In the 1970s, technologies such as video cassette recorders and personal computers were revolutionizing the industry. Co-founders, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, were drawn to this technology revolution and in 1976 started Apple Computers (Abdelsamad et al., 2008). The combination of their charisma and intellect enabled them to design the Apple I computer. Today, Apple is one of the leading technology companies in the world. However, internal factors such as Apple’s unclear marketing plan, employee work life negligence, and financial-legal issues have negatively affected their performance and sullied their corporate reputation. Apple worked to correct the issues that were detracting from their performance and has had great success in …show more content…
The union was created to regulate and improve the working condition in this location. While outsourcing certain business functions to a country that has lower wages can allow the company to operate more efficiently and save money, it is imperative that the company treat these employees with dignity and adhere to labor regulations (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, & Wright, 2007). Finally, Apple’s corporate reputation was tarnished due to the financial and legal incidents that the company encountered in 2006. Twenty-six years after Apple’s initial public offering, the company narrowly escaped being delisted from the NASDAQ stock exchange for not adhering to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) reporting timelines. This potentially damaging delisting threat was the result of controversy surrounding the backdating of company stock options from 1997 to 2002 (Abdelsamad et al., 2008). Trust between the shareholder and the company faltered and Apple’s share price fell almost $25.00 (Robertson, 2006). Additionally in 2006, Apple was forced to recall 1.8 million hazardous Sony laptop batteries being used in Apple products (“Apple recalls,” 2006). These batteries were found to be dangerous after several Apple customers saw their batteries spontaneously burst into flames. Though Sony covered the cost of replacing the batteries, Apple customers
One of the major challenges facing Apple was to get the appropriate replacement of the company’s visionary Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Steve Jobs who died on October 2011. The CEO was responsible for turning Apple into what it is today. Apple is in this case challenged to purse the strategies employed by Steve, that propelled the company to new heights, and which saw the company become a
Apple is an American multinational corporation which designs, manufactures and markets a range of consumer electronics and software products (Apple Inc., 2008). At the end of last fiscal year, Apple’s worldwide annual sales amounted to $32.5 billion, an increase of 35% from 2007 (Apple Inc., 2008). Not surprisingly then, was Apple voted America’s most admired company, also topping the global survey (Fortune,
Since 1976 Apple’s innovation has helped the company become a market leader in computer and mobile electronics. Through this time the company has faced a number of challenges either it be an internal power struggles or criticism from the media for certain aspects of their business model. This report covers five different issues that the company is facing or may face in the future.
At first, technology is the most crucial element that shaping the brand of Apple and it operations. There are three components in this element are innovation, convenience and internal development. Firstly, let talk about innovation, one of the components that fabricated the success of Apple. Years ago, Nokia and Motorola were companies that dominated the mobile phone and software market. Therefore, in order to survive, prospect and remain competitive, Apple applied the philosophy of innovation by creating new products with unique design and function (Nonaka & Kenny, .n.d.). The circumstance forced Steve Jobs to become not only creative, but also demanding, strict and persuasive executive to motivate employee in the process of creating new mobile phone device and software, which led to the creation of the IOS system, iphone and Mac software. In every operation, he is extremely strict and even autocratic in setting goal and strategy and reward based on employee’s performance with the standard of excellent result and has no qualm in berating
Apple is a global company represented in many parts of the world, but born in the United States by computer wizards by the names of Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak who founded the company back in 1976 (Capon, 2008). The organization deals with the design and sale of computer hardware, software and offers tech support to its customers. Examples of the hardware the company manufactures and sells include mobile phones, personal computers, iPads, tablets and iTunes with associated brands, like the MacBook and iPhones that represent Apple’s driving force towards its success. It is recognized as a brand leader in consumer electronics by the world in terms of quality and customer satisfaction and despite the wide product range, Apple manages each product in a distinct way that is a single business unit (Mittan, 2010).
As one of the most well-known and respected companies in the world, Apple Inc. was one of the few companies to emerge from the recession stronger than ever. Started in 1976 as a computer business, most of Apple’s success has been attributed to its music- and video-related products and the iPhone. Quickly became known then as a company that made innovative consumer electronic products instead of just a company that made computers, it changed its name in 2007 from “Apple Computer” to “Apple Inc.”. As Steve Jobs, Apple’s former CEO and co-founder said, “The Mac, iPod, Apple TV and iPhone. Only one of those is a computer. So we’re changing the name.”
