apple's human resource management case study

Dr John Sullivan Talent Management Thought Leadership

Talent management lessons from apple: a case study of the world’s most valuable firm (part 1 of 4).

September 12, 2011

This past August Apple became the most valuable corporation in the world based on market capitalization, surpassing every firm in the technology industry and every other industry! As a consumer products company, its prolonged growth spurt is even more amazing because it has continued through economic times when consumers are reluctant to spend what little they have. Considering that Apple was near bankruptcy in 1997, its story is both extraordinary and noteworthy.

The extraordinary valuation is not a result of 30+ years of stellar performