Apple Inc. is a consumer electronics’ company headquartered in Cupertino, California, which specializes in designing, manufacturing, distribution and marketing of personal computers, portable digital media devices as well as mobile communication devices. The company also manufactures computer software and hardware, peripherals and operating systems. Additionally, Apple Inc. manufactures computer applications for individual, enterprise and government consumers. The company was founded by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak (Imbimbo, 2009). The duo started working together in 1970 to create a personal computer. In late 1977, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak incorporated Apple Inc. as an electronics manufacturing firm in California. According to O’Grady, Apple Inc. distributes and sells most of its products through online stores, retails shops, sale agents or intermediaries and direct sales force (2009).
The mission statement of the company states that Apple Inc. revolutionized the personal computer industry in early 1970s with the Pale II. This was followed by reinvention of Macintosh personal computers. The mission statement further states that Apple Inc. is committed to continuous leadership of the computer industry through innovation and production of award winning computers, operating systems, computer applications and peripherals and other electronic devices such as portable digital music players (Linzmayer, 2010). Similarly, the mission statement states that Apple Inc. is committed to providing adequate protection to the environment as well as ensuring the health and safety of the employees and consumers.
From my part, the company has achieved this goal by recognizing the need to effectively integrate environmental management practices within its business operations. The company has continuously offered technologically innovative products that are environmentally friendly. The final products are also safe for use by the consumers.
On the other hand, the vision statement of the company states that Apple Inc. is committed to providing the best computing experiences to its consumers such as educators, students and professionals through design and development of innovative products like hardware and software.
In my opinion, I would argue that Apple Inc. has been able to live by its mission and vision statements. Over the past decades Apple Inc. has successfully managed to manufacture and market high quality personal computers and other electronic products that effectively meet the consumers’ needs, for example, the Mac and iLife Operating Systems and iPhone are widely used by many consumers.
However, Lashinsky (2012) argues that given that Apple Inc. is an international company that aspires to be a market leader in the computing and consumer electronics industry through production of innovative products, the mission statement of the company should also depict innovativeness, inspiration and strategies for technological advancement. It is also believed the Apple Inc. adopted its mission statement from a famous quote by its founder, Steve Jobs. Furthermore, the mission statement resembles many traditional mission statements and, thus, lacks creativity and innovation. It rather lists down the various products of the company such as production of best personal computers and communication devices as well as provision of a list of the target consumers such as students, educators and professionals. The mission and vision statements, thus, require rewritings to make them more solid and cohesive.
As a major player in the computer technology industry, Apple Inc.’s mission and vision statements should reflect the company’s commitments in continued research and development. The company should continuously come up with novel and unique products so that it can easily meet and exceed the ever changing needs and requirements of consumers. In addition, Apple Inc. should be able to effectively balance the technological needs of consumers with the quality of products it produces. The entire company should be revolutionized.
Despite these criticisms, it is important to note that the operations and performance of Apple Inc. are in line with its mission and vision statements. Apple Inc. also introduced the iMac and iBook computers for basic users as well as Power Book for advanced users. This indicates proper target marketing and market segmentation. Furthermore, Apple Inc. has successfully defeated its rivals or competitors such as IBM in the computer industry. For example, the introduction of iTunes web sites for sale and download of music gave the company an edge over the competitors.
The strategic goals of the company include provision of high quality and innovative products and services to the customers, design and development of innovative products such as hardware, software and digital devices and continuous investments in research and developments. The company also aims at extensive marketing and advertising of its products so as to increase availability of the products in the markets as well as raising the sales volumes.
In my opinion, these strategies are in line with the mission and vision statements of the company. Apple Inc. aspires to be the market leader in the technology and computing industry through provision of the most innovative products. According to the mission statement, the company is committed to providing high quality products to educators and professionals. The operations of the company have enabled it to effectively achieve these goals and objectives. For example, in January 2011, Apple Inc. launched the Mac App Store that allows customers to easily access and download various applications for Mac Computers.
I would also argue that the company has achieved this mission through successful integration of technology into learning. Through use of technological products from Apple Inc., students and teachers can now meet various educational needs such as accessing online learning resources and materials.
Through proper market segmentation and direct selling, Apple Inc. has managed to provide personalized services to its customers. The company has also been able to live out its mission and vision statement through provision of high quality products, especially personal computers, digital music players and mobile communication and media devices. It has also been able to develop a variety of consumer and professional products such as internet applications, the iOS and Mac operating systems and iCloud for business organizations.
Furthermore, Apple Inc. sells and delivers digital contents to consumers through the internet via the iTunes Online Stores. This ensures that consumers have access to the products of the company irrespective of their geographical locations.
