...Unit One – Case Analysis: Apple, inc. Strategic Human Resources Management Unit One – Case Analysis The intended goal of this paper is to explain strategic management and why it is crucial to the success of an organization in meeting its goals and mission. The focus will be on the case study provided by the Harvard Business School on the company Apple, Inc. from the year 2008. I will give a brief overview of the case and identify issues or problems therein. Alternate solutions to solve the problems Apple, Inc. faces will be identified. The best solution to permanently resolve these issues and problems and an implementation plan will be outlined. The computer circuit board, named Apple I, created in a garage on April Fools’ Day 1976 was the beginning of Apple, Inc. Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and A. C. Markkula Jr., the creators, became the industry leaders in 4 years, finally launching their IPO in 1980. Since its inception, Apple has fought to continually and steadily increase its market share and profits worldwide. Technical innovation has been no problem for this company with its numerous devices available. Their competition from Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Acer, and others and trying to compete made the company falter. According to Slind and Yoffie, Hewlett-Packard led the market share with 18.8% and Apple followed with a mere 2.6% in 2007 (2008, pg. 21). But after some hard work and diligence on Jobs’ end, Apple once again began to flourish. One obvious problem for...
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...Apple in the digital age from the iPod to the iPad Apple Inc. The Case Study 2000 - 2010 Foreward John Ashcroft Welcome to this Apple case study. I have always been something of a computer geek. My first computer was a Commodore Pet in 1978. It had 8k of RAM and a cassette player for storage. Programmed effectively, a two dimensional pencil sketch of a rocket would take off and zoom off screen. Beyond that and a few simple games, I don’t recall it did much at all. My first experience of Apple was the Apple II in the early 1980’s. The combination of Apple and a Visicalc spreadsheet, greatly enhanced financial and business plan modelling. Business models were more easily produced and what-if simulations were available at the click of a button. It was a great step up from the pencil and calculator. Seven years ago, I abandoned Microsoft and converted entirely to Apple. Apple Macs, MacBooks, MacBook Air, iPods, iTouch, the iPhone and the iPad, I had to try them all and never looked back This is the case study of Apple in the digital age. The great era of the iPod, the discovery of the digital hub and Apple’s move into the mainstream consumer market with the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad. It has many great examples for enthusiasts of marketing, leadership, organization, financial analysis and strategic management. The story begins almost ten years ago. In 2001, Apple sales fell by a third and the company reported an operating loss of $350 million some 6% of sales. The company...
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...Apple in the digital age from the iPod to the iPad Apple Inc. The Case Study 2000 - 2010 Foreward John Ashcroft Welcome to this Apple case study. I have always been something of a computer geek. My first computer was a Commodore Pet in 1978. It had 8k of RAM and a cassette player for storage. Programmed effectively, a two dimensional pencil sketch of a rocket would take off and zoom off screen. Beyond that and a few simple games, I don’t recall it did much at all. My first experience of Apple was the Apple II in the early 1980’s. The combination of Apple and a Visicalc spreadsheet, greatly enhanced financial and business plan modelling. Business models were more easily produced and what-if simulations were available at the click of a button. It was a great step up from the pencil and calculator. Seven years ago, I abandoned Microsoft and converted entirely to Apple. Apple Macs, MacBooks, MacBook Air, iPods, iTouch, the iPhone and the iPad, I had to try them all and never looked back This is the case study of Apple in the digital age. The great era of the iPod, the discovery of the digital hub and Apple’s move into the mainstream consumer market with the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad. It has many great examples for enthusiasts of marketing, leadership, organization, financial analysis and strategic management. The story begins almost ten years ago. In 2001, Apple sales fell by a third and the company reported an operating loss of $350 million some 6% of sales. The company...
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...Apple in the digital age from the iPod to the iPad Apple Inc. The Case Study 2000 - 2010 Foreward John Ashcroft Welcome to this Apple case study. I have always been something of a computer geek. My first computer was a Commodore Pet in 1978. It had 8k of RAM and a cassette player for storage. Programmed effectively, a two dimensional pencil sketch of a rocket would take off and zoom off screen. Beyond that and a few simple games, I don’t recall it did much at all. My first experience of Apple was the Apple II in the early 1980’s. The combination of Apple and a Visicalc spreadsheet, greatly enhanced financial and business plan modelling. Business models were more easily produced and what-if simulations were available at the click of a button. It was a great step up from the pencil and calculator. Seven years ago, I abandoned Microsoft and converted entirely to Apple. Apple Macs, MacBooks, MacBook Air, iPods, iTouch, the iPhone and the iPad, I had to try them all and never looked back This is the case study of Apple in the digital age. The great era of the iPod, the discovery of the digital hub and Apple’s move into the mainstream consumer market with the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad. It has many great examples for enthusiasts of marketing, leadership, organization, financial analysis and strategic management. The story begins almost ten years ago. In 2001, Apple sales fell by a third and the company reported an operating loss of $350 million some 6% of sales. The company...
