The document summarizes Apple's operations and challenges in China. It describes the design of Apple's flagship store in Shanghai, located near prominent Chinese buildings. It notes that Apple products are more expensive in China due to import taxes. While the iPhone was initially only available through one carrier, it will soon be released through the largest carrier, China Mobile. However, Apple has faced issues with the Chinese government over warranty policies and political controversies that have led to consumer backlash. The challenges reflect China's emphasis on maintaining control and influence over foreign companies operating within its market.
Next Generation Media Quarterly October 2012 dentsu
This is the thirteenth in a series of presentations using statistics and stories to show how the media world is evolving from day to day.
By Dan Calladine - Aegis Media
dan[dot]calladine[at]aemedia[dot]com
Next Generation Media Quarterly October 2012 dentsu
This is the thirteenth in a series of presentations using statistics and stories to show how the media world is evolving from day to day.
By Dan Calladine - Aegis Media
dan[dot]calladine[at]aemedia[dot]com
Clinical Interview Role-PlayAssignment ContentTop of FormRev.docxmccormicknadine86
Clinical Interview Role-Play
Assignment Content
Top of Form
Review materials on clinical interviewing and conducting a mental status exam with special populations.
Write a 10- to 15-minute role-play transcript where you conduct a mock clinical interview, which includes a mental status exam with an individual who fits into one of the special population categories. In your role-play mock interview, demonstrate the following:
· Setting the environment.
· Establishing rapport.
· Address two to three key elements of the clinical interview. Adapt these to meet the needs of the special population client you selected.
· Complete a mental status exam.
Bottom of Form
Running head: MANAGERIAL BEHAVIORS IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES
MANAGERIAL BEHAVIORS IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES
Managerial Behaviors in Different Countries
Angela Diaz
12/01/2019
Barry Univeristy
Apple Inc is a US multinational technology organization based in Cupertino, California. Apple designs, develop and sells computer software as well as consumer electronics, among others. The organization is ranked among the most prominent top four tech companies amongst Facebook, Goggle, and Amazon. Apple is one of the biggest electronic companies that “markets and manufactures personal computers, portable digital music player and media devices, and mobile communication." The reason why I picked China and Apple Inc. is that recently, the company has been trying to penetrate the Chinese market, and it has been an easy task. Moreover, most of the Apple products are manufactured in China.
The company sells a lot of products apart from devices; they include varied products associated with softwares, third-party digital contents, network solutions, and peripherals services that can be availed through the company's devices. However, the company has famously known products, including iPad, Macintosh computers, iPhone, and iPod. Macintosh is one of the most famous devices in the company, and it was first developed in 1984. Macintosh was the first computer to apply a graphic user interface that allowed the user to activate the pictures on the device by use of the mouse (Schmidpeter, Stehr, & Huang, 2015). The triumphant story of Macintosh encouraged a lot of development in the computer industry, and all modern computers apply a graphic user interface. iPhone was also the first smartphone the company created. iPhone has similar functionality just like a computer; however, it is small. Apart from acting like a computer iPhone is a mobile phone as such receive calls as well as text messages. Besides browsing and checking emails, the phone also allows it can store music and audio files. The videos can be downloaded into the device as well. One of the popular features the iPhone enjoys is taking the image directly from the device.
Apple is an American company; however, today, the company outsources its product from China. Most people believe that Apple is only operating in China to maximize profit. How ...
By a dusty stretch of the deafening road from Chennai to Ben.pdfaakarinterio
By a dusty stretch of the deafening road from Chennai to Bengaluru lie three colossal, anonymous
buildings. Inside, away from the din of traffic, is a high-tech facility operated by Foxconn, a
Taiwanese manufacturer. A short drive away Pegatron, another Taiwanese tech firm, has erected
a vast new factory of its own. Salcomp, a Finnish gadget-maker, has set one up not far away.
Farther west is a 500-acre campus run by Tata, an Indian conglomerate. What these closely
guarded facilities have in common is their client: a demanding and secretive American firm known
locally as the fruit company.
The mushrooming of factories in southern India marks a new chapter for the worlds biggest
technology company. Apples extraordinarily successful past two decadesrevenue up 70-fold,
share price up 600-fold, a market value of $2.4trnis partly the result of a big bet on China. Apple
banked on China-based factories, which now churn out more than 90% of its products, and wooed
Chinese consumers, who in some years contributed up to a quarter of its revenue. Yet economic
and geopolitical shifts are forcing the company to begin a hurried decoupling. Its turn away from
China marks a big shift for Apple, and is emblematic of an even bigger one for the world economy.
