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Strategic challenges of apple
What, historically, have been Apple’s major competitive advantages
Leadership style of steve jobs
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Apple: Changing the rules of industry, again and again.
Apple’s dominance in innovation & developing the most loved products of the world is unparalleled. The company sparked a computing revolution in 1978 and then again in 1984. PC industry growth was driven by lower prices and new features in early 2000s. But PC industry also saw the emergence of alternative technologies such as smart phones, tablets etc. that changed the attractiveness of PC industry. However, Apple saw these devices as a part of integrated strategy to deliver breakthrough user experiences. Apple currently faces a challenge of continuing its current success and reaching to a new level by sustaining the culture which Steve Jobs left at Apple.
Apple’s recent success has been due to its continued investment in R&D, evolving its products over time & developing a complete eco-system around its products. Apple developed the idea of digital hub and capitalized on it by launch of iPod, iPhone and iPad that set Apple on explosive growth path. Apple’s unique culture of innovation, huge brand equity/customer loyalty & strong leadership gives it a sustained competitive advantage. Application of VRIO framework, (Annex 1), shows that its core competencies are valuable, rare and hard to imitate.
Although Apple is a dominant player, it cannot ignore the external environment in which it operates. Porter 5 forces, (Annex 2) are used to analyze the factors affecting the external environment. Rivalry among existing competitors is high with companies such as Samsung having the capabilities & resources to challenge Apple. Buyers can switch easily to other products without considerable switching cost. Threat of new entrants is moderate owing to large capital requirement. PESTEL ana...
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...f Apple products.
Social - People today are aware of social issues and these issues influence the consumer buying decisions. Apple outsourced most of its production to Foxconn in China. Many Foxconn workers in China committed suicides and Apple was forced to commission a study by fair labor association. Apple will have to face challenge of keeping up to the tasks of cultural aspects emphasis on people safety etc.
Technological – Apple faces the imminent threat of technological innovation from its competitors. Almost every company in the hi-tech industry is striving for disruptive innovation in order to sustain competitive advantage.
Legal – Intense competition in smartphone industry has caused various lawsuits on intellectual property issues. Almost everyone has sued everyone in the industry. Apple has to spend resources in legal costs to fight these lawsuits.
Apple has garnered a competitive advantage through all aspects of the supply chain. On the production front, Apple has made many high-priced
Apple Computer Inc designs, manufactures, and markets personal computers and related personal computing and communication solutions. The return of Steve Jobs, the companies founder, as CEO has pulled the company’s stock price up 775-percent through his launch of innovative products such as the iMac computer line. On January 5, 2000, Jobs announced that he was dropping interim from his CEO title and taking the job full-time. With this news and Apple’s new products such as the iBook, a portable pc and Quick TV, an internet television access feature, Apple Computer is headed for success and is sure to increase their share in the computer market.
Apple has its competitors, as it is expected, and they do not fall behind by much. One of its biggest competitors is the company Samsung. For years, those two companies have been head to head in the electronical world. All over the web one can find all sorts of articles talking about the conflicts of those two companies and about how they each claim that the other one took their products and just changed its name. But thankfully, those two companies are still strong (no matter how much people complain about the other one) and they both have a lot of people supporting them. There are two sides when talking about phone and electronics: the Apple side and the Samsung side. Now, what those two companies need to be careful about is to not let their guards down and allow the competition to take over, but then again, Apple is well... Apple and they would never let that happen (they have not done it for almost 50 years, they would not do it
Today, Apple keeps coming out on top with their exceptional and award winning items and administrations. Apple is additionally credited with driving the advanced media upheaval with their iPod compact music and feature players and iTunes online media store, making the first supportable music-downloading plan of action ever. (Jakab,
Apple Inc is a multinational organization in America and has its headquarters in California. The organization specializes in the design as well as development of consumer electronics including: computer software 's, and also personal computers. The organization has for long been offering a broad range of communication mobile communication as well as its own company software’s. The organization has quite an upright name in the business world. For a long period it has been producing quality product and their designers really bring out uniqueness in their products (Linzmayer, 2004). Apple Inc has established itself as being the world’s leader in innovation. Thus according to statistics; it is classified as being the fourth most valuable technology
It was Steve Jobs who made Apple leave the garage and make leaps and bounds in the world of technology. Steve Wozniak made the first prototype, but it was Jobs who “saw the potential” in his computer and persuaded Wozniak to sell it (Peterson 106). Even though that first computer saw very little success, Jobs knew that Apple had potential and so released the Apple II. From the beginning Jobs knew what the consumers wanted, and where computers were going to take the world; he had a vision of the opportunities in technology and saw that Apple needed to move in a different direction. In 1984, one year before he left, Jobs finished the Macintosh computer system. He was pushed from his original computer design project, “the Lisa”, and then raced to release the Mac first, but the Lisa was released to the public first. Although the Lisa came out first, the Mac “[became] synonymous with Apple, mark[ing] a…revolution in…personal computing,” (Peterson 106).
