Apple Inc. Case Study: Applying Kantianism to Responsible Business

This essay examines the principles of responsible business through an analysis of the Apple Inc. case study concerning the deliberate slowdown of older iPhones. It begins by defining core values and then delves into the specifics of the Apple case, highlighting the company's actions and their ethical implications. The essay then introduces Kantianism, a philosophical framework for ethical decision-making, and applies it to the Apple case, evaluating the company's behavior through the lens of Kantian ethics. The analysis critiques Apple's actions, particularly their failure to disclose information to customers. Finally, the essay proposes an alternative approach to managing the situation, emphasizing transparency, customer respect, and the application of the author's core values to foster a more ethical and responsible business practice. The solution provided includes references to support the arguments.

Principles of responsible
business
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Table of Contents
Core values..................................................................................................................................................2
Apple case study..........................................................................................................................................2
Kantianism..................................................................................................................................................3
Application of Kantianism in the case study................................................................................................4
An alternative way to deal with the issues of case study.............................................................................5
References...................................................................................................................................................7
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Core values
Core values are defined as the underlying values and principles of a person or an organization
which guides their behavior and their decision-making skills (Arocha, 2017). Core values of an
organization play a crucial role in developing their brand image, brand awareness and build a
loyal base of customers. I identified my core values as integrity, responsibility, freedom,
positivity, and belonging, Along with these, I think discipline is one of the core values that
motivates a person or an organization to achieve overall success. I think that being honest and
loyal is crucial in order to achieve success in life or run a successful business. Learning from the
mistakes, I have decided to hurt someone by telling lies to them or participating in wrong
actions. I am willing to take responsibility for my own actions and their consequences. I believe
in personal freedom and I think everybody has a right to decide for themselves independently.
Positivity encourages a person to achieve new accomplishments and allows an organization to
drive towards more productivity (Beiser, 2014). Belongingness plays a crucial factor in
determining success in a person in all stages of their life. I think discipline plays a crucial role in
shaping the behavior of the person encouraging him to achieve new accomplishments.
Apple case study
Management of Apple Inc. has decided to apologize for deliberately slow down the processors of
iPhone 6, 6s, SE and iPhone 7. Due to this, the batteries of these iPhones are not performing to
their fullest capacity. To solve this problem the company has decided to reduce the prices of
iPhone batteries so that their customers can replace them for affordable prices (ABC News,
2017). US customers can replace these batteries for 29 dollars instead of 79 dollars.
Apple Inc. has slowed down the speed of the processors of their iPhones to increase the battery
life of these phones. However, they have decided to decrease the cost of replacing old batteries
and allow their users to check the health of their phones (Bowie, 2017). They are bringing a
software update so that the customers evaluate the performance of their devices.
The management of Apple Inc. has the core value to develop excellent quality products for their
customers and they follow the principles of self-honesty. In this case, the management did not
follow the principles of self-honesty in their behavior (Levine, 2016). First, they admitted to
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deliberately slow down the processors and then refused this claim. They failed to follow their
value of consumer protection using this practice.
Apple Inc. has faced many legal complications due to this incident of slowing down the
processors of iPhones. This practice has led to a series of negative consequences on the social
and individual level, ruining the reputation of the organization (O'Neill, 2013). As this decision
is not communicated to the customers earlier, a majority of them have decided to replace their
batteries instead of buying new phones.
After reading this case study, I feel that Apple is unable to develop customer satisfaction in the
market. The organization chooses to withhold details from their customers which have led to
customer dissatisfaction. Due to this, several of the customers have decided to change the
batteries of their iPhones instead of buying a new iPhone (Weinrib, 2017). Customers expect that
their devices will perform in a better way after software update rather than slowing down.
I have felt the same way when I am unable to connect to Wi-Fi and sync my Gmail account
using Samsung Galaxy S7. I felt that the company has let me down and they are not able to
provide a better quality of customer service to me. I have also faced some other technical
difficulties while using this device (Weinrib, 2017). Therefore, I believe that both these
companies are unable to provide better customer service to their customers.
Kantianism
Immanuel Kant, a German philosopher first proposed the concept of Kantianism which can be
used to define the principles of ethics, philosophy, and theory of knowledge (Werhane, 2014).
