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Tim Cook to Apple Employees in New Video: 'At Apple, We Do the Right Thing'

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Apple executives today sent a company wide email to employees asking them to review Apple's Business Conduct Policy, reports 9to5Mac. The policy reportedly details how employees should behave both in and outside of the company while representing Apple, covering topics like personal investments, workplace relationships, and policies on public speaking, press inquiries, and endorsements.

The email included an iBooks version of the Business Conduct Policy and a video from Tim Cook (video text below), which gives an inside look at company values.
As Dr. Martin Luther King once said, the time is always right to do what's right. At Apple, we do the right thing. Even when it's not easy. If you see something that doesn't meet our standards, speak up. Whether it's a quality issue or a business practice, if it affects Apple's integrity, we need to know about it.
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In the email, sent by SVP and General Counsel Bruce Sewell, Apple reminds employees that its policies are based on core values of "honesty, respect, confidentiality, and the critical obligation of every Apple employee to adhere to legal principles like antitrust and anti-corruption laws."
I am writing to ask you to do something very important -- set aside a little time to review Apple's Business Conduct Policy. It explains in very clear terms how you are expected to conduct yourself with our customers, business partners, government agencies, and fellow employees. We expect every Apple employee to understand and comply with these rules.
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While it is unclear whether there was a particular incident that spurred the email and video to employees, Apple has had ongoing trouble with product and information leaks. Apple has always been a secretive company, and last year, Tim Cook even promised to "double down" on secrecy when it came to products.

Despite Cook's efforts, multiple Apple products in recent months have leaked early, with prototype shells and parts for the iPad Air, the iPhone 5s, and the iPhone 5c appearing well ahead of their fall launches.

Update: The original video has been removed, but the text from Tim Cook can still be found above.

Article Link: Tim Cook to Apple Employees in New Video: 'At Apple, We Do the Right Thing'
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2013/11/20/tim-cook-to-apple-employees-in-new-video-at-apple-we-do-the-right-thing/
haruhiko

haruhiko

macrumors 604
Sep 29, 2009
6,529
5,875
Yes, we do the right thing...
 

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paulfuller75

macrumors newbie
Sep 23, 2010
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0
Surest way to ensure a message leaks?

Mark it as confidential. That way, you can guarantee that everyone will see it.
 
Solomani

Solomani

macrumors 601
Sep 25, 2012
4,785
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Slapfish, North Carolina
Making a clear statement of the company's 'business ethics' is a nice step, but it will not really do much.

The best thing Apple can do is to vet their new hires better. Screen potential new employees with greater scrutiny. Make sure they are the people you want.
 
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lk400

macrumors 65816
Aug 26, 2012
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626
Dont the majority of the product leaks come from contract manufacturers in the supply chain? If this was about those leaks, I think it would be a behind closed doors conversation along the lines of - stop your employees leaking the information or you will lose the contract.
 
musika

musika

macrumors 65816
Sep 2, 2010
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I think this is a sign that we're gonna continue to see an Apple that stays true to it's core values. I think that anybody who says differently (Oracle's Larry Ellison, for example) is either trying to stir some drama up, or is making assumptions that we are better off without.

It's gonna be interesting to see what comes out of Apple in the next 10 years.
 
M

Mac Spec

macrumors newbie
Jul 15, 2008
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All Apple employees must read these business practices policies once a year and get checked off a list for doing so. But things are loosest at the edge, in the stores, where there are a lot more crabby employees and a lot less discipline.
 
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CFreymarc

Suspended
Sep 4, 2009
3,969
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musika said:
I think this is a sign that we're gonna continue to see an Apple that stays true to it's core values. I think that anybody who says differently (Oracle's Larry Ellison, for example) is either trying to stir some drama up, or is making assumptions that we are better off without.

It's gonna be interesting to see what comes out of Apple in the next 10 years.
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My take is that this email and video is a result of an upper management level fight where some were trying to move away from Steve's values.

Nothing to see here. Move along!

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haruhiko said:
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One of the most honestly business phrases in a long time.
 
G

Gherkin

macrumors 6502a
Apr 9, 2004
674
305
the shells of the new iPhones and iPads leak because it's almost impossible to keep it a secret when they are mass produced in China.
 
K

KPOM

macrumors P6
Oct 23, 2010
18,026
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This seems more like standard fare. We live in an increasingly regulated and litigious environment. Most large companies have codes of conduct and employees typically have to formally review it and sign something to that effect every year. This could simply have been the introduction to a required annual certification. I get a similar type of message every year, complete with a video from our chairman.
 
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mKizzo

macrumors regular
Oct 17, 2008
110
77
newyorksole said:
Funny how even after he talks about employee confidentiality someone leaks the email AND portion of the video...
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He didn't even mention the word confidentiality. Integrity - related to quality or business practices - would more likely indicate fudging test data or not following their quality system.
 
A

acslater017

macrumors 6502a
Jul 25, 2006
716
123
San Francisco Bay Area
lk400 said:
Dont the majority of the product leaks come from contract manufacturers in the supply chain? If this was about those leaks, I think it would be a behind closed doors conversation along the lines of - stop your employees leaking the information or you will lose the contract.
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Yep. Better translate the video into Chinese too.

Some internal corporate emails and documents leak too though. As a fan, the excitement has slowly decreased over the past few years. Basically like getting spoilers for the movie you're about to watch. Can't remember the last time a new piece of hardware snuck by unleaked - maybe the Mac Pro, since months will have lapsed between reveal and release?
 
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