Strategic choices and Evaluations
Apple Inc. Leadership
Apple Inc. like any company has undergone changes with regard to its leadership over the years. Steve Jobs, however, the co-founder and CEO of the American consumer electronics company was renowned for his unique leadership style, which was a key ingredient to the success of Apple. Steve Jobs was a master at arranging ideas, art and technology in ways that repeatedly invented the future (Isaacson, 2011). Isaacson stated, “Some leaders push innovations by being good at the big picture. Others do so by mastering details. Jobs did both, relentlessly” (2011). Jobs was voted as one of the greatest entrepreneurs of all time by Buniess Week and by 2010 the World’s best CEO by Harvard
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He would tell you that your work, your ideas and sometimes your existence were worthless right to your face…working for Steve was also ecstasy. Once in a while he would tell you, you were great and that made it all worthwhile” (Cruikshank, 2006).
It is well known that Jobs could be arrogant however he possessed many positive qualities of great charismatic leader. He had a clear vision, a passion for the company and its people and the ability to inspire trust. Jobs also ensured everyone else at the company bought into his vision, thus creating a ‘higher purpose’ for the company (Henson, 2014). His passion and sheer determination for Apple is legendary; Jobs said, “I’m convinced that about half of what separates the successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance.” This passion was evident for everyone to see and so his employees trusted him; he was able to show them repeatedly his competence in many different areas and wasn’t driven by his on ego (Henson, 2014). Furthermore Jobs was credited with imposing discipline on Apple; an attribute the company had lacked for years (Johnson et al. , 2014). Apple’s leadership didn’t accept easy, it was believed that when the company wins, everyone wins (Merchant and Nilofer, 2010).
In January 2009 Jobs left Apple due to health issues. He would still be involved in major strategic decisions, however COO Tim Cook would handle everyday operations (Johnson et al. ,
Secondly, Steve Jobs used tyrannical leadership style – hire and fire at will – to ensure that his employees were always delivered products of extremely has high quality. The American author Andrew Keen's wrote “There's not an ounce of democracy at Apple. That's what makes it a paragon of such traditional corporate values as top-down leadership, sharply hierarchical organization and centralized control. It's Steve's company – pursuing his vision, at his pace, with his team, making his products. Without Steve Jobs' authoritarian leadership, Apple would be just another Silicon Valley outfit...” (Keen, 2007). CEO of Enterprise Management Associates, said, “Steve Jobs is a special example of a leader who dominated his company employees and guided them rightly with his authoritarian leadership style and unmatchable vision" (Chaudhuri, 26th April, 2012). Steve Jobs employees were always highly concentrated in work and delivered products of extremely high quality,
Much of Apple’s success has been attributed to Jobs. With a unique ability to visualize innovative product designs and predict what people would like to have, Jobs was known to be obsessive about process and detail. However, his influence and his presence in the whole company made a hard struggle on Apple by the time of his another leave for medical reasons. This additional challenge for Apple started when Jobs handed in the role of control to Timothy D. Cook, the current COO with a prior announcement. Jobs will be difficult to replace, since it is considered that no other person at Apple has had the experience of founding the company, being asked to leave the company, and returning years later to save it from bankruptcy just like Jobs was. But then, although the challenge soon to be faced was getting harder, several analysts are confident that Apple will survive the loss.
Steve jobs demonstrated to the world just how fundamental technology is in our developing environment. He exemplified a successful and innovative leader, especially in the face of failure. One could argue that although Steve Jobs was an extremely influential businessman of his time, he had numerous tragic flaws. Egotistic is a word that describes this illustrious worker. Credit for ideas were never given to the instrumental “behind the scenes” intellectuals, and without the them, he may never have been so successful. While he was working for Apple, people would always struggle with the individualistic approach he had and would often times complain about his boastful nature. He exhibited qualities that made his dislikable, however without Steve Jobs the iPhone, a
After ten years with Apple, Jobs left a gap between him and Apple when he purchased Pixar. Jobs came back to Apple after eleven years after selling Pixar to Disney for 7.4 billion dollars. By the time Jobs came back, Apple bought NeXT and hired Jobs as an advisor, but through the pure genius of Steve Jobs, the “nearly bankrupt Apple was transformed into one of the planet’s most valuable corporations” (Apple Founder Steve Jobs Dies). After Jobs’ comeback, everything about Apple became better. From new products such as the iTouch, ipod, iPhone, iPad, Jobs’ ideas rained down new products that Apple’s rivals just could not catch up. Although some people prefer the complex computers from Windows, most everyday people want a electronic device that we know how to function and control. Jobs was able to bring to the common people what they really needed with his simplicity in most of his products and his user-friendly applications. Jobs led Apple until August of 2011 when he stepped down from CEO seat of Apple, and six weeks later, passed away in Palo Alto, California, the city Apple was born.
