Apple Inc. Jeymi Charles MRK/421 June 19, 2014 Michele Dougherty Apple Inc. Apple has been innovative in providing product and services for its customers. Having a competitive advantage they produce products like the IPad IPod, Mac, Apple TV and IPhone. Although some would say apple has lost its competitive edge with the passing of CEO and founder Steve Jobs, the company remains one of the leading sellers in the technology industry. In the world of personal handheld devices, the I industry remains dominant among its competitors and can continue to demand a price for which Apple known for, and yet holds its value even through re-sale. Apple has a variety of products that appeal to all cultural demographic.
Aside from the Apple 1 being the beginning of personnel computing the two innovators were able to capitalize on the fact that they were nobodies from nowhere and managed to intrigue the world with their product. They were viewed as a couple of guys that new computers and what they wanted form them. (1) Apple was initially incorporated as Apple Computer, Inc. The company later changed the name to just Apple, Inc, in a move widely regarded as an indicator of the companies intentional shift to consumer electronics and not just computers. (2) The culture developed by the founders especially CEO Steve Jobs, could be defined as controlled dreamers, officially they thought of themselves as "Dreamers and Believers".
In what product segments does Apple compete? How does the company position its products against its competitors? 2.1 Product Segmentation Figure 1a (Heisler, 2014) Table 1b 2.2 Positioning Apple uses differentiation strategy, making products with unique features to attract customers giving Apple a competitive advantage against its competitors. Steve Job was known for “his intense and exacting focus on design, which became a way for Apple to stake out a unique marketplace position. Their brand was built around aesthetically appealing, well-designed products and they developed an intensely loyal, design-savvy customer base” (Porter, 1996).
They also ensured they stayed ahead by updating their hardware, software, and providing newer applications for the iPod. The iPod became known worldwide and people associated the iPod with a cool person, and it was a must have
Businesses nowadays need technology that will help make them successful and reliable for its clients. Wireless technology is becoming the number one choice for individuals to conduct their business. What is wireless technology? Wireless technology today is being able to do things away from the desk wall in his or her own hands off their smart phones. With this technology, it helps boost company morale and productivity.
Quality refers to how well designed and made a product is and the expectations that people have of a business will influence the way that the products are designed and created for customers. Apple is known as a top technology manufacturing company due to majority of people having mobile phones being iPhones. Apple customers have high standards for quality expectations for new products. Because of the advances in technology, Apple needs to upgrade and adjust current models of their products to satisfy the needs of customers’ expectations. Every year or so Apple will bring out new models of their iPhone, iPods and laptops that live up to the hype of the customers’ expectations.
The latter brought even more profit to the company and was followed by iPhone, Mac book and iPad. Those products` popularity helped Apple to become one of the top companies in the world. (Dougherty,2010) Organisational culture There are numerous definitions for organisational culture. For example, Mullins described it as “The collection of traditions, values, policies, beliefs, and attitudes that constitute a pervasive context for everything we do and think in an organisation.“ (Mullins, 2010, p.739) In easier words, corporate culture shows, how things are done in the company. Taken into account Handy`s four types of organisational culture, Apple Inc. has a mixture of power and task cultures.
It always had a reputation for encouraging individuality, innovative ideas and excellence, which in turn attracted many talented workers. But according to Business Insider article, “What Apple Employees Say about the Company's Internal Corporate Culture” Richard Francis, formerly worked at Intel who worked on a project with Apple said “The atmosphere is not as zanily creative as you might imagine. It's very structured, very process driven.” Apple employees are usually specialists who are not exposed to other functions outside their area of expertise because Steve believes in having “best-in-class” employees. Brandon Carson, a contractor at Apple said "They desire and demand a collaborative atmosphere. Your work is
TMA 01 A REPORT ON THE MARKETING OF APPLE TV BY FELIX OWUSU GYAMERAH 1. EXTERNAL ANALYSIS The external analysis was done using the PESTLE model. The study was focused on Sociological, Technological and Legal factors as viewed more relevant to this case study • Sociological Apple is the most valued brand in the world. The Apple ecosystem is so well integrated that anyone who owns an Apple product or does not for what matters, cannot resist an Apple TV. The new digital war is to conquer the main hub of family lives, which is the TV.
Today, Steve Jobs has a huge variety of electronics on the market. Some people cannot live without their Apple Manufactured Products. People all over the world use Apple products. Even people who don’t use electronic devices designed by Apple, most of those devices were probably encouraged by Steve Jobs in one way or another. Steve Jobs was one of the most influential people someone could ever meet.