Apples packaging proclaims Designed by Apple in California, but its gadgets are assembled along
a supply chain that stretches from Amazonas to Zhejiang. At the centre is China, where 150 of
Apples biggest suppliers operate production facilities. Tim Cook, who was Apples head of
operations before he became chief executive in 2011, pioneered the firms approach to contract
manufacturing. A regular visitor to China, Mr Cook has maintained good relations with the Chinese
government, obeying its requirements to remove apps and to hold Chinese users data locally,
where it is available to the authorities.
Now a change is under way. Big tech is showing strains. On October 25th Alphabet and Microsoft
presented disappointing quarterly results. Meta, which lost another fifth of its value after reporting
the second straight quarter of declining sales, is a shadow of its former self. Apples latest
earnings, due out after The Economist went to press on October 27th, may be dented by creaky
Chinese supply chains and softening demand from Chinese consumers. So Mr Cook, who has not
been seen in China since 2019, is wooing new partners. In May he entertained Vietnams prime
minister, Pham Minh Chinh, at Apples futuristic headquarters. Next year Apple is expected to open
its first physical store in India (whose prime minister, Narendra Modi, is a fan of gold iPhones).
The two countries are the main beneficiaries of Apples strategic shift. In 2017 Apple listed 18 large
suppliers in India and Vietnam; last year it had 37. In September, to much local fanfare, Apple
started making its new iPhone 14 in India, where it had previously made only older models. The
previous month it was reported that Apple would soon start making its Ma.
iPhone dilemmaThis is a discussion of a case. You will be graded.docxvrickens
iPhone dilemma
This is a discussion of a case. You will be graded on your outline and on your answers to the subjects and questions involving the case. I will question you on the outline, as well as the extra material that is here in this document.
1) What dilemmas did Tim Cook Face?
2) What were Cook’s primary responsibilities at Apple?
3) What influenced his decision to refuse the US government to build a backdoor to the iPhone.
4) Are there any contradictions here?
5) Give some alternatives to the way Cook resolved the problems.
6) What should Cook have done?
7) What is Apple’s culture?
8) What is Apple’s sense of social responsibility?
9) What values do Apple employees embody?
10) Is Cook aligned or in conflict with Apple’s culture?
11) Would Apple employees support Cook’s stance against the FBI request?
12) Can Apple jeopardize its relationship with the government?
13) Is Apple really committed to protecting its customers’ right to privacy or is this just marketing?
14) Is Apple prioritizing its own good over the common good?
Notes:
Executive Management Decision Making:
One thing we will look at when discussing this case are the various kinds of executive management decisions. Some are here for your analysis.
Right vs Right decision – both choices have value, merit – but a choice must be made.
When facing any RIGHT VS. RIGHT dilemma, choose the most appropriate way forward based on which ethical solution fits the situation.
Right vs wrong
Dirty hands: the right thing to do is also wrong: violate deepest personal values or ethical creeds.
The problem of dirty hands concerns whether political leaders or other like actors can ever be justified in committing even gravely immoral actions when "dirtying their hands" in this way is necessary for realizing some important moral or political end, such as the preservation of a community's continued existence or ...
Four Spheres of Commitments in Executive Responsibility
1) As a Person
2) As an Economic Agent
3) As a Company Leader
4) Beyond the Firm’s Boundaries
1. What harms are potentially produced by the FBI’s demand that Apple help it open an iPhone? What harms are potentially produced by Apple’s refusal to help the FBI?
2. Do you think Apple had a moral obligation to help the FBI open the iPhone in this case because it involved terrorism and a mass shooting? What if the case involved a different type of criminal activity instead, such as drug trafficking? Explain your reasoning.
3. Apple argued that helping to open one iPhone would produce code that could be used to make private information on all iPhones vulnerable, not only to the American government but also to other foreign governments and criminal elements. Do you agree with Apple’s “slippery slope” argument? Does avoiding these harms provide adequate justification for Apple’s refusal to open the phone, even if it could reveal crucial information on the terrorist shooting?
4. Politicians from across the political spectrum, in ...
iPhone dilemmaThis is a discussion of a case. You will be gradedmariuse18nolet
iPhone dilemma
This is a discussion of a case. You will be graded on your outline and on your answers to the subjects and questions involving the case. I will question you on the outline, as well as the extra material that is here in this document.
1) What dilemmas did Tim Cook Face?
2) What were Cook’s primary responsibilities at Apple?
3) What influenced his decision to refuse the US government to build a backdoor to the iPhone.
4) Are there any contradictions here?
5) Give some alternatives to the way Cook resolved the problems.
6) What should Cook have done?
7) What is Apple’s culture?
8) What is Apple’s sense of social responsibility?
9) What values do Apple employees embody?
10) Is Cook aligned or in conflict with Apple’s culture?
11) Would Apple employees support Cook’s stance against the FBI request?
12) Can Apple jeopardize its relationship with the government?
13) Is Apple really committed to protecting its customers’ right to privacy or is this just marketing?
14) Is Apple prioritizing its own good over the common good?
Notes:
Executive Management Decision Making:
One thing we will look at when discussing this case are the various kinds of executive management decisions. Some are here for your analysis.
Right vs Right decision – both choices have value, merit – but a choice must be made.
When facing any RIGHT VS. RIGHT dilemma, choose the most appropriate way forward based on which ethical solution fits the situation.
Right vs wrong
Dirty hands: the right thing to do is also wrong: violate deepest personal values or ethical creeds.
The problem of dirty hands concerns whether political leaders or other like actors can ever be justified in committing even gravely immoral actions when "dirtying their hands" in this way is necessary for realizing some important moral or political end, such as the preservation of a community's continued existence or ...
Four Spheres of Commitments in Executive Responsibility
1) As a Person
2) As an Economic Agent
3) As a Company Leader
4) Beyond the Firm’s Boundaries
1. What harms are potentially produced by the FBI’s demand that Apple help it open an iPhone? What harms are potentially produced by Apple’s refusal to help the FBI?
2. Do you think Apple had a moral obligation to help the FBI open the iPhone in this case because it involved terrorism and a mass shooting? What if the case involved a different type of criminal activity instead, such as drug trafficking? Explain your reasoning.
3. Apple argued that helping to open one iPhone would produce code that could be used to make private information on all iPhones vulnerable, not only to the American government but also to other foreign governments and criminal elements. Do you agree with Apple’s “slippery slope” argument? Does avoiding these harms provide adequate justification for Apple’s refusal to open the phone, even if it could reveal crucial information on the terrorist shooting?
4. Politicians from across the political spectrum, in ...
chapter 1 Globalization
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1Understand what is meant by the termglobalization.
2Recognize the main drivers of globalization.
3Describe the changing nature of the global economy.
4Explain the main arguments in the debate over the impact of globalization.
5Understand how the process of globalization is creating opportunities and challenges for business managers.
opening case Who Makes the Apple iPhone?
In its early days, Apple usually didn't look beyond its own backyard to manufacture its devices. A few years after Apple started to make the Macintosh computer back in 1983, Steve Jobs bragged that it was “a machine that was made in America.” As late as the early 2000s, Apple still manufactured many of its computers at the company's iMac plant in Elk Grove, California. Jobs often said that he was as proud of the Apple's manufacturing plants as he was of the devices themselves.
By 2004, however, Apple had largely turned to foreign manufacturing. The shift to offshore manufacturing reached its peak with the iconic iPhone, which Apple first introduced in 2007. All iPhones contain hundreds of parts, an estimated 90 percent of which are manufactured abroad. Advanced semiconductors come from Germany and Taiwan, memory from Korea and Japan, display panels and circuitry from Korea and Taiwan, chipsets from Europe, and rare metals from Africa and Asia. Apple's major subcontractor, the Taiwanese multinational firm, Foxconn, performs final assembly in China.
Apple still employees some 43,000 people in the United States, and it has kept important activities at home, including product design, software engineering, and marketing. Furthermore, Apple claims that its business supports another 254,000 jobs in the United States in engineering, manufacturing, and transportation. For example, the glass for the iPhone is manufactured at Corning's U.S. plants in Kentucky and New York. But an additional 700,000 people are involved in the engineering, building, and final assembly of its products outside of the United States, and most of them work at subcontractors like Foxconn.
