Company Overview
Apple Inc. manufactures and markets various digital devices, accessories, and a range of related services. The company operates in different industries, including computer hardware, electronic computers, and electronic computer manufacturing (Apple Inc. (NMS: AAPL), n.d). The company’s main products are the iPhone, iPad, Mac, wearables, home devices, and accessories. It also provides advertising, cloud, digital content, and payment services.
The company was founded in 1977, and Timothy Cook is Apple’s CEO (Apple Inc. (NMS: AAPL), n.d). The company is based in the US, and its headquarters are in Cupertino, CA. Fortune Media (2022) has been naming Apple the most admired company inside and outside the industry for 15 years, identifying its overall success (p. 95). Therefore, the company is currently one of the most influential and recognizable in the world.
Analysis of Current Mission Statement
Apple’s mission statement is “to bring the best user experience to customers through innovative hardware, software, and services” (Pereira, 2023). Apple’s mission statement currently lacks core components that should be mentioned. The mission statement should refer to nine components, while the current statement contains only customers, products or services, distinctive competence, and technologies (David et al., 2019, p. 53). Therefore, the revised mission statement should also include markets, concern for survival, growth, profitability, philosophy, public image, and employee concerns (David et al., 2019, p. 53).
Revised Mission Statement
A revised mission statement is to bring customers the best user experience through innovative hardware, software, and services. Serving markets worldwide, we can grow and develop, offering our employees the opportunity to contribute to the overall goal of bringing the best to the world. Our mission is to empower people worldwide, giving them equal access to the most innovative solutions.
Analysis of Current Vision Statement
The company’s vision statement is “to make the best products on earth and to leave the world better than we found it” (Pereira, 2023). A vision statement should have five key characteristics, including being clear, futuristic, concise, unique, and inspiring (David et al., 2019, p. 47). The current vision statement lacks key characteristics as it is unclear and not unique (David et al., 2019).
Revised Vision Statement
The revised vision statement is to make the best products on earth and provide the world with innovative digital devices to improve it.
Rationale for Revising the Mission and Vision
Therefore, the mission and vision statements were changed because they were not complete and did not reflect the company’s goals. The mission statement was extremely short, which prevented it from including all the necessary components. The vision statement was almost perfect, but it still did not identify the industry and did not reflect Apple’s competitive advantage. Revised statements include all the required components and communicate the company’s value for customers, employees, and the industry.
Alignment of Company Actions with Mission and Vision
The company’s actions are mission and vision-driven, as Apple creates innovative products in the industry that are based on extensive research and development activities. The company leads the industry further, providing customers with a unique user experience, its core value. Apple uses a functional structure to promote innovation, which also helps to motivate employees (Podolny & Hansen, 2020).
Its organizational culture relies on “those with the most expertise and experience in a domain should have decision rights for that domain” (Podolny & Hansen, 2020, p. 5). Therefore, people engaged in the development of innovation have high decision-making power. This allows employees to see the results of their work and contribute to the final product. The structure motivates the employees as they feel responsible and consider themselves part of the company’s bigger mission.
References
Apple Inc (NMS: AAPL). (n.d). Mergent Online. Web.
David, F. R., David, F. R., & David, M. E. (2019). Strategic management: A competitive advantage approach, concepts and cases (17th ed.). Pearson Education.
Fortune Media. (2022). The world’s most admired companies. EBSCO. Web.
Pereira, D. (2023). Apple mission and vision statement. The Business Model Analyst. Web.
Podolny, J. M., & Hansen, M. T. (2020). How Apple is organized for innovation. Harvard Business Review. Web.