Tag Archives: Apple

Global Corporations and Global Value Chains – The Disaggregation of Corporations?

March 2, 2019UncategorizedApple, Corporate Governance, corporate social responsibility, disaggregation, financialisation, global supply chains, global Value Chain, human rights, labour standardsmartijn

The Oxford Handbook of the Corporation assesses the contemporary relevance, purpose, and performance of the corporation. The corporation is one of the most significant, if contested, innovations in human history, and the direction and effectiveness of corporate law, corporate governance, and corporate performance are being challenged as never before. Continuously evolving, the corporation as the primary instrument for wealth generation in contemporary economies demands frequent assessment and reinterpretation.

Read chapter 13: “Global Corporations and Global Value Chains – The Disaggregation of Corporations? on Google Books.

Apple’s $1 trillion riches based on innovation and exploitation

August 6, 2018UncategorizedApple, corporate social responsibility, exploitation, Foxconn, human rights, innovation, iPhone, labour standards, Martijn Boersma, Profit Margin, social, Supply Chain, supply chains, The Conversation, transparency, Value Chain, working conditionsmartijn

Apple has become the first American company to reach US$1 trillion in market capitalisation – US$1,000,000,000,000 in stockmarket value. Behind this glittering success, however, lies ~~a series of unresolved ethical dilemmas~~ a history of staggering labour exploitation.

The approaches of Apple and the other giant US platform technology companies (Google, Facebook, Amazon) to corporate taxation, concentration and privacy have attracted widespread criticism.

But as a manufacturing company Apple faces a more deep-seated problem. This involves the millions of people employed in its supply chain, which is largely located in China with the major contractor Foxconn.

Our research shows human rights, environmental and ethical problems persist inside Apple’s vast global supply chains.

Continue reading Apple’s $1 trillion riches based on innovation and exploitation →

Apple Profits From Decade-Long Supply Chain Labour Exploitation

May 22, 2015UncategorizedApple, Cash Hoard, exploitation, Foxconn, iPhone, labour standards, Market Capitalisation, Profit Margin, Revenue, Supply Chain, Value Chainmartijn

Apple Cash Trend 2015 — Apple Cash, Cash Equivalents and Marketable Securities
2006 to March 2015 (US$ billions) – Source: Apple Annual and Quarterly Reports

Apple Inc. is the richest and most iconic corporation in the world. In 2010 Apple became the most valuable brand, with an 84% jump in brand value to $153.3 billion. By March 2015 Apple’s revenue was up to $212.2 billion, while in February 2015 Apple attained a market capitalisation of $770 billion, nearly double that of ExxonMobil, Google and Microsoft. Apple’s large profit margins have contributed to a cash hoard of $193.5 billion, which means that the company has more cash on hand compared to cash balances of most industries in the United States combined. In a stark illustration of how extreme inequality disfigures operations in global value chains, Apple’s abundant wealth ultimately rests on the suffering of young workers in electronic sweatshops where human rights, labour standards, environmental safety, and business integrity are routinely ignored.

Continue reading Apple Profits From Decade-Long Supply Chain Labour Exploitation →

Digital Panopticism: Self-Discipline in the Information Age

February 18, 2015UncategorizedApple, Apps, Bentham, Data, Discipline, exercise, Food, Foucault, Health, information, Information Technology, iWatch, Meta-Data, Panopticon, privacy, Self-Discipline, Surveillancemartijn

In the space of a few years, concepts like meta-data and surveillance drones have become commonplace in news reports and public debate. While many of us are justifiably worried about information technology and privacy violations, we ourselves contribute to these observational practices on a daily basis. Facilitated by technological advances, it has become possible to monitor nearly every kind of human experience. Self-surveillance might well be the last piece in the puzzle.

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How Rotten is Apple’s Core? Tax Avoidance and Human Rights Abuses

June 1, 2013Internet, Politics, Science, Society, Software, Technology, Uncategorized, WorldApple, Bono, component manufacturers, Cupertino, Foxconn, health hazards, human rights abuses, labour standards, NGOs, steve jobs, Supply Chainmartijn

The Apple brand is not only one of the most famous in the world, it is also the one with the highest value. Although Apple shares have plummeted during the last months, the latest brand value rankings show that the brand remains the best in the world. In addition to this, in the third quarter of 2012 Apple had a market capitalisation of US$ 625 billion, by far the largest in the world, on top of which it had and it had a US $117 billion cash hoard. You would think that a company this size would pay a fair amount of tax, but Apple thinks differently.

Continue reading How Rotten is Apple’s Core? Tax Avoidance and Human Rights Abuses →