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Organizational Structure and Apple Research Paper
Pages:4 (1283 words)
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Document Type:Research Paper
Document:#30855141
Apple Inc.'s Social Performance
Apple is one of the most successful software and hardware companies in the world right now. It's range of products such as the iPhone, iPod, iTunes, iPad and laptops are popular the world over. The company is headquartered in Cupertino, CA and was founded by Stephen Wozniak and Steven Jobs. This report analyzes Apple Inc.'s social performance.
Description of Apple Inc.
Nature
Apple is primarily a hardware company (Apple.com, 2014). While the company produces some software, the bulk of its operations revolves around hardware. Apple is committed to offering its users and customers the best and most intuitive user experience by designing innovative services, software and hardware (Apple.com, 2014). Apple's business strategy takes advantage of the unique position it enjoys of being able to both design and create hardware, operating systems and software to give its users and customers solutions and products that are far superior to those of competitors and that integrate with one another seamlessly.
2.2 Structure
The organizational structure at Apple is one of the reasons the company has enjoyed such high levels of innovation. An organizational structure that promotes exchange of ideas and progress allows for the conception, presentation and execution of innovative ideas and this leads to exponential business growth over time (Meyer, 2015). The tremendous innovative strides the company took in the past decade is attributed to the leadership and vision of Steve Jobs. Jobs put in place an organizational structure that encouraged innovation. Tim Cook who is the current CEO has made very few changes to the original structure given the current market and industry conditions to allow the company to operate optimally.
3 Products of Apple Inc.
Apple manufactures a range of products including tablets, televisions, phones and software. The products are:
• iPhone
• Mac, including MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, Mac Pro and iMac.
• iPod
• iPad
• Apple Watch
• Apple TV
• iTunes
• Range of software for the hardware and services it offers
4 External Environment of Apple Inc.
4.1 Social Factors
Social factors affect Apple just as much as they affect any company. Apple has taken great effort in understanding consumer expectations and behavior so as to deliver products that users want and need (Adamkasi, 2015). The macro environment consists of sociocultural factors that shape the conversation and preferences of the consumers Apple targets. As society adopts mobile communication and personal computing at scale, Apple is fast increasing its capabilities to develop high-tech solutions that meet the expectations of such a connected and demanding marketplace (Adamkasi, 2015).
4.2 Technological Factors
The evolving technological developments determine the technological trends in the industry and demands that players in the industry adopt them failing which competitors that are more agile will overtake them. Apple has been very good at taking advantage of the technological innovations that arise in the technological environment and also using them as a base to develop even superior solutions. The increasing use of web and mobile applications as well as the growth in cloud computing have shaped the company's strategy in the last decade. Users now want products that integrate easily with one another and Apple has been one of the drivers of the connectivity movement (Adamkasi, 2015). While factors in the external environment definitely shape Apple's policy, the company enjoys a unique position where it can also shape the conversation in the market place as it adopts, builds or abandons various features of technology (obsolete ones).
5 Stakeholders Impact on Apple Inc.'s Financial Performance
Stakeholders consist of the people who have an interest, share,…
Sample Source(s) Used
References
Adamkasi. (2015). PESTLE Analysis of Apple. PestleAnalysis.com. Retrieved from http://freepestelanalysis.com/pestle-analysis-of-apple/ on 4th January 2017.
Apple.com. (2014). Apple Inc. Retrieved from http://investor.apple.com/ on 4th January, 2017.
Chen, H. (2012). Who's Really to Blame for Apple's Chinese Labor Problems? The Atlantic.
Retrieved from http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/03/whos-really-to-blame-for-apples-chinese-labor-problems/253892/ on 4th January, 2017.
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