Apple Affirms Employees' Right to Speak About Working Conditions, in a Win for #AppleToo Movement

Duffy, Clare
CNN.com

Posted 11/21/2021

Key words and Definitions

Organizational culture – the collection of values, norms, expectations, and practices that guide and inform team members about accepted behaviors and actions.

#AppleToo movement – a grass roots Apple employee movement seeking to speak out against perceived injustices and assert employee rights.

National Labor Relations Board – an independent U.S. federal agency responsible for enforcing labor laws and ensuring organizations do not engage in unfair labor practices. The NLRB monitors firms to ensure employees have the right to organize and engage in collective bargaining.

Summary: Key Points of the Article

Apple recently posted an internal memo to employees reiterating that they have the right to speak out about issues related to pay and working conditions. The memo comes on the heels of months of employee organizational effort in what has been dubbed the #AppleToo movement. The movement started in August 2021 when two Apple employees, Janneke Parrish and Cher Scarlett, wanted to help Apple employees become better organized and protected from retaliation if they spoke out against the firm.

The #AppleToo movement is a radical break from "the company's historic culture of secrecy to speak out on controversial hiring decisions, alleged pay disparities and remote work policies." Parrish and Scarlett called on their coworkers to share stories on incidents of racism, sexism, and discrimination so they could better define policy and culture changes that Apple needs to make.

Parrish was fired in October 2021. Apple declined to comment on the reason but Parrish filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board alleging the dismissal was retaliation for her work organizing the #AppleToo movement. However, she believes the recent Apple statement shows that her work was not in vain and the company is making progress in ending "a systemic culture of silence."

News Topic

#03 Organizational Culture

Exercise 1 Multiple Choice Questions

  1. Which of these characteristics captures the essence of an organization's culture?
    a. innovation and risk taking
    b. people orientation
    c. aggressiveness
    d. all of these
    Answer: There are seven characteristics that seem to capture the essence of an organization's culture. They are the degree of innovation and risk taking, attention to detail, outcome orientation, people orientation, team orientation, aggressiveness, and stability. Every organization will exhibit each of these characteristics to some degree.
  2. In a _________ culture the organization's core values are both intensely and widely held.
    a. weak
    b. strong
    c. formal
    d. none of these
    Answer: In a strong culture the organization's core values are both intensely and widely held. The opposite is true for weak cultures. Strong cultures do not typically need much formalization since the norms and expectations will be internalized and employees will not need written policies to define expectations.
  3. Former Apple employee Janneke Parrish alleges she was fired because of her efforts to organize the #AppleToo movement.
    True
    False
    Answer: She has filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board making that allegation.

Exercise 2 Critical Thinking Questions

  1. What does it mean for Apple to have a culture of silence?
    Answer: Apple's culture does not encourage employees to discuss company issues in public and could also discourage internal discussions of company matters with coworkers. This culture of silence could stem from the fact that the firm is constantly developing cutting edge technologies and product features that Apple wants to remain private until time to reveal them.
  2. What signal did it send to Apple employees when Janneke Parrish was fired?
    Answer: It sends a clear "keep your mouth shut" signal. Of course, Apple followed the firing with an internal statement reminding employees of their right to speak up. However, management's actions may speak louder than the written words and many employees may decide to remain silent rather than risk being fired.
  3. What do you think will be the outcome of Parrish's suit against Apple?
    Answer: If Apple cannot find overwhelming documentation of Parrish's poor performance or provide evidence that she committed an egregious policy violation then she will likely win her suit and be well compensated for her efforts.