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Apple Inc.

Diana Hargrove

South Texas College

ORGL 4351-KV2

Professor Diana Lucio

December 2, 2022
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Apple Inc.

Apple is a company that all started in a garage in Altos, CA by Steve Jobs and Steve

Wozniak building kit computers. This company eventually grew to be one of the most successful

companies of all time. This was, however not without the struggles and downfalls of Apple.

Apple is a company that went through many failures in order to be able to succeed. Apple has

gone through different changes with their leadership, product development, and management of

the company. Apple has been known for their genius for innovative design, disruptive

technology, and marketing that has built a customer base with almost religious fanaticism (Films

Media Group, 2019). From the creation of the failing Apple III to one of the most successful

technologies of all time, the iPhone, Apple is a company that struggled to meet customer

demands and pricing, but yet has risen above failure to be the successful company they are today.

Moore’s Law

Based on how Apple chose to innovate and develop its product line, do you believe the

company was properly applying Moore’s Law of Technological Advancement? Why or why

not? Use examples from the documentary to defend your answer.

When first learning about Moore’s Law of Technological Advancement, Apple was the

first company I thought of. Moore’s Law, which was created by Gordon Moore, who was a

cofounder of Intel, dictates that the overall complexity of computers will double every 18 months

with no increase in cost (Carpenter et al., 2012). Technology is constantly advancing, and Apple

is a great indicator of that. Apple first developed the Apple I, then the Apple II, then the Apple

III. Just the development of these shows how technology changes and advances. When Apple

was launching their products, Microsoft also began launching windows and the Intel chip and

IBM began launching the personal computer, or PC. This was when Apple saw competition that
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began to take over the market. Apple then developed the Newton pad, which was a new type of

portable technology. It was a handheld computer that could make calls, though it was difficult to

use and wasn’t a success. Apple’s real success began with the creation of iTunes and the iPod

that was launched in 2001. In 2007, the iPhone was launched. This was a creation of the iPod,

phone, and internet connection all in one. Since the creation of the first iPhone, many iPhones

have been developed since then. Apple has just recently released the iPhone 14. There really has

been a new iPhone released just about every year since 2007. Avid iPhone users know that they

will be replacing their phones every year because new technology for the new iPhone will come

out. Apple has also released many other products such as the Apple watch, the MacBook, the

iMac, the iPad, and others. Many new up to date versions of these come out all the time which

corresponds with the definition of Moore’s Law.

Henri Fayol’s Principle of Equity

Please explain how to temperament of Steve Jobs can be related to the principle of equity

at Apple.

The principle of equity is Henri Fayol’s 11th principle in his 14 Principles of

Management. The principle of equity states that managers should treat employees with kindness

and justice. This includes treating all employees the same with fairness shown to everyone. The

principle of equity does believe that harshness and force might need to be utilized for the sake of

equity. When Steve Jobs created his group of 100 employees to work on a secret project in

developing the Macintosh, his temperament was not always in line with the principle of equity.

As Andy Cunningham, Steve Job’s former publicist states, “He had this idea in his head and if

you didn’t make that happen, he would scream, throw things, and insult you. This made him

grueling and difficult to work with” (Films Media Group, 2019). Steve Jobs was forced to resign
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in 1985. Following this he created his own company NeXT. He spent his time there learning

how to operate and run a company differently. This is where he learned how to become a really

good CEO. With his return to Apple in 1997, Steve Jobs operated the business and people

differently. He knew that the Apple brand had suffered from neglect and he needed to bring it

back. He fired a lot of people and got rid of a lot of products. This is what was necessary to make

the company simpler and better. Throughout his career, Jobs's fiery personality and extreme self-

confidence often left employees and colleagues fearful, as well as awestruck (Quezzaire, 2022).

Steve Job wanted to change the world with his products. He might have not always been the

most pleasant person to work with, especially during his first time with the company. After

returning, I do believe he applied the principle of equity better. He did what was the best for the

company while applying kindness and justice to people.

SWOT Analysis

Describe Apple's internal strengths and weaknesses using the SWOT analysis and

provide two recommendations of focus for organizational performance improvement and

capabilities?

