Strategic Business Management for Apple Computers

Apple Inc, best known as Apple is an American based global company that designs and sells electronics, PCs and computer software. The company was established in 1976 by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak and was incorporated in 1977. Some of the Apple’s best-known products are the Macintosh range of personal computers, iPod, iPhone, and iPad. By 2012, Apple reported to have more than 300 retail stores located in more than 10 countries in the world and more than 60, 000 employees on permanent employment, and about 2,800 on temporal employment. Despite the success the company, Apple has faced hard competition from other electronics manufacturing companies. The objective of this paper is to develop a strategic plan that will enable Apple improve its position in the personal computer industry. The paper will use Michael Porter’s forces; key success factors, SWOT analysis and the competitive strength to point out specific, workable recommendations that will allow Apple stay afloat and improve its position in the personal computer industry (Gamble & Marino 2012).

The machine fixed shortcomings and sales started to grow again. Another thing that drove sales higher was Apple’s domination of the desktop publishing market. The period between 1986 and 1991 were in many ways the golden years for Apple. Because it made both hardware and software, Apple was also able to control all aspects of it computers to plug and play method (Wikipedia, 2012).

The Apple I earned the corporation around $774,000 (Bhanderi). At the time this was Apple’s very first product and to be able to afford this creation Jobs had to sell his calculator in order to do so for $500. However, being their first creation they did experience a few flaws and glitches but were eventually fixed in later models to come. Three years after the release of Apple's second model, the Apple II, the company's sales increased by 700 percent to $139 million (Bhanderi). While jobs was busy with other projects such as NeXT and Pixar, without him Apple slowly lost popularity until he persuaded executive members to buy NeXT in 1996. He was established CEO in 1997, and he held this position until his death 2011(Friedman). Today many say the macbook and iMac are the best computers on the market and are most companies top competitors. The evolution of Apple is incredible considering that Jobs himself was at the time, a college dropout and this company has become was it is

Apple was started in 1976 when Steven Wozniak and Steven Jobs joined forces. Wozniak created the Apple I which Jobs suggested they try to sell. The Apple I was not very successful. By 1980 the Apple III was introduced which increased sales tremendously and helped to employ thousands of people. In 1981, sales became more difficult because the market became populated

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) has emerged as the dominant global manufacturer and marketer of advanced personal computer, desktop and consumer electronics products including the iPod, iTouch and iPhone Series of MP3, tablet PC and smartphone products. Apple's innovative approach to new product development requires intensive coordination and confidentiality on the part of suppliers, as the company will often move quickly from market test to launch in a matter of weeks. The speed and agility Apple moves with is exceptional given its size and the highly competitive nature of the industries it competes in as well (Franke, Schreier, 2010). While best known for its personal computers, MP3 players, tablet PCs and smartphones, Apple is also a leading innovator in the area of systems development and operating systems as well (Apple Investor Relations, 2012).

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

Apple was close to bankruptcy. We all know what happened next. Steve Jobs launched one innovation after another after another, revolutionizing computers, entertainment, music, retail, mobile, and telecommunications. It’s no wonder that CNBC named Steve Jobs the #1 most innovative and transformative business leader of the past 25 years” (Gallo). This is exactly what happened when Steve Jobs returned to Apple. Jobs came back into the company as was so innovative with his products, creating easy to use, fast, reliable products at a rapid pace. “ “Innovation comes from saying no to 1,000 things,” said Jobs. When Jobs returned to Apple he dramatically reduced the number of products the company made so each product had an A-team. When Jobs introduced the iPhone in 2007 he pointed out that while other smartphone makers were adding features and buttons, the iPhone would remove them, making it simpler, cleaner, and user-friendly” (Gallo). Jobs’ innovative technique to flipped the market completely around was genious and exactly what the consumers wanted. Instead of adding a million features to his products, he did the complete opposite and took all of the extra away. “Apple introduced such revolutionary products as the Macbook Air, iPod and iPhone, all of which have

Apple was founded by three men; Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ron Wayne in 1976. The company received an investment from Mark Markkula in 1977, introducing Apple Computer Inc. and the release of the Apple II. The Apple III and Apple IIe were then released. The Apple III was a high end machine that was highly priced, whereas the Apple IIe was a computer used in various households. In 1980, Apple became a public company which increased their share price significantly, making most of Apple’s staff members’ millionaires. By 1983, Apple became a Fortune 500 company as a result of their rapid growth (Alcom, 2012).

Steven Jobs and Stephen Wosniak created Apple in 1976. The two young entrepreneurs probably would have never thought their company would be so successful. They first came out with a microcomputer, which was used mostly by hobbyists and had little success. It wasn’t until 1977 when Jobs and Wosniak introduced to the world the Apple 2 that they tasted any form

In 1977, Jobs, teamed with Steve Wozniak, released their first product, the Apple II, and sales went through the roof. Their first year they made $2.7 million, and in three years,

Started in the year 1975 in Jobs’ parents’ garage, Apple was the ambitious venture started by two tech prodigies: Steve Job and Steve Wozniak (Entrepreneur). This humble business venture eventually became a highly profitable tech giant all because of Jobs’ insatiable need for perfection in the technology

2. Analyze the structure of the personal computer industry over the last 10 years. How have the dynamics of the PC industry changed?

Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak founded Apple in California in 1976. Their mission was to introduce an easy to use computer to market, which led to a computing revolution and quickly became the industry leader by selling more than 100,000 Apple IIs in 1980. After IBM entered PC market, IBM PCs, which used Microsoft’s DOS (OS), gained more market share and became the new standard for the PC industry. At the same time, Apple introduced the Macintosh in 1984. However, Apple’s net income fell 62% due to the Mac’s slow processor speed and lack of software limited sales. In 1985, Steve Jobs was forced out and John Sculley took charge of the Mac. Under the direction of Sculley, Apple

Stephen Woziniak and Steve Jobs founded Apple Computer in 1976, which was called the Apple I, then in year 1978 just two years after, Apple II was introduced. More than 10,000 units were sold which relatively was a success, Macintosh (Mac), which dramatically change personal computer. iMac, iBook, iPod, iPad, iPhone, and other come from the lineage of Apple.

In its infancy, Apple Computer Inc. began with the Macintosh personal computer. The company was founded on April 1, 1976. The founders were Steve Wozniak and Steven Jobs. They incorporated the company in 1977, on January 3rd, in Cupertino, California. In the twenty years that followed, the company produced personal computers. Besides the Macintosh, Apple Inc. made Apple II, and the Power Mac lines. Although they lasted for decades, during the 90’s the company experienced some turbulent times with low sales and market share. Steve Jobs left Apple Inc. and came back in 1996 when his company, NeXT was purchased by Apple. In 1997, Jobs became the interim CEO. In later years it became a permanent position for him.