Human Resource Initiatives and Sustainability: Foxconn Case Study

This case study analyzes the human resource initiatives implemented by Foxconn Technology Group, a major electronics manufacturer. The study examines Foxconn's approach to sustainability, employee rights, and ethical practices, aligning with the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights. It details the company's recruitment policies, community-based programs, and efforts to bridge education gaps. The analysis assesses the authenticity of these initiatives, highlighting their positive impact on employee well-being and societal outcomes, such as enhanced skills and increased employee engagement. The report contrasts Foxconn's strategies with potential challenges faced by Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in adopting similar practices, considering resource limitations and different business contexts. The case study emphasizes the importance of HR in fostering a sustainable and ethical business environment.

Running head: HUMAN RESOURCE INITIATIVES IN FOXCONN
Human Resource Initiatives in Foxconn
Name of the student
Name of the University
Author note

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Introduction
Human Resources refers to the function within an organization which deals with
people and the issues that are related to the compensation, recruiting, performance
management along with the organizational development. The human resources in a company
should develop the sustainable practices that can help in paving the path for a cleaner earth.
Sustainability helps in the process of the maintenance of change within the balanced
environment and it helps in meeting the human aspirations. The development of the
sustainability initiatives in relation to the human resources can help in bringing about the
improvement of a company (Morrow and Mowatt 2015). Foxconn Technology Group was
founded in the year 1974 that emerged to become largest multinational company within the
framework of the Electronics Manufacturing Services Industry. This case study analysis
discusses about the sustainability initiatives that have been taken by the human resources of
Foxconn Technology Group. This paper also elaborates about the authenticity in relation to
the human resources sustainability initiatives within the company. It also talks about how the
human resources of the company can help in enhancing the positive social along with the
human outcome in the company. The case study analysis elucidates on how the human
resource outcome would differ in the case of a different business context.
Human Resources sustainability initiatives in Foxconn
The human resources department in Foxconn Technology Group works in accordance
with the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights that helps in offering protection to the
rights along with the interests of the employees. The human resources of the company makes
the employment policies that provides equal opportunity to the people coming from the
various kinds of backgrounds irrespective of their age, gender, nationality along with the
religion. The employees are treated in the fair manner that has helped in the sustainability of

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the company. Foxconn recruits the employees with the help of the social along with the
educational institutions by taking recourse to the unbiased screening process that helps in the
maintenance of respect of applicants (Ehnert, Harry and Zink 2013). It helps in promoting the
diversity within the workforce. The company prohibits employment in relation to the child
labour along with the forced labour. The human resources are instrumental in recruiting the
disabled people that can help in the sustaining the company in the future. The human resource
management in Foxconn lays emphasis on the community-based programs along with the
volunteer programs that can help in bringing about improvement in the overall condition of
society. The company takes recourse to measures that can help in bridging education gap in
between the people who live in the urban areas and that of the rural areas (Gessner and
Bortree 2019). Foxconn along with the Yonglin Foundation have come together for
supporting the fledgling start-ups with the health care sector.
The human resources of Foxconn provides the employment opportunities to that of
the local workforce within the market of its operation. It has helped the company in achieving
the high employee localization rate. The human resources of the company takes care of the
fact that the majority of the people are in the formal positions that helps in taking care of the
sustainability of the company. The department of the human resources of company hires the
temporary workers along with the part-time employees on the basis of the manufacturing
cycles along with the business needs (Noe et al. 2017). The human resources of the company
have developed the incentive system which is aligned with that of the needs of the modern
day business. The company has adopted the forward thinking approach in relation to the
employee evaluation along with the compensation. The human resources of the company
evaluates the employees on the basis of their business performance along with the work
ability. The human resources of the company has implemented the system of the annual

