Business Strategies
Apple’s Vision Alignment with Goals
Apple’s mission statement drives towards improving the safety and health of workers as well as customers by producing products that are friendly to the environment (Arthur, 2012). On the other hand, the vision has the clamor to provide the best experience to users by making quality personal computers.
In essence, the mission and vision statements are consistent with the long-term goals bearing in mind that the company seeks to provide high-quality products. The protection of environment and provision of the best computing experience is a critical components of quality production.
Understandably, in its attempt to provide safe products and best computing experience, the company will improve the quality of its products. Accordingly, quality is viewed as the capability to protect humanity against afflictions that may arise from using the company’s products.
Samsung’s Vision Alignment with Goals
Samsung’s mission statement has three distinct aspects, including contribution to national economy, prioritization of the human resources, and pursuit of rational management. The company’s vision points towards inspiring the world and creating the future of the world. The mission and vision statements reflect the long-term goals of the company because they support the company’s future agenda.
As part of the future agenda, the company seeks to explore in new areas, such as medicine and health since it has been producing products that serve a limited scope. As a result, it is evident that the mission statement, which looks forward to contributing to the national economy, incorporates the essence of this exploration (Conti, 2006).
Business-Level Strategy
Apple’s SWOT Analysis
The various sectors, including strengths, weaknesses, threats, and opportunities influence the company’s competitiveness in a profound way. Fundamentally, the company’s ability to manufacture quality products, gain loyalty from customers, and enjoy good corporate reputation enables it to create an environment of self-propagating marketing.
When it comes to the opportunities, the company can obtain other patents, exploit mobile advertisement, and produce more tablets to serve the growing market. These undertakings will ensure that Apple expands its market (Huy, 2012).
On the other hand, threats and weaknesses may cause detraction in the company’s progress. Importantly, weaknesses such as high prices and software incompatibility might force many willing customers to go for other brands. Threats such as the pressure exerted by Samsung and Android can lead to the loss of consumers since the prices are low.
Samsung SWOT Analysis
The strengths and opportunities of Samsung can lead to profound profitability if they are tapped correctly. For the strengths, the big market share, compatibility with many operating systems, and the low cost of production can be used to fight companies such as Apple. This is because other companies have little market dominance, software incompatibility, and high cost of manufacturing the products due to quality assurance.
In regard to the opportunities, the clamor for quality, mobile advertisement, and the growth of Indian market can help to expand the company’s market share profoundly.
On the contrary, the weaknesses that include low profits, lack of its operating system, and production of many different products can compromise its financial progress. This will result to insolvency that may be used by the rivals to eliminate the company. When it comes to the threats, the launch of iTV and concentration of Smartphone’s market can compromise the company’s competitiveness against apple.
Leadership and Diversity
Apple’s Leadership Adaptation to Cultural Diversity
Apple has managed to outsource its leadership capability in an attempt to accommodate cultural diversity. Under their leadership, the company has produced devices that resonate with the cultural heritages of the consumers.
For example, the production of iPods showed that Apple’s leaders considered the social aspects of human beings. Since the device could hold about 1000 music tracks, the consumers had the opportunity to store more than one type of songs from different cultural backgrounds (Ivic & Green, 2012).
Samsung’s Leadership Adapting to Cultural Diversity
The diversification of the Samsung products is a portrayal of its commitment to cultural diversity. In this case, when the company manufactures many types of products, it taps as many cultural interests as possible. Those consumers who prefer music to visual entertainment can choose the DVD player and the TVs.
On the other hand, the customers who enjoy musical entertainment can buy the iPods. Consequently, diversification can be viewed as a strategy that accommodates cultural diversity regardless of its deliberateness (Jang, 2002).
Entrepreneurial Capabilities
Apple: Superiority of Organizational Competence
The superiority of Apple is defined by the company’s capability to develop unique products that reflect the values of innovativeness and quality. In fact, this attribute defines the company’s brand and propagates the company’s popularity. For example, the production of iPod was one of those innovations that shocked the world and swayed the consumers.
This mobile device was capable of carrying and playing one thousand songs despite its small size. Through these unique and quality products, the company created a good reputation in the market. This has been proved by the fact that Apple Company has remained the most profitable company despite the high prices
Samsung: Superiority of Organizational Competence
Samsung is known for the production of different products, including TVs, Smartphone, DVD players among others. As a result, it has been able to participate in mass production of goods. The undertaking has enabled the brand to flood all over the world since consumers have a wide range of products that can be bought from the company. For instance, the company has the biggest market share in the mobile phone industry (Jung, 2011).
New Business Strategy Recommendation
Apple
In essence, it is evident that Apple Company produces quality as well as well-defined devices (Pach, 2012). This implies that it does not engage in extensive production to include many types of products. However, this presents a challenge to the future of the company since its major competitors are engaging in mass production. Despite the capability to produce quality products, rivals such as Samsung are also improving their standards.
