Values and Strategy Report of Apple

Apple, Inc. is a global company headquartered in the US and designs, manufactures, and sells MacBook series, iPad, iPods, and the top seller – the iPhone. Apple currently holds a 20.5% market share of the operating systems and productivity software publishing industry. The company employs over 110,000 people worldwide, and its revenue in 2014-15 was $233.7 billion, with more than 35% of its sales in the United States’ (IBISWorld – Major Companies,’ 2015).

Strategic Management Process

The strategic management process is the full set of commitment decisions, and actions required for a company to achieve strategic competitiveness and earn above-average returns (Hitt, Ireland, & Hoskisson, 2015).

The five stages of the process are goal setting, analysis, strategy formation, strategy implementation, and strategy monitoring (Clayton, 2016). Apple, Inc. built its foundation from its founder and late CEO, Steve Jobs’ vision; the company valued its employees. It continued to believe that its continued success will depend on its innovation. When the recession of 2008 happened, Mr. Jobs went as far as emailing all his employees, which he stated that Apple is ‘Apple is determined to remain the most innovative company in the world.

While his competitors were laying their employees off during the time of the recession, Mr. Jobs reminded his employees that he would retain everyone.

Additionally, Mr. Jobs stated while our competitors are cutting costs and spending, we will research and development, which will lead to us coming out ahead of our competitor (Finkle & Mallin, 2010). Apple, Inc. is arguably one of the world’s most innovative technology companies. Because of Mr.

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Jobs’ approach, Apple’s iPhone became the number one seller in the United States.

Apple’s Mission and Vision Statement

If we were to look at the mission statement along with the vision statement of Apple Inc., in a nutshell, this is their concept Cuofano (n.d.), Apple’s mission is ‘to bringing the best user experience to its customers through its innovative hardware, software, and services.’ And in a manifesto dated 2009, Tim Cook set the vision specified as, ‘We believe that we are on the face of the earth to make great products and that’s not changing(para. 1).’ Apple, Inc. is the leader when it comes to smartphones, personal computers, along with numerous other technologies to include the iPad, iPod, and Apple Watch. What makes Apple different than other companies is that they create their operating system for all their technologies. Additionally, they have other related technologies to improve the platform with iTunes, the App Store, even Apple Pay, including their credit card.

With the emphasis of high quality, including the accessibility, Apple prides itself on its knowledgeable sales representatives. These representatives provide the skills to help consumers find the product or accessories they feel that they need. In addition to being knowledgeable, Apple sales representatives are also friendly and take pride in their jobs, making for a high-quality service experience for the consumer (Gupta & Prinzinger, 2013).’ As we know, Apple thrives on the fact they continue to come up with innovative ideas and the continued pursuit of the development of their employees. One of the examples is that the managers can cross-functional activities training, which is out of their working area. This practice helps employees gain new knowledge in different fields and be more innovative (UK Essay, 2013).

Ethics and Corporate Responsibility

According to Diehl, 2016 in 2012, the company came under heavy criticism for what some view as its unethical financial reporting as it related to a delayed part for the iPhone 5 and iPad, which led to lower sales and incorrect speculation of earning resulting in a considerable drop in stock prices (Diehl, 2016). However, Apple has taken the steps in being more transparent without risking the compromise of the company’s innovations to its competitors. Apple Inc. has extended its role of corporate responsibility to include its supply chain vendors. Apple’s commitment to the environment is a part of its corporate responsibility, including 93% of its energy supply used at plants came from renewable sources (Apple, Inc. 2016).

Conclusion

Indeed, while Samsung, Google seems to be Apple’s biggest competitor, with the advancements of its product line while being competitive with Apple. Apple is educating and discussing how the components work together to create value for Apple by evaluating the companies mission statement, vision statement, motivation strategy, innovation strategy, and people strategy.

References

1. Cuofano, G. (n.d.). Apple mission statement and vision statement in n nutshell. Retrieved from https://fourweekmba.com/apple-mission-statement-vision-statement/
2. Clayton, J. (2016). The Five Stages of the Strategic Management Process. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/five-stages-strategic-management-process-18785.html
3. Diehl, K. A. (2016). How sour is the apple inc.? What the rest of the world can learn about financial reporting from apple’s less than exemplary role modeling. Global Virtue Ethics Review, 7(2), 166-189. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1782392026?accountid=35812
4. Finkle, T. A., & Mallin, M. L. (2010). STEVE JOBS AND APPLE, INC. Journal of the International Academy for Case Studies, 16(7), 31-40. Retrieved fromhttp://search.proquest.com/docview/814791833?accountid=35812
5. Gupta, A., & Prinzinger, J. (2013). Apple, inc.: Where is it going from here? Journal of Business Case Studies (Online), 9(3), 215-n/a. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1418712125?accountid=35812Hitt, M., Ireland, D., & Hoskisson, R. (2015). Strategic Management: Competitiveness & Globalization: Concepts and Cases (11th ed.). Canada, Cengage Learning.
6. IBISWorld – Major Companies. (2015). Retrieved from http://clients1.ibisworld.com.contentproxy.phoenix.edu/reports/us/industry/majorcompanies.aspx?entid=1985#MP405800