Motorola
 |
This article is part of the Center for Media & Democracy's spotlight on global corporations. |
| logo_motorola.jpg | |
| Type | Publicly-traded corporation |
|---|---|
| Key people | Mike S. Zafirovski - Former President |
Motorola is the second largest maker of wireless handsets after global leader Nokia. After its spin-off of its semiconductor unit, Motorola reorganized to focus on enterprise mobility, mobile devices, and home and networks mobility. It also supplies wireless infrastructure equipment such as cellular transmission base stations, amplifiers, and servers. In 2006, it had sales of $43 billion and profits of $3.6 billion. [1]
Contents
Company History
Motorola was originally founded as the Galvin Manufacturing Corporation in 1928. The first product that it introduced was the battery eliminator. Motorola has worked in wireless, broadband, and automotive communications technologies and embedded electronic products. [1]===Historical Financial Information===
Business Strategy
Political and Public Influence
Paragraph information
Political Contributions
Motorola gave $276,321 to federal candidates in the 2006 election through its political action committee - 31% to Democrats and 69% to Republicans. [2]
Lobbying
The company spent $3,240,000 for lobbying in 2006. Some of the lobbying firms used were OB-C Group, Dutko Worldwide, Federalist Group, Lundquist, Nethercutt & Griles LLC, and Ernst & Young. [3]
Corporate Accountability
Paragraph
Labor
In early 2006, Students and Scholars Against Corporate Misbehavior (SACOM), learned that nine women in the Shenzhen (China) Hospital for Occupational Disease Treatment & Prevention were poisoned by n-hexane as a result of working at a plant contracted to produce for the company (Hivac). "Hivac agreed to give every worker suffering n-hexane poisoning a tiny sum of seven to eight thousand yuan. However, they pressured workers to agree, among other things, not to raise future complaints in connection with their disease. Otherwise, the employer said they would get no recompense at all. These efforts to silence workers from discussing the long term effects of their poisoning no doubt influenced the quality of the "independent" audit commissioned by Motorola." Hivac makes lenses for Motorola phones out of Nanshan, Shenzhen Special Economic Zone in southern China. Exposure to toxic chemicals resulting in illness and birth defects has been a recurrent problem with suppliers of parts to cell phone manufacturers, including Motorola and Nokia[4]
In the late 1980s, bitter and often violent battles broke out at the company's South Korean subsidiary over the right to form a union, according to the New York Times: We still don't understand, said Park Joon Hee, country manager for Motorola Korea (employer of 3,800 workers), reflecting on how workers' demands for union recognition escalated into nightmarish days of demonstrations, hunger strikes, near self-immolations and a long siege at the computer center. In January/February 1989 Multinational Monitor reported that an IMF study concluded that the company set up a kusadae - "save the company corps" - which consists of 'thugs' who offer their services to Korean companies. The primary work of the kusadae has been to intimidate trade union activists. The IMF charged that the Motorola kusadae has disrupted union meetings, attacked union organizers with iron bars and cattle prods, and set four union leaders on fire. Motorola had 5,000 employees in Seoul and in 1987 Motorola in Korea made $8.8 billion in profits.[5]
Human Rights
Environment
Consumer Protection and Product Safety
"In Cellular Telephone Russian Roulette, author Robert Kane, a former top Motorola engineer, traces the history of cell phone development (in which he was involved) and analyzes the cell phone radiation bioeffects research base from 1950 to 1996. Despite industry’s claim to safety, Kane’s report shows that there was much more information available indicating safety concerns than the industry has ever acknowledged." [2]
Another interesting book written by corporate insider is Dr. George Carlo's book, Cell Phones: Invisible Hazards in the Wireless Age: An Insider's Alarming Discoveries About Cancer and Genetic Damage (Carroll and Graf, 2001).
Anti-Trust and Tax Practices
Social Responsibility Initiatives
Motorola claims in its policy for suppliers that it is committed to ensuring its suppliers do not violate workers’ rights.
Business Scope
Lines of Business and Major Products Paragraph Units/Subsidiaries
| Customers | Suppliers | Creditors | Competitors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Customer 1 | Supplier 1 | Creditor 1 | Competitor 1 |
| Customer 2 | Supplier 2 | Creditor 2 | Competitor 2 |
| Customer 3 | Supplier 3 | Creditor 3 | Competitor 3 |
| Customer 4 | Supplier 4 | Creditor 4 | Competitor 4 |
Financial Information (as of DATE)
Ticker Symbol:
Main Exchanges:
Investor Website:
| Shareholder | % Total Shares held |
|---|---|
| Shareholder 1 | % Held 1 |
| Shareholder 2 | % Held 2 |
| Shareholder 3 | % Held 3 |
| Shareholder 4 | % Held 4 |
Largest Shareholders
Geographic scope paragraph
| Country | Revenue | Profits | Assets | Employees |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country 1 | Revenue 1 | Profit 1 | Assets 1 | Employees 1 |
| Country 2 | Revenue 2 | Profit 2 | Assets 2 | Employees 2 |
| Country 3 | Revenue 3 | Profit 3 | Assets 3 | Employees 3 |
| Country 4 | Revenue 4 | Profit 4 | Assets 4 | Employees 4 |
Governance
| Key executives and 2006 pay: [6] | Options exercised |
|||
| Edward J. Zander, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer | $2,770,000 | $0 | ||
| Gregory Q. Brown, Chief Operating Officer | $1,230,000 | $3,990,000 | ||
| Thomas Joseph Meredith, Acting Chief Financial Officer | $105,000 | N/A | ||
| A. Peter Lawson, Executive Vice President | $820,000 | $1,210,000 | ||
| Adrian Nemcek, Executive Vice President | $400,000 | $7,720,000 |
Selected Motorola board members: [7]
- David W. Dorman, Former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, AT&T
- Judy C. Lewent, Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, Merck
- Thomas J. Meredith, Former Chief Financial Officer, Dell, Inc.
- James R. Stengel, Global Marketing Officer, Procter & Gamble
- Douglas A. Warner, III, Former Chairman, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.
- Miles D. White, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Abbott Laboratories
Contact Information
1303 East Algonquin Road
Schaumburg, IL 60196
Phone: 847-576-5000
Fax: 847-576-5372
Web: http://www.motorola.com
Articles and Resources
Books on the Company
Related SourceWatch Articles
Sources
- ↑ Motorola Profile, Hoovers, accessed August 2007.
- ↑ 2006 PAC Summary Data, Open Secrets, accessed August 2007.
- ↑ Motorola lobbying expenses, Open Secrets.
- ↑ "Workers Poisoned in Mobile Phone Factories in China - Report", December 13th, 2006.
- ↑ Crocodyl "Motorola"
- ↑ Motorola Key Executives, Yahoo Finance, accessed November 2007.
- ↑ Board of Directors, Motorola, accessed August 2007.
External Resources
External Articles
- Martin Veitch, "Greenpeace Praises Dell for Green IT, Slams Motorola", IT Week/CorpWatch, June 26, 2006.
- Aaron Glantz, "Nokia, Dell Get 'Light Green' Rating from Greenpeace; Apple in the Red", Oneworld.net/CorpWatch, September 6, 2006.
- Geoffrey Lean, "Mobile phones 'more dangerous than smoking'", The Independent (UK), March 28, 2008.
- "Motorola Refuses Responsibility for Poisoned Workers, Hides Violations in Second Tier Suppliers", January 19th, 2007.
- SACOM, "The Working Condition of Motorola's Supplier Factory in China", 2006.
