rwx9901

macmarcus said:

chasm said:

I think the point Elian was trying to make is that this tax cut — which the rest of you are correct in saying will be good for corporations and possibly good in the short term for the US in terms of some investment like what Apple is making — is almost entirely paid for on credit (ie funded by increasing the deficit, ie your kids are paying for it). The bill added/will add at least $1.5 trillion to the already-massive deficit. That is not a political viewpoint; it is a statement of fact. I haven’t finished doing the math yet, but my premiliminary figures suggest that Apple would actually save a few billion long-term if they just carried on they way they have for the past few years; borrowing to pay US costs and investing its foreign profits in overseas ventures/selling. I’m delighted that they are “repatriating” some of their massive foreign profits in the US, but it is actually costing them considerably more than if they didn’t; I guess they want to invest more heavily in the US (they’ve said this for years) and figured this was the best break they were ever going to get in the foreseeable, so the good publicity and higher stock price would make the loss (compared to not repatriating) worth it. Let’s also not kid ourselves about how MOST companies not named Apple will handle the windfalls they might get from this tax bill: MOST of it will go to executive bonuses and stock buybacks, just like it has every previous time the US corporate tax rate was lowered, or there was a temporary “tax holiday” for repatriation of foreign profits. Again, not a political statement; a statement of fact based on abundant historical record.

You obviously don't know what you are talking about. First, the tax bill will bring "foreign profits" back to the U.S. forever as they can't be sheltered like that anymore. Second, the way to lessen our national debt is to GROW the economy. The U.S. will have more people pulling the cart instead of riding in the cart. Every person that now gets a job and gets off social assistance will become a taxpayer instead and help our country. So yes, former President Obama, Trump has a magic wand - it is called actual business experience versus just reading about business.

dewme said:

Successful companies like Apple that take on huge challenges that require the marshaling of talent to deliver lasting customer value recognize that the real value of their organizations lies in the collective intelligence and effectiveness of their Teams. Whether it's in business, military, sports, or any other team oriented profession, it's all about building and fostering great teams. Great teams are not built on having n-number of carbon copy clones of the same individual. An NFL team with 22 Tom Bradys would be entirely dysfunctional and totally useless. Great teams are built around diversity. The required diversity includes diversity of thought process, problem solving approach, life experience, socio-economic perspective, individual / family / community culture, educational background, emotional intelligence, empathy, intellectual / professional passion, motivation, leadership ability & inclination, follower ability & inclination, ... etc. When building an effective team you also need team members with the specific hard skills required for the various roles that the task currently entails but also individual adaptability that will contribute to team adaptability to take on emerging and unanticipated challenges.  

Yeah, this sounds like a Mom and Apple Pie kind of thing for Apple to figure out but it's non-negotiable, not because of any HR edicts or affirmative action, but because Apple is also building highly personal products for a highly diverse global customer base. How could Apple possibly embody the best interests of their customers into Apple products without Apple's workforce being equally diverse and empathetic to the many realities and subtle nuances of the many diversity attributes? They couldn't, so they would impose their own limited and narrow perspectives on their customers - blue phones for boys and pink phones for girls. Why? Because that's what Apple wanted. 

I truly believe that the vast majority of people, but certainly not all, are totally cool with diversity. The rub and negative reactions to diversity arise out of what to do when disparities, real or perceived, exist. For example, why would a country that has about of 50% split between men and women have only 20% of its governing body represented by women? In my mind this makes no sense at all from a representation perspective. But what "should" be done about it is the real challenge. Heavy handed corrective actions like affirmative action can provide a forcing function to rebalance the mix quickly but this creates a problem for those who see the "corrective action" as a loss of privilege or the sudden opening of opportunities lowering the acceptance bar. I don't believe Apple is taking this approach at all. Just look at their BOD and Executive Tier makeup. The rate of change in Apple and most large companies is very slow. But they are taking action at all levels, especially at Tim Cook's level, to encourage and attract more candidates from underrepresented areas of diversity to jump into the candidate pool and make sure Apple's hiring processes are not exclusionary or filtering out qualified individuals that can contribute to the diverse teams they need to build and support. 

No easy answers here, but I would encourage everyone to at least put themselves in the shoes of the person they see as being on the other side of the diversity equation and consider how they would feel when faced with either 1) inequality and 2) the consequences of corrective actions. Nobody likes to change the status quo when it's working in their favor. But those on the other side cannot be written off or marginalized due to circumstances totally beyond their own control. 

 

Rayz2016 said:

shompa said:

Rayz2016 said:

bluefire1 said:

First let's talk about selecting the best and the brightest.
Then let's talk about diversity.

That’s what diversity is: making sure you don’t overlook the best and the brightest. 

Nope. It is actually 100% wrong. Diversity is about having a certain % of all employees that fills invented ethnic/religious/values/sexual groups. That is unique to the 20 western countries and do not exist in the other 190 countries. They do this to classify people and to create conflict about something that makes certain people think they are "good people" fighting for "oppressed" people. 

Diversity is a religion that actually is not about diversity since opinions that are not "correct" are shunned killing all creative thinking, debate and making the world better. If we had real diversity, why not quota in all believes, not just the "right ones"? 

It amazes me how people do not see that this is the most anti-democratic force that exists in the west. Controls how we talk, how entertainment is presented and so on. And it does not exist in 190 countries.

I hate Tim for abusing Apple to his political activism that is against the best for the company.  He is not for diversity, only "right" diversity. The new accepted norm that many westerners have: "we do not accept any other viewpoint/facts". That is the root of why so many westerners think its normal that you wage war/bomb countries "to learn them think right".  As a real diverse person: Let people have their cultures/values, A multi-ethnic world. In their own countries.  It is Tims values that make people think its normal to bomb countries that for example bans homosexuals. I do not talk about right/wrong in that issue. I talk about that other countries/cultures actually have right to their culture in their country. Something Tim does not accept and abuse.

When will Apple's boardroom be diverce? Why is a specific ethnic group that is 1 in 650 persons over 50% Apple board (and it is the same everywhere in USA)

Just let people do what they want at home as long as it do not hurt other people. Just hire THE BEST qualified, not after a race, sexual or anything else. (is this just a millenial thing? Again taking away responsibiltiy? "I cant be good enough to be hired, but I can be a transsexual gay person = have to be hired or I am oppressed by TheMan?

I am so happy that I have moved from West to a military dictatorship. For the funny thing is: Its WAY more free/free speech in these countries than the brainwashed/religions west.

Nope. Diversity is about not turning way people because of the colour of their skin, or sexual orientation. 

If a person is not qualified to do the job then don’t give it to him because he is black. 
If a person is qualified to do the job then don’t turn him away because is black. 

When Cook talks about diversity he means giving everyone a fair shot; he doesn’t mean give someone the job because they’re gay. 

What Apple does s encourage diversity, but in the end it’s down to the candidate.