Foxxcon Case Study

Who should be held responsible for a series of worker suicides in Foxconn's plants (government, companies) and why?

The thought of suicide most often occurs when a person feels they have run out of solutions to problems that seem inescapable, intolerably painful, and never-ending (Chiles & Strosahl, 2005). According to the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, China's suicide rate is 22.23 people out of every 100,000. This rate places the country among the countries with the highest suicide per capita in the world. Suicide is a personal decision, but it is the most likely cause of death for people ages 15-34 in China, problems at work is one of the reasons that make up roughly half of the suicides.

By Chinese standards Foxconn is not a bad employer, the company offers cheap housing and food, pays overtime and social security contributions for its employees, and attracts young migrant workers without a problem. Other reports of the company standards paint a different picture; workers are required to stand at the assembly lines for 8 hours without a break, there is not socializing or talking, the cheap housing is shared with up to 9 other workmates (Oktariza, 2009). Why did those workers commit suicide? The answer may be the military –style work culture that shows mistreating of relatively young employees who are not psychologically ready for the pressure and burden of the job and the work overload.

Why does the company enforce these harsh working conditions? It appears that it is to maximize the output and create competitive advantages for their clients; while Foxconn claims the military-style work is aiming to ensure security at Foxconn. The government stepped in to stop the suicides, demanding that Foxconn improve conditions and improve unions to help. “The government and Hon Hai must work together and take effective measures to prevent similar tragedies from happening again,” Yang, the Provincial Party Secretary said. “Labor unions in private firms...