Application of an Information system on Apple Inc.’s Human Resource Sector
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Application of an Information system on Apple Inc.’s Human Resource Sector
Introduction
An information system is an integrated set related components that work together in an organization to collect, sort, store, and process data. Information systems take different forms, and they include transaction processing systems (TPS), knowledge work systems (KWS), management information systems (MIS), office automation systems (OAS), Executive support systems, and decision support systems (Al-Khafaji, 2011). All these systems help organizations to perform different tasks to achieve different goals. The information system under discussion in this paper is the transaction processing system (TPS). This new information system developed will be applied to the Apple company to address operational challenges, especially in the human resource sector. The TPS system serves various purposes, such as order tracking and processing, payroll management, talent acquisition, and development, as well as keeping records for employees (Al-Khafaji, 2011). The TPS will be applied in the human resource sector in Apple’s Inc. that has been facing challenges over the years.
Company Background
The organization where the new system will be applied is Apple Inc. Apple Inc., commonly known as Apple, is a technology company established in April 1976 and incorporated in January 1977. Its founders are Steve Jobs and Wozniak Steve. Its headquarters are in Cupertino, California. The company deals in designing, developing, and selling technology-related products such as computer software and consumer electronics. It is among the big five technology organizations besides Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Microsoft. The company has operations across the globe and relies on external suppliers for materials to make some of its products.
Apple’s Business Operations
As earlier highlighted, the Apple company deals with technology-related products, both software and hardware products. Some of its hardware products are the iPhone smartphone, Mac computer, Apple Watch, the iPad tablet, Apple TV, among others. Its software products are iTunes, watchOS, Ios, macOS, among others. Its most prominent product is the iPhone smartphone. The company has grown financially, and in 2018, its total annual revenues amounted to $265 billion (Apple Inc., 2020). Due to its expanded operations, the company has faced challenges in monitoring human resource standards within its supplier premises. Among the key suppliers are Foxconn and Pegatron. Previously, these firms were accused of violating human resource regulations by employing underage workers as well as overworking its employees (Lee et al., 2016). Such an issue affects the company negatively since it is against its ethical values.
How the Transaction Processing System Will Address Apple’s Human Resource Challenges.
Among the key challenges that Apple has faced are ethical concerns about its human resource policies. Despite sound human resource policies, some of its suppliers have been implicated in unethical human resource practices. The information system (TPS) aims to address the unethical human resource practices within Apple and its suppliers. In 2019, the company was mentioned in a lawsuit where parents from the Democratic Republic of Congo sued the company demanding compensation for deaths and injuries sustained by their children while working in for Apple (Ethical Consumer, 2020). The deaths occurred in the cobalt mines associated with Apple’s supply chain. To address the problem of long working hours and underage children, Apple should employ the Transaction Process System, which would record employee details like experience and other credentials. The system should be linked with a biometric worker -recording system that would recognize when workers report to work as well as when they leave. That will solve the problem of long working hours. Apple should adopt this system in all its supply chain. It should also make it mandatory for suppliers to upload all employees’ details into this system to avoid underage workers. This system has the potential to address Apple’s human resource challenges along its vast supply chain.
References
Al-Khafaji, S. (2011). Review of information systems and business challenges. International Journal of Management. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/318528596_Review_of_Information_Systems_and_Business_Challenges/citation/download
Apple Inc. (2020). Investor Relations: Investor Updates. https://investor.apple.com/investor-relations/default.aspx
Ethical Consumer. (2020). Apple Inc. https://www.ethicalconsumer.org/company-profile/apple-inc
Lee, S.H. Mol, J.M., and Mellahi, K. (2016). Apple and its suppliers: Corporate social responsibility. Ivey Publishing.