When Steve Jobs was in charge, everything flowed through him. Now that he's dead, the company is taking on a more collaborative approach, according to various reports.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/apples-new-organizational-structure-could-help-it-move-faster-2013-5#ixzz2j51SHJD0

The latest, from Adam Satarino at Bloomberg, says Jony Ive is encouraging Apple's software and hardware teams to collaborate, something that never happened under Jobs[pic].Ive was given control over Apple's software look and feel in November. Previously, he was only in charge of the look of the hardware.This new collaborative approach is causing Apple to be more deliberate than in the past, says Satarino. This could lead to delays, he says.Because this is Ive's first crack at Apple's software, it's understandable that there are going to be delays. He's spent six months on a project that normally takes a year.In the long run it will be interesting to see how this collaborative approach works. As the org chart above demonstrates, Apple was always a company with one guy making all the calls. This made product decisions easier. But it also made them slower at times.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/apples-new-organizational-structure-could-help-it-move-faster-2013-5#ixzz2j527PsYu

In theory, the new organizational structure should help certain divisions make decisions more quickly.

But, collaboration has its downside. If everyone is trying to reach consensus on a decision it could lead to big delays.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/apples-new-organizational-structure-could-help-it-move-faster-2013-5#ixzz2j52M5w4a

Jobs often contrasts Apple's approach with its competitors'. Sony (SNE), he has said, had too many divisions to create the iPod. Apple instead has functions. "It's not synergy that makes it work" is how one observer paraphrases