Apple’s Business Examination Paper
Becky Wilson
LDR/531
October 3, 2012
Dr. David E. Ferguson
Every Organization or business has to have organizational structure in order to succeed because it prioritizes the hierarchy, identifies the guidelines, policies and procedures needed for a company achieve goals and objectives. The Organizational structure also depicts levels of management from the top down. The organization that I would like to work for is Apple Inc., In this essay, I will give a brief overview of the company’s history, define it organizational structure and effects it have on the success of the organization, distinguish between leadership and management, describe the culture and the core capabilities which lead to
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Mr. Jobs was known for influencing all every employee in the organization to work cohesively to achieve a common goal. Today, Tim Cook is the CEO and has assumed the duties and responsibilities previously held by Steve Jobs.
The managers are responsible for managing the day to day operation; assigning tasks and making sure tasks are done correctly, efficiently and in a timely manner. Mangers are directly involved in the decision making process, which contributes to the success of the organization. Managers has to define goals and designing a strategic plan to obtain goals, directing, motivating and encouraging team to achieve personal and professional goals, and monitoring the performance of the organization. Henry Fayol wrote that all managers perform five management functions: planning, organizing, leading, controlling and coordinating, however today all are relevant except coordinating. Management’s ability to perform the five functions of management is one of the main ingredients to the success of Apple.
Organizational Behaviors According to Henry Mintzberg, there are five P’s of strategy (plan, ploy, pattern, position and perspective), and each “P” stands for a different approach to strategy and by understanding each “P”, a company can develop a robust business strategy and take advantage of the company’s strengths and capabilities. The main strategies of Apple are to concentrate on the
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
Both Bolman & Deal’s frame of organization and Morgan’s Metaphors provided a number of insights into the nature of organizations and structure. Most of these theories can be applied separately or jointly to examine organization as well as to diagnose problems that guide managers into a better understanding of their organization. Therefore, the main purpose of this analysis aims to make sense of Apple Inc. as an organization and to identify its
Managers need to ensure that targets are met and improvements if necessary are made. They need to plan ahead to ensure that their targets are achievable and control the workload to ensure all activities are carried out effectively.
Managers perform many functions and play many roles. They are responsible for handling many situations and these situations are usually different from one another.
Steve Jobs is the CEO at Apple. Jobs founded Apple in 1976, and the company has developed into a major force within the electronics industry. Much of the success of the company has been due to the leadership of Steve Jobs. He has the personal attributes which are needed in order to be a successful leader, for example he is smart, communicative and is a great co-ordinator. However, there are limitations to Jobs leadership at Apple with factors such as shareholders, corporate governance, corporate social
The world of business has undergone radical and dramatic changes in the last decade changes that present extraordinary challenges for the contemporary manager. A manager is an organizational member who is responsible for planning, organizing, leading, and controlling the activities of the organization so that the goals can be achieved. According to a widely referenced study by Henry Mintzberg, managers serve three primary roles: interpersonal, informational, and decision-making. Management is process of administrating and coordinating resources effectively and efficiently in an effort to achieve the goals of the organization.
However, they may face the limitation on the firms’ development. Apple is based on a hybrid hierarchical structure (mixed with other organizational structures (Meyer, 2015). Meyer (2015) depicts that companies’ main framework is based on innovation and the leadership of Steve Jobs but for that type of leadership only works if the structure allows it to do so. Due to leadership change to Tim Cook, there are some changes made in the organizational structure in order to suit the market and its demands (Meyer, 2015). Despite the leadership change in Apple Inc. it may well enhance Apple’s capabilities will grow rapidly in creative and design (Meyer, 2015).
He has crossed all the levels of leadership and become the top managers in the world .He was intensely focused when committed, brave enough to take risky leaps, and charismatic enough to enlist legions of employees and clients in the constant objective of his aspirations. When Steve Jobs formed Apple in 1997 and the company was in financial crisis, he knew exactly how to get rid of almost all but a few of key products and projects that matched his vision. The way he stood by his vision inspired his employees and granted great respect from his business partners and
His role becames crucially important in August of 2011. Cook had worked with the company prior to becoming the CEO. Cook was previously a “Chief Operating Officer and was responsible for all the company’s worldwide sales and operations, including end- to-end management of Apple’s supply chain, sales activities, and service and support in all markets and countries” COO and was accountable for the entire companies’ sales and operation, consisting of all management of Apple’s supply chain, sales activities and services as well as supporting the markets (Apple.com). With the experience of having been the COO it was easy for Cook to become a CEO. His education made it a natural transition for him to become a CEO. Cook graduated from Duke university and received his MBA. In addition to receiving his MBA he also had a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering, which he received from Auburn University (Apple.com). Having a good executive experience made Cook adept, resulting in him becoming a CEO. Being adept is crucial in being successful CEO, however their philosophy on leadership could make the leader adhere to a certain style of leading. Cook leadership philosophy is “..‘CEOs and top executives, they get so planted in their old ideas, and they refuse or don’t have the courage to admit that they’re now wrong’” that many top executives and CEO refuse to accept that they have made an error, but also
From its start-up until the present, Apple’s corporate structure hasn’t changed a lot. Before his death, Steve Jobs was the one to make the calls regarding all the decisions; everything had to be passed through him. The company’s decision making processes were and still are centralized, in which the CEO makes all the decisions but it is incorporating more of a collaborative approach. The company is doing so by encouraging its hardware and software teams to collaborate. This approach however, never existed when Jobs was the CEO. Apple is considered a centralized company because it makes high capital investments that encourage centralization. It is highly competitive, offers high technology products, has a homogeneous product line, low product diversification, and has a lot of experience doing international business. Furthermore, it is organized on different basis; functional, divisional and geographical. Its functional structure is that the innovations and visions essentially come from top management and flow down the organization. Top management includes the board of directors in which they oversee and ensure that shareholders’ interests are being served for a long-term. Also, its functional structure is departmentalized and includes marketing, engineering, manufacturing, financing, IT, research and development. Its divisional functions include the products the company is offering, the market it is operating in and geographical areas. Apple has four product categories; the
Shane R. Mittan Bachelor of Arts (BA) Telecommunications and Information Management Western Michigan University College of Arts & Sciences School of Communication 1903 West Michigan Ave. Kalamazoo, MI 49008 Tel: (989) 339-1688 Email: ShaneMittan@gmail.com Web: http://homepages.wmich.edu/~s5mittan
Apple is considered to this day one of the most important and well-known corporations of the world (Rumelt, 2011). Since the early beginnings the company has been known for its particular focus on a specific user market as well as its customer friendly campaigns and touch for an upper medium consumer. Currently, Apple stands as one of the most successful corporations on the market. This place however is the result of a specific line of thinking and a strategic planning that transformed Apple Computer to Apple Inc. and placing the company in front of its competitors.
What the structure of apple company is customized management institution,the ice of bureaucratic hurdles was broken by this creative simplifies structure. It is the creative culture that Apple Company has launched the new technology new products come out every year.
Tim Cook is the most important executive and the CEO of Apple. Before being named CEO in August 2011 he was in charge of a large portion of the companies planning and daily operations, His direction and supervision anticipated an essential spike in deals for Apple 's Macintosh division and delivered a significant arrange in the revamping of key supplier affiliations, guaranteeing adaptability in light of a clearly interest for business center.
Apple has achieved more success under the leadership of Steve Jobs than under the leadership of current chief executive officer (CEO) Tim Cook due to differences of management style, research and development and Apple’s profitability as a result of these differences in management.