Organizational Theory on Apple Inc.

Capitalism refers to an economic system whereby ownership of as well as investment in the means of production is made by private corporations or individuals to whom wealth accrues since they own the means of production. Society morphed from the feudal system to a bourgeois one that did not eliminate class antagonisms (Marx and Engels para 8). Instead, “it has but established new classes, new conditions of oppression, new forms of struggle in place of the old ones” (Marx and Engels para 9). At best, the capitalist society that emerged in place of the feudal system merely served to abridge class antagonism by erasing multiple hierarchical classes and replacing them with two classes, the proletariats and the bourgeoisie (Marx and Engels para 10). The bourgeoisie refers to the wealthy class who own the means of production and can, therefore, accumulate incremental wealth by subjecting the proletariat into endless labor. On their part, the proletariat does not own the means of production and are forced to sell their labor cheaply to earn a living, ultimately sustaining the capitalist machinery.

This class has not waivered from that principle and has become in itself an almost limitless superpower by capturing first mans institution of government and then man himself. As Marx states “…the bourgeoisie has at last, since the establishment of Modern Industry and of the world-market, conquered for itself, in the modern representative State, exclusive political sway. The executive of the modern State is but a committee for managing the common affairs of the whole bourgeoisie.”(475) and “It has pitilessly torn asunder the motley feudal ties that bound man to his “natural superiors” and has left remaining no other nexus between man and man than naked self-interest, than callous cash payment.”(475) The bourgeoisie grasp has also reached such a length that it can access the worldwide pool of resources and commodities of which include the proletariat himself. This grasp has not only been able to perpetuate the oppression by keeping the wages of laborers at a continually degrading standard, but it has also been able to distract the proletariat from the source of the problem through the competition that corresponds with the decreasing wage. After offering this encouraging

Just like the slaves in slavery and the serfs in feudalism, the wage-laborers are exploited tremendously. Capitalism, under the disguise of fair exchanges, carries its exploitation nature from previous economic systems.

Capitalist society commodifies/market human activity by subjecting all aspects of people’s lives and social relations to market requirements. These relations are then normalized and made to seem natural. In capitalist societies, our prestige and status is related to productive ability; society values as by how much we earn, who our friends are, where we live, how we earn a living, sort of healthcare and education. Capitalist systems of structured inequality continue because society portray them as normal and inevitable; the victims blame themselves for their failure to be successful. In this way dominant groups are able to maintain the status quo and the hegemony because they face less challenges from powerless

“Organization and societies differ markedly in how power is distributed. Alderfer (1979) and Brown (1983) offer that power is displayed in either an overbounded and underbounded systems. In an overbounded system, power is high, concentrated and everything is tightly regulated. In an underbounded system, power is diffuse and the system is very loosely controlled. An overbounded system regulated politics with a firm hand; an underbounded system openly encourages conflict and power games” (Boleman, L & Deal, T, 2013, p. 200).

A world of system designed to keep people in unjust and unequal positions is held in place by several interrelated expression of "power over": political power, economic power, physical force, and ideological power (Bishop, 1994: 36). So, we can say power is defined as a possession of control, authority or influence over others. In terms of power of dominant groups over subordinate groups, we define power as domination of one group of people over another in major important spheres of life. Power inequities have been in existence throughout the history of humanity and the ways of manifestation evolved from extreme overt oppression to subtle, covert oppression. Three major forms of power inequalities discussed in this paper are

With the protracted reign of segregation of the proletariat by a system that benefits the bourgeoisie, this entire face of discrimination makes an economy rigged toward one goal, which is keeping the current owners of the means of the production of power. Aiding the bourgeoisie is the world adoption of an hyper-capitalistic economic model where many of the traditional socialistic programs are cut out to keep the proletariat out of power by limiting their capital. While saving the bourgeoisie their money and sometimes increasing it due to the privatization of usual state-operated institutions that are now destined to filling the coffers of the affluent in the society.

Hierarchy in an organization is seen as reflecting inherent inequalities, centralization is popular, subordinates expect to be told what to do and the ideal boss is a benevolent autocrat.

Through analyzing the written works of Max Weber’s Types of Legitimate Domination and Bureaucracy to C. Wright Mills’ The Sociological Imagination, the writings of the comparative authors reveal the domination of power in a socially constructed society and the way that individuals are influenced by the constructed hierarchy of power. Through sociological analysis, these concepts can be applied to the ways individuals are continuously influenced through socially constructed institutions in a society where individuals constantly interact with one another. As Mills and Weber apply sociological analysis to the context of their observations, they are able to observe the growing positive and negative influences that ultimately shape the

For centuries scholars, social scientists, philosophers and political theorists have tried to understand the nature and mechanisms of power that structure how social life functions. Karl Marx although he never specifically developed a theory of power, his work constantly addresses it. Max Weber’s definition of power in society remains the starting point for many sociologists (Cole, 2017). Michel Foucault on the other hand theorises the question of power and his theorisation is possibly not only the most known but widely used in the present day (“The “How” and “Why” of Power: From Marx to Foucault to Power today”, 2017).

Throughout history there have been many successful companies as well as companies that have been a debacle. The success of the company has to do with the management and how it executes its strategy. If the management is ineffective, the company will most likely fail; however, if the company has good management it is more likely to prosper. There are many responsibilities that a manager must complete, chief among them are the four functions of management are planning, organizing, leading, and controlling (PowerPoint). In order for the company to be successful the management must fulfill all four functions. In some case not all four functions are met to expectation, with the results that the company to be not as successful as it could be if they

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

As a consultant for Orb Ltd a company who specializes in organizational behavior. I have been asked by the CEO to research areas within organizational behavior on the two examples that I selected, so it can be used for future training.

On the other hand, this is a tech corporation whose very existence relies on creativity. Th

There are many theories pertaining to the nature of power in society. In modern society, it is important to identify where and when power is exercised, who benefits and who suffers from it being exerted upon them. In this tradition, it is useful to examine the managerialist perspective.