Steve Jobs says Foxconn in China ‘not a sweatshop’ after worker deaths

Foxconn, the contract manufacturer that assembles Apple’s iPhones and iPads, has to deal with workers committing suicide. Steve Jobs, the CEO of Apple, replies that the Chinese factory isn’t a sweatshop. “It’s a difficult situation. We are trying to understand right now, before we go in and say we know the solution”, Jobs said. However, Apple doesn’t suffer the situation, it even overtook Microsoft as the world’s largest technology company by market value.

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/jun/02/steve-jobs-foxconn-china-not-sweatshop

Jobs claims that’s not important to him, “it’s not what makes you come to work every morning”. But for being CEO of such an important company in the world, his reaction on the suicide-matter is rather passionless. According to Dries’s blog on Chinese workers, these suicidal actions weren’t the only problems on Chinese working conditions. Although those facts suggest that Apple doesn’t care about their workers, the suicide rate amongst employees at Foxconn appears to about half the rate that one might expect for workers of that age in China. 

Tim Van den Berghe

British supermarket employs one thousand homeless people.

British supermarket Morrisons wants to hire one thousand homeless people in the next 3 year. Thus, they can help these people to get their life back on track. They also will get some education.

                                           

This is a great initiative and great example that not all managers are selfish and only want to win money. Some managers can find the balance between the demands of stakeholders and stockholders. Nevertheless, it’s also a superb marketing stunt! The company will be linked with charity. And we all know that this will boost sales. It’s fantastic that helping people and winning money can be combined.

Steff Van den Bruele

Source:  http://destandaard.be/artikel/detail.aspx?artikelid=JOBAT_3226&subsection=228

National railway company of Belgium will be on strike on November 23.

November 23, NMBS will be on strike… Again. Every month, they find something to strike for. Not enough safety on the train, not paid enough, difficult working hours,… 

This is another, maybe quite unexpected example in the stakeholders theory. The employees of the Belgian railway company are definitely stakeholders, and they fight for their rights. But enough is enough. The employees don’t take account of the consequences of their actions. Every time they strike, hundreds, maybe thousands of people can’t get to work or arrive to late at work. This affects our whole economy. Every time NMBS is on strike, we lose millions of euro’s. They just aren’t aware of the other stakeholders: people from who a train is their only way of transportation. 

Striking is a human right, which I think is a very good thing. But employees of NMBS need to take account of the consequences. These consequences should be equivalent to their demands. They can’t terrorize the whole country every month…

Source: http://destandaard.be/artikel/detail.aspx?artikelid=DMF20101119_201

Steff Van den Bruele

Online shopping at work ‘increases security risks’

Due to the increasing number of employees using company mobile devices, companies are very vulnerable to viral internet threat such as malware and phishing attacks. As employees also use those devices for purposes other than work, they could click on suspicious links, or they could admit confidential information to unverified websites. Furthermore, the increased use of social networks for purchasing goods could also harm corporate security. 

Devices who are property of a company should only be used for business purposes in theory, in practice employees benefit without disgrace. Businesses should not be harmed due to private the activity of their employees. Therefore, employers could supervise their personnel, and limit their possibilities. 

As company mobile devices can be considered as a perk, employees should treat them with respect. While company cars are expensive, devices such as notebook computers or mobile phones can be given to all employees as motivation.

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2010/nov/10/online-christmas-shopping-security-risks

Tim Van den Berghe

Biggest solar panel installation on roof Colruyt

Colruyt decided to install 8000 square meter of solar panels on the roof of their distribution centre. These 1200 solar panels should be able to provide enough green energy for the whole Colruyt group throughout a year. As a result the CO² emissions will drop with 78 ton each year. It’s an expensive investment but because of the governments subsidies it’s sure to be profitable. 

Source :http://www.destandaard.be/artikel/detail.aspx?artikelid=GAT129IJ8&word=zonnepaneel+colruyt

It’s really remarkable when a company invests in green energy! It’s especially the society who benefits from such an investment. But a good company keeps all his stakeholders happy. One way to do this is by creating a positive image for your company. Nowadays investing in green energy gives your company an environment-friendly image. This appeals to all stakeholders. After all, the environment is also a stakeholder!

 Dries Vander Meeren

Company Cars

Cars are useful for a company, they are necessary to operate. When an employee has to deliver a package or he must go to a meeting, he needs a car. Although this is the main objective of a company car, we can see that they are also used in another way. A lot of companies give expensive cars to their managers to motivate them to perform well. This type of perks is not essential to do their job as such but it is a specially added reward. In Belgium, more than half of managers own a company car.

In my eyes, company cars are excellent objects to motivate your managers. It is necessary that they feel good because they are a very important stakeholder. When they receive a nice car from the company they will notice that their work is appreciated. This trigger is important for the employer because a happy employee will work harder and achieve more. On the other hand, this type of rewarding may lead to envy by the other employees. The employer must pay attention for this because it’s not meant to create disharmony in the company.

Source: http://www.standaard.be/artikel/detail.aspx?artikelid=JOBAT_3270&subsection=228

Lars Van Nieuwenhuize

Chinese workers link sickness to n-hexane and Apple iPhone screens

In the city of Suzhou several Chinese employees were poisoned by the chemical n-hexane. They were exposed to this dangerous substance while cleaning parts for Apple. Although the potential risks were well known by Wintek , a Taiwan-owned electronics giant, they still decided to switch from alcohol to n-hexane because it dried more swiftly.  Wintek doesn’t want to say anything about who it’s working for and even Apple won’t reveal who it’s working with. Apple says they have a strict code of conduct which sets requirements for working and environmental practices. Despite a 2010 audit which shows that many manufactures don’t follow this code Apple claims to be innocent.

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/may/07/chinese-workers-sickness-hexane-apple-iphone

Apple doesn’t take its responsibility. If subcontractors don’t follow the code of conduct Apple should intervene. And because of their product secrecy it’s impossible to ensure workers' rights are protected

Apple is a giant multinational with a quarterly profit of more than $3bn. They should spend some more money on ensuring safe working conditions. After all employees are one of the most important stakeholders!  

Dries Vander Meeren