Apple Analysis
Basic identifying information (e.g., name, industry, location of headquarters); Apple Inc. is a American multinational technology company with their headquarters located in Cupertino, California. Apple’s main focus is designing and developing electronics, computer software and online services at an affordable price to everyday consumers. In today’s market, Apple is one of the “Big Four” of technology which also includes Facebook, Google and Amazon.
Apple offers all sorts of products such as the iphone, mac computers, the safari web browser and even tv’s.
Lastly, they are a competing company when it comes to online services. Their online services include Icloud(a software that stores data), an App store(where consumers can buy apps or download some for free) and an Itunes store where consumers can download music of all sorts of genres. Apple has been and continues to be the leader when it comes to its current competition market.
Apple Inc. was created by a man named Steve Jobs who started the business with many goals in mind, whether he knew they could be achieved or not. He had a vision and a mission when he started this company and has passed it down to all of the employees who work for Apple whether it be in the headquarters or in any of the stores we see around the world today. Apple has a mission and a vision that set them apart from all of their other competitors and why they are one of the biggest leaders in their market today.
To understand what exactly is Apple Inc. mission and vision are we must first understand what these things are. The big one here is the mission of the company, which ultimately means, what is the company about? In other words, why did this company start in the first place. Along with this we have the vision which is what the company wants to ultimately accomplish. Apple’s corporate mission statement according to Barbara Farfan is, “Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software.
Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices with iPad.” (Farfan, thebalancesmb.com) From this we understand that apple is about creating the best possible computers, software and mobile phones for people.
The vision of the company is another important part of what makes Apple, Apple. Apple has a variety of vision among all different aspects of the company and these include, creating products that are accessible to everyone and by everyone, to create products that are best for the world and best in the world, as well as to be inclusive to all genders, races and ethnicities. All in all Apple has a unique mission and vision that sets them apart from all other companies around the world and why so many of us today are using their products daily.
The business strategy of a company worries about how a company can and will compete in the different industries that the company must compete in. For Apple, this regards how Apple competes in the electronic industry such as computers, cell phones, computer software and other electronic industries that Apple introduces into their business. There are two strategies that we must focus on in regard to Apple and their competitors.
These are cost leadership which focuses on how the products can be affordable yet durable and long lasting, and the second one being differentiation which focuses on how the value to the customer can be increased and how this product differs from the rest. To be able to understand the business strategy of Apple we need to understand the different strategies the major competitors of Apple have as well. If we compare Apple and all of the competitors, Apple’s business strategy would fall into the differentiation strategy. Apple’s products are known for how they work, how long they last, as well as their customer service and support which is a major part of their company.
This is how they set themselves apart from the competition, not by their price. If we looked at the prices of Apple computers to other computers such as Dell and Microsoft, Macs are extremely more expensive, yet are more desired by customers because of the value that they bring to customers. This lets me know that Apple is doing a great job of making their products stand out with the durability, softwares, and other functions and why consumers would spend more for an Apple product than another product. Other companies would disagree with this as they might argue that they have just as good of software, phones, and other products as Apple, however, there is a reason people are continuing to go back to Apple products and that is because of how they differentiate themselves from the competition.
Since its creation, the success of Apple has been dependent on its ability to stay ahead in the marketplace with innovation. The creation of the iPod, iPhone, MacBook, and iPad has caused Apple’s stock to soar over the last few decades. Today, Apple has massive brand awareness to the extent where virtually everyone with access to technology, knows what Apple is. Apple is now attempting to maintain its relevance by introducing a new line of phones (iPhone X etc.) as a luxury product. They charge more money for the phone while introducing new features.
Apple’s latest attempt at increasing profits was by introducing AirPods (wireless earbuds). The most ironic part about Apple selling earbuds without a cord, is that they also started selling the cord as an add-on so people wouldn’t lose their AirPods. [Whoever thought up this idea deserves a raise and a promotion.] Apple’s AirPods are currently selling for $160 on its website. In comparison, you can essentially buy the same product on Amazon from a different company for $20.
It is plainly obvious that Apple creates value for its shareholders. They are constantly thinking about new ways to generate revenue for the company and to increase shareholders wealth. Apple’s newest venture might just be its most profitable one yet. Apple is finally entering the online streaming service market. The full details are expected to be revealed on March 25th at an Apple Event hosted by Tim Cook.
The way that people watch television has changed in the last five years. Consumers have drifted away from live television and now overwhelmingly prefer Netflix or Hulu where they can watch a large variety of shows whenever they want. Soon Apple will finally tap into this massive streaming service market and leave their mark. The implications of the streaming service on its shareholders wealth are massive and it will be interesting to see how well the streaming service does against its competitors.
According to Pauline Meyer, “Apple Inc.’s organizational structure contributes to effective and rapid innovation, which is a critical success factor of the business in the information technology, online services, and consumer electronics industries.” (Meyer, panmore.com) The measure of an effective business structure is one that we see in this statement. Apple has created a structure which from top to bottom is a success and is why comments like these can happen, and the success of the company is just one outcome we see from a great company structure.
Apples structure is put in such a way that they are bound for success in both the effectiveness of the products, and as mentioned in the quote, the innovation that we see from Apple. What exactly is the structure like at Apple that makes it work so well? Apple has a hierarchical organizational structure. A hierarchical organization structure is one that many companies use, Apple being one of them, which uses a system that goes from top to bottom much like a pyramid does. The top of the structure is your CEO, which then leads into the managers and then goes down into the workers.
According to Meyer, Apple uses this structure in the different areas of the company including software, phones, and computers. Each area uses this type of structure, ultimately leaving all decisions up to the CEO. This type of strategy can be very effective because it keeps the mission and vision of the of the company equal throughout the company and the different departments of the company. We can see this strategy has been very effective for Apple as it has been a worldwide leader in sales of electronics and software.
AJIth’s culture: What are its core values? How does it reinforce them? Does it live up to them?
Apple Inc.’s organizational culture is a key factor in the continuing success of their business. A company’s corporate culture accepts and also preserves the businesses philosophy, values, beliefs, and related behaviors among employees throughout Apple company wide. Apple Inc. was one of the major exceedingly to not abide by normal company traditions and culture. To show what culture Steve Jobs wanted in the 70’s, almost everyday he would walk around their offices barefoot. The culture seems to be informal but with a hint of organizational creative innovation. Since the technology world is innovating day to day, Apple seems to abide by 5 rules that sets the tone of their organizational culture across the board. The 5 rules are top-notch excellence (by hiring the best of the best in the field of which they are hiring in) , creativity(all employees are included and or asked to submit things such as product designs, features and ideas for their products, innovation(company trains their own employees to be highly innovative individuals that help rule 3), secrecy( Apple take most pride in secrecy and it defines them the best because they for the most part release new products before competing companies due and they do this by the secrecy of their work)and moderate combativeness(Steve Jobs created this type of culture of combativeness and often challenged employees in games to test out if they really have the skills to work for him). All 5 of Apple’s culture characteristics, reinforce them to continue being the top of the market and what other companies look up to or want to beat out. These characteristics have barely changed over the years and have defined Apple into the Apple we all know today.
This is an interesting topic because it is difficult to tell. A large reason why Apple is so successful is because of its ability to innovate and disrupt the market. We have seen it time and time again with the creation of the iPod, iPhone, iPad, MacBook (etc.). The catch is that none of these groundbreaking innovations occurred under the leadership of Tim Cook. The billion-dollar question is if Tim Cook can continue Apple’s reputation of being innovative and able to compete in whatever industries it attempts to.
Under the current leadership of Tim Cook, Apple has created new phone lines (such as the iPhone X), AirPods, and the upcoming Apple streaming service. It is expected that Apple will generate a ton of revenue from its streaming service which should hold off Apple shareholders until its next big idea. Whether or not Apple will continue to be innovative in creating new products, it is our belief that the Apple brand is dominant enough to disrupt any existing industry it sets to.
AJWhether it is positioned for long-term success. Do you think it will exist 25 years from now? Apple was instantly set up for long-term success during the 1970’s. It’s long term success will seem to dwindle over the next 25 years. We believe this because you can see year to year when the new iphone is released it is more and more expensive. For example, when Steve Jobs unveiled the Iphone in 2007 it cost between 450-500$, compared to the latest iphone unveiled which cost anywhere between 999$-1,150$.Their products have become unaffordable to most people and it’s only going to continue to get more expensive. It is obvious the constant innovations make it more expensive which gives an alleyway to competing companies to make their products cheaper with the same technology. We already see this today with the large portion of people switching to Samsung. Apple Inc will survive another 25 years but they are not set up for any long term success as of now.
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