Introduction
Background of the company
Apple Inc. is one of the most prosperous electronic firms in the world. This firm was started on April 1, 1976 by two scientists, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. These two individuals were electronic enthusiasts. They were interested in turning their skills in electronics into a large business unit.
Steve Wozniak, popularly known as Woz, was an astute electrician with a keen interest in computers (Tanke, 2000). It was during this time that computers were started. Steve Jobs on the other hand was a shrewd businessman.
Although Woz was more knowledgeable than Jobs in the art of designing computer hardware, Jobs was smatter in entrepreneurship.
While Woz considered his skills in making computers as a hobby, Jobs saw a huge potential of stating a computer firm that would rival the then leading computer firm, the IBM.
They later incorporated Ronald Wayne, a rich businessman who came in to help the two financially. The trio formed a formidable force, which culminated into a company that is prosperous and very profitable.
Although this company had various challenges that saw it eliminate its Chief Executive Officer, who was one of the founder members, in 1985, the firm was able to overcome these challenges using a number of strategies.
Steve Jobs, having been forced out of the firm in 1985 as the chief executive, made a came-back in 1997 with strategies that transformed this firm to what it is currently.
Kurtz (2010) says that Apple is one of the firms that were able to overcome the wave of.com crisis of the early twentieth century that brought down many firm, especially those that were computer based.
Industry in which the company competes
Apple Inc is operating in the electronics industry. This industry is very competitive, having some of the industry giants such as Samsung, Nokia, Tecno, Motorola and many others. The electronic industry has grown over the past century to become an industry that is large and very competitive.
In China, there has emerged a new electronic firm that is offering Apple Inc a very still competition. Lenovo is fighting for the market share in the computer industry. In this industry, other competing firms include HP, Toshiba, IBM, and Dell among others (Weiss, 2011).
The industry also has numerous other upcoming firms, especially in China and South Korea. Given the current trend, the industry is destined for a great expansion.
Strategy of the Company
Mission and vision of the company
The vision and mission of a firm are the basic elements of strategic management. The vision of a firm has been very important in charting the path to be taken by the firm. Apple’s vision statement clearly demonstrates the far this firm sees in the competitive electronics market.
The vision statement of Apple came from a statement made by its founder and former chief executive, Steve Jobs. He argued that man is the creator of change in the world. As such, he should be above structures and systems, and not subordinate to them (Charantimath, 2006).
This vision has seen this firm become very competitive. This has been its driving force in innovations and creativity. Based on this, the firm has ensured that it remains relevant in the market by introducing new products with advanced features.
The mission statement of Apple may not pass as a standard mission statement. This is because it is a list of products that this firm produces, and what it does in ensuring that they remain competitive.
However, by the close of this statement, there is another statement that explains its commitment to students, educators, professionals, and general consumers in providing them with desirable products that are able to meet their desires.
Strategy of the company
Understanding Apple’s strategies in the domestic and international market can help define the best supply chain strategy to use in each market. The domestic market of Apple is the United States. This market is also home market for other giant computer manufactures like the IBM (Barthe, 2010).
For this reason, the level of competition is very high. The world market is also very competitive for there are numerous firms that have mastered the art of producing the computers and phones around the world.
Various Chinese firms have been able to mimic the technologies used by this firm to produce phones with similar features but at very cheap prices because they use simpler technology with cheaper resources
Strategically sweet sport is one of the avenues that this firm has embraced both locally and internationally. It has taken advantage that its new products are able to satisfy its customers in a way that other rival firms cannot. This has attracted it a sea of loyal customers.
Strategic windows make another strategy that this firm has employed. Through innovative minds, this firm has been in a position to develop new products in the world market to serve different new markets.
An instance is the security gadget they develop to help in detecting weaponry at the airport. This strategic window has earned it a lot of revenue not only in the local but also the international markets.
Quality
Apple Inc has been keen on managing quality of its products in the market. In the Phone industry, Apple has the best brands of phones. IPhone is one of the best Smartphone known to have features that can meet and exceed customer’s expectation.
The firm has managed to outsmart Samsung which was offering it a stiff competition in this market. In the computer sector, Apple has come up with personal computers that the market has found unique.
Apple computers have higher capacity in terms of speed, storage and general performance than other existing brands in the market.
Capacity
The capacity at which Apple is currently operating in may be considered optimal in the current market. The company is optimally operating in the phone industry to the levels that can be considered the best.
The management has expanded its capacity and it is now offering special machines that can be used in other sectors such as in airports for the purpose of checking security.
Location
Apple Inc has its headquarters in Cupertino, California in the United States. The firm is does most of its productions in China, while most of the management duties are carried out in the United States. The main market for Apple is in the United States and Europe.
China and other Asia countries also form a substantial market share for this firm. The management of this firm has expanded operations of this firm to include African countries.
Conclusions
Apple Inc is one of the largest electronic firms in the world. This firm has experienced consistent growth over the years to achieve its current status.
The management of Apple Inc has been keen on offering quality products to the market to ensure that they remain satisfied. The firm has its headquarters in the United States, but has global market coverage.
References
Barthe, G. (2010). Verification, Model Checking, and Abstract Interpretation. New York: Springer.
Charantimath, J. (2006).Total Quality Management. New Delhi: Pearson Education.
Kurtz, L. (2010). Contemporary Marketing. Mason: Cengage Learning.
Tanke, M. (2000). Human Resources Management for the Hospitality Industry. Albany: Cengage morale, motivating, and empowering employees. Supervision, 72(9), 23.
Weiss, W. H. (2011). Building Stakeholder Approach. New York: Cambridge University Press.