When explaining its decision to assemble the iPhone in China, Apple cites a number of factors. While it is true that labor costs are much lower in China, Apple executives point out that labor costs only account for a very small proportion of the total value of its products and are not the main driver of location decisions. Far more important, according to Apple, is the ability of its Chinese subcontractors to respond very quickly to requests from Apple to scale production up and down. In a famous illustration of this capability, back in 2007 Steve Jobs demanded that a glass screen replace the plastic screen on his prototype iPhone. Jobs didn't like the look and feel of plastic screens, which at the time were standard in the industry, nor did he like the way they scratched easily. This last-minute change in the design of the iPhone put Apple's market introduction date at risk. App ...
CASE 16 APPLE INC. STILL TAKING A BITE OUT OF THE COMPETIT.docxjasoninnes20
CASE 16 :: APPLE INC.: STILL TAKING A BITE OUT OF THE COMPETITION? C117
CASES
CASE 16
APPLE INC.: STILL TAKING A BITE OUT OF THE COMPETITION?*
On February 11, 2015, Apple Inc. made history by becom-
ing the first U.S. publicly traded company to close above
$700 billion in market value. This put Apple’s value nearly
double that of the next three largest companies in the S&P
500 Index,1 and it firmly established expectations for future
performance. Apple’s market value had grown more than
50,600 percent since its initial public offering in December
1980.2 To satisfy investors, consumers, and company enthu-
siasts, Apple would have to continue to deliver, and doing so
might not be easy. As Apple had grown, the pace of innova-
tion had slowed. There were still opportunities, but would
Apple be the company to see them through to fruition?
The year 2015 was not the first time Apple had wowed
investors. In September 2012 Apple stock had hit a price
high of $702.10, at that time making Apple the most valu-
able company in the world, but the company had not been
able to sustain that lofty valuation. September 2012 had also
marked Tim Cook’s first full year as CEO and the first full
year since the death of Apple’s visionary founder, Steve
Jobs. Although most Apple watchers had mourned Steve
Jobs’s death on October 5, 2011, most also realized that
Jobs’s appointed successor, Tim Cook, came to the position
as CEO with an impressive track record. Cook had contin-
ued to grow the company, and the 2012 year-end numbers
showed continued financial success across almost all prod-
uct lines. However, expectations were still very high, and
rumors of a reduction in Asian supplier component orders
for the iPhone for 2013 led investors to worry about a drop-
off in demand for the company’s flagship product. This
worry led to a subsequent drop in Apple’s stock price of
nearly 24 percent.3
CEO Cook subsequently defused concerns over supply
chain issues, but that didn’t stop analysts and media watch-
ers from wondering whether Apple had lost its luster.4 This
posed yet again the unavoidable question that had loomed
large over the then 35-year-old Apple: What happens to a
modern company whose innovations and inspirations are
so closely tied to the vision of one leader when that lead-
er’s influence is no longer present?5 By 2015, that question
appeared to have been definitively answered: Apple, under
CEO Cook, was not only the most valuable company in
the world but was poised to grow even more (see Exhibits
1 and 2).
Apple, Fortune magazine’s “world’s most admired
company” since 2008,6 had distinguished itself by excel-
ling over the years not only in product innovation but also
in revenue and margins (since 2006 Apple had consistently
reported gross margins of over 30 percent). Founded as
a computer company in 1976 and known early on for its
intuitive adaptation of the graphical user interface, or GUI
(via the first mouse and ...
Samsungs road to global domination By Michal Lev-Ram, wri.docxkenjordan97598
Samsung's road to global domination
By Michal Lev-Ram, writer January 22, 2013: 5:00 AM ET
South Korea's Samsung is trampling rivals and gunning for
Apple. Can its hot streak last?
FORTUNE -- To understand how Samsung -- yes, Samsung -- became America's No. 1 mobile
phonemaker and thorn in Apple's side, it's helpful to rewind to last fall. On a mid-September
morning, Apple (AAPL) CEO Tim Cook stepped onto a stage in San Francisco to unveil the
iPhone 5. Several hundred miles away, in a Wolfgang Puck restaurant in Los Angeles, a group of
marketing executives from Samsung Electronics followed real-time reactions to Cook's remarks.
They huddled around tables mounted with laptops and TV screens, carefully tracking each new
feature and monitoring the gush of online comments on the new device via blogs and social
media sites. As the data flowed in, writers from the company's advertising agency, who were
also camped out in the restaurant turned war room, scrambled to craft a response.