Most products of the company are also compatible with other products that are produced by other electronics companies, for example, iPhone and iPod are compatible with application software from other electronics companies. Apple Inc. also manufactures a variety of peripherals and accessories can be easily accessed by the consumers. The company distributes most of its products through online stores as well as retails stores. This helps in ensuring that the consumers have adequate access to the products of the company.
Last but not least, another business strategy of Apple Inc. is to expand distribution networks for the products so that it can effectively reach more consumers. It also aims at ensuring that customers have great experiences after purchases. Respectively, the company has been able to achieve these strategies through deployment of knowledgeable salespersons to market their products.
The financial performance of Apple Inc. during the 2010/2011 financial year clearly shows that the company has the capability to realize and achieve its business goals, objectives and strategies. In the annual financial report, it was reported that the sales volumes increased by approximately fifteen percent. This implies that the company is capable of conducting profitable business in future through continued production of innovative products and services. This would be in accordance with its business goals and strategies. In the first quarter of 2011, Apple Inc. reported a sale increase of more than twenty six million, while the net profit earnings stood at six million U.S. dollars. The company opened two new retail stores, one in Hong Kong and another Shanghai in September 2011 (Hong Kong Trade Development Council, 2012). This was in line with the organization efforts to expand and increase its market share. Net income for the entire financial year hit eleven billion U.S. dollars. Despite facing aggressive competition from other industry players, Apple Inc. was able to successfully unveil a variety of products into the market.
A competitive and marketing analysis of Apple Inc. indicates that the company has various strengths that have facilitated its business operations and success in the computer technology industry. One of the major strengths of the company is increased research and development (R & D) that has facilitated design, development and creation of high quality and innovative products. The expenses on research and development for the 20102/2011 financial year increased by approximately thirty six percent to 2.4 billion U.S. dollars. Through intensive research and development, the company has been able to conduct market research studies to determine and find out the performance of its brands in the market. Market research studies have also help the company in establishing the ever changing needs of the consumers. This has facilitated production of technologically advanced products that meet and exceed the consumers’ expectations.
Secondly, Apple Inc. has also maintained manufacture of high quality products with varied features and high performance capabilities. This has enabled the company in meeting the varied needs of consumers, for example, individual consumers may need personal computers with different specification from those required by business enterprises and professionals.
Thirdly, to ensure that the company remains competitive, Apple Inc. has categorized its market into two major segments, the consumer market and government and enterprise markets. This segmentation of the market aims at ensuring that the various needs and expectation of the customers are met effectively.
The fourth strength of the company is its ability to build a strong brand name amongst its customers. According to Gillam, various products of Apple Inc. such as the iPod, iPhone, Mac OS, and iTunes have become a household name in various countries across the globe (2011). Furthermore, the company has also built strong interpersonal relationships with its consumers to enhance trust between the company and the customers. This strong relationship has been made possible through highly personalized selling strategies and provision of post-sale services.
Additionally, the financial statements of Apple Inc. reflect that the company has low debts and liabilities. According to Soma, high level of debts may be dangerous to a company since most of the returns from business transactions will be channeled to debtors, hence leaving little or no profits for business expansion (2011).
Apple Inc. also boosts of its rapid increase in the number of retail stores across the globe that has resulted in increased sales. In my opinion, increasing the retails stores has made the products of the company easily accessible and readily available to consumers. Consumers can, thus, obtain the products hustle-free.
Last but not least, the company also has increased its market share through global expansion strategies. As per the annual report of the company for the 2010/2011 financial year, Apple Inc. opened new and expanded its business operations to new markets such as Asia and Africa. This has resulted into an incredible increase in sales and profits.
On the other hand, some of the various opportunities that are available to Apple Inc. include provision of wider product lines, manufacturing of products that are simple and easy to use and further expansion of the distribution networks to increase consumer convenience. The company may also enter in partnerships or joint venture businesses with interested stakeholders so as increase its ability to reach the market. Production of high diversified products that are compatible with products from other companies may also be a viable business opportunity for Apple Inc.
Despite the various strengths and opportunities available to Apple Inc., the company has been faced with stiff competition from other consumer electronics companies such as IBM, Hewlett Packard, Dell and Samsung. According to Butcher (2009), the consumer electronics market is characterized by rapid technological advances. This has resulted into increased development of a variety of products within the industry.
In my view, due to this aggressive competition in the electronics industry, the success of Apple Inc. in future greatly depends on the company ability to design, manufacture and market innovative products and services. High technological advancement has provided adequate opportunities for growth and development of Apple Inc.
