Vision
A lot of people attribute the level of competitiveness that has been attained by Apple to the vision of the company. The company was molded on the vision of its deceased leader, Steve Jobs. Under Jobs, the vision of the company was to ensure the production and supply of Apple computers across the world. This is found in the vision statement: “An Apple computer on every desk”. The contemporary vision statement of Apple is: “To be the global leader in the consumer electronics industry”.
Having begun with the manufacture and distribution of personal computers in the market, Apple has grown through investment in innovation to become one of the most competitive companies as far as the production of high quality features consumer electronics is concerned. The company has fully ventured in the production of information and communication technology tools (Upadhyaya para. 3-6).
The bigger idea behind the visionary leadership of the company and the thriving of the company in the consumer electronics industry lies in the establishment of a culture of creativity and innovation in its products. This depicts the company as an evolutionary company, implying that each set of new products that are released by the company in the market are an improvement of the prevailing sets of products that were released earlier in the market by the company.
Apple solely relies mostly on its internal structures in enhancing innovation, a factor that eliminates competitive wars in the industry between Apple and other competitors in the market. As a matter of fact, the competitive wars are often directed by Apple to other companies in the industry that try to use unethical tactics in aping the technology of Apple (Upadhyaya para. 3-6).
Mission
The mission of the Apple Company is to lead the revolution in the digital media by building on the platform that was laid down by the Apple computers. The company is still leading the revolution in the personal computer industry, besides the full venture in the production of digital media tools that aid in revolutionizing information access and communication. The OS X operating system is one of the most advanced operating systems in the modern personal computers and other digital media communication tools.
The company has sprouted its operations in the industry by joining the mobile phone market through the invention of a series of iPhones, whose level of creativity and innovation has shaken the industry. What can be said about the advancement of the mission of Apple is that the company values the growing needs of customers. This is replicated in the products of Apple. These products have a higher level of utility and quality compared to products along the same lane that are produced by other companies in the market (United States Securities and Exchange Commission para. 1-3).
The Apple Company has continued to keep pace with the dynamics in the market. The company does not only concentrate on the development of innovative products, but in the recent times it has also focused on corporate social responsibility as part of advancing its presence and influence in the market. This is one way of easing the competitive pressure in the market and the establishment of closer ties with the customers considering the fact that the company has gone globally in terms of its market size. One critical thing that is upheld by Apple is the embrace of value by customers. This is brought out in the company products and corporate social activities.
Objectives
As a business company, the objective of Apple is to maximize profits. However, the manner in which the profits are maximized matters a lot. Apple seeks to maximize profits and its growth through the production of high quality products that attract high prices in the market. Based on the fact that Apple has been in the limelight in the recent times over allegations of tax avoidance, the other objective of the company is to streamline its profit derivative mechanisms.
The company seeks to increase transparency in its operations as a way of boosting its relations with the business regulators in the environment in which it operates (Schwartz para. 2-8). Business ethics is a critical factor in the sustainable operation and thriving of the company in the market. Therefore, Apple seeks to embrace the ethical standards of operation in order to boost the stature and image of the company to its global network of customers.
The company also seeks to increase its level of competitiveness in the market owing to the competitive pressure from other companies in the market, like Samsung. This can be attained through the active engagement of the company with the customers and the expansion of the opportunities that prevail in the market (United States Securities and Exchange Commission para. 31-33).
Apple’s Modified Mission and Vision
Apple Company has been under immense pressure coming resonates from a number of companies that are investing heavily in the development of information and communication tools. Therefore, there is need for restructuring of the mission and vision of the company in order for the company to maintain its level of competitiveness in the industry and the larger market in which it is operating (Upadhyaya para. 8-10).
In the modern business environment, firms are required to incorporate issues of corporate social responsibility in their business activities. This emanates from the increasing importance of sustainable business practices. Sustainability is a serious issue and is bound to be one of the key determinants of the success of companies in the prevailing and future business environments. The vision and mission are crucial guiding factors in the enhancement of business operations by a firm.
The vision and mission of Apple need to incorporate the aspect of sustainability, besides the issues of innovation and quality as a way of capturing and embracing the sensitive issue of sustainability in the business practices of the company. As such, the vision and missions statements of the company can be changed to factor sustainable management. The new vision of the company will be: “To be a global leader in providing quality and environmentally sound information and communication tools across the globe”.
This statement brings out the issue of sustainable management that can be further expounded in the long term business plans and activities of the company (Motee para. 1-5). The other critical issue that has been brought out in the vision is the aspect of information technology (IT). Information technology is seen as a critical driver of business in the contemporary economic environment. In this regard, featuring IT in the vision of the company expounds on the broader focus of the company on enhancing information technology (Niu para. 7-9).
Just as has been incorporated in the vision of Apple, sustainable management should also feature in the mission of the company. The improved mission of Apple should be to digitize the world and improve lives and standards of the environment through the production of efficient and effective digital communication tools across the world. Sustainability features in two critical aspects: the production process that has to ensure that the process and quality of products is environmentally sound. There is also the aspect of improving lives and the environment. This purely entails the corporate social practices embraced by the company (Mootee para. 1-5).
Works Cited
Mootee, Idris. Apple – A Rare Case of Sustainable Competitive Advantage, 2011. Web. http://www.innovationexcellence.com/blog/2011/08/24/apple-a-rare-case-of-sustainable-competitive-advantage/
Niu, Evan. Can Samsung Squeeze Apple Where It Hurts? 2013. Web. https://www.fool.com/investing/general/2013/05/28/can-samsung-squeeze-apple-where-it-hurts.aspx
Schwartz, Nelson D. “Apple Avoided Billions in Taxes, Congressional Panel Says.” The New York Times, 2013. Web. https://www.democraticunderground.com/10022872971
United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Apple Inc., 2011. Web. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/320193/000119312511282113/d220209d10k.htm
Upadhyaya, Preeti. Mr. Cook. “What’s Your Vision for Apple?” Silicon Valley Business Journal, 2013. Web.