“Apple was two months from bankruptcy” in September 1997 which led to CEO Steve Jobs to reconstruct their plan. In order to bring Apple back up into the competitive market, Jobs implement a new strategy which “shrunk Apple to a scale and scope suitable to the reality of its being a niche produce in the highly competitive personal computer business. He cut Apple back to a core that could survive” (12). What made Job successful was focusing on the sources and barriers to be successful in the market and to utilize the opportunities that came by. The strategy of eliminating unnecessary cost or reducing risk help transform Apple’s business
In the past, Apple struggled in the PC industry because of several factors. First, Apple’s slow speed and a lack of competitive software limited sales, and their software was incompatible with other computers. They also failed to adapt to the market’s need for a lower cost PC, thereby losing the bulk purchases made by businesses investing in new technology. This also had first-time computer users adapting to non-Apple technology, thus instigating a switching cost to buy Apple in the future. In recent years, Apple has adjusted their business strategy, improved their software, and created new technology that has customers willing to pay a premium. To remain successful, Apple must continue doing this. Evidence of success is depicted in Apple’s market value over time (Exhibit 1),
At the end of 1978, Apple, Inc.’s revenue reached 400 percent. This phenomenal occurrence allowed for quick improvements of the Apple II to the Apple II plus in 1979. It surpassed the memory of the original Apple and fashioned an easier startup system selling over 35,000 computers. In the early 1980’s the Apple III was designed to compete with IBM’s PC line. It was a catastrophic fail giving apple a bad name and eventually taking it out of the market competition. Apple needed to redirect their business plan into more affordable and
Steve Jobs once stated, “Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower” (Cingula and Veselica 32). He was in all aspects correct. Through a long test of measures including numerous trials, tribulations and setbacks, Steve Jobs prevailed as cofounder and CEO of Apple Incorporated. The company that went public in 1980 under the alias “Apple Computer” was the product of merely two friends building computers in a garage (Finkle and Mallin 33). It would be built into the technological empire worth more than 32 billion dollars that we know today (Finkle and Mallin 31).
Founded in 1977 Apple Inc. has provided an extended range of products and services to meet the increasing demands of consumers worldwide. Apple has multiple lines of consumer goods including. Computer software and cell phones along with consumer electronic products globally Apple values their shareholders and consistently creates new goods and ideas is a way of life for Apple. Apple has over 300 locations across ten different countries giving them a significant presence in the market. Apple has become a prime example of a prosperous business organization that is thriving globally. Apple is known for their high levels of customer satisfaction and retention and is one of the most well known global organizations (Graziano,2013).
Apple has been the leading force in innovation for the past couple of years, not only does it dominate the mobile-phone industry, it has also transformed the computer industry too. With millions of people using their products today, Apple is one of the most successful companies in the world. However, Apple did not “come all this way” from nothing. It suffered ups and downs just like any other company, with this being said, the way Apple dealt with its problems was the difference between it and any other company.
I had the pleasure of researching Apple, Inc. I don’t own any apple products but I do admire the story behind the product. We are going to go behind the scenes of the major company Apple, Inc. We will look into the services, products, financial profile, history, and marketing. In order to understand who Apple is today we have to understand where it came from. The headquarters for the company is in Cupertino, California. The current CEO of the company is Timothy Cook. Apple currently has 92,600 employees worldwide.Apple Inc. was founded by Steven Wozniak and Steve Jobs in 1976. They had a vision that no one else could possibly understand. It’s hard to see someone else’s vision. Let’s take a look at where the name Apple came from. Jobs and Wozniak was in the car when they thought of the name apple. Jobs was on a fruitarian diet. They wanted a name to represent something that everyone always wants. I don’t know about you, but I’m not always a fan of apples. Jobs recently visited an apple farm and thought the name sounded fun. Wozniak was a fan of the Beatles, and he questioned due to the Beatles record label Apple Records. Jobs was more of the visionary type of person. He seen something great into what Wozniak was trying to create. Sometimes that’s all you need is a little push in the right direction. As I continued to research Apple it amazes me how someone
Apple Inc., was first known as Apple computer Inc., which is a multinational company that produces consumer electronics, softwares for household and commercial purposes and it’s a media content digital distributor. The company also has retail business, having a long chain of retail stores which were named as Apple Stores. The main or core product of Apple is IPhone smartphones, IPad and computers. Apple computer was the first creation of Apple by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak on April 1st 1976. The incorporation of the company was on January 3rd 1977 at Cupertino, California. For almost three decades. Steve jobs was convinced with demand that there was sufficient market for the small computers. With his clear vision and consumer satisfying product, Apple went public in 1980. Soon after this Apple became the most successful public offering in 1956. Very soon Apple hit Fortune 500 list. A stiff external competition was faced by Apple by IBM and Microsoft and even due to internal rapid growth, Apple went into bankruptcy in the middle 1990s. This made Apple to create a new product line of Fragmented Digital Music through their launch of IPods. In the last decade, Apple has seen a very progressive growth and unparalleled success through new variations, softwares and designs. Apple planned a sophisticated distribution strategy to have a upper hand in the competition with other larger companies. Now Apple sells its products throughout the world through
Co-founded by Steve Jobs in 1976, the company was named under Apple Computers Inc. and its initial product Apple IIe gained relative popularity and success. The release of the Macintosh revolutionized the computer experience with a graphical user interfere and a pointer devise called the ‘mouse’ was launched in the same year. The company went public in 1980 resulting in its owners gaining immediate wealth. However, its company’s