White Paper” Assignment Description
For this assignment, your task is to prepare a brief “white paper” that may be used as a press release or narrative such as a newspaper or magazine article that indicates that Apple clearly understands the issues AND how it proposes to address strategically and legally these CSR issues. It should not be an apology or simply a promise to do better.
Some of the issues that you may want to consider as you prepare your paper include the following:
The trade-off between being profitable and doing well for society at large
The challenges of matching CSR practices to CSR expectations.
The challenges of managing and monitoring outside suppliers
The hard realities of managing CSR across institutional boundaries
The complexity of managing CSR issues across multiple levels
The nature of the competition in the smartphone and tablet industry
The growth of China and other emerging countries as a manufacturing site, and the future of manufacturing in developed countries
Inconsistencies in the identity of Apple
The role of media (including social media) in debates around CSR
The role of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and transnational organizations in dealing with CSR issues
The effectiveness of self-regulation in dealing with CSR issues