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...Apple in the digital age from the iPod to the iPad Apple Inc. The Case Study 2000 - 2010 Foreward John Ashcroft Welcome to this Apple case study. I have always been something of a computer geek. My first computer was a Commodore Pet in 1978. It had 8k of RAM and a cassette player for storage. Programmed effectively, a two dimensional pencil sketch of a rocket would take off and zoom off screen. Beyond that and a few simple games, I don’t recall it did much at all. My first experience of Apple was the Apple II in the early 1980’s. The combination of Apple and a Visicalc spreadsheet, greatly enhanced financial and business plan modelling. Business models were more easily produced and what-if simulations were available at the click of a button. It was a great step up from the pencil and calculator. Seven years ago, I abandoned Microsoft and converted entirely to Apple. Apple Macs, MacBooks, MacBook Air, iPods, iTouch, the iPhone and the iPad, I had to try them all and never looked back This is the case study of Apple in the digital age. The great era of the iPod, the discovery of the digital hub and Apple’s move into the mainstream consumer market with the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad. It has many great examples for enthusiasts of marketing, leadership, organization, financial analysis and strategic management. The story begins almost ten years ago. In 2001, Apple sales fell by a third and the company reported an operating loss of $350 million some 6% of sales. The company...
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...Introduction This case study highlights Apple Inc. position on the consumer electronics retail within the United Kingdom’s market. The competitive conditions are highlighted using Porter’s five forces theory. The second part of this case study shows how Apple Inc handles the different forces and threat to remain competitive on the market. Porter’s five forces The Porters five forces is a model helping to analyse the forces that shape an industry’s competitive environment. The tool can be used to define the attractiveness of an industry as well as plan the strategy of a company within a market. Competitive rivalry within the industry The main actors of the consumer electronic goods are divided depending of the type of products their providing. Based on Apple’s product, we can identify the following competition’s group: * Computers: Lenovo, HP, Acer, LG, Fujitsu, etc. * Smartphones: Samsung, HTC, Sony Ericsson, LG, Nokia, Blackberry, etc. * Music players: HP, Samsung, etc. * Tablets: Samsung, Tesco, Acer, Microsoft, Blackberry, etc. The competitive rivalry is intense within the consumer electronic goods retail. Entering this market as a new brand is very difficult as the current actors are well settle. Also many companies having a step in the market are diversifying their type of electronic products, and each of them is a potential competitor for any other brand. Bargaining power of buyers The buyers have the opportunity to compare the products prices using...
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...Case Study Apple-Merging Technology, Business, and Entertainment Marcus Burch University of Maryland, University College Author Note This paper was prepared for AMBA 640. Executive Summary In the case study of Apple-Merging Technology, Business, and Entertainment, Apple transformed itself from a computer company with limited success to a major digital company with almost limitless potential and outstanding success. Apple Inc. brings more than 35 years of mission management and problem solving ability to the digital environment. The computer and or digital industry is latent with slogans and catch phrases about its technology, innovations and proven commitment to development. Apple’s core products are the most revolutionary innovations of the digital age. The iPod, iPad, iPhone, and iOS App Store help usher in a change in the way we use and purchase products. These products spawned a new revolution in the marketing of electronics. Introduction The purpose of this case analysis is to critically analyze the case study, Apple-Merging Technology, Business, and Entertainment from Baltzan’s book Business Driven Information Systems 3E.(2012). The analysis will discuss the influence that the iPhone, iPad, iPod, and other Apple products have had over the last 10 years on the company and its competitors. Over the last 30 plus years Apple has transformed itself from a computer hardware or PC...
