All nice suggestions but Apple will most likely distribute the money to shareholders. This is why many companies are pushing for a tax holiday to repatriate money kept outside the U.S.
@Douglas yes. The usual rationalization for driving a hard bargain on the backs of workers is necessity. But if the company has such a surplus of cash, it really does not have that justification.
HERE HERE! Apple has such a potential to alter the "evil" big corporation image by deliberate investment in quality of life concerns for anyone that is behind the scenes making it happen. The only thing worse than empire building on the backs of the poor, is adding more ibricks to the same backs. I really like the idea of Apple taking a proactive stance and seeking out and amending any injustices or enequities suffered by their back-end manufacturing and supply support.
I could suggest some outrageous things Apple could do in addition to the philantrophy you mentioned. It may distribute some of the money to employees -- turn them into instant millionnaires! It's not going to happen and I don't expect it.
I think the logical thing to do with the pile up cash is to make some strategic purchases or expanding its infrastructure in order to maintain their growth.
If what the author contend in this article is true, a good use for Apple's cash would be improving the situation for its suppliers' workers and not squeezing them beyond the point of safety.
_hm, That would make the company the magician of the electronics/automotive world. Perhaps what you envision is possible but I doubt any company is focussed on that at the moment.
Apple's challenge is that it is in a good market position and for now, the money is "not burning a hole" in the company's pocket as Peter Oppenheimer, the CFO puts it. So, what's the hurry? Right? Keep making great products, lifting the stock value and winning market share -- so what if the result is a bucketload of cash? The money is being properly invested right now.
That logic is good, up to a point. The company is not a bank or an investment firm and unless it wants to become either, it needs to distribute the cash one way or the other and keep building winning products.
EBN Dialogue enables and encourages you to participate in live chats with notable leaders and luminaries. Not only editors and journalists, but the entire EBN community is able to comment and ask questions. Listed below are upcoming and archived chats.
Archived Dialogues
Thailand Stages a Comeback Join EBN contributor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday August 23, 2012, at 11:00 a.m. EST for a live chat on how electronic manufacturers in Thailand have shored up their supply chain to reduce the impact of future natural disasters.
Euro-Crisis: What It Means for High-Tech Firms Join EBN Editor in Chief Bolaji Ojo and Contributing Editor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday, July 12, at 10:00 a.m. EDT for a Live Chat on high-tech and Europe's economic difficulties.
Microsoft Surface: Potential Winners & Losers What are the implications for the electronics industry supply chain of Microsoft Corp.'s decision to launch its own tablet PC? Join industry veteran and EE Times' systems and OEM expert Rick Merritt on Tuesday, July 3, at 12:00 pm EDT for a Live Chat on this subject.
Join EBN contributor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday August 23, 2012, at 11:00 a.m. EST for a live chat on how electronic manufacturers in Thailand have shored up their supply chain to reduce the impact of future natural disasters.
Peter Drucker famously said "Trying to predict the future is like trying to drive down a country road at night with no lights while looking out the back window." Yet in the razor's-edge world of electronics—with a lean supply chain and just-in-time demands—the need to know the future is vital.
While no one really can accurately predict the future, we can take guidance from another Drucker saying which is the best way to predict the future is to create it.
You've heard the saying "the No. 1 supply chain risk is your people." That hasn't always been the case. But today's complex global supply chain requires a new type of multitalented employee. It's one who understands, finance, marketing, economics, is savvy with technology, graceful with relationships and can think analytically.
Where are these people? Are universities properly preparing the next generation supply chain professionals? How do train your existing workforce for these new, demanding positions?
Brian Fuller, editor-in-chief of EBN, will lead a 60-minute Avnet Velocity panel discussion that will ask and answer these and other questions swirling around today's supply-chain talent challenges.
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