I. Introduction
What is Apple? In general and in principle, it is an American company, one of the pioneers in the computer market with the head office located in Cupertino, California.
Apple is a spirit, ideology and lifestyle. No other computer company was able to create an analogous and consolidated subculture of its users like Apple Inc. did.
II. Description of Apple Inc.
A. History
In 1976, two friends, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak founded the company Apple. These young men were able to dream and the their desire was to change the world. Of course, at that time no one could have assumed the role that the newborn Apple company would play in the development of computer technology and even in the history of mankind.
Apple Computer Company was founded April 1, 1976 by Steve Jobs, Ronald Wayne (former employee of Atari) and Steve Wozniak (Hewlett-Packard). After 30 years, in January 2007, the name of the company was cut and the word «Computer» was gone.
In the beginning the Apple I was not taken quite seriously. It was not until 1977 when the company really took off and make its first public appearance at a local computer trade show with the personal computer Apple II. At that point in time it was an impressive technology. After its introduction he company was drowned with numerous orders. As a result, its sales further snowballed.
According to Sanford's article "Announced in January 2007 and released the following June, the iPhone marked Apple's entry into the cellular phone marketplace. Described by Steve Jobs as "a wide-screen iPod with hand controls a revolutionary mobile phone [and] a breakthrough Internet communications device," the iPhone was the first Apple-branded consumer device to run on OS X. Based around a touch-based user interface with a single button, the iPhone was controlled using a variety of one- and two-finger gestured".
B. The company's mission
The mission of Apple Inc. is to design personal computers, Macs, which in fact are the best personal computers for the moment. What is more, Apple has reinvented the mobile phone, with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store. According to Blodget's article in Business Insider news website (2013), Apple Inc. "is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices with iPad".
Jonathan Ive, the Senior Vice President of Design at the company, recently announced that the chief objective of the company consists in Design and Production best of CES only. He also emphasized that the product should not only be unique and distinctive, but also it should surpass any of its counterparts.
C. Core competencies
The innovative and distinctive designs and technology of Apple Inc. are indisputably its core competencies. The latest company's products that came into the market included iPhones, iPod and iPad with more innovative characteristics and parameters.
Apple has been evaluated as most innovative company from 2006 to 2008 because of the development of different product such as iPhone, iMac and iPod. The company received recognition from the public owing to the production of music, video, movie and electronic records. In 2008 Apple Inc was ranked 24th in the top list of valuable brands.
According to Martin's article, "the core competencies of Apple are robust. It is very hard to imitate the Apple products and this gives it the edge over its competitors. It has a closed proprietary system, which makes sure for Apple that there is no evasion of its skills and its secret recipe".
On the other side Apple Inc. is very steady and uniform in the development of its products.
What is more, the company is really strong in the dynamic capability. Not only has it always been marked by promptness regarding any changes, but also the company offers a variety of its merchandise to its clients.
In general, Apple Inc. stresses the importance of developing not only technological competencies. With this approach the company achieved the jackpot of technical development and in doing so customer orientation was also taken into consideration.
Apple Inc as a prominent company developed products which are user friendly, and one-of-a-kind to all intents and purposes. This gave them a distinguished brand image in their environment market, which intimidates its business rivals.
D. Competitive environment
Apple Inc. competes in the markets of mobile communication, personal computers, media devices, portable digital music players, and in the industry of related software.
The chief competitors of an iPhone are Samsung Galaxy Note, LG, Huawei Ascend, Nokia Lumia, and HTC One. Among these companies the main competitor is Samsung.
The fight between Samsung and Apple is undoubtedly the perfect example of a large-scale battle between large corporations. Beginning with intense competition of their products, the Apple-Samsung struggle has developed into numerable legal proceedings in several countries with billions of claim amounts. But the most interesting fact here is that in fact both companies cannot live without each other, being major business partner and regularly concluding ambitious agreements for the supply of electronic components.
E. The concept of the value delivery network
According to Dilger's article in Appleinsider.com, "Apple is a company with a highly effective value network that also possesses certain ineffective elements. When Apple introduced the iPhone, it set up a value network previously unseen in the mobile phone market. Apple created a very popular product that was user-friendly, and it generated a large volume of sales. On the other hand, Apple maintains total control over various applications within the iPhone community, which reduces the potential for innovation".
Apple’s achievement with the iPhone warrants particular attention in regards to what lessons can be derived about the future of mobile data artifacts as well as comprehending the underlying key value drivers behind such innovations.
Works cited
1. Sanford, Glen. "Company History: 1976-1981." Apple-history.com / Company History: 1976-1981. Web. 23 Nov. 2014.
<http://apple-history.com/h1>.
2. Sanford, Glen. "IPhone." Apple-history.com /. Web. 23 Nov. 2014.
<http://apple-history.com/iphone>.
3. "AAPL." CNNMoney. Cable News Network. Web. 23 Nov. 2014.
<http://money.cnn.com/quote/quote.html?symb=AAPL>.
4. Blodget, Henry. "Apple's 'Mission Statement' Is Making People Worry That The Company Has Gone To Hell." Business Insider. Business Insider, Inc, 3 Aug. 2013. Web. 23 Nov. 2014.
<http://www.businessinsider.com/apples-new-mission-statement-2013-8>.
5. Martin. "Core Competencies | An Overview." Entrepreneurial Insights. Web. 23 Nov. 2014.
<http://www.entrepreneurial-insights.com/core-competencies-overview/>.
6. Dilger, Daniel. "How Apple, Inc. Went Thermonuclear on Samsung, Erasing Android's Primary Profit Center." How Apple, Inc. Went Thermonuclear on Samsung, Erasing Android's Primary Profit Center. Quiller Media, Inc. Web. 23 Nov. 2014.
<http://appleinsider.com/articles/14/10/30/how-apple-inc-went-thermonuclear-on-samsung-erasing-androids-primary-profit-center->.
7. "Examples of a Company With a Highly Effective Value Network." Small Business. Web. 23 Nov. 2014.
<http://smallbusiness.chron.com/examples-company-highly-effective-value-network-12804.html>.
