
issue, this article left me curious as to whether Apple Computer’s lack of
transparency is a genius branding technique or downright bad public relations. (I
am by no means condoning the exploitation of Chinese workers, but arguing that
Apple’s lack of a comment could be part of their branding.)
Yes, Apple Computer’s lack of communication to
commenting to the public on such issues has frustrated the general public for
years, yet Apple is still one of the most successful companies the world and a
household name. People around the world continue to vote with their dollar and
spend thousands of dollars on Apple products.
Could the lack of transparency be part of Apple
Computer’s appeal; perhaps the element of mystery is part of their “personal
branding”. Maybe their silent policy prevents the company from digging themselves
a deeper hole. Apple has remained silent and successful throughout the years.
On the other hand, a serious human rights issue has
come up this time and I personally agree with Hood in the fact that Apple does
owe some explaining to the general public. What will this do for the company’s
image? I do not know.
5 comments:
I agree with Hood. I don't think it is fair for Apple to keep using their "no comment" statement, especially since this issue has to deal with safety conditions and people's lives are at stake. I think Apple should take responsibility and stop acting like such cowards. I think Apple Computer's silence is bad PR.
It is hard for me to believe that this is true considering I've been an avid Apple/Mac user for years now. Whenever I have an issue, they take great care of their customers. I do agree that the "no comment" issue is not an outlet that can always be used. Just because an issue is not spoke of does not mean that the problem will go away.
Something definitely needs to be done to inform the public, however, I think either way it will not hurt Apple sales too much.
I agree with Deena's comment. I've always had great customer experience with Apple and think their PR is a top priority to them. I'm sure damage control will soon took place.
This situation has obviously not caused Apple to lose any buisness, but the fact that they are not talking about the issues going on does seem a little sketchy. Apple should make a public statement soon to save their PR image.
My roommate works for Apple, and I asked her about what they have done about this issue. She said that they are contacting all of their employees saying that they have nothing to hide, and they know they do not mistreat their employees.
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