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...Karen Romero WRIT 340 – Section 66748 20 November 2013 Apple, Inc. A Case Study in External Communication Executive Summary Background: On June 25, 2010 Apple released the iPhone 4. With its sleek, new, stainless steel frame design, thousands of people rushed to buy Apple’s latest gadget. Apple and its partner carriers received 600,000 pre-orders for the iPhone 4s in the first 24 hours, making it the largest number of pre-orders Apple had received in a single day for any device up to that time. By the end of the month, Apple had sold over 1.7 million iPhone 4s’. Not long after the release, customers began to report antenna issues with the phone. They said that if they touched the antenna located on the outside of the phone or gripped the phone too hard, they would lose reception and their phone calls would drop. With such high demand for the iPhone 4, one would think that Apple would have ensured their product was as up to standard as possible before making the big release. Unfortunately, this was not the case and they were not prepared for such a large retaliation from the iPhone 4s users. Apple was then faced with the challenge of having to address the issue to the public. From the result of the public address that Apple issued, two things are certain: 1. Apple was not prepared to deal with such negative feedback from their customers 2. Apple’s public relations or communications team did not handle the situation correctly. They lacked some very...
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...Marketing - Marketing Mix and Consumer Behaviour: The key is the research. Francesco Giunta Consumer Behaviour: The key is the research. Marketing over the last two decades has made significant progress in terms of segmentation, positioning and targeting of the product. In this progress is included the core aspect of consumer behaviour. The study of such behaviour is a necessity for any company in any business, regarding this it is interesting the analysis of consumer behaviour in purchasing technological products. There are several cases of companies not only in the technology field, leading market research in order to understand how they can maintain the loyalty of existing customers and attract new ones, but not everyone can have positive results. A remarkable example of success is Apple Inc. which with its revolutionary and aesthetically refined products managed to have a tremendous positive feedback from consumers and is able to maintain a strong and lasting relationship. Consumer Behaviour : Marketing Research and Marketing Mix Marketing Research In creating a product and an advertising campaign is essential to consider the target market. It is crucial to know what are the habits of the consumer, their needs when purchasing a specific product and what are the benefits of such purchase. So it is vital to understand how to attract consumers' attention and get a complete picture of the situation. It is possible to do that by following five basic steps/questions...
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...APPLE, INC. A Case Study in External Communication Written by: Jenny Lee Ian McCarthy Andrew Nguyen Robbie Reid Dr. Robyn Walker Faculty Advisor Center for Management Communication Prepared for: Case Study Initiative Center for Management Communication 2013 INTRODUCTION As soon as the news of the Apple iPhone surfaced, David and Mary Jones eagerly bought two and switched their wireless phone carrier to AT&T Wireless, the iPhone’s exclusive wireless carrier in the United States. Several weeks later, after a hectic morning in the office, David Jones drove home to meet his wife, Mary, during his lunch break. “Hey, David, I wasn’t expecting you to be home for lunch today. How’s work?” Mary warmly greeted her husband and proceeded to set the dining table. “It’s fine—mundane as usual,” David replied. “It’s not the project Mr. Owens just assigned that’s stressing me out; my iPhone keeps dropping calls. My calls have dropped multiple times during important conference calls,” David sighed as he immediately went to the couch and took his shoes off to relax. Mary had not experienced any problems with her own iPhone and wondered if David had somehow received a defective phone. She placed a plate of pasta on the dining table and responded, “I’m sorry to hear that; we should take care of that. I haven’t had any problems with my iPhone. You should give AT&T a call and we’ll get it figured out.” David called AT&T and was connected to a customer service representative who said,...
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...APPLE, INC. A Case Study in External Communication Written by: Jenny Lee Bachelor’s Degree Candidate Ian McCarthy Bachelor’s Degree Candidate Andrew Nguyen Bachelor’s Degree Candidate Robbie Reid Bachelor’s Degree Candidate Dr. Robyn Walker Faculty Advisor Center for Management Communication Prepared for: Case Study Initiative Center for Management Communication April 25, 2012 INTRODUCTION As soon as the news of the Apple iPhone surfaced, David and Mary Jones eagerly bought two and switched their wireless phone carrier to AT&T Wireless, the iPhone’s exclusive wireless carrier in the United States. Several weeks later, after a hectic morning in the office, David Jones drove home to meet his wife, Mary, during his lunch break. “Hey, David, I wasn’t expecting you to be home for lunch today. How’s work?” Mary warmly greeted her husband and proceeded to set the dining table. “It’s fine—mundane as usual,” David replied. “It’s not the project Mr. Owens just assigned that’s stressing me out; my iPhone keeps dropping calls. My calls have dropped multiple times during important conference calls,” David sighed as he immediately went to the couch and took his shoes off to relax. Mary had not experienced any problems with her own iPhone and wondered if David had somehow received a defective phone. She placed a plate of pasta on the dining table and responded, “I’m sorry to hear that; we should take care of that. I haven’t had any problems with my iPhone...
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...Introduction Supply chain case study analysis covers a broad range of a company’s activities falling within a value chain. Each company has its own circumstances that lead to specific supply chain strategies and decisions. 1.1 Apple – Company Background Apple is a world leader in mobile, media and communication devices, PCs, Laptops and music players etc. Hardware is its primary business, however it also sells own and third party software applications and contents, peripherals, services, and networking solutions. The products and services of apple includes Apple TV, iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac & their accessories, software solutions like iOS, Mac OS X, iTunes, iCloud and App Store and support services etc. 1.2 Timeline Apple Computer was started by two high-school friends, Steven Wozniak and Steve Jobs in 1976 with the introduction of Apple-I (Reuters, 2011). Apple-II which was the first colour graphics computer followed in 1977. Reason for its fame, Macintosh was launched in 1984. Jobs had to leave the company in 1985 due to internal power brawl. Apple introduced Powerbook-100 in 1991 and the first handheld device Newton Message Pad in 1993; however the financial position of Apple was extremely weak primarily due to competition from Microsoft. Amid the crisis, Jobs was brought back in 1997 as interim CEO. Jobs redefined strategic areas for Apple, scrapped some non-working products and focused only on a limited number of high potential products. This change in...
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...in the long run. Apple Inc. is one of the major leading hardware manufacturers, originates from the United States and is popular among the world. Its long-term direction could be strengthening the research, design, development and manufacturing phases. The success of this company relies its competitive strategy, which integrates its core resources, company structure and business process and stimulates targeted customers effectively as well as attracts more customers. In the meanwhile, the success of Apple Inc. is due to the support from strategic marketing. This report for Apple Inc. will analyze strategically about Apple in terms of its business description first with company profile, financial description and future direction in it. Furthermore, the sustainable business strategies that Apple adopts will be described in detail and the effectiveness of them will also be proposed one by one. The author also makes use of one of the classic tools, SWOT analysis, to give all-around insight of its competiveness strategies in terms of advantages and disadvantages. Some suggestions will appear in the end of this report as well. Business Description Company Profile The business description comes from its financial report: “The Company designs, manufactures, and markets mobile communication and media devices, personal computers, and portable digital music players, and sells a variety of related software, services, peripherals, networking solutions, and third-party digital...
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...------------------------------------------------- Top of Form Case: Texas Roadhouse Won’t Scrimp on Making Employees Happy In: Business and Management Case: Texas Roadhouse Won’t Scrimp on Making Employees Happy “If we take care of our employees, they will take care of our customers” is a common phrase. In your experience, is it actually practiced or is it just a cliché on the wall? Discuss the implications of your answer. Solution: The above phrase holds true in today’s competitive world and is actually practiced, where the focus is on the customer. The phrase is very much applicable for the service-oriented companies, where employees play a huge role in the success of the company. It is believed that employee job satisfaction is directly related to customer satisfaction. The management should take decisions and develop measures to increase the motivation of its employees to serve their customers better. An employee can increase the service quality through five important dimensions, namely, discussed as below: Reliability: The ability of the employees to deliver the promised service to the customer, in promised time and error free transactions, would increase the customer base and boost sales. Assurance: The politeness, knowledge and courtesy of the employees towards customers, in dealing with the products sales and after-sales service, builds a huge amount of trust and confidence. Tangibles: The personality and well-dressed attire of employees, attractive and simple...
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...Case Study n°2: APPLE STORES 2.What store elements helped Apple connect better to the customers and what are the weaknesses of this strategy? The Apple stores have been designed in order to procure the best experience to the customers. Each part of the store is thought carefully and has its own purpose. The main goal of Apple stores, regarding the customers, was to respond to their digital needs and let them leave the shop with the full Apple experience. Apple wanted their store to perfectly represent the brand. To improve the efficiency of their stores, the notion of “shop different” has been experimented in order to know better the expectations of potential Apple customers. The results of the experiences were recorded into a document called “Credo” which gave born to the motto “Enriching people’s lives with innovative, easy-to-use technology”. The Apple store is divided into four areas: * The Products Area: Proposes a display of Apple computers, latest home products and promotes the Apple operating system and its easy use. This Store element is essential to attract customers by showing them the design and the rapidity of Apple’s products. Gathering peripheral products allows consumers to find all what they need for their personal digital use in the same place. * The Solutions Area: Includes four sub-areas, Music, Movies, Photo and Kids. The three first areas aim at revealing the consumers experimentation of Apple products and having a direct idea of their quality...
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