In fact, about this business one can easily write a few weighty books. Without exaggeration, we can say that Apple is one of the brightest technology companies that appeared in the 70s of the last century. Due to innovative technology and aesthetic design, Apple Inc. has established a unique reputation comparable to the cult in the consumer electronics industry. In 2014 the company was ranked first in the world by market capitalization. The concept of the brand is built around the slogan 'Think different’ (Linzmayer, 2004).
Apple has made reasonable management of its human and material resources since its innovational approach demands effective strategic allocation of its resources to the development and utilization of its productive resources to support its innovative investment strategies. Effective strategic control brings power to Apple’s decision-makers to allocate its resources to confront the technological, market, and competitive uncertainties which are inherent in the innovation
Apple can adopt the strategy to portray a picture of a not so conducive less profitable market, which could discourage new entrants from picking that path as they will be demotivated by the low return on investment resulting from low profitability levels. In order for apple to create a niche for t numerous products, it needs to adopt and implement such bold strategies of defense to protect their interests and continue to be profitable and successful (Ideavist, 2011). Entry of a new company into the technology sector would spell doom for most companies already struggling for market share as better priced and reliable products could imply consumers would shift their preference to the new entrant leading to a negative volume of sales stir for most already established companies. Another strategy that could be employed as part of Apple’s defense could be the pre-entry strategies that make it even harder for new entrants to compete and enter into the sector and this involve continuous improvement for their products, covering
Taking a step back into Apple's product history, and noticing how ancient the first products seem, compared to the sleek, "cool" products of today, will leave you feeling inspired. Apple has gained technological superiority over its competitors, but how and does Apple plan to continue its advantageous market share in such a rapid, fast-paced technological era? Apple has a cult like following, consumers who are anticipating and ready to purchase new Apple products as soon as they are released. Technology has become second nature and a very important aspect of millions of consumers' lives.
is yet to reach its maximum potential. Truly a unique entity in its accomplishments and organization, apple through the conviction and leadership of Steve Jobs its founder and then CEO; have pioneered the revolution of mobile technology. When it comes to strength, apple Inc, has a great marketing team with great marketing and advertisement capabilities, strong brand awareness, a strong and extensive distribution channel, and most of all a vertical integration and the most obvious which is customer loyalty. With the acquisition of valuable companies such as Beats, WhatsApp, mobile payment systems with the IPhone 6, wearable gadgets like the IWatch, apple uses these opportunities to satisfy its loyal
Computers and technology makes it easier for entrepreneurs to enter this market. Not only are major tech companies competing against one another, but they are also competing against little programmers that know how to code. In our time you will never know with certainty when a small group of engineers or computer scientists are going to create, “next big thing”. Apple has been able to have a competitive advantage over its competitor by creating the highest quality products and services. Some of Apple’s current competitors are Microsoft, Google, and Facebook, and a few other tech companies as well. Most people strongly people Apple is one of the stronger company its industry, but then again some other people have biased views. Financially, they are the strongest company in the world. Also people are always willing to pay a premium for their products because of their durability, quality, and prior experiences with Apple products. Apple is always on the look at for new innovative ideas and concept that are being produced by self-motivated entrepreneurs. They are always looking to hire bright minds and let them develop within the company. A lot of entrepreneurs, programmers and engineers do not have a problem working for Apple because of their well-established perks. Apple offers its employees of the best benefits in the world. They also fairly compensate their employees that work in the front-end store as
From 1980 to 1996, Apple’s competitive range in the PC industry was rocky. Although Apples products were unique and well built, they were overpriced compared to competing products from IBM and others. As competitor prices dropped, Apple prices stayed the same and the company saw a decline in sales as customers opted to purchase from its competitors. John Sculley, former CEO of Apple, took many steps to improve the company’s competitive advantage. One of those steps was to compete with price by producing a low-cost computers that appealed to a mass-market. The second step was to form an alliance with rivals IBM and Novel in order to create new operating systems and applications...
Apple Inc. was established by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak on April 1, 1976 as a computer designer, developer and seller company. However, the company shifted its focus from only personal computer to include other consumer electronics such as portable media player and mobile phone in 2007. Apple Inc becomes one of the most popular makers in its field since it seems that its popularity has increased according to a report on www.statista.com that Apple Inc’s products sales was generally increasing throughout the first quarter of 2006 to the first quarter of 2014. On the one hand, it has increased its revenue from about 14 billion US dollars to more than 170 billion US dollars in 2013. All in all, the company is highly successful corresponding to its products’ development and their sales growth in world’s market.
Cupertino, California is home to a revolutionizing brand in the tech industry. Founded in 1976, Apple Inc. is the brainchild of innovative entrepreneurs. With the introduction of the iPod in late 2001, Apple has inched closer to dominating the mobile entertainment market. Rather than focusing on the production of personal laptops and desktops, Apple has branched out to handheld devices, a decision which has allowed the firm to successfully establish itself as a mighty contender in the cellular industry. Apple’s fresh perspectives on how to develop products with simple, yet intuitive designs have enabled the company to rise up from the masses of products with substantial appeal.