According Henry Minitzberg, the term “strategy” can defined in five different ways and for a company to succeed, it must observe the five definitions of “strategy”. Namely; plan, ploy, pattern, perspective, and positioning. Apple Inc. has taken into consideration all the definitions all the five strategies evident from the way it undertakes its operations. To begin with, the company plans all the activities as well as projects which are to be undertaken at any given time. It is the role of the management of the company to outline all the activities within the company and how they are to be done. Secondly, Apple Inc. employs different strategies to outdo its competitors in the market. One of the strategies that the company uses to stay ahead of competition is differentiation of its products. It is evident that this strategy works better more especially through the application of advanced technology that is available in this company.
The third definition of a strategy is that this is a pattern of flow of actions of consistency in behavior. In Apple Inc. this is clearly brought out through the way decisions are made. Precisely, the company applies an emergent strategy in production of almost all its products. This strategy implies that decisions are made according to the situations which arise in the market context. However, this strategies display a certain pattern. The fourth definition of a strategy is that it is a position. In this case, strategy refers to a definite way of positioning an organization in a given “environment”. Arguably, Apple Inc. operates in a very competitive market. Therefore, it has positioned itself in a certain way that it can help to survive in this market. For instance, the company capitalizes on its strategies and opportunities and works on minimizing its threats and weaknesses to enhance. Lastly, a strategy is a perspective. In this case, strategy is not only seen as a chosen position but also as an inbuilt way of viewing the world. The company values most all its employees which explain why most of the employees are involved in the innovation process. For instance, the company encourages employees to give their level best in whatever they undertake for their own benefit as well as for the company. Therefore, employees are allowed to suggest any ideas which will help better. Actually, the company is composed of people who have a common perspective of how activities should be undertaken within the competitive business environment.
Focus on Positioning vs. Capabilities.
In the business context, the term “positioning is” is used to imply the process that business people or companies use to establish a product in the minds of consumers within the target market such that the product answers or rather satisfies the needs of these customers. Precisely, positioning implies the process of identification and communication of relative uniqueness or differential advantage, (Gerald, 2003. Pp. 101-5). In this case, the product is differentiated from similar products and then the perception of uniqueness is created among the target market. On the other hand capability is a term that is mostly used in business context to refer to the capacity of a company or any business to endure, thrive and deliver future value. It represents the distinctiveness of a company as it alleged both by the customers and its employees. In this case, capability signifies that competitiveness of a company not only depends on the kind of market it operates in, but also how it does what it does. In most cases, capabilities of a company can be analyzed in terms of strategy, operations and dynamics.
Apple Inc. is one of the companies that have focused on positioning as well as capabilities to their advantage. In terms of positioning, the company has been successive in establishing their brand in the market more than their competitors have, (Apple Inc., 2010). This is mainly due to the fact that, through extensive research and application of high levels of technology, the company has been successive in producing products that are appreciated by their customers. Precisely, Apple’s products addresses and meets the needs of their customers, explaining why these products are more appealing than those of the competitors. The company has also taken into consideration their capabilities. For instance, the company has used its capabilities to its advantages by differentiating its products from similar products of its competitors. Although many companies produce similar products, Apple’s products are unique and easily distinguishable from the other products. Therefore, good positioning and better utilization of the capabilities of the company has enabled to endure, thrive as well as deliver future value within the competitive market.
Intended or Emergent
There are different kinds of strategies; however, they can be broadly classified as intended or emergent. An intended strategy is the kind of strategy that is imagined or rather visualized by the top management team of a given company, (Mary, 2010. Pp 45-9). Basically, this is to say that this kind of strategy is planned and it is deliberate with an intention of achieving certain goals. On the other hand emergent strategy is the kind of strategy that results from the multifaceted processes in which the managers deduce the intended strategy and acclimatize to the adjusting external situations.
Using Apple Inc as an illustration, the company always relies on emergent strategies in its growth. For instance, the driving force for the evident growth of this company is technological innovations. Arguably, innovations are the products of emergent strategies. Depending on the situations that prevail within the market, the company has been able to devise strategies that are vital in sustaining its growth in the competitive market. This is one of the factors that have assisted the company in outdoing its competitors in the market.
Logical incrementalism vs. Rejuvenation
Companies use different strategies to facilitate their growth. One such strategy is logical incrementalism. According to this strategy, strategies are never formulated and implemented at once like for the case of long term plans; rather, they come into view over time in an incremental manner. But it should be noted that the incremental manner in this cases is not unsystematic but logical based on the fact that the management implement small steps of these strategies at the same time making changes and decisions strategically, (Henry & Ghoshal, 2003. Pp. 69-72). This implies that the goals of a company can be achieved not only through the multifaceted approach and superior bounds of long-term strategic scheduling, but also through devising smaller decisions as well as taking smaller steps. On the other hand, within the business context, rejuvenation is the act of re-establishment of a brand(s) of a given company. In most cases, this can be attained by doing things differently or to be more definite, by making use of innovations and inventions. It should be noted that rejuvenation cannot be realized in one leap but over a long period of time, (Gerald, 2003. Pp. 51-6).
Apple Inc. is one company which expanded through the application of both logical incrementalism and rejuvenation. Initially, the company had no clear defined structure of management. It depended on the information that was gathered directly from the field in defining its operation strategies as well as what needed to be made in order to enhance its growth within the very competitive market, (Apple Inc., 2010). Therefore, the management took small steps in making decisions as they continued changing or rather advancing their growth strategies. Therefore, the company strategically grew in an incremental manner. Later on, the company started experiencing growth problems due to unaccountability on most of its employees as well as the management due to lack of clear cut management structure. When the structure of management was redefined later on, rejuvenation strategy seemed to be the better option. Through constant innovation, the company has reestablished itself as one of the leading company in this industry in the entire world.
Works Cited
Henry, M. & Ghoshal, S. The Strategy Process: Concepts, Contexts, Cases. New York: Pearson
Education, 2003
Apple. Inc.com, 2010.
Mary, A. Innovation as Emergent Strategy, 2010. Retrieved on 20th May 2011 from
http://www.i-capitaladvisors.com/2010/10/13/innovation-as-emergent-strategy/
Gerald, A.C. Strategic Management. New York: Cengage Learning EMEA, 2003.