As a result, Apple should diversify its production, and disregard the mentality of limiting its manufacturing scope. In this regard, they do not have to deconstruct their brand. Instead, they will explore in the production of other devices with the same level of quality. This undertaking will ensure that the loyal consumers will have more products to buy and enjoy the services.
Samsung
Whereas Apple Company manufacture diversified products, it needs to improve the quality of those products. In this regard, it should introduce a pricing differentiation that will enable them to produce different quality for various prices. As a result, it will be capable of competing with other rivals favorably.
Success Evaluation
Apple’s Evaluation in Terms of Horizontal Integration
Apple has not implemented the strategy of horizontal integration that allows the production of various products with different prices. In this regard, they have increased the production of high-priced devices that target the wealthy people (Streeter, 2012). In fact, manufacturing high-priced product has led to the creation of this successful and profitable company.
In this regard, Apple seeks to increase the profit margin which necessitates the production of few devices that have a high profitability. As a result, the limited production allows the company to maintain high standard and build reputation. These standards enable the company to obtain a competitive edge.
Samsung Evaluation in terms of Horizontal Integration
Samsung has been capable of implementing horizontal integration to a little extent. In this regard, the mass production has enabled the company to make various devices that have different prices. However, this integration has been applied to different lines of products. However, it is not implemented satisfactorily because the products do not have different price tags within the same device.
In regard to the main business strategy that has led to the success of this company, the market share approach has helped to penetrate the market worldwide. Having applied this strategy, Samsung has dominated the mobile phone’s market and obtained a high number of customers. As a result, it has managed to reduce the market share for other competitors such as Apple Inc.
Ethical Issues
Apple’s Strategy to Discourage Unethical Behaviors
Apple is one of the most successful companies in terms of their ethical standards. In essence, Steve Jobs helped to entrench high standard of professionalism among all the stakeholders. When he was fought by the board of directors, he portrayed that Apple could only succeed if it maintained quality assurance. With this leadership, the company has embraced a spirit of professionalism that helps to fight unethical behaviors.
Elimination of Unethical Conduct in Samsung
This company seeks to develop the HR members in an attempt to reduce and eradicate unethical conducts. Understandably, unethical behaviors do not only emerge because of deliberate misconduct, but also lack of necessary knowledge and insight. As a result, the leadership of this company initiates training programs.
In these programs, the employees are helped to develop their professional standards that enable them to handle the customers with respect. In addition, cases of disloyalty care reduced through these programs. During recruitment, Samsung employees qualified personnel in order to guarantee quality service delivery. However, the company’s leadership is the main attribute that helps to maintain high ethical standards.
Organizational Change
Apple’s Three Recommendation for Change
There are various changes that should be made in Apple Company in order to guarantee progress and competitiveness.
- The company should embrace substantial diversification since the modern market is sought by many competitors that include Android and Samsung.
- The OS should be opened to accept Software that does not come from Apple. This is necessitated by the rising production of open source platforms such as Android. Understandably, these companies might take over the market since most customers prefer to install any preferred software regardless of the source.
- Apple should address the sustained issues of defective products. The defective products can easily ruin the reputation of the company bearing in mind that the brand is mainly defined by quality.
Samsung’s Three Recommendations for Change
- The Samsung Company should establish a well-defined line of production rather than manufacturing devices in a random manner. In the present situation, the company has over-diversified its production. This undertaking has exaggerated the diversification and caused confusion among customers. As a result, gaining the customers’ loyalty is extremely difficult.
- The company should adopt horizontal integration to produce products of different quality and prices. This will help to target various levels of customers and hence increase the market share.
- Due to the saturation of the Smartphone market in developed countries, the company should come up with new Smartphone features in order to remain relevant. Additionally, it should expand its market in the developing countries where the Smartphone is not saturated.
References
Arthur, C. (2012). Inside Apple: how America’s most admired–and secretive–company really works. Choice Reviews Online, 49(11), 231-247.
Conti, J. (2006). Samsung where are you going. Communications Engineer, 4(1), 38.
Huy, P. (2012). Steve Jobs Post Scriptum. Medium, 30(1), 17.
Ivic, R., & Green, R. (2012). Developing Charismatic Delivery through Transformational Presentations: Modeling the Persona of Steve Jobs. Communication Teacher, 8, 1-4.
Jang, S. (2002). Knowledge Management And Process Innovation: The Knowledge Transformation Path In Samsung SDI. Journal of Knowledge Management, 6(5), 479-485.
Jung, T. (2011). Good for Samsung is Good for Korea: Image Restoration Strategies Used by Samsung After a Whistle-Blowing Corruption Scandal. The Open Communication Journal,, 5(1), 23-28.
Pach, D. (2012). On Steve Jobs. Oncology Times, 34(2), 10.
Streeter, T. (2012). Steve Jobs: The Lost Interview * Steve Jobs–One Last Thing. Journal of American History, 99(3), 1015-1018.