...Apple has been a leader in innovation and design for years in the technology industry. Their commitment to give consumers the most practical, elegant designs has allowed them to set industry standards when it comes to computers, laptops, phones, and tablets. They have taken advantage on consumers’ desires to own well- designed products. Apple’s most iconic product, the iPhone, created a smartphone revolution with the cellphone community. It led to many other competitors attempting to copy the design and mimic the iPhone’s functionality. It is clear from Apple’s success that they have taken the operations management element of design to new levels and have become the industry standard when it comes to innovation and designing products that are continuously successful. Apple can be looked to for numerous examples of what it means have good design. Many of their products are used for benchmarking and for reverse engineering. Competitor’s looks to Apple to see what design features can be incorporated in their own product (Russel 2011). According to Reuters in the past year Apple has designed things that “keep competitors shaking at their boots.” (www.reuters.com). This includes designing a brand new iPhone with a larger screen, faster processor, and many other new features. This new phone and Apple’s other products succeed in both form in function according to the Operations Management textbook “Both Apple’s product and service design prowess are legendary”(Russel 2011)...
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...EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The word innovation and Apple are synonymous, from its inception in 1976 to date; it has innovated repeatedly and unceasingly with the one simple rule “SIMPLICITY”. Innovation being the key word here, the Apple strategy for the same is extremely consumer centric, they constantly create new products by assessing the needs of the consumer/consumers and in the process deliver new and cool products that possess high quality, craftsmanship and design. This case study discusses the company’s approach to creating and delivering products, which were unique and would be considered as breakthrough products. This case study also analyses the impact of Steve Jobs on the company and his employees. This study highlights excerpts from many Apple employees and it apparent from the statements that they make that “Innovation and Customer Experience” as the basic principles they followed and these were the basis for design and development of products. This way of thinking and operating can be emulated by other companies only if they choose to believe and follow the core ideals/principles they set into motion and at the same constantly adapt and change to the needs of the market. The leadership has to be convinced that the path the company is on, is inline with the values and that these values would lead to productivity, while at the same time inspiring the employees to achieve the single common goal. Another key highlight of this study is the vision of Steve Jobs...
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...By 2013 Apple had succeeded in becoming a successful company known for its innovation and quality which lead to the brand becoming hugely profitable ‘Apple was the most valuable brand in the world with a total worth of $104.3 billion’ (page 2). However, despite this success in the mature developed world the markets were becoming much more competitive with competition from smart phone rivals such as Samsung. This increase in market saturation was coupled with Apples falling IPhone sales which decreased from 90% growth in 2007 to 43% growth in 2012, a decrease of 47%.This left Apple in a dilemma and meant they had to choose between two possible alternatives; ‘market share and profit margins’ (page 10). Apple were keen to target a new segment of consumer in the emerging markets that were growing rapidly, with India growing 229% annually and China being predicted to ship over 400 million smartphones. However, they had a very small presence in these markets occupying a 2.3% share of the market, a dwindling amount when compared their rival Samsung who engrossed the market with a share of 91% (case page 9). Establishing a strategic plan that allowed Apple to target entering these markets presented Apple with a serious obstacle, due to the noticeable different in smartphone trends. Unlike the markets that the company had already penetrated, a premium pricing strategy would not endeavour market share. The smartphone trends in these markets exhibited a demand for products that were low...
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...Apple Innovation, Technology Gregory Bourque Averett University Management Strategy BSA 444 Mike Jernigan PhD September 20, 2011 Apple Innovation, Technology Since its birth in 1976, Apple has remained a forerunner in innovation and technology with a temptation that enthusiasts can hardly resist. From iMacs to iPads, this 35-year-old company has repeatedly created consumer frenzies with elegant innovative products. As they ramp up the next buzz over the new iPad 3, scheduled to hit the market in early 2012, we look at the last decade to unveil the brilliance that catapulted Apple back to the forefront. By the late 1990’s Apple’s initial pathway to growth was running out of steam. The company’s proprietary approach to designing both hardware and software limited it to being a niche player and hampered its ability to compete. In 2001, Apple began introducing a series of successful new products and services. The iPod, iTunes, and iPhone, propelled the company to the top of the industry. However, the shift was not only a matter of product innovation but thinking differently and saying no to 1000 things. Apple’s real success came from its ability to define a workable business model for downloading digital music. The combination of product innovation and business model innovation put Apple at the center of the market. (The Innovators, V. O., 2004) Before the iPod, there was the Sony Walkman. Do you remember those days? In 2001, there were other MP3 players emerging with...
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...Summary Apple as one of the most famous and successful corporations and brands in the world can attribute its past success to Steve Jobs and their employees. The whole organisation understands the companies (mainly Steve Jobs) vision and philosophy. In Apple, employees think that they can change the world and bring completely new values to the customers by design and innovation. They not only want to deliver these new values in a simple way, but also want to provide the customers with functionalities and features they need and that are competitive. Apple is capable of applying simplicity to the design and innovation of their products and at the same time considering customers' needs. While living this vision and philosophy, Apple does things different as compared to its competitors. Apple is going its own way and sets own industry standards and norms. Apple does not want to be an imitator but rather an innovator, with products and services that mean something special to their customers. The above described vision and philosophy is applied across the whole Apple organisation and all employees understand what Apple wants to stand for. Apple employees are dedicated and take on and fulfill their responsibilities accordingly. The question on hand is; Can Apple keep up its good performance and reputation after Steve Jobs' dead in 2011? 2. Introduction In the following sections, I will highlight some issues and threads that Apple will be facing with its innovation capabilities...
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...website:http://www.grin.com/en/e-book/167838/apple-s-approach-towards-innovation-and-creativity title: apples approach toward innovation and creativity author: Christoph Müller Rexter Sengah year: 2010 pages :14 ISBN (eBook) 978-3-640-84770-9 ISBN (Book) 978-3-640-84391-6 Excerpt Jobs who was ousted in 1985 was able to turn around the ailing company when he came back in 1997. Today, Apple is not only considered the most innovative company in the world, but also the most admired (BusinessWeek, 2009), (Fortune, 2009). But what is Steve Job’s secret formula of success? What has made Apple so successful? According to Research & Markets, as cited by Gene Quinn (2010),“Apple has managed to sustain its innovation efforts with calculated, consistent increases in R&D spending and rapid-fire launches of new products and upgrades. What lies behind Apple’s success is not luck - the company has very deliberately focused its efforts on generating better ideas faster.” It is quite clear that innovation and creativity are the major drivers of Apple’s prosperity. But being innovative and creative is easier said than done. There are many aspects which need to be taken into account. What is key here is that the times where employees were seen as cogs in a machine have gone. Many studies have shown that there is a significant correlation between the management of people and organisational success. Per se, all people are endowed with the ability...
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...Case Study: iPod to IPad: innovation and entrepreneurship at Apple Q1)What are the market segments indentified by Apple and their relevance over the years? Apple identified four key segments within the market: -Business, -Creative Professionals, -Education , -High end cosumers In 2000, 75% of the sales were to the traditional business and professional markets. The first ipod was launched in 2001 later followed by a 10 GB version. In 2003, the ITunes Music Store opened. Access to music and downloads became easier. By 2009, the situation had reversed with 60% of sales in the consumer markets of education, students and the broader consumer market. The search for consumer product in 2001 was the cause of this dramatic turn around. Prior to the launch of Ipod, Apple wanted to enter the market for consumer digital devices. They found the market for Digital MP3 players was relatively under developed with no big players involved and significant design flaws in the products on offer. Apple chose music on the move since the market potential was huge and no one had got the right recipe. Price was no barrier to Apple. By tradition the company tended to follow a premium price entry model. They understood that the Key success factors in the market were design, size, capacity, battery life, software and download facility. Apple were looking for creative professionals to satisfy the above criteria and seized the opportunity to hire Fadell who had ideas for a brand new MP3...
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...Isi Kandungan 1) Pengenalan 2) Latar Belakang Usahawan 2.1) Tolenrasi Terhadap Kegagalan 2.2) Menuju Ke Arah Kejayaan 2.3) Imaginasi 2.4) Berorientasikan Peluang 2.5) Komitmen 2.6) Keyakinan 2.7) Bertanggungjawab 2.8) Keupayaan Untuk Mempengaruhi Orang lain 2.9) Passion 2.10)Ketabahan 2.11)Pencari Maklumat 3) Pandangan Usahawan Terhadap Peluang Yang Disediakan Oleh Kerajaan Pada Hari Ini 4) Cadangan Usahawan Untuk Meningkatkan Penglibatan Belia Dalam Keusahawanan 5) Kesimpulan 6) Lampiran 7) Rujukan 1)Pengenalan Keusahawanan adalah kerjaya sangat cabaran pada abad ke-21. Dalam usaha untuk menjadi seorang usahawan yang berjaya, seseorang perlu mempunyai sikap yang betul, personaliti dan ciri-ciri. Terdapat mitos-mitos yang sentiasa merebak di kalangan orang-orang yang mengatakan bahawa usahawan yang dilahirkan, manakala tidak dibuat. Akan tetapi dalam realiti, usahawan boleh dibuat dan dibentuk selagi ciri-ciri yang betul diterapkan dalam orang itu, Oleh itu, dengan melakukan penyelidikan mengenai tugasan, kami tidak sabar-sabar untuk mencari dan mengetahui lebih teperinci mengenai apa ciri-ciri seseorang itu perlu untuk menjadi seorang usahawan yang berjaya. Pada zaman moden ini,ahli usahawan semakin meningkat. Ini adalah kerana sebahagian daripada mereka yang berminat dalam bidang keusahawanan dan sebahagian dari mereka adalah digalakkan oleh faktor alam sekitar seperti mereka yang perlukan...
