Apple
Running head: Case 1 Apple Computer
Case 1 Apple Computer
Strategic Management of Technology (TM 583)
Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation that designs and markets consumer electronics, computer software, and personal computers. The company’s best-known hardware products include the Macintosh line of computers, the ipod, iphone and ipad.Apple rightly gets credit for building exceptional hardware and software. Even more impressive, however, is how Apple has steadfastly refused to get drawn into markets that it chooses not to service, even when would-be customers are begging to buy. A major key to Apple’s continued success is its ability to keep pushing the boundaries of innovation above and beyond it’s competitors.
No one other than Apple’s CEO, President and the Chief Financial Office can truly speak on the real success and failures of Apple. The company went through tremendous changes and saw the world of technology advance. They made a power effort and stepped into the the improvement and competitive phase of producing a product that will crush the competitor. The first success was when Steve Jobs became the interim CEO and began restructuring the company’s product line in 1997. About a year later Apple introduced a new all-in-one computer reminiscent of the Macintosh, success was in the process of turning the company around.
After opening stores in California and Virginia the company introduced the ipod, which spring board it revenue in a new direction. The power of Apple is in its perception as an innovative company whose products and services transform the marketplace. Customers know a new product announcement means something that’s potentially revolutionary and that’s power that competitors cannot control and power that demands a premium in product price and stock price. Portable CD players were on the verge of being extinct. Shortly, Apple put the the new MacBook Pro and iMac on the market and again gained an edge on the competitor. Just the sleek look and the label of having a “Mac” made society feel like they were above the average PC user. Although Apple’s market share in computers has grown, it remains far behind competitors using Microsoft Windows, with only about 8% of desktops and laptops in the U.S. (Torborski, A. 2010, December 3 Apple at the Top. Business Week, 27.)
The company’s shift of emphasis to mobile electronic devices from personal computers. The event also saw the announcement of the iPhone and the Apple TV. To add more power to the success, later it was announced that Apple had become the third-largest mobile handset supplier in the world due to the popularity of the iPhone. Later, the iPad was launched in the US and sold more than 300,000 units on that day and reaching 500,000 by the end of the first week. In May 2010, Apple’s market cap exceeded that of competitor Microsoft for the first time since 1989, which I don’t think is the final piece of Apple’s power for quest is the iPad. Apple’s strategic intent in releasing its tablet has hurt competitors in ways you may not have expected.
Failures within the company has been out shadow but the strength of it’s success. Some users find fault in the equipment but are still buyers that upgrades of their complaints. The biggest failure was the lack of leadership that was in place that did not envision the product, technology and all the players behind the development of all their products. Not having the right people, talent, and managers was a major failure that nearly destroy the entire organization.
Apple is not Apple because of its technology. Apple had to re-visit it’s culture of business, technology, leadership, production, sales, and revenue. Apple is Apple because of the fervor with which its employees believe in the corporate mission. The culture stems for the dedication of it’s employees to the consumers. Apple understands what consumers want, it knows how to meet those desires, and it sets out to beat any and all expectations. The culture of producing a great quality product that the employees stood behind was number one.
“Creativity is defined as the ability to produce work that is useful and novel (i.e. different and surprising when compared to prior work). The most creative works are novel at the individual producer level, the local audience level, and the broader societal level. When a product is novel to its creator but known to everyone else, it is referred to as a reinvention. Individual creativity is a function of intellectual abilities, knowledge, style of thinking, personality, motivation, and environment. Researchers have argued that the most important capability is the ability to look at problems in unconventional ways.” (Strategic Management of Technological Innovation 2nd Edition Chapter 1 Lecture slide)
Reference
Torborski, A. (2010, December 3). Apple at the Top. Business Week, 27.
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