Apple Inc. started off as a small computer company and rose to prominence over the following years. They faced great challenges and obstacles to evolve and become one of the top notch corporations today. Having a great CEO, Steve Jobs, is credited for the success of Apple. Under the leadership of Steve Jobs, Apple was able to innovate industry changing technology.
Apple has been a part of my life since the first iPod, but as time went on, my love for the company and the man behind it would grow strong. As time flew by, I became more and more obsessed with technology whether it had to do with computers, TV’s, phones, or pretty much anything that had a chip in it. I would start to follow numerous tech sites, blogs, and I would also watch countless videos of unboxings as well as reviews. Furthermore as time passed by, I would buy every generation of iPod, and pretty much any other product that was made by Apple. Moreover, I would also watch every conference that Apple conducted, so that I kept up with the latest and greatest Apple news and product line. From when I was younger until now, I’ve seen Apple grow as company, as well as fall, but the person that would keep them in line was the one and only Steve Jobs. Steve Jobs was always a brilliant student, but had a bit of a tough upbringing, but as anyone can see that didn’t stop him from creating revolutionary products such as the iPhone, iPad, and the Macbook Air.
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
Eleven long years after the mercurial young Apple cofounder was unceremoniously ousted by CEO John Sculley, Jobs is returning to the company he so loved clothed in glory. If Jobs's career were a quilt, it would be a patchwork of ermine and calico. The self-possesed, and some say obsessed, Jobs does nothing in half measures and so seems to reap his rewards in abject failure and stunning successes.
One of the worlds most valuable company is Apple. Apple leads the world in innovation with iPhone, iPad, Macs and many other devices. It all started when the 21 year-old college dropout. It was no straight path for him to get to what he created. It was more like a windy road. It was evident from his early years that he had no grand plan to do what he has done. However, Steve’s windy road growing up, jobs found inspiration and creativity and most
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
In 1997, Steve Jobs returned to Apple as an advisory and with the purposes of reshaping the product line. The changes made by Jobs resulted in increased sales and $309 million in profits. Job changed the mindset of Apples management and development team. He encourage them to have the “think different” management style that promotes the development of products that are ahead of the technology and design curve, and a creative retail strategy. It is this strategy that would eventually make Apple the best-selling company in the PC industry.
Introduction The intention of presenting this report is to give a full strategic appraisal and evaluation of Apple Inc. In 1976, the company was founded in a garage in Santa Clara, California. The American multinational corporation mainly involves in designing and marketing consumer electronics, computer software and as well as personal computers. Differentiation is the current strategy position of Apple Inc. There are five main firms in the PC industry and among them; the world’s leading brand is Dell. Apple’s major target is to sustain their present strategic position and to take over the market position as a leader. The key stakeholders include Steve Jobs, employees, lenders and the government.
It is beyond all doubt that Apple Inc is one of the most successful and well-known companied all over the world nowadays. What’s more, the company is considered to be the leader of the industry The Apple products are of high quality and in high demand on all the markets. Apple services and stores are the gold standards for all the followers and niche players of the industry. Moreover, the majority of Apple customers are extremely loyal to the brands. Once they started using its high-technical products they keep doing it. At the same time the market share of the company is increasing constantly. Probably all the competitors are questioning what is the key to Apple Company’s success. It is important to note that the whole strategy determines the success of the business and the strategic analysis of the company can help to identify the main criteria. Thus, the object of the research paper is to develop a strategic analysis of Apple Inc, including its internal and external environment.
Apple is an American based multinational technology corporation headquartered In Cupertino, California. The company is best known for manufacturing, designing personal computers, consumer software products, and electronics. The company currently employs approximately 110,000 employees worldwide (Fiegerman,2016). The company was established by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne in 1976. In 2007, the name changed from Apple Computer Company to Apple Inc. co-founder, Steve Jobs as the CEO. Under the leadership of Steve Jobs, Apple became one of the most powerful companies in the world of technology and innovation. Tim Cook is the current CEO and his leadership style is different. Jobs was a visionary leader. Cook focuses
By doing this, Apple could predict demand and delivering products on time, which is crucial in the technology industry where new products could cannibalize existing offerings. (O’Brien) In 2004 for several months served as CEO of Apple, while Jobs battled with health issues, and in 2007 Jobs promoted Cook to COO and in 2011, Jobs pushed for Cook to become his successor. (O’Brien)