Analyzing the Company Strategy Type
Being a technology company, Apple Inc. has a unique strategy that allows it sell its products worldwide and achieves a competitive advantage. The company produces and sells computers and their accessories to many countries around the globe, with its highest market at United States. The main strategy that differentiates Apple products is the brand-perception and identification. In the past few years, Apple has concentrated on improving its brand loyalty through production of high-tech computers and accessories that serve all consumer needs. The company’s short term goal is to increase sales output of the recently launched iPad. In addition, by offering differentiated products Apple has created a string brand name, strong customer relationship, high investments, and improved value preposition (BrianCMasi, 2013). Moreover, Apple has applied traditional strategic models that help in making the firm realize its goals in order to achieve an optimal sustainable competitive advantage. This assists in increasing shareholder’s value and maximizing profits (Porter, 2008).
The According to Stacey (2013), human motivation and leadership processes in an organization plays a major role in promoting changes. Apple Inc. has implemented the cybernetic systems and cognitive theory that ensures effective communication and control of its staff. This theory has enabled the company achieve its goals through adapting long-term business strategies that involves utilization of human, technical, and financial resources. Apple’s top management formulates the strategic plans that are eventually implemented by employees the enterprise and business levels (Grgurich, 2012).
On the other hand, Apple Inc. applies traditional strategic thinking through seeking long-term innovations that ensure the firm achieves its global leadership goals. Using the organizational dynamics and evolution, Apple has managed to maintain higher levels of success because of her ability to understand customer needs. Through her constant creative innovation and unique brands, the firm has managed to develop a strong customer relation in the high technology world. Consumers can easily recognize Apple products because they define ones identity and have achieved a worldwide recognition. According to Chang & Sun (2007), a firm should come up with business strategies that offer solutions for the unsustainable future through incorporating living systems in strategic business models.
Analyzing the Company Strategy Moves
Since its establishment almost 36 years ago, Apple has gone through a series of innovations by applying various strategies aimed at developing their markets. The main strategic move adopted by the firm is the utilization of the traditional Porter’s 5-forces model in order to change the industry and compete in the present global environment. When the firm launched an iPod, it introduced a revolution in the music industry. The launch of iPod made Apple diversify its operations from being a computer manufacturer into music player’s producer. With the introduction of technological innovations, the following strategic moves have played a significant role in the success of the firm. Supply chain excellent, changing the rules of the game, and controlled and complete digitalization (BrianCMasi, 2013).
Apple Inc. is the first technology firm to achieve a unique supply chain process that is successful. The most contributors to Apple’s success in the supply chain are its sourcing capability (BrianCMasi, 2013). The company offers a cost-effective supply chain process that promotes total customer satisfaction coming from the unmatched supply chain. In addition, this has enabled the firm maintain a competitive advantage in the digital electronic market overcoming other firms like Google, Microsoft, and HP .
Secondly, Apple realized more companies had invested in the manufacture of computer and their accessories. This made the management to change the rules of the game and entered into the music-player production. When Apple launched the iPod, the iPad, and iPhone, most consumers loved their products even though other companies had already launched these products. The brand loyalty and the customer satisfaction created by Apple enable her sell products to many consumers. In order to make customers demand their products more, Apple implemented the aspect of design innovation. They introduced aesthetic and simplistic design in these devices that made more people demand them. This made Apple become a lifestyle company with attractive products that were also technologically advanced (BrianCMasi, 2013).
In the present global business environment, managers make crucial decisions pertaining business opportunities because the world is growing very fast as competition becomes more stiff. In most cases, a strategy that worked today might never work tomorrow carrying for organizations to be more adaptive (Mintzberg, 1990). The final strategic move made by Apple was the introduction of a complete and controlled eco-system. Apple came up with a strategy to develop anything demanded by her consumers and incorporated them in a single device. The apple devices could easily function as computers, mobile phones, and music players a move that made more consumers flood the firm’s stores in search of these devices (BrianCMasi, 2013).
Alignment & Goals Analysis
The global business environment means factors from all over the world sometimes have impacts on businesses in different parts including small businesses. In the current business environment, consumers have varying lifestyles and values from time to time. This affects the consumers and target market needs since it affects their tastes and preferences and thus the business managers have to keep up with the changes to meet maintain their customers and attract others (Stacey, 2013). Apple management has been on the move to ensure all its goals and strategies are aligned in order to win the competitive advantage in the digital world. In order to ensure effective alignment of company goals and strategies, Apple ensured high technology prevails in all her operations. The company has the most strong technology base compared to her competitors. The firm’s strategy concerns static and dynamic competition. Static competition is concerned with competing for the present while dynamic involves competing for the future. Employees in a firm also assist in ensuring all operations in a company run as speculated. The firm also incorporates a strategy for ensuring employees’ performance such as compensation, promotion, and other incentives (BrianCMasi, 2013). Action Plan Analysis
In order to implement the above strategies, Apple has developed an effective action plan as discussed below. The firm has applied social constructivist theories, build learning communities with joint enterprise that promotes personal participation, utilized participative and interactive planning, and focused more on control factors paying less attention to predictabilities. On the other hand, the company is planning on acquisition and partnering with other companies in order to increase chances increasing sales and achieving more revenues. Some of the proposed firms that Apple is willing to partner with are Google Inc, Microsoft, Nokia, Samsung, and Sony. In a move to expand the digital eco-system, firm hires a team of experienced IT experts who offer solutions to problems facing consumers and, create customer-moving gadgets.
References
BrianCMasi. (2013). Strategic Analysis of Apple Inc. - Brian Masi. Scribd. Retrieved May 31, 2014, from:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/24134877/Strategic-Analysis-of-Apple-Inc-Brian-Masi
Chang, D. S. & Sun, K. L. (2007). “Exploring the correspondence between total quality management and Peter Senge's disciplines of a learning organization: A Taiwan perspective”, Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, 18(7), 807-822.
Grgurich, J. (2012). Corporate social responsibility: Good for business, good for us. AOL Money & Finance. Retrieved from:
http://www.dailyfinance.com/2012/04/30/corporate-social-responsibility-good-for-business-good-for/
Mintzberg, H. (1990). “The design school: Reconsidering the basic premises of strategic management”, Strategic Management Journal, 11(3), 171-195.
Stacey, R. (2013). Strategic management and organizational dynamics: The challenge of complexity (Laureate Education, Inc., custom ed.).Essex, England: Pearson Education Limited.
