This strategy was meant to expose consumers to directly use and experience Apple’s software. This retail experience gave many consumers their first exposure to the Macintosh product line. The retail stores grew to account for 16% of Apple’s total revenue. Pg. 4-15 P. 34 Applications Proprietary, Apple developed applications so as to support the Macintosh line.
This business philosophy has also garnered Apple a huge following of consumers and a fiercely loyal community of customers that appear to be expanding, which could be attributed to Apple’s concept of placing the consumers at the centre of every decision and action (Mourdoukoutas, 2013). By bonding consumers with Apple’s brand identity, they promote loyalty as well as word of mouth advertising. In turn, loyalty allows a consumer to resist or disregard a competitor's similar products or
Microsoft vs. Apple As the great CEO of Apple, Steve Jobs quoted, “These technologies make life easier, can let us touch people we might not otherwise. You may have a child with a birth defect and be able to get in touch with other parents and support groups, get medical information, the latest experimental drugs. These thing can profoundly influence life. I’m not downplaying that.” Anyone considering the purchase of a computer may find it difficult to know what computer to buy. But, after looking through online stores, we can conclude that two popular companies are making most of these gadgets.
Both software and hardware engineers of the Apple company work very hard to continuously create new and amazing features in their products. It is this loyalty to their customers by providing high quality products that has kept the company at the top ranking.
It is advantageous that Apple continue to invest in its Research and Development department to stay competitive. Apple is a seemingly financially stable organization; its lack of debt is a potential weakness for the infrastructure because it creates potential risk for stock acquisition by other corporations. • Limited product selection. • New entrant stage. • International markets.
Executive Summary Apple has always surprised the world with its innovation starting from the invention of computer circuit board of Apple I in 1976 to world’s most successful personal computer and electronic device manufacturer. They brought revolutionary changes in user experiences in using personal computers and currently smart devices. The company was always under the supervision of visionary leaders and effective strategies applied by them made the Apple what it is today. The company faced several ups and downs during its operating timeline and remained successful in sustaining their position in the market as a leader. The Harvard Business School Case study of Apple Inc. focuses on the growth and strategic management of the company accordingly.
The system in corporate organisation is very flexible and dynamic and no longer as rule oriented as during early 19th century. Furthermore, as Apple Inc. is a technology and a modern organisation, it is important that managers use contingency approach to lead the company. Steve Jobs have used many different modern ways to manage his company. Instead of the usual team of managers, the small project teams are led by mostly engineers whom Jobs think it is important to run a technology company. The employees are given the freedom to use and fix the problems found in the products instead having to get approval from the top.
Not only that, competitors of Apple will start offering cheap and alternative technology in their own products and services at a much lower cost. This will affect customers loss of interest towards Apple products as they find it no longer unique (Slideshare, 2016). Technological advancement has always force Apple Company to invest a lot in technology as it is largely invested in product research and development field to push the product’s ranking into a much higher rank through their innovative side. For example, one of the most innovative and technologically product will be the IPod touch as it is a big step towards the replacement of basic mp3 (Slideshare, 2014). If Apple Company did not put any pressure towards the research and development department, it is clear to say that without the advance technology, the company will become obsolete.
In this case, Apple was able to build a competitive advantage and prosper because of its marketing strategies that were set to face various challenges. Apple’s CEO Steve Jobs was able to save his company through a masterful marketing program, product innovation, and entrepreneurial corporate culture. The company adopted a market orientation in which it focused on consumer behavior and was able to collect information about consumers’ current and future
Background of the company First, we should know about the overview of the company that include the impact of information systems in the organisation and its relevance to the different activities undertaken by the company. Apple Inc. was incorporated in 1976 as a computer company in California. Apple was founded by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne. Apple Company cares about design of the products and produces a line of personal computers as well as portable digital media devices, software, mobile phones, and related accessories. For example, Apple’s products have Macintosh line of desktop, the iPod digital music player, the Mac OS X operating system, the iTunes Music Store, the Xserve G5 server, and Xserve RAID storage products (http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/history2/31/Apple-Computer-Inc.html