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...Steven Jobs – launched the Apple iPod in 2001 and the iPhone in 2007, he made a significant shift in the company’s strategy from the relatively safe market of innovative, premium-priced computers into the highly competitive markets of consumer electronics. This case explores this profitable but risky strategy. Note that this case explores in 2008 before Nokia had major problems with smartphones – see Case 9.2 and Case 15.1 for this later situation. Early beginnings To understand any company’s strategy, it is helpful to begin by looking back at its roots. Founded in 1976, Apple built its early reputation on innovative personal computers that were par-ticularly easy for customers to use and as a result were priced higher than those of competitors. The inspiration for this strategy came from a visit by the founders of the company – Steven Jobs and Steven Wozniack – to the Palo Alto research laboratories of the Xerox company in 1979. They observed that Xerox had developed an early version of a computer interface screen with the drop-down menus that are widely used today on all personal computers. Most computers in the late 1970s still used complicated technical interfaces for even simple tasks like typing – still called ‘word-processing’ at the time. Jobs and Wozniack took the concept back to Apple and developed their own computer – the Apple Macintosh (Mac) – that used this consumer-friendly interface. The Macintosh was launched in 1984. However, Apple did not sell to, or share...
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...Invention vs. Innovation Invention and innovation are often treated as synonyms in conversation, which is simply not the case. Though they are similar in meaning, there are nuances that are lost if the wrong word is used. Dictionary.com defines invention as “a new, useful process, machine, improvement, etc., that did not exist previously and that is recognized as the product of some unique intuition or genius, as distinguished from ordinary mechanical skill or craftsmanship.” Innovation, on the other hand, is an improvement upon or makes an important contribution to a device or process already in existence. That is the important difference between the two—invention creates a whole new object or process while innovation makes that object or process better. Some companies call themselves leaders in innovation because they own many patents. A patent is “the exclusive right granted by a government to an inventor to manufacture, use, or sell an invention for a certain number of years,” according to Dictionary.com. Although they do research to determine whether it is legal for the applicant to hold the patent, the US Patent Office does not test any invention to determine if it is actually useful. Thousands of patents are on file for useless devices or processes that have helped precisely no-one and made no impact on any industry. If a patent is useless, it may be an invention, but it most certainly is not an innovation. One example of outstanding innovation often given is the MacBook...
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...Let us just, arguendo, accept his point about Apple no longer being innovative. Let us also gloss over the obvious typo about Apple handing out the $100 billion cash pile as well, it’s no where near that amount being returned to investors. So, what is it that we actually want a non-innovative but highly profitable company to be doing with the rivers of cash that it is generating? Why, we want it to be handing that money back to shareholders. Who can then reinvest it or spend it as they please. And we are entirely happy with the money flowing out of that no longer innovative company because we know, as economists or those interested in economics, that almost all innovation in the economy comes from new firms entering the market. For that is the truth of it: Apple’s run of innovation under Jobs is the oddity in the economy. Almost always innovation, new products, new ways of doing things, new methods of organisation, that variety of things that leads to economic growth and the creation of jobs, comes from the creation of new firms and the extinction by their replacement of the old firms. So, if a company is making good profits but has no new great ideas we’d actually prefer them to be paying out dividends. Buying back stock: getting that money into the hands of investors who might then invest in new start ups. We can go further too: if those executives at Apple knew which were the new start ups were that were worth investing in, knew which new technologies or market areas...