In order to identify Apple’s internal strength’s using the SWOT analysis, you would first

need to identify what are some things that Apple does well. I believe innovation is one of

Apple’s biggest strengths. With the creation of the iPod and iTunes that really set them apart

from the rest of the market. Apple is a company that is constantly developing new ideas and new

technology that really seems to be in high demand. Another strength for Apple is their customer

relations, especially with the opening of the Apple stores. Within three years of the first Apple

store opening in 2011, Apple became the first retailer in history to reach one billion in sales

(Films Media Group, 2019). The financial performance at Apple has been a major strength for
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the company. From 2020 to 2021, Apple showed an increase of 33.3 % in revenue, going from

$274,515 million in 2021 to $365,817 million in 2021 (MarketLine, 2022).

In order to identify weaknesses in Apple using the SWOT analysis, you would need to

identify what are the things that Apple needs to improve on. The first weakness that I believe

should be focused on for improvement is price. Due to the high priced items, many lower class

people simply cannot afford them. Also, with the technology changing every year or so, not

everyone has an extra $1000 to spend on a phone every year. The other products such as iPad,

the Apple watch, MacBooks are also very high priced. These are considered luxury items to

some. I would recommend Apple developing a way to bring the price down of their products,

where more people are able to afford them and enjoy their products. With the competition

creating smart devices at lower prices, Apple really needs to figure out a way to stay competitive

in the market. Another weakness for Apple is the countless lawsuits they have been involved in.

All over the world Apple has had to pay millions of dollars in fines for things such as non-

compliance or anti-competitive cooperation. In September 2021, the US District Judge Jeffrey

White said that Apple must face nearly all proposed class-action lawsuits claiming that its voice-

activated Siri assistant violates users' privacy (MarketLine, 2022). In October 2021, Apple had to

pay $95 million dollars to settle a lawsuit in the United States over selling refurbished devices,

stating they are not as new as new devices. In order to combat this I would recommend creating a

compliance task force that is specifically assigned the duty of making sure Apple is in

compliance in every global market they are in, since laws and regulations can drastically change

from country to country.

Control Function
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Following the passing of Steve Jobs, please explain how Tim Cook has utilized the

controlling function of management at Apple.

The controlling function is the fourth step in the P-O-L-C framework that consists of

planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. Controlling is the process of making sure that the

performance is matching up and in line with the standards. The controlling process consists of

three steps. These steps are establishing performance standards, comparing actual performance

against standards, and taking corrective action when necessary (Carpenter et al., 2012). When

Tim Cook took over Apple and became the CEO he was faced with a variety of issues. In the

controlling process you have to look at what is working, where are we meeting, and what needs

to improve. One of the things that Tim Cook was able to improve on was the expansion in the

global markets. Apple was not a major competitor in the global markets under Steve Jobs. Tim

Cook saw the need there and acted on that. Time Cook has been a great business strategist,

growing Apple from $347 billion when he first took over to $900 billion currently (Films Media

Group, 2019). Apple has continued to put out hit products, which are constantly developing and

changing every year. As part of this controlling process every year Apple and Tim Cook have to

decide what Apple need to improve on this year. Some of the issues Tim Cook has had to deal

with are things such as battery life, sticky keyboards, and the operating system of the iOS. Issues

like this with the technology and devices are issues that continually have to be managed during

the controlling process under Tim Cook.

Environmental Factors

Recalling what you learned about the factors driving organizational change in the 21st

century from your readings, what environmental factors do you believe drove Apple to transform
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and change as an organization? Include in your answer what environmental factors you believe

Steve Jobs saw.

The biggest environmental factor that drove Apple to transform and change as an

organization was technology. Moore’s law states that the overall complexities of computers will

double every 18 months. This is something that Apple has not only seen, but has been a part of.

Apple went from having personal computers that looked like appliances to having an iPhone that

will fit in your pocket. When Apple developed the iPod and iTunes this transformed and saved

the music publications industry. Technology is constantly changing and advancing and this is

something Apple has constantly had to keep up with and adapt to. Apple has been a company

that has been a leader and an innovator in developing new technology.

Another environmental factor that drove Apple to transform and change that Steve Job’s

saw was poor performance. Following the success of the Apple II, the first big failure for Apple

was the Apple III. This made Steve Jobs aware that Apple needed a hit. This caused him to

create a group to develop the Macintosh. The Macintosh failed due to the fact that no one was

buying it. It was costing the company an enormous amount of money and was not bringing in

any revenue. So, something needed to change and that ended up resulting in Steve Jobs being

forced to resign in 1985. Many believed that Steve Job’s as the negative force that needed to be

removed, when in reality he was the life force that had been ripped out.

When Steve Job’s returned to Apple in 1997 another environmental change he

experienced was growth. In 1998, the invention of the iMac G3 caused Apple to once again be

profitable. In the first 5 months Apple sold close to 800,000 iMac G3’s, which resulted in a $309

million dollar profit for Apple in 1998 (Films Media Group, 2019). Apple’s next target became

the music industry, with the creation of the iPod and iTunes. Then, in 2007 came the iPhone.
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Apple was once a failing business on the verge of bankruptcy and had now become an extremely

successful business. Growth requires a lot of changes both internally and externally. Steve Jobs

was able to handle the growth at Apple very well. This included things such as the opening of the

retail stores and hiring of over 100,000 people. Continued growth meant continued change and

this was something Steve Job’s was able to succeed at.

Planning Function

With respect to the global operations of Apple, please share how Tim Cook has exercised

the planning function of management in developing markets.

Planning involves setting goals or objectives and developing a plan of action in meeting

those objectives and goals. Planning requires that managers be aware of environmental

conditions facing their organization and forecast future conditions (Carpenter et al., 2012). Tim

Cook has done an exceptional job in the planning process of the global market. The first step in

the planning process is environmental scanning. This is where Apple had to become aware of

economic conditions, their customers, and their competitors. Apple came in at just the right time

and was quick to embrace the developing markets such as China and India. Under Tim Cook

Apple has grown globally, specifically exploiting the rising power of the Asian consumer (Films

Media Group, 2019). Tim Cook has specifically talked about how the products of Apple are

designed for Chinese markets. One example of this is the gold iPhone that was developed for the

Chinese markets. China is now responsible for one half of Apple’s global growth and the China

App Store brings in more revenue than the US. One problem that Tim Cook has had to deal with

is rivals in the global market that are trying to compete with Apple. The local competitors in

these other countries have come in with competitive products at a lower price. So, this is a battle
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that Time Cook is constantly dealing with and having to change the planning process in order to

adapt to the global market.

Decision-Making

Describe how Steve Jobs approached decision-making at Apple and whether it was

centralized, decentralized, or a combination of both. Please use examples from the documentary

to support your answer.

In a centralized company the decision-making and power is done by a single person or

the top level executives. In a decentralized company the decision-making and power is

distributed across many different teams or individuals. I believe Steve Jobs approached his

decision-making at Apple in a highly centralized way. When Apple was first founded by Steve

Jobs and Steve Wozniak, they were the only two employees. OF course, they were the only

decision makers. After Apple experienced some success, they hired thousands of people. Then

Steve Wozniak left the company and Steve Jobs became the person in charge and the lead

visionary. When Steve Jobs created his group of 100 employees to work on developing the

Macintosh, he hand selected everyone. He directed everyone to work on and do what he said. He

was the only one making all of the decisions. Then the Apple board decided to have Steve Jobs

removed and he was forced to resign. When Gil Amelio decided to bring Steve Jobs back, it was

a matter of months before Steve Jobs had convinced the Apple board to get rid of Gil Amelio and

allow Steve Jobs to be replaced as CEO. When Steve Jobs returned to Apple he made a lot of

brutal but necessary decisions. This included firing a lot of people and getting rid of a lot of

products. These were all decisions Steve Jobs made alone. Another example is the development

of the Apple store. Every decision went through Steve Jobs and he helped with the design and
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the qualities he wanted. The decision-making at Apple has always been and remains very

centralized.
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References

Carpenter, M., Bauer, T., & Erdogan, B. (2012). Management Principles.

Films Media Group. (2019). Apple. Films On Demand.

https://fod.infobase.com/PortalPlaylists.aspx?wID=99118&xtid=210566.

MarketLine. (2022, May 13). Apple Inc. SWOT Analysis. p1-8. 8p.

https://discovery.ebsco.com/c/o2xxen/viewer/pdf/6fc3ftdryn

Quezzaire, P. (2022). Steve Jobs. Salem Press Biographical Encyclopedia.

Skemp, K. (2022). Apple Inc. Salem Press Encyclopedia.