Two hours later, when Cook stepped off the stage, the Samsung group was already drafting a
series of print, digital, and TV ads. The following week -- as the iPhone 5 went on sale -- the
company aired a TV ad mocking Apple "fanboys" queuing up for the new phone. ("The
headphone jack is going to be on the bottom!") The 90-second commercial went on to become
the most popular tech ad of 2012, garnering more than 70 million views online. More important,
in the weeks following the launch of Apple's iPhone 5, Samsung sold a record-breaking number
of its own signature smartphone, the Galaxy S III. "We knew this was going to be a big moment
in time, when consumers are really paying attention," says Todd Pendleton, chief marketing
officer of Samsung's U.S.-based mobile division. "We wanted to take that opportunity and all
that energy and make it Samsung's moment."
No doubt about it, Samsung is having a moment. In recent years the South Korean company has
taken the mobile world -- the U.S. included -- by storm. Last year it overtook longtime leader
Nokia to become the No. 1 player in cellphones, with 29% market share worldwide. In
smartphones, those high-end devices with advanced computing power, Samsung is also No. 1
globally and in a dead heat with Apple in the U.S.: Most analysts show Apple with a slight edge
in smartphone sales, while one outfit, ABI Research, says Samsung's share of smartphone
shipments topped 33%, compared with Apple's 30%. (To be sure, Apple sells one device, the
iPhone, while Samsung offers 25 unique smartphones in the U.S.) "Samsung is on fire," says
John Legere, CEO of mobile operator T-Mobile USA.
Chalk up Samsung's success to a combination of marketing swagger, innovation, operational
prowess, and a marketplace hungry for an alternative to the iPhone. Although Samsung wasn't
the first to develop a phone that runs on Google's Android operating system, it quickly moved
ahead of the .
Running head EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT SCAN—APPLE .docxjoellemurphey
Running head: EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT SCAN—APPLE 1
EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT SCAN—APPLE 5
External Environment Scan—Apple
An environmental scan is vital for every company as it helps to determine the threats and opportunities that are posed to the company. The following will be included in the environment scan of Apple incorporated: economic factors, political factors, legal factors, societal factors, technological factors, geographic factors and Porter’s five forces.
Key Factors and Trends
The economic environment of the company is determined by factors such as taxation policies, exchange rate, inflation, the economy, living standards, the average income and consumer buying power. Apple’s products main target market are people of medium to high income and standards. In an economic boom, the company’s products are more likely to be bought than during a recession. The rapid growth of developing countries provide an opportunity for Apple to venture into new markets.
Political stability can be a threat to Apple’s products. Poor political stability would mean a reduction in sales and distribution of the products would be hard as trade barriers would be imposed. Various trade policies that could be imposed on a country would have an adverse effect on the company’s sales. However, developing countries create an opportunity for Apple expand its customer base as more free trade policies are put into effect. As Lombardo (2015) states, “Additional free trade policies increase the opportunities for Apple to distribute more of its products to various markets around the world” (section 2).
Social-cultural factors, such as lifestyle, living standards, and demographics important to Apple. Social factors have an effect on consumer behavior and expectations. The increase in mobile phone use and social media is an opportunity for Apple to provide easy-to-use smart phones.
Current technology and technological changes can affect a customer’s priorities changing the demand for Apple products. For example, with the increasing popularity of Cloud computing, Apple can use that to bring in customers and retain their existing customers. Apple has taken advantage of this by making it so that information can be transferred between the different apple devices and between family members. “Everything’s better when shared, and sharing has never been easier” (Apple, 2016, section 3).
Legal factors can also create a threat to Apple. As governments become more aware of privacy issues in relation to digital technology, stricter regulations are imposed on companies like Apple. This poses a threat to Apple as they are now required to develop a product that not only meets consumer demand, but also the privacy regulations imposed by the government. Stricter regulations have been implemented on telecommunications therefore increasing threats to Apple. ...
72 of 1000 DOCUMENTSThe New York TimesJanuary 22, 2012.docxevonnehoggarth79783
72 of 1000 DOCUMENTS
The New York Times
January 22, 2012 Sunday
Correction Appended
Late Edition - Final
How U.S. Lost Out On iPhone Work
BYLINE: By CHARLES DUHIGG and KEITH BRADSHER; David Barboza, Peter Lattman and Catherine Rampell
contributed reporting.
SECTION: Section A; Column 0; National Desk; THE IECONOMY; Pg. 1
LENGTH: 4876 words
When Barack Obama joined Silicon Valley's top luminaries for dinner in California last February, each guest was
asked to come with a question for the president.
