Business plan
Apple designs, manufactures and markets personal computers and related software, peripherals and personal computing and communicating solutions. Customers are attracted to Apple’s products for a variety of reasons, including the reduced amount of training resulting from the use of their products, advanced graphics capabilities in their gadgets, industrial design features of the Company’s hardware products, and ability of their products to network and communicate with other computer systems and environments.
The marketing department of the company addresses these attributes every time it makes communication to its customers. The key success factor has been creation of value by igniting people’s imagination to make a favorable impression of the products by means of brand positioning, advertising, and promotion.
Strategies that the company has employed as means to retain, maintain, and sustain the loyalty of the customers are numerous. The first one, Apple has continued to engage in extensive research for the development of its products. Basically, the company considers the needs and desires of the customers before launching new products to the market. It relies on the feedback, both positive and negative, of the customers about its earlier devices and makes changes according to the desires expressed by the customers.
One of the most common strategies that Apple’s former chief executive officer, Steve Job, employed in marketing is that, he never praised the Iphones and Ipads and the amazing magical features the both have; rather, he was focused on how the products can satisfy the customers. This same strategy seems to have remained in the company even after Steve Job’s departure.
Innovation is the second key thing the company has focused on to improve and maintain customer loyalty. The gadgets have a fabulous look; very attractive for the customers to like them at first glance. Once the customers begin using these products, they get to enjoy the experience with the numerous applications that come along with the products.
Moreover, as the company’s success depends on its technologically innovative products. Apple has implemented strict information protection policies in order to preserve the confidentiality of its trade information.
In addition, Apple has specific policies for the communication to the press and financial analysts and only allows limited personal use of Apple-owned equipment. In order to prevent conflicts of interest, the company has identified several possible sources of such conflicts and recommended avoidance strategies.
From a strategic viewpoint, Apple’s code of business ethics aims at establishing ethical behavior which should lead to ethical decisions by its management and employees’ decisions that reasonable or typical stakeholders would find acceptable. This is because it aids the stakeholders, the organization, and the society. Actually, Apple strongly aims at establishing a culture that emphasizes the importance of ethics.
Although Apple has developed a consistent and exemplary code of business ethics, it has not been successful in implementing all the three necessary steps for fostering an ethical organizational climate. Nevertheless, it has to be concluded that Apple definitely can be regarded as a role model in terms of emphasizing the importance of business ethics.
Apple’s core fundamental principle is to use good judgment. The company is especially aware of its responsibility to shareholders, communities, and customers in conforming to legal/ethical boundaries and complying with applicable laws. In addition, the company’s employees are fully aware of their responsibilities and duties.
Apple’s business standards include honesty, ethical awareness, avoidance of conflicts of interest, respect of confidentiality of internal information, highest standards of corporate citizenship(rules and laws), and the provision of benefits to communities through the company’s presence. Apple expects its employees, business partners, and other parties to comply with these standards and policies.
Company analysis
Today’s apple operation is very different from the way it was before. Currently, the company employs over 13000 workers globally with a revenue worth of over $ 30 billion within the year 2011. This is accounted for by the sales of the smart phones and the Ipads. However, the company also has a presence in the PC and computer industry with its macbook pro and macbook air, and the Macintosh computer doing relatively well in the industry.
Other products include digital video and music playing devices. The company also deals in software and services. The company has seems to have little focus on the PC market, since there currently four specific defined market segments in which it has laid much emphasis. The four market segments include, education, consumer, business and creative.
Apple’s finance and treasury division has to provide the company with a sound financial policy, managing general obligations as well as special programs. A few of them are to mention: the company places their short-term investment in highly liquid securities issued by high credit quality issuers and, by policy, limits the amount of credit exposure to anyone issuer. The firm’s general policy is to limit the risk of principal loss and ensure the safety of invested funds by limiting market and credit risk.
The company has not entered into any transactions with unconsolidated entities whereby it has financial guarantees, subordinated retained interests, derivative instruments or other contingent arrangements that expose Apple to continuing risks and contingent liabilities. Therefore, a vibrant risk management taking care of hedging foreign exchange exposure, adjusting to local conditions and making use of “financial engineering” to secure capital flows is indispensable.
The company’s leadership
Steve Job can be described as the charismatic leader who possessed strong technical obsession, creative and innovative skills, enthusiasm, commitment and entrepreneurship. Moreover, Jobs possessed a business sense for the marketability of his products and therefore could streamline Apple’s product portfolio and introduce new and highly successful products such as the iPod.
In addition, his user-friendly business approach did not only lead to increased value for customers through user-friendly products but also put the customer in the centre of Apple’s business and constantly praises him as the best customer in the world.
Currently the company is headed by Tim Cooke as chief executive officer. He was the former chief operation officer when Jobs was the CEO. Even though it might be hard to fit in to the shoe of Jobs, Cooke has done a lot to ensure that the company maintains its growth and high revenue and profits.
Steve Jobs’ bibliography
When Steve Jobs came back to Apple in 1997, he immediately recruited a new Board of Directors and had to reposition Apple in the evolving personal computer industry. In fact, Jobs also proved his capabilities of being able to make harsh decisions during the restructuring of Apple when he rescinded the licenses of competitors who have been cloning Macintosh computers and killed the Newton hand-held device.
In short, Steve Jobs not only successfully pursued his vision for apple but also implemented necessary restructuring efforts in the past which led to an increase in the company’s profits and shareholder’s wealth.
It is no doubt that Steve Job was the right man for Apple because he was not only admired by the Silicon Valley elite for the foundation of the company but also for his glamour, technological obsession, and the other characteristics and abilities discussed above. Moreover, Business week titled him one of the best managers 2010 as Job moved beyond computers to establish himself in two businesses where new comers rarely emerge unscathed: music and movies.
Steve Jobs was the first to find a way to compel consumers to pay for online music. Nevertheless, critics of Steve Job claim that he seems strangely uninterested in the “post-PC devices” and that he created a “reality-distortion field” as his enthusiasm for a favored technology is so great and his selling of it so sure, that anyone who meets him invariably feels converted.
Steve Job can be seen as one of the fathers of Apple’s current digital hub strategy that has transformed the personal computer into a multimedia and entertainment hub that connects many devices. In fact, this strategy can be regarded as visionary and revolutionary as it is especially aimed at the future.
Therefore, it can be concluded that Steve Job apparently has developed a coherent strategy to deal with future challenges and is convinced that his approach will lead the personal computer once again into a new era and therefore guarantee Apple’s future success.
Conclusion
Although Apple’s core strategy has always been associated with Steve Job and his vision for the company, Apple’s other senior executives have shown that they are sufficiently skilled to contribute to the future success of the company. This is due to their strong professional background and the sharing of the company’s common values. Many of them come from other innovative and upright companies.
Strategies that the company has employed as means to retain, maintain, and sustain the loyalty of the customers are numerous. The first one, Apple has continued to engage in extensive research for the development of its products. Moreover, several statements and their overall public behavior, show that they have also adopted the company’s norms and conduct their jobs in the ethical manner which is demanded through the company’s code of business ethics.
In addition, as Apple doesn’t give any information concerning future strategies, products, and plans to the public, it can be followed that the internal communication and discussion among the company’s top management is not only fruitful but also characterized by the loyalty to the company’s norms and rules. So, it is obvious that Apple’s top management is highly involved in the internal strategic management process and contributes to the future success of the company.
References
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