Foxconn Accused of Sweatshop Conditions: Exploiting Chinese Workers - Essay Sample

Problem Statement

Foxconn, a Taiwanese company that assembles iPhones on behalf of Apple in China has been accused of exposing its workers to sweatshop working conditions. The Guardian reports that Foxconn has employed harsh managers who reprimand workers in the assembly line for simple mistakes with harsh punishments, meager salaries, and unfulfilled promises of benefits. All the while, the workers are exposed to repetitive work in the assembly line alongside the pressure to perform beyond their physical willpower. Consequently, the suicide rate at Foxconn is reported to be on the increase as workers choose the option to take their lives over the enduring the strenuous and unhealthy sweatshop working conditions at the company (Merchant, 2017).

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Research Objectives

The overall research aim is to investigate the main causes of suicide among Foxconn staff and develop strategies to end the practice. The specific objectives are as follows.

• To investigate reasons why Foxconn employees, decide to kill themselves.
• To provide strategies that can stop Foxconn employees from committing suicide.

Research Questions

• What are the main reasons for suicides among Foxconn employees?
• What strategies are needed to stop employee suicides at Foxconn?

Research Design

The research design will take the form of a longitudinal study where the study will be conducted on the Foxconn Longhua plant for three months. During this time, the researcher will use mixed methods approaches to collect data from employees working at the company under sweatshop labor conditions. To this end, the researcher will use both interviews and questionnaires to collect data as well as observation and note taking to gather data that will answer the research questions. The mixed-methods approach will ensure that the data gathered meets all the objectives of the study that centers on getting to the bottom of the suicide rate problem at Foxconn.

Sampling

The researcher will use purposive sampling and convenience sampling techniques in the identification of participants where participation will be voluntary. The choice of purposive sampling and convenience sampling are associated with the sensitivity of the nature of the research question. In that regard, the researcher notes that not all individuals will be willing to participate. The overall target of the sample size is 10% of the entire workforce at Foxconn.

Data Collection

The data collection process will make use of three fundamental data collection tools namely: questionnaires, interviews, and observation. These tools will serve to deliver on the mixed methods design of the study.

Data Processing and Analysis

Thematic analysis of both qualitative and quantitative data will be the ultimate mode of analyzing the data collected from the field. However, quantitative data from questionnaires shall be analysed through the help of SPSS software and developed into themes broken down through the thematic analysis process.

Discussion of Results

Findings from the data processing and analysis will be presented here to show the reasons why Foxconn employees commit suicide and how strategies can be implemented to mitigate the vice.

Conclusions and Recommendations

The overall deductions are presented including reasons for suicides among Foxconn employees and suggestions that arise from the report as viable options towards mitigation efforts to stop the instances of suicides at the company. These will form recommendations for action.

References

Merchant, B. (2017, June 18). Life and death in Apple's forbidden city. The Guardian. Retrieved August 16, 2019, from https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/jun/18/foxconn-life-death-forbidden-city-longhua-suicide-apple-iphone-brian-merchant-one-device-extract