But as Steven P. Jobs of Apple spoke, President Obama interrupted with an inquiry of his own: what would it take to
make iPhones in the United States?
Not long ago, Apple boasted that its products were made in America. Today, few are. Almost all of the 70 million
iPhones, 30 million iPads and 59 million other products Apple sold last year were manufactured overseas.
Why can't that work come home? Mr. Obama asked.
Mr. Jobs's reply was unambiguous. ''Those jobs aren't coming back,'' he said, according to another dinner guest.
The president's question touched upon a central conviction at Apple. It isn't just that workers are cheaper abroad.
Rather, Apple's executives believe the vast scale of overseas factories as well as the flexibility, diligence and industrial
skills of foreign workers have so outpaced their American counterparts that ''Made in the U.S.A.'' is no longer a viable
option for most Apple products.
Apple has become one of the best-known, most admired and most imitated companies on earth, in part through an
unrelenting mastery of global operations. Last year, it earned over $400,000 in profit per employee, more than Goldman
Sachs, Exxon Mobil or Google.
However, what has vexed Mr. Obama as well as economists and policy makers is that Apple -- and many of its
high-technology peers -- are not nearly as avid in creating American jobs as other famous companies were in their
heydays.
Apple employs 43,000 people in the United States and 20,000 overseas, a small fraction of the over 400,000 American
workers at General Motors in the 1950s, or the hundreds of thousands at General Electric in the 1980s. Many more
people work for Apple's contractors: an additional 700,000 people engineer, build and assemble iPads, iPhones and
Apple's other products. But almost none of them work in the United States. Instead, they work for foreign companies in
Asia, Europe and elsewhere, at factories that almost all electronics designers rely upon to build their wares.
Page 1
''Apple's an example of why it's so hard to create middle-class jobs in the U.S. now,'' said Jared Bernstein, who until
last year was an economic adviser to the White House.
''If it's the pinnacle of capitalism, we should be worried.''
Apple executives say that going overseas, at this point, is their only option. One former executive described how the
company relied upon a Chinese factory to revamp iPhone manufacturing just weeks before the device was due on
shelves. Apple .
1. MacDirectory 75
FEATURE
APPLE IN CHINA
WORDS BY ANDREA DE LEON • IMAGES BY MARC RESSANG AND MINWEI
The first Apple store in Shanghai, located at the IFC Mall in
downtown Luijiazui, includes a 40 foot glass cylinder above
ground. Made with the largest glass panels in the world, it is also
literally surrounded by a moat. Down a winding staircase at the
entrance, the underground store is 1500 square meters and
stocked with more merchandise than any other single Apple store
in the world.
Its appearance is no surprise, considering its location—surrounded
by some of the most impressive
buildings in the world, Apple’s Senior
Vice President claims it was built so the
“stunning architecture” would fit in with
the store’s location—its design suitable
enough to stand next door to the
Shanghai World Financial Center and
the Oriental Pearl Tower—buildings that
ultimately stand as a reflection of the
Chinese dominance in a number of
industries and its need to maintain such
an appearance.
The biggest difference immediately
noted is price points: Chinese electronic
products are notably more expensive
due to a 17% Value Added Tax (VAT)
and import tax, and Apple products are
no exception. An iPad mini in the U.S.
starts at $329; in China, $405. The
iPhone5, for example, costs
approximately $857 USD: a pretty
penny compared to the phones
manufactured for the U.S. that start at $649.
Phones in Asia are often purchased unlocked at a full price—many
choose to buy from Hong Kong, where taxes have not made the
products unattainably expensive. However, the initial price of a
phone is often offset by the average monthly bill for the typical
Chinese iPhone user— between 50 and 100RMB, or approximately
$8 to $16USD. Common practice is to bypass the contract with a
carrier and simply buy pre-paid credit each month—an option
made easy since the iPhone had not yet
been offered through a carrier in China
until 2009.
China Unicom had, up until March 2012,
enjoyed the benefits of being the only
carrier in China to offer the iPhone with
phone packages. China Telecom joined
with the release of the iPhone 4S,
leaving only China Mobile out in
the cold.
The difficulty in releasing the iPhone
with China Mobile lies in the
incompatibilities between the Apple
hardware and the wireless carriers
service; China mobile offers 2G speeds
and Wi-Fi for data, as well as utilizing
TD-SCDMA, a 3G frequency developed
by the Chinese Academy of
Telecommunications Technology, that is
incompatible with global GSM and
CDMA network device.
