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Introduction
The company, Apple was created by Steven Wozniak and Steve Jobs in the late 1970’s. Around this time era, the partners introduced to consumers and the business world, the personal computer which was a Macintosh; as well as improving the design of floppy disk and helped to shape the speed and reliability of hard drives on computers. The nature of the company is based on the creation of modern technology, hardware and software which appeal to individuals of all ages, whether if the technology is utilized for personal or professional usage. Their most commonly known products and software’s in the 21st century are the iPad, iPhone, MacBook, Apple Watch, iOS, iMac, Mac Pro, airport extreme, iWork, iLife, etc. and many other products, software or accessories Apple has invented.
Although we have identified the creators of Apple, their nature, along with the latest and most popular products used among the generation of today, we will further explore and strive to identify the company more in depth throughout this discussion. We will review the structure from an organizational perspective, two external factors which contribute to Apple’s growing success, five various ways the stakeholders may significantly impact Apple’s financial performance and a corporate, yet controversial social responsibility that the company holds. We will conclude our discussion by summarizing these concepts and correlating them with the course learning outcomes.
Structure
Apple’s structure is one of the primary reasons which contributes to its overwhelming level of success. “In the Apple organization, there are an estimated number of eleven or twelve departmental executives whom works directly under the CEO. While the CEO has the authority and power to control all of the departments which consist of such areas like the designs, marketing, software engineering, legal aspects and communication – both internationally and domestic. It is further mentioned that the essential key to Apple’s structural approach is the concept of simplicity, or keeping things simple and not attempting to recreate the wheel. Another structural approach is utilizing the concept of centralized decision making. This process is conducted by “gluing” all of the decisions together, in which each decision will be heard by every employee and needing their opinion, since every team member is important, regardless of the level of seniority” (Johnson, Li, Phan & Singer, 2012). One major advantage of this sort of organizational structure is that there is a level of strong control over the entire company and the CEO is aware of majority of all working aspects throughout the organization to minimize the number of mistakes and liabilities.
External Environment and Success
The key factors which contribute to Apple’s external success is the growing desire for millions of companies and consumers that need a computer or smartphone, therefore, the company Apple is fulfilling a need. “This is considered the “digital era”, in which the computer system is becoming more essential in every organization, especially the governmental and academic communities, education sectors such as schools, colleges and universities. The demands from these customers are continuous increasing” (Jinjin, 2013). Another factor of Apple’s success is the progression of the younger individuals within society, since consumers in early adulthood are more likely to express their uniqueness by having the best products which will accompany them wherever they are including the car, club, coffee shop, library, friend’s house, at work, etc.
The essentialness of this trend alone motivates Apple to market to both the high and low end consumer. Not to mention, offering the consumer plenty of color or artistic choices is a must for defining their own individuality.
Stakeholder’s Influence
The primary stakeholder’s influences Apple’s overall performance in the following five ways: a) governance, b) customers, c) current and prospective business partners, d) employees and e) investors. First, the stakeholders influence the governance aspect because it is the foundation of the business consisting of its vision, mission and overall goals. Apple’s profits hold the ability to maximize when it focuses on this concept because it intertwines with the overall business operations. Customers are influenced by the stakeholders because they are generally the lifeblood of the business. To ensure this, they must be satisfied with the reliability and overall choices of Apple’s products. This would allow profits to generate for many years and create an everlasting consumer relationship. The business partners are involved in a process known as the supply chain management, in which they may have to work with the suppliers so that the customer could receive the highest quality of technology and value.
The employees are especially influenced when the work atmosphere is friendly and professional because the end result drives excellent customer service. And for the final concept, “investors are influenced by stakeholders because they tend to be the actual stakeholders themselves which makes the ultimate determination of social responsibility within the Apple company” (Frooman, 1999).
Corporate Social Responsibility
In 2010, there was a well-known controversial issue amongst Apple’s electronic manufacture, Foxconn, who makes the iPhones and iPads; had received criticism in the Chinese media for overworking their employees up to seventy hours or more a week; and had poor internal management, yet as a result, thirteen of the workers inside of the plant committed suicide. Apple’s actions pertaining to corporate social responsibility after this conflict was to conduct regular audits in these facilities and to check for “excellent working conditions, health, safety, and environmental practices. Since these incidents, the number of yearly audits has increased by eighty percent” (Cedillo Torres, Garcia-French, Hordijk, Nguyen & Olup, 2012).
Conclusion
In conclusion, Apple holds a significant relationship with society because they are fulfilling a need and giving the customers what they want. The business relationship has many components, but the focus is the structure within the company, which give each employee their own voice and show that their opinions matter. It is recognized that the primary stakeholders are the customers, as well as the investors and these groups of stakeholders have a significant impact on the destiny of Apple’s future because the customers generate profits and is the lifeline of the business, while the investors are helping to shape the company with their investment dollars. Although Apple may have experienced some concerns or controversy with the concept of corporate social responsibility, the company handled it accordingly so that they are able to deliver the highest quality technology products and devices to shift a society that has a huge dependence on technology.
References
Cedillo Torres, C., Garcia-French, M., Hordijk, R., Nguyen, K., & Olup, L. (2012). Four Case Studies on Corporate Social Responsibility: Do Conflicts Affect a Company’s Corporate Social Responsibility Policy?. ULR, 8(3), 51. http://dx.doi.org/10.18352/ulr.205
Frooman, J. (1999). Stakeholder Influence Strategies. The Academy Of Management Review, 24(2), 191. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/259074
Jinjin, T. (2013). A Strategic Analysis of Apple Computer Inc. & Recommendations for the Future Direction. Management Science And Engineering, 7(2). Retrieved from http://www.cscanada.net/index.php/mse/article/viewFile/j.mse.1913035X20130702.Z001/4304
Johnson, K., Li, Y., Phan, H., & Singer, J. (2012). The Innovative Success that is Apple, Inc. Business Administration Review, 34, 15. Retrieved from http://mds.marshall.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1420&context=etd
