It is a common knowledge the fact that Apple has a long history in keeping its product plans and other company’s matters under a strict secrecy. This lead in time to the emerge of some sites focused on dedicated rumors, such as MacRumors site; but even so, Apple still has its reserves in sharing to the population every new moves it is into. In fact this devotion for secrecy has gone already too far, not to mention that from its very beginning it started with a limited access of the employees to the projects that were under development.
A lot of measures are taken in order to prevent leaking of information outside the working areas; security doors with code number access, video camera surveillance, devices covered in black cloaks whenever they are not worked on, and so on.
apple-strategyAnother strategy of Apple comp to guard their projects is deliberately feeding the reporters with incorrect details, thus aiming to track down possible sources of leaks outside the company. The strategy goes like that: a vice-president is holding internal meetings to discuss over the new products; on these meetings he is displaying false details in order to check who among the employees further uses them to the press or outsiders. This happens normally after the employees have signed a confidentiality contract upon the new projects of the company.
Compared to many companies, Apple prefers not to adopt open communication policies, instead exhibiting its secrecy policy as the main purpose to preserve its products out of reach of the competitors. Firing its employees in case of information leaks, is another drastically ruled method in its effort to keep its projects to itself, and this, we might add is understandable, as long as an employee is supposed to show loyalty to the company that hired him and granted him confidence.
Ex-employees declare that they have never seen such a super paranoia way of imposing a security system; even they were quite often surprised when a new product was released. Five years ago, Apple had made a big case out of their way to guard the secrets, suing several bloggers in their attempt to violate trade-secret laws , thus not being subject to the First Amendment protections. The court ruled in favor of the bloggers and Apple had to pay $700,000 in legal fees.
Regis McKenna, one of the advisers for Apple’s strategy on sharing secrets to mass media, related that the secrecy obsession of the Apple company is due to the times when the first Macintosh was released, and the competitors already knew about the product before it was revealed. The secret aspect is a good thing for the well-running of the company, since the bigger the surprise of the launched product is, the strongest its impact.
Others believe that a transparency won’t hurt, especially in a company that considers itself innovative in the area of technology.
As to private lives of the employees many think that information is not relevant for the company’s projects; the employees have to decide on their own what is there they need to share with the public and what not. So, it is only up to the person in question to deliver information, but as long as that piece of information doesn’t reflect what projects companies are into, then, why bother?