Image by Marc Ressang
Image by MinWei Image by MinWei
MD57 MASTER.qxp:Layout 1 2013-05-23 4:45 PM Page 75
2. FEATURE
76 MacDirectory
Fortunately, this is no longer a problem—the three wireless carriers
in China are planning to spend a total of approximately 345 billion
yuan ($56 billion) this year on network upgrades, multiplying
broadband speeds up to five times for smart phone users on
these networks.
There are over 7.4 million iPhones being used within the China
Mobile network. With over
700 million users, China
Mobile serves double the
number of subscribers as
Verizon and AT&T combined.
However, none of the
iPhones used have been
purchased through the
carrier—a detail that only
proves users are willing to go
out of their way to get their
hands on an Apple product.
Especially among foreigners
in China, common practice is
to bring in a foreign mobile
and “jailbreak” the product—
rendering it usable on any
network. The obvious
setback being that a jailbreak
renders the phone unable to
be updated (until a new
“jailbreak” is released,)
and voids any warrantee on
the product.
In an effort to solidify ties
with the Chinese market,
Apple has decided to release
the iPhone 5S through China
Mobile in July 2013, a move
that places Apple directly
into the hands of consumers
in the largest mobile network
in the world. Apple CEO Tim
Cook has made a number of
trips to China, meeting with
the carrier to establish the
official ties that will bring the
5S to Chinese consumers.
The announcement comes
after a number of setbacks
that Apple has faced in
expanding its Chinese
market. A 25-year-old man in China, Sun Dayong, reportedly
committed suicide after losing an iPhone 4 prototype in his
possession in July of 2009; one of many suicides that Foxconn, a
Taiwanese headquartered manufacturing company dealt with in a
series of controversies. In 2009, Apple hired the Fair Labor
Association to investigate working conditions in Chinese factories
and found that overtime pay was insufficient, and work related
accidents were relatively common.
When the iPhone5 was released in 2012, boycotts ensued
involving the Diaoyu islands—two land masses that have been
claimed by both the Chinese and Japanese. The iPhone5 lists the
islands twice—a duplicate set right next to the first—one set
named Diaoyu and the other
Senkaku. Seen as a blatant
refusal to recognize the
islands as belonging to China,
Chinese users took to Weibo,
a Chinese micoroblogging
site, demanding a boycott;
the duplicate islands are
being seen as a reflection of
Apple’s political stance.
State Department
spokeswoman Victoria
Nuland later clarified in a
briefing that the islands fall
under the scope of Article 5
of the 1960 U.S.-Japan Treaty,
obligating the U.S. to defend
these islands on Japan’s
behalf.
Most recently, state-run
media has accused Apple of
offering lower levels of
service than it offers to its
customers in Australia and
the United States, regarding
warranty for its products.
Specifically, “ignoring Chinese
consumers, substandard
customer service, suspected
tax evasion and a steadfast
refusal to admit wrongdoing
when it’s caught out.” Apple
consumers in China are given
only a one year warranty
instead of two, and when
products are brought in for
repair within that year, they
are given refurbished parts or
replacements. Soon after, a
flood of public figures and
celebrities took to Weibo,
demanding that Apple
acknowledge—and
apologize—for the inequality in service.
Several other companies have also encountered similar
problems—Volkswagen was accused of using a direct shift
gearbox transmission that was causing vehicles to slow down or
speed up during driving. A notable difference was Volkswagen’s
Image by MinWei
Image by MinWei
Image by MinWei
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3. FEATURE
MacDirectory 77
reaction—the company chose to issue an immediate apology and
a promise to recall both locally made and imported cars using the
gear box.
In 2012, both McDonalds and KFC have lost market shares in China
because of scandals involving the use of expired ingredients in
their food.
In the United States, companies and their products are tested by a
slew of consumers and then subjected to user reviews; this exists
in China with the addition of the state-run media, which takes it
upon itself to expose fraud in foreign companies hoping to
expand within Chinese borders.
While the release of this information regarding quality and safety
in foreign products is expected in any setting, what creates
suspicion from a Western perspective is that Xinhua news agency
is state-run, and often used to promote the interests of the
Communist regime.
Apple’s initial reaction was to deny the allegations set forth, and
indicate the politically motivated nature of them. Some analysts
estimate that reports such as these are created solely to prevent
foreign-run companies from storming in on the Chinese middle
class at the expense of local businesses; the government must
“save face,” or establish its superiority so as not indicate the
pattern of a weak, impressionable society.
