Apple Organizational Structure

Overview of Apple Company

Apple Inc. is an American multinational electronics and software company established by Steven Jobs and Stephen Wozniak on April 1, 1976, in Cupertino, California. Apple designs, manufactures and markets personal computers, portable media players, mobile phones, computer software, computer hardware and peripherals. The Apple Store, which is a retail store owned and operated by Apple Inc., has opened 283 stores as of December 2009, which are located in 10 countries. The company 's products are also sold worldwide through its online stores, its direct sales force, and third-party wholesalers, resellers, and value-added resellers. Music, audio books, iPod games, music videos, episodes of television programs, and movies

Apple organizational culture

Apple’s organizational structure is one of the factors contributing to the company’s successful innovation. A firm’s organizational structure can create opportunities for business growth. However, it can also impose limits on how the firm develops. In Apple’s case, the organizational structure is mainly a traditional hierarchy, with some key elements from other types of organizational structure. The success of the company is linked to innovation and the leadership of Steve Jobs, but its organizational structure is partly responsible for ensuring support for such leadership. Now, under Tim Cook’s leadership, Apple has made some small changes in its organizational structure to suit market and industry demands.

Apple’s organizational structure is effective in supporting business performance to ensure leadership in the industry. However, further changes in this organizational structure can help improve Apple’s capabilities, especially in the area of rapid and creative innovation and design.

Features of Apple’s Organizational Structure

Apple’s organizational structure enables the firm to continue innovating rapidly. The creation of new products like Apple Watch is linked to the support from the firm’s organizational structure. The following are the most significant characteristics of Apple’s organizational

A bird’s-eye view of Apple’s organizational structure shows considerable hierarchy. In the past, everything went through Steve Jobs’ office. Jobs made all the major decisions. However, under Tim Cook’s leadership, this hierarchy in Apple’s organizational structure has slightly changed. There is now more collaboration among different parts of the company, such as software teams and hardware teams. Apple’s vice presidents have more autonomy, which was almost absent under Jobs. Thus, the company’s organizational structure is now less stiff, but still has a spoke-and-wheel hierarchy where Tim Cook is at the center.

Function-Based Grouping. The upper tier of Apple’s organizational structure has function-based grouping, which is an element derived from the functional type of organizational structure. Each senior vice president who reports to Tim Cook handles a business function. For example, Apple has an SVP for industrial design, an SVP for marketing, and another SVP for retail. In this aspect of the organizational structure, Apple’s top leaders address business needs in terms of function