Foxconn, the contractor that makes the iPods is being more specific now in their denials about employee mistreatment in China.
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Mark Graban
Mark Graban is an internationally-recognized consultant, author, and professional speaker who has worked in healthcare, manufacturing, and startups. He is author of the Shingo Award-winning books Lean Hospitals and Healthcare Kaizen, as well as The Executive Guide to Healthcare Kaizen. His most recent book is the anthology Practicing Lean that benefits the Louise H. Batz Patient Safety Foundation, where Mark is a board member. Mark is also a Senior Advisor to the technology company KaiNexus. His latest book has been released as an "in-progress" book, titled Measures of Success.
Mark,
I am curious about you being so adamant in your condemnation of Foxconn and Apple on the strength of a single story in a London newspaper. I have found the popular media is about the least reliable source of information on manufacturing.
And ‘summer camp’ – where did that come from? I simply described the standard employment/living arrangement in Chinese manufacturers in the Shenzhen Economic Enterprise Zone. It is not a summer camp. It is just the way it is done in China.
Do you have any facts other than the story in the Mail On Sunday to support describing the Foxconn plant in the Shenzhen EEZ a prison?
Bill – I called it a “summer camp” because the article that you linked to not only denied the originally reported conditions but also pointed out that they have sports facilities and free laundries. That made it sound like camp.
What originally made it sound like prison was the forced long hours, the physical punishment, the military drills, and the fact that outside visitors were not allowed.
To be fair to prison, they get outside visitors usually.