This philosophy has played a crucial role in affecting the thinking of other philosophers in the
recent years. This philosophy uses the principles of Leibniz’s rationalism and Hume’s
skepticism. I learned that Kantian ethics are deontological, which evaluates the rightfulness of a
particular situation based on the sense of duty rather than their end results. Kantian ethics
revolves around three principles of morality; goodwill, sense of duty and the nature of existing
imperatives. I learned that goodwill of a person allows him to conduct moral duties as it follows
the Moral law of the person (Critchley, 2014). This theory states that moral actions are not
produced spontaneously, some triggering incident is needed to produce moral actions. For
example, a person might help another person in times of their need, or they might not consider to
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help them at all. In both of these situations, a person will know that it is their duty to help others
in their times of need. There are two types of imperatives that can play an influential role in
producing moral actions from a person.
According to this theory, self-interest of a person plays a vital role in defining their goals. Sense
of duty of a person can be affected by their desires, wants and personal goals. I learned that these
desires and wants of a person can be defined as hypothetical imperatives. According to this
theory, the actions of a person is defined by their imperative command and their moral law
(Herschel and Miori, 2017). The categorical imperative is divided into two sub-categories; first
and second formulation. I learned that first formulation states that an act of a person follows a
certain underlying principle or maxim. According to the second formulation, one must evaluate
how their actions is affecting others. Respecting others is an example of following these
formulations. I learned that self-preservation and self-cultivation are some of the ways of
observing these formulations (Stern, R., 2015). Following strict rules and obligations is another
way of following these formulations of Kant. According to Kantianism, rightfulness of an action
is justified when it follows an appropriate rule. This theory considers humans to be the rational
ones, who does not follows any predefined rules rather they develop their own rules.
Application of Kantianism in the case study
Kantian theory of ethics states that humans are rational beings and they can decide their own
rules and regulations. According to the theory, humans should be able to make important
decisions and they should be allowed to do so. It also states that humans must act rationally and
encourage others to do the same. According to this theory, an activity of a person or an
organization is motivated by their demands, their objectives, and their goodwill. However, I
observed that the behavior of the managers of Apple Inc. is unethical. In this case, study that the
managers of Apple Inc. did not act rationally while withholding information from the customers
(Ferdman, 2018). The company did not provide information about slowing down of the
processors of iPhones. Thus, several of customers are forced to replace the batteries of their
iPhones rather than buying a new one. The customers are not been able to make a rational
decision whether to replace out-of-warranty batteries or buy a new iPhone. They are unable to
make another rational decision of switching the company to buy phones from other companies.
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The management of Apple Inc. did not respect the decision of their customers by withholding
this information.
Apple Inc. at first apologized for deliberately slowing their phones and then refuses to accept that
it is done intentionally. Different customers use iPhones for different reasons, such as calling,
texting, and other purposes. Slowing down of the processors of their phones will negatively
affect the daily activities of these people. After updating, these devices should be able to perform
perfectly, not slow down. In this case study, Apple Inc. fails to act rationally and provide
protection to their respective customers. Slowing down of these phones to increase the longevity
of the battery will cause various problems in the daily lives of their customers (Jamieson et al.,
2018). The management of the company did not act out of their goodwill. They did not want to
share this information with their customers at first. Then they tried to say that they did not
intentionally slow their phones down. I think, that they did not provide an opportunity to their
customers to make their own rational decisions about how to fix the problem associated with
their iPhones (Stern, R., 2015). The management may not reveal this information to their
customers at all if they did not receive any complaints regarding the performance of their
iPhones.
An alternative way to deal with the issues of case study
Using Kantian theory and my personal core values, I would have handled the situation
differently as the Chief Executive Officer of Apple Inc. I would have released the information
beforehand so that the customers can make a rational decision about how to fix this problem. I
would have taken full responsibility for any problems that the customers might face due to
slowing down of the processors of these iPhones. It would be rational action on behalf of the
company and the customers can make rational decisions about replacing the batteries of their
phones or buy a new one. The customers will feel respected and valued and they will continue to
be the loyal base of customers of Apple Inc. Each customer uses their phones differently and I
would respect their individualism as a senior executive of the company. It will allow the
company to build a better brand image in the eyes of their customers. The consumers of the
company will be satisfied and they would feel their demands are respected and protected by the
company. The company will be able to show integrity by disclosing this information to their
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customers (Nistor and Măluţan, 2017). The customers will support and love the company for
providing them the information about the specific problem.
