Apple: the Company’s Visions and Objectives Essay

Apple’s Vision was the Macintosh that was called â€Å"digital hub† that isa popular model of computer introduced in 1984, that features a graphical user interface ( GUI) that utilizes windows, icons, and a mouse to make it relatively easy for novices to use the computer productively. Rather than learning a complex set of commands, that wasonly need point to a selection on a menu and click a mouse button. Moreover, the GUI is embedded into the operating system. This means that all application that run on a Macintosh computer have a similar user interface. Once a user has become familiar with one application, he or she can learn new applications relatively easily. The success of the Macintosh GUI heralded a new age of graphics-based applications and operating systems. The Windows interface copies many features from the Mac. There are many different Macintosh models, with varying degrees of speed and power. All models are available in many different configurations. All models since 1994 are based on the PowerPC microprocessor. They believed had a real advantage for consumers who were becoming entrenched in a digital lifestyle. Also, digital cameras, portable music players, and digital camcorders. That they though could be the preferred hub to control integrate, and add value to the devices. Also to control of both hardware and software.Apple is committed to bringing the best personal computing experience to students, educators, creative professionals and consumers around the world through its innovative hardware, software and Internet offerings. Apple’s Mission Was to bring an easy-to use computer to market, which led release of the Apple II in 1978. Also, Apple is committed to protecting the environment, health and safety of their employees, customers and the global communities where they operate. They can offer technologically innovative products and services while conserving and enhancing recourses for future generations. Goals:The goal was to differentiate the Macintosh amid intense competition in the PC industry. And state of affairs, or a state of concrete activity, which an organization or system wishes to achieve or obtain. Objective Is the plan, to involve and implement actions which must be taken to close the gap between the current realities and the ideal state?Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS, PC CPU, MP3 , iPhone 4, 4s , iPad, 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 has recently introduced iPad which is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices. Corporation Governance:Agency Theory: Was in 1981 when the IBM introduced the IBM PC to the market that used Microsoft’s DOS and a microprocessor (CPU), by that apple practice integration and refused to license its hardware to third parties. But IBM gained more market share and also emerged a new for the industry more than Apple. That was when apple introduced the Macintosh in 1984 that was easy to use with industrial design and elegance, but the processor was slow in speed and that lack of compatibility on sale, and Apple net income fell 62 % between the years 1981 and 1984, and sending the Apple Company into a crisis. That contributed with the job was forced out in the 1985 even his called himself as a soul of the company. After that the boardroom hired John Sculley, who was recognized for his marketing skills. He was in the company for 8 years from 1985 to 1993, who pushed the mac in the new market where the Apple was driven by its best software, such page Market, and peripheral with laser printers. Also in education Apple grabbed more than haft the market. With that Apple recovered and stabilized around 8% in share worldwide, and in 1990 Apple sale $1 billion dollars in cash and was cognized at the most profitable PC company in the world. Stewardship Theory: In the years of Sculley, the Apple Company offered to the customers a better offer by a completed desktop solution ever that was included hardware, software, and simply plug and play. Also the company designing unique chips, disk drive, and monitors. He demonstrated his interest on the company success. And interest in customer’s satisfaction, Apple was selling its products at a premium price.This time Macs had more than $10,000, and gross profit around anadvantageous 50%. Sarbanes –Oxley: That was applied in the years 2010 and 2011 when the patent wars started with competition in the smartphone industry, where everyone sued everyone. Where creative companies begindisappears or never gets start. Apple litigated against Android, HTC, and Samsung. Also Apple turnaround in 1997 when jobs reshape Apple and announced that they would invest $ 150 million in Apple and made five years develop core products, like MS Office for the mac. By satisfy about 99% of customers and again job refused to license the latest mac. Also, the company 15 product lines were divided in only four categories that were desktop, portable Macintoshes, for customers and professionals. Another improvement that job did was to hire Taiwanese contract to manufacture mac products. Therefore, in 1998 Apple had a website direct sale for the first time. Corporation Social Responsibility: News of Steve Jobs’ death sent shockwaves through the technology industry, a world that he, in large part, shaped with his career. Apple’s executives are now left with the challenge of how to lead a company, whose identity has been inextricably linked to Jobs’ for decades. The task is formidable, especially when Apple’s fanatically loyal customer base is considerably less certain about what to expect from CEO Tim Cook. That is partly because Apple’s culture of secrecy and Jobs’ visibility have combined to make Cook relatively unknown to the public at large. The uncertainty is compounded by the fact that earlier attempts to replace Jobs proved disastrous.Until now, Jobs seems to be the only one to have had that special chemistry required for running Apple.What makes leading Apple difficult to maintain is the fact that the company is not selling a product as much as it is a vision, the founder’s vision. Apple products were well built and beautiful to look at. According to recent media coverage, it would seem that Apple is interested in developing a new vision, one which includes Corporation Social Responsibility. Jobs never showed much interest in public ‘do-gooding.’ He always maintained that equipping the public with the best technology is worth more than cash grants to charities. But Cook announced that Apple would embrace a new corporate charity matching program, using a model much like those of other major companies a dollar for dollar match for employee donations of up to $10,000 a year. Cook clearly wants to send the message that Apple is evolving in the way it perceives Corporation Social Responsibility, a major differentiating factor between himself and his charismatic predecessor. However, the decision curiously followed media allegations regarding Apple’s lack of Corporation Social Responsibility activities, including a New York Times article mentioning matching as a solution employed by a considerable porti on of the Fortune 500 companies.Apple still needs to embrace the core values that make it a â€Å"cool† company in short, that owning an Apple product secure membership in a select group. While Apple is perhaps overdue for a Corporation Social Responsibility strategy, the decision to enact donation matching is decidedly not the â€Å"Apple Way. Cook is only responding to media pressure rather than bringing to Corporation Social Responsibility the same kind of innovative and inspiring vision for which Apple is so highly regarded. And in that regard, the corporate matching program is a fail.Developing a Corporation Social Responsibility strategy around neither a sense of obligation nor calculation but rather around certain well defined character virtues is highly effective. In particular, integrity, empathy and zeal, among others, are critical during times of Uncertaintythey need to be well coordinated and implemented from the inside,out not the other way around. Integrity: Any major organizational change is accompanied by insecurity. The transition from Jobs’ approach to hiring and firing is bound to create uncertainty among employees, and in corporate environments uncertainty inevitably creates pernicious maneuvering and second guessing at middle management levels. The new Corporation Social Responsibility initiatives should present both the company and its new CEO with a unique opportunity to promote an image of integrity and to differentiate the new leadership from that of the Jobs era. However, philanthropy is not a good place to start. It should start from inside, promoting trust and openness, the internal integrity. Empathy: Empathy creates emotional bonding between the company and stakeholders allowing companies to endure a difficult time. Apple is currently embroiled in lawsuits that are likely to restrict consumer choices in the future if it carries on. Publishers are frustrated by Apple’s hammerlock over apps and magazine subscriptions on the iPad. There have been indications that Samsung, Apple’s most threatening competitor, angered by patent law suits, will finally fight back to counter sue Apple. While from Apple’s point of view, taking legal action against competitors may seem necessary as a means of protecting innovation, public opinion works differently. For multinational companies the legal victory can often end with a kind of zero sum game, leaving it with a reputation for arrogance and insecurity. Apple will have to worry about its reputation all the more so if it wins the battles against competitors. Even more telling, the suicides at China’s manufacturing behemoth, Foxconn, have created the uncomfortable impression that â€Å"cool† products like the iPad are being produced by what amounts to economic slave labor. This is decidedly â€Å"uncool† and not the image that Apple wants to portray. Zeal: Zeal is perhaps the virtue most-embedded at Apple’s core and is represented by their continuous innovation and excitement in terms of products and customer experience. By emphasizing Corporation Social Responsibility, Tim Cook would need to bring that famous Apple zeal to social issues, offering an innovative approach, as competitor Google did, when it famously began encouraging its employees to spend 20% of their time on their own projects. It goes without saying that Cook and Apple are standing at a precipice. Product innovations can be short-lived. A serious Corporation Social Responsibility strategy could quietly shift Apple’s sales pitch from personal charisma to the great public good, doing Apple good in the long term. The leaders of innovative organizations that undergo the uncertainty that comes with change, would be wise to promote both integrity and empathy internally, thus ensuring that zeal continues to inspire consumers throughout their tenure and for years to come. External Factors In 1980, Apple became the PC industry leader selling more than 100,000 Apple IIs and launching a successful IPO. However, Apple’s competitive position changed fundamentally in 1981 when IBM entered the PC market. Apple’s ignorance to the industrial changes caused them to lose major PC market share by 62% sending the company into a crisis. Apple manages its business on geographic locations having offices in New York, Europe, Japan, and Asia. Apple’s sales are continuously growing. In the past decades the PC industry has evolved into the proprietary system and the open system. Let’s review Apple’s position in each phase. Proprietary Systems before 1981 Every