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bonuses along with the time-based incentives that has helped in encouraging the retention of
the employees in the company.
Authenticity of the human resource initiatives
Foxconn Technology Group has been genuine in relation to the sustainability
measures that has helped in bringing positive returns for the company. The human resources
initiatives have proved to be useful for the company in the creation of value and it has helped
in increasing the annual returns of the company. The co-ordinated efforts that are made by the
human resources of the company have helped it in addressing the needs of the people of the
present age. It has been found that 97 % of the employees of the company are the full time
employees that has helped in addressing the societal problems of the present time. It has been
found that 68 % of the employees are under the age of that of 30 that has helped in making
the efforts of the company authentic (Foxconn.com 2019). The human resources of the
company provides assistance to the disadvantaged along with the hospitalized employees that
has greatly contributed to the environmental benefits (Gessner and Bortree 2019). It has been
found with the help of company data that the company has provided help to 285 employees
who were disadvantaged and it has also extended the help to 168 people who were affected
by the brunt of the natural disaster. This helps in pointing out to the success of the
sustainability efforts on the part of human resources of the company. The department of
human resources of Fox conn educates the workers from the rural backgrounds that has
helped in enhancing the quality of their life (Lozano 2015). The human resources of the
company was instrumental in organizing 997 training sessions that were based on skills in the
year 2016. The company also made the initiatives in undertaking a social skills training
sessions that was attended by around 156,000 employees of the company. Foxconn
Technology Group was successful in establishing the H. Spectrum which is a non-profit
organization based in Taiwan that focuses on the healthcare along with the digital health

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innovation. The company has been able to provide the academic support for the
underprivileged children. The establishment of the “Yonglin Hope Primary School Project”
has been able to provide the remedial education that caters to the needs of the underprivileged
children.
Enhancement of the positive social and the human outcome
The human resource initiatives that have been taken by the company have helped in
enhancing positive social outcome for the company. The company recognizes the rights of
the workers that has made the employees aware about their value in the society. It has helped
in encouraging the employees that has positive results on the functioning of the society. The
company provides the on-the-job training to the employees that has helped in increasing the
skill set of the employees of the company. The screening process of the company is unbiased
that helps in recruiting the employees on the basis of their knowledge along with the skill sets
(Di Fabio 2017). It has helped in increasing the amount of revenue that is earned by the
company that have created a prominent position of the company and helped it in rising above
the competitors. The human resources of the company takes stern actions in the case of any
kind of discrimination issue in the company that has helped in engaging the employees of the
company. The employees have been provided with encouragement that has helped in
increasing the efficiency of their performance within the company. The company has
invested RMB 1 billion within next five years in various kinds of initiatives that have helped
in improving the performance of the company (Foxconn.com 2019). The company have
made the efforts to develop the engineers along with the technology specialists that has
improved the skills of the employees working in various positions in the company (Ehnert et
al. 2016). Foxconn Technology Group has also created the online games societies that have
made the employees more committed to that of the employee welfare. The company makes
the efforts of providing training to the logistics managers of the company that has helped in

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the development of the company (Blythe et al. 2018). The social skills sessions are also held
in the company that has helped in improving the communication skills of the workers of the
company.
Different Business Context
Foxconn Technology Group lays a great deal of efforts in improving the skills of the
employees with the help of their training sessions. The company had made use of the
advanced technology in relation to the screening process that has made the company employ
a great deal of capital. The sustainability initiatives in the event of being implemented within
the framework of the Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) would make the company face a
great deal of barriers. The small medium enterprises do not have the resources that can help
them in taking a proper training session (Hörisch, Johnson and Schaltegger 2015). The profits
that are earned by the SME are relatively lower as compared to the Foxconn Technology
Group which is a multinational company and earns a large amount of profits. It can be stated
that it would not be possible for the SME to contribute money for the human development as
they do not possess the capital (Cascio 2015). The SME would find it difficult to provide the
compensation package of the same stature as Foxconn Technology Group as they do not
make large amount of profits. The company is growing and it would not be possible for the
SME to give assistance to the disadvantaged employees. The SME cannot provide incentives
to the employees as is provided by Foxconn Technology Group.
Conclusion
Foxconn Technology Group recognizes the rights of the workers that has proved to be
beneficial for the company. The employment policies within the company helps in providing
the employees with the equal opportunity that has helped the company in getting positive
returns. The human resources of Foxconn Technology Group have been instrumental in

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developing incentive system that aligns with demands of business of present age. It has been
useful in making the employees realize about their value that have helped in increasing the
performance of the employees.

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