Supply chains in China

Apple uncovers poor conduct at some of its contractors

Apple _____________ for the control it exercises over every element of its business, from design to marketing. The resulting products, to its fans, __________ on perfection. But there are clearly some steps in the manufacturing process that it does not supervise so closely. According to a report the firm released on February 23rd, the treatment of workers at several of its contractors in various countries broke both local laws and Apple's own standards. Such problems are thought _____________ at Western firms' suppliers in China in particular, but are seldom brought to light. Even Apple's account raises more questions than it answers.

Apple says some of its suppliers hired underage employees, dumped hazardous waste illegally, made staff work unrea­sonable hours and paid less than the ____________. They also ____________ Apple's own ____________ by discriminating against pregnant women, providing inadequate safety equipment and impos­ing onerous recruitment fees on workers. ____________, the company says, have already been ____________. But it does not speci­fy where these events occurred or how many people were affected. Over the past three years the firm has increased the number of facilities audited each year from 39 to 102. But how much of its production this represents is not dis­closed. The report does, however, ob­serve that Apple's suppliers are good at protecting its intellectual property, if not their workers' rights.

To be fair, Apple was under no obliga­tion to commission the report or ____________ its findings ____________. What is more, the report claims, "During most of our audits, sup­pliers stated that Apple was the only company that had ever audited their facility for supplier responsibility."

China's reluctance to grant visas to foreign reporters and its censorship of the press does allow factories to elude the kind of scrutiny that would be rou­tine elsewhere. But even China may have limits. On February 25th the People's Daily, a government mouthpiece, report­ed that 62 workers had been poisoned in a poorly ventilated factory in Suzhou run by Wintek, a Taiwanese manufacturer that makes products for firms including Apple and Nokia.

To defuse ____________ about their con­tractors' conduct, some Western firms, such as Nike, have made their entire supply chains public. That is something that Apple, which is notoriously secre­tive, remains unwilling to do.

Exercise 12. Translate the following sentences into English using the target vocabulary (Exercises 2, 3, 9, 11):

1. Проблема государственного долга и недостаточные резервные мощности стали основными причинами беспокойства Кабинета Министров.

2. Люди теряют уверенность в будущем, если государство слабеет и находится на грани кризиса.

3. Фирма скрывала факт найма несовершеннолетних работников, но недавно этот факт был выявлен, и директор предстанет перед судом.

4. Государственные структуры отменили финансовую поддержку для крупных компаний и перестали искусственно повышать спрос на их продукцию.

5. Почему сотрудники отдела такие мрачные? – Кризис начинает принимать угрожающие размеры, и, вероятно, компания не сможет избежать катастрофы и скоро обанкротится.

Exercise 13. Paraphrase the following sentences using the target vocabulary (Exercises 2, 3, 9, 11):

1. The shopping mall is famous for its false advertising.

2. The company promised to take measures and eliminate gradually the problem of low wages, so as minimum salary in the company will be no less than $2000.

3. Our main goal is to increase production efficiency.

4. The new law has to encourage business struggle among large high tech companies.

Speaking

Exercise 14. Work in pairs. Write a questionnaire to find out about people’s awareness of the economic situation in the country, interview other students in the group and report the results using your target vocabulary (Exercises 2, 3, 9, 11).

Exercise 15. Free discussion.

a) Answer the following questions. Give your opinion and justify it.

1) What are advantages and disadvantages of Russian economy integration in the global economic process?

2) Is it possible to eliminate the global economic crises by means of the state regulation?

3) What are the best ways to make multinational corporations and their contractors observe common standards of labour conditions and avoid discrimination?

b) Write down a short summary based on the results of the discussion.