PC producer had to develop their own hardware and software. It was proprietary, one that possesses, owns, or holds exclusive right to something. There were two mainstreams in the market, Apple style machine and IBM style machines. During this period, Apple was the leader selling more than 100,000 Apple IIs and launching a successful IPO. Its strong developing ability made the Apple brand a family commodity. Introduction of the â€Å"Open† System 1981-1997 IBM offered an â€Å"open† system in which other producers could clone causing competitors such as Compaq, Hewlett-Packard, and Dell to enter the market while Apple continued to practice limitability with a horizontal and vertical integration relying on its own proprietary designs. It was during this time that producers started separating hardware into CPUs (Central Processing Units), mother boards, disk drive, and other peripheral items. This change caused consumers to not only care about hardware performance, but also about software applications. IBM machines with Intel CPU and Windows Operating systems became the mainstream. IBM PCs not only gained more market share, but also emerged as the new standard for the industry. Apple continued to lose market share because corporate insisted on selling the products at a premium price and not upgrading its hardware and software to be compatible with IBM machines. Apple responded by introducing the Macintosh and entering new markets – desktop publishing and education- in 1984. It marked a breakthrough in ease of use, industrial design, and technical elegance. However the Mac’s slow processor speed and lack of compatible software limited sales. Apple’s desktop market was driven by its superior software and offered customers a complete desktop solution which allowed for simple â€Å"plug and play†. In education, they grabbed more than half the market, which is safe to say, helped Apple recover and stabilize bringing in revenue of $1 billion. Micro-Environment Micro-Environment is actors or elements in an organization’s immediate area of operations that affect its performance and decision making freedom. This environment can be explained using Porter’s five forces; –Rivalry among existing firms –Threat of substitute products –Bargaining power of buyers –Bargaining power of suppliers –Threat of new entrants As a computer producer company, Apple is faced with many strategic issues; Surviving competition, responding to technology innovation and continuous market needs. The technology industry can be considered to be monopolistic competition which is characterized by having a large number of competitors and gaining easy access into the industry due to low entry barriers. Supplier bargaining position is very strong due to a small number of existing processor suppliers, example Intel and AMD. Customer bargaining position is also strong due to low searching and switching costs. Both of these characteristics constrain companies in the industry. As a result, the market becomes saturated and fragmented which makes for only a small market share gained by every company. There are a lot of competitors offering similar products to Apple for example, Windows tablet, Samsung, Kindle, etc., with only little difference in features and design. Macro-Environment Macro Environment is defined as the major external and uncontrollable factors that influence an organization’s decision making and affect its performance and strategies. These factors include the economic factors, demographics, political, social conditions technological changes and natural forces. Specific examples of macro environment influences include competitors, changes in interest rates, and changes in cultural tastes. Technological Forces The main force that influences the computer industry is rapid and sustained technical progress. Each year, integrated circuits and other technological components become better, faster, and cheaper providing opportunities to improve on existing computers as well as designing a new one. Apple is strongly affected by technology innovation forces surrounding it. Rapid innovation on hardware by component producers, for example Intel & AMD and software by competitors (Microsoft) gives Apple no choice but to grasp and possibly enhance the new hardware technology and also continue innovating to sustain differentiation. Microsoft which dominates the operating system producer for Intel based computers is a main competitor for Apple. Microsoft releases new versions of Windows every two (2) years creating pressure for Apple to upgrade MacOS as well. Political forces With China joining the WTO creates opportunity as well as threats to Apple. Lower investment barrier and market barrier gives opportunities for Apple to take advantage of low cost labor as well as getting potential market. However, on the other hand, similar opportunities exist to competitors. When competitors move its plant into China and become more efficient, Apple has to respond or they will experience cost inefficiency disadvantage over competitors. Social Forces Different and dynamic change of needs and lifestyle requires Apple to continuously innovate to adapt. Consumer’s tastes, lifestyles, and needs are rapidly changing. Apple has also been criticized by many environmental organizations for not being a leader in removing toxic chemicals from its new products. Because of the social pressure regarding environmental issues, Apple has to invest in R&D to become environmentally friendly. The collaboration of Political, Economic, Social and Technological forces creates an intricate environment. Apple has to keep in step with new technology, innovate to be different, and continually modify to its customer needs and demands. The instantaneous changes in technology and low entry barrier cause the durability of Apple products to become obsolete.