Deeply rooted in the Chinese tradition of “Saving Face,” the
Chinese government takes to a method of censorship that
encompasses all industries and media—mostly famously
symbolized by what is know as the “Great Firewall.”
Deng Xiaoping, reformist leader and politician for the Chinese
Communist party until his death in 1997, aptly described the
sentiment, saying, ““If you open the window for fresh air, you have
to expect some flies to blow in.” The firewall is an effort to retain
Communist values and political ideas, even while economically
expanding internationally.
According to the state-run Xinhua news agency, the government
only blocks “superstitious, pornographic, violence-related,
gambling, and other harmful information.”
In basic terms—the government requires that any companies
seeking to expand in China play by China’s rules, including those
of censorship; a lesson that companies like Google have learned
the hard way.
Soon after the controversy over the Apple warranties in China,
CEO Tim Cook wrote a letter of apology, promising to
communicate more effectively in the future and guaranteeing
improved product quality; a wise move, considering the July 2013
launch of the iPhone5S with China Mobile.
However, it was not a complete victory. Since the apology, China’s
Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has promised to
keep a closer eye on the tech giant. Some suggest the real reason
the Chinese government has targeted Apple is to start setting up
an atmosphere in which Apple can be pressured into complying
with China’s censorship laws; this is quite a jump, but expected
when considering China’s refusal to work with entities outside the
boundaries of censorship.
So, the challenge begins to mirror that of what Google faced in
2010. A decision to disregard the laws deeply rooted in the
Chinese Communist perspective has left the search engine, as well
as its other services, working with a system that is constantly
working to slow it down—in China, Baidu remains the top search
engine, providing faster service, and representing a victory for
Chinese tradition and its government.
If Apple hopes to thrive in a country in which pleasing the local
government and media have a heavy hand in dictating success,
some would say it has a decent chance—from the products
themselves to the glass tower marking the location of the first
store in Shanghai, Apple’s exterior in the world of electronic goods
is unsurpassed. The more difficult journey should not be
providing quality products in the future, but realizing that while
China offers huge potential, it will only welcome outside
influences on its own terms—not much more than is demanded
by the American government and its own consumers.
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4. FEATURE
78 MacDirectory
Image by Marc Ressang
Image by MinWei Image by MinWei
Layout:
China is the world’s second-largest country by land
area, and third or fourth by total area.
Population:
China is the world’s most populous country with more
than 1.35 billion inhabitants and a density of 139/sq.
kilometer. The largest city is Shanghai, with a population
of over 23 million and a density of 6340.5/sq.
kilometer. Because of the current one-child policy, there
are currently 32million more males than females.
Language:
There are ten linguistic subdivisions of Chinese, the
most commonly spoken one being Mandarin, followed
by Wu, which includes Shanghainese.
Education:
All citizens must attend school for at least nine years,
and in order to be accepted to a Chinese university,
high school students must pass the GaoKao—an exam
much more daunting than the SAT.
Food:
A staple in Chinese cuisine is rice, but the Chinese were
best known for their spices in past centuries, and are
well known for their meat dishes.
Religion:
A survey in 1998 shows that approximately 59% of
Chinese are non-religious. Taoism and Buddhism have
had the greatest influence in shaping Chinese culture.
Architecture:
Chinese architecture has changed very little since its
beginnings, thousands of years ago, save the decorative
details. It has influenced the architect of Korea,
Vietnam, and Japan. In urban cities, traditional
architecture has often been passed over for more
modern styles—traditional Chinese buildings typically
are not more than 3 stories high.
Economy:
China has the worst 2nd
largest economy, and the
fastest growing major economy. As part of reforms in
the 1980’s, more independence has been granted to
businesses run by a government enterprise.
Agriculture:
An ancient Chinese legend tells the story of a man
named Shen Nong Shi, who took it upon himself to find
other food sources as the rise in population created the
need for more food. He tasted many herbs and even
poison before selecting the grains that could be
consumed by people. Beyond the legends, Chinese
agriculture can be traced back to 10,000 years ago.
Arts:
Chinese arts encompass everything from fine art, folk
art, and performance art. Chinese painting, in
particular, is one of the most continuous artistic
traditions in the world; landscape painting was
considered the highest form of Chinese painting.
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