According to the principles of Kantianism disclosing of the information will ethical, as it will be
motivated from the goodwill of Apple Inc. The customers will be able to feel that the company is
considering their customers to be an integral part of the corporation. I think by doing this the
company will able to give freedom to their customers, freedom to choose how to act in this
particular situation. It would increase the positivity of this incident as the company will be
looking for new ways to produce better products for their customers. Revealing the information
will show that Apple Inc. is ready to admit when they are unable to solve a technical issue. It will
not go against the business goals of the organization either, so it is not unethical (Vveinhardt et
al., 2016). The customers will understand the importance of the situation and will not be
disgruntled unlike what has really happened. As a CEO, I think the customers will not think that
slowing down of processors as a marketing strategy of Apple Inc. They will not think that it is
done to increase the sales of their new iPhones. They will either support the business decision of
the company or they will not, but they will be free to make that choice.
I would be able to apply all the five core values while disclosing information about technical
problems associated with processors of their iPhones. By disclosing the information, Apple Inc.
will be able to act rationally and thus provide an opportunity to their customers to act rationally
too. They will be free to make their own choices on how to solve the problems associated with
slow iPhone processors (Stern, R., 2015). The customers will be able to choose whether to
replace the batteries from their iPhones or buy a new one. They will be able to choose whether
they should stay with Apple or choose another company to buy their phones as well. Different
stakeholders of the company will be affected positively if the company decided to release the
information regarding the problems associated with slow processors of iPhones. The company
will not face any legal problems thus saving valuable time and other resources of Apple Inc.
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References
ABC News. (2017). Apple's sorry for slowing down your iPhone. Here's how it wants to make it
up to you. [online] Available at: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-12-29/apple-says-its-sorry-
for-slowing-down-your-iphone/9291602 [Accessed 12 May 2018].
Arocha, J.B., 2017. Getting to the Core: A Case Study on the Company Culture of Apple Inc.
Beiser, F.C., 2014. The Genesis of Neo-Kantianism, 1796-1880. OUP Oxford.
Bowie, N.E., 2017. Business ethics: A Kantian perspective. Cambridge University Press.
Critchley, S., 2014. Infinitely demanding: Ethics of commitment, politics of resistance. Verso
Books.
Ferdman, B.M., 2018. Incorporating Diversity and Inclusion as Core Values in Organization
Development Practice. In Enacting Values-Based Change (pp. 157-167). Palgrave Macmillan,
Cham.
Herschel, R. and Miori, V.M., 2017. Ethics & Big Data. Technology in Society, 49, pp.31-36.
Jamieson, D.W., Church, A.H. and Vogelsang, J.D., 2018. Enacting Values-Based Change:
Organization Development in Action. In Enacting Values-Based Change (pp. 1-8). Palgrave
Macmillan, Cham.
Levine, S., 2016. Kantianism and Pragmatism: A Response to Margolis. contemporary
pragmatism, 13(1).
Nistor, R.L. and Măluţan, D., 2017. THE CORE VALUES DETERMINE THE EFFECT OF
ACHIEVING HIGH PERFORMANCE. Managerial Challenges of the Contemporary Society.
Proceedings, 10(2), pp.80-86.
O'Neill, O., 2013. Acting on principle: An essay on Kantian ethics. Cambridge University Press.
Schein, E.H., 2017. Organization development: A Jossey-Bass reader. John Wiley & Sons.
Stern, R., 2015. Kantian Ethics.
Vveinhardt, J., Gulbovaite, E. and Streimikiene, D., 2016. Different Values Forms in
Organization: is the Congruence Possible?. Montenegrin Journal of Economics, 12(2), p.117.
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Weinrib, J., 2017. Law as a Kantian idea of reason. In Kant and Law (pp. 3-40). Routledge.
Werhane, P.H., 2014. Moral imagination. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
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