The returns of the organization would maximize cost leadership, focus and product differentiation strategies.The Hong Kong Trade Development Council defines cost leadership as the process of producing goods and services at a lower cost than the cost of production incurred by competitors in the same industry (2012).Through cost leadership strategies, Apple Inc. can easily acquire various factors of production such as capital, raw materials and labor and effectively and efficiently utilize the resources in manufacture of products. An increase in expertise and automation of the manufacturing processes would also reduce the costs incurred by the company during production process. In my opinion, reduction in cost of production would result in low prices charged for the final products. Since most consumers prefer cheap products, the company would be able to easily induce consumer to purchase it products, hence increase in sales and high returns for the stakeholders.
Secondly, the company would focus and target specific customers, for instance, individual consumers and corporate and government consumers. Through focus, the consumer market would be divided into different segments in accordance with their specific characteristics. Consequently, Apple Inc. would easily meet the needs of such market segments.
Thirdly, the company would deploy product differentiation strategies to make a clear distinction between the company’s products and those of competitors. This would help in creating a strong brand name amongst the consumer. High product differentiation and strong brand names would help in building the company’s reputation. This would positively impact business activities of Apple Inc., hence high returns for the stakeholders. Soma (2011) asserts that product differentiation also helps in distinguishing the product from close substitutes. Finally, the company would also indulge into substantial investment and commitment of resources in productive business opportunities.
The main outcome of the above strategies would be increased sales and customer satisfactions. For example, focusing on specific market segments facilitates marketing efforts of the company, whereas cost leadership helps in cutting down operations costs. Consequently, the profits of the business are increased and, hence, good return to the stakeholders.
Apple Inc. would enter into a business partnership with one of its major rivals in the consumer electronics industry. In this merger, the company would unite with the rival firm and their operations would merge. The merger would also include bringing together the various resources such as assets and high profile personnel from the two companies. In my view, a merger between Apple Inc. and another rival company, say firm X, would help in reducing the level of competition in the industry. The merger would also enable the newly formed company to effectively increase its production capacity.
In my opinion, I would prefer a merge because it would be less costly as compared to acquisition which would require purchasing the assets of the other company, hence it is a better option. Furthermore, a merge would also increase the ability of Apple Inc. to expand its market share as well as controlling the consumer market as it would probably become the largest firm n the consumer electronics industry.
If I were the leader of the organization, the company would followthe most appropriate rewards systems to motivate employees towards achieving the above strategy is provision of both cash and non-cash rewards. For example, the most innovative employee in the company would be awarded five percent of the company’s earnings from the innovations or given a vocational trip to a five-star hotel in Dubai for one week. Similarly, an employee would be promoted based on the number of innovations generated per year so as to encourage employee innovativeness and creativity.
With references to the financial performance of Apple Inc. during the 2010/2011 financial year, it would be viable to implement such as reward systems because most of the returns were pegged to production of new and innovative products.
Apple Inc. deploys various strategies to ensure that employees strictly observe and adhere to ethical values and practices of the company. Information such as telephone contacts, physical addresses and occupation should be kept securely within the database systems of the organization. For example, the company strongly forbids sharing the information relating to customers with third parties without the permission from the customers. Such conduct is regarded as a breach of the company policies on information technology systems.
Similarly, Apple Inc. strives to produce environmentally friendly products so as to reduce possible negative impacts of such goods in the environment. This portrays corporate social responsibility and concern for the environment.
Moreover, the company also complies with various federal laws that regulate the conduct of businesses. This has helped the organization in reducing unnecessary expense which would otherwise be spend on law suits and legal proceedings. For instance, during the 200/2011 financial year, the company was faced with numerous legal proceedings and law suits filed against it. This resulted into reduced reputation and additional expenses. The company also encourages employees to strictly observe the requirements and provisions of its privacy policies. This has facilitated smooth conduct of business by the company and hence reduction in unethical business practices.
Summary
In conclusion, the strategic management of Apple Inc. in addition to proper and efficient use of technology has enabled the company to realize its business goals and objectives thereby making it one of the most successful firms in the consumer electronics industry.Through proper strategic management and utilization of economic resources, Apple Inc. was able to increase its competitive advantage over the competitors. High quality of its products also helped in building a strong basis of loyal customers. It is important for every business organization to ensure that it produces goods and services that surpass the expectations of the customers. Through adequate application and utilization of strategic management techniques, the company would easily gain competitive advantage over its competitors. Lastly, every company must ensure that its operations are in line with the organization strategies, goals and objectives so that it may achieve high financial performance and success.