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...KATHMANDU UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT | Design Thinking and Innovation at Apple | Case Analysis | | Submitted By Aakriti Acharya Animesh KC Sirjana Shrestha Surendra Pandey | Synopsis Apple is the world’s most successful and leading brand. Due to unique vision, philosophy and dedication of Steve jobs and employees, Apple has been able to maintain its competitive position till date. The employees of Apple provide new values to customer through unique design and innovation. Apple has the ability to understand and deliver the customer’s needs in simple and sophisticated way. The major reason behind the success of apple is its strategy where it develops product that are completely differently than competitors i.e. it believes in being innovator rather than imitator. Case Issues The issues in this case can be listed as: * What are the key factors that have contributed to the innovation and creativity at Apple? * Is there any systematic approach to innovation at Apple? * Will Apple be able to keep up with customer’s expectation and continue to be a leading brand without its founder Steve Jobs? * Which is more important? Innovation or Brand image? Case Facts The facts mentioned in the case are listed below: * Apple went through a lot of turbulent phases and had many ups and down in the past but still, it struggled and never gave up. Due to its commitment towards product design and development it has...
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...Reflection Paper Apple was founded by Steve Jobs, Stephen Gary Wozniak (Wozniak), and Ronald Gerald Wayne (Wayne) on April 1, 1976. Working at Jobs's garage they designed a personal computer (PC) that was sold as Apple I. The company was incorporated as Apple Computer, Inc. on January 3, 1977. Thereafter, the company grew by introducing many innovative and commercially successful products such as Apple II (1977) and Apple III (1980). Right from its inception, Apple had been a company committed to building great products using the latest technologies. The strong R&D focus that Jobs and Wozniak insisted on helped Apple to differentiate itself from its competitors. Product Innovation Apple Inc. (Apple) produces such items and services as “iPhone®, iPad®, Mac®, iPod®, Apple TV®, a portfolio of consumer and professional software applications, the iOS and Mac OS®X operating systems, iCloud®, and a variety of accessory, service and support offerings” (Apple, 2014). Apple’s innovation strategy, financials and business plan are described below and evaluated along with the risks involved with the strategies. Innovation Strategy Innovative companies can thrive even in a tough economy. Apple Inc. has seen hard times and good times. Apple has survived as a company because of a renewed commitment to innovation. This commitment to innovation spearheaded by Steve Jobs has caused other companies to analyze how Apple does so well. First, it is important to note that Apple has not been always...
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...Design Thinking and Innovation at Apple | Apple Case Summary | | This documents describes in brief the history of Apple and discuss its strategy to success. In addition this documents also draws similarity between Steve Jobs and the current CEO of Apple Tim Cooks. | | Pradyot Mohanty (Twin Peaks) | 1/17/2012 | | History Apple was founded by Jobs and Steve Wozniak in 1976 a time when computer was perceived as nothing but a complex computation system which was used only in big corporate firms and operated by qualified professionals. No one had ever imagined that kids at the age of 10 would be playing games, studying science and reading comic books using a small handheld device which does wonders with a simple touch. When one thinks of Apple, the first thing that comes to mind is Steve Jobs and when one is thinking about Steve, Ipod is the first thing that strikes the mind. I believe a company's growth and success is a direct consequence of its leader's vision and direction. And the same is with Apple . Apple's key strength has been innovation by simplicity, the way Steve envisioned it. "Apple's success is not just the result of clever strategic moves or an innate sense of market timing. It came from a deep commitment to understanding how people used computing devices and a desire to develop insanely great products" [Design Thinking and Innovation at Apple, Stefan Thomke]. Apple's history is the proof of its innovative reputation. When Jobs was leading the...
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...Innovation Strategy Paper Innovation Strategy Paper Not many companies, if any, are known for more innovation than Apple Inc. The products and software produced by Apple Inc. always seem to be years beyond the reach of other companies. Apple Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiaries (collectively “Apple” or 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 content and applications (Apple, 2011, pg. 1). Apple Inc. (Apple) produces such items and services as the “iPhone®, iPad®, Mac®, iPod®, Apple TV®, a portfolio of consumer and professional software applications, the iOS and Mac OS®X operating systems, iCloud®, and a variety of accessory, service and support offerings” (Apple, 2011). Apple’s innovation strategy is described below and is evaluated along with the risks involved with the strategy. Apple’s financials and business plan are also described below. Innovation Strategy Innovative companies can thrive even in a tough economy. Apple Inc. has seen hard times and good times. Apple has survived as a company because of a renewed commitment to innovation. This commitment to innovation spearheaded by Steve Jobs has caused other companies to analyze how Apple does so well. First, it is important to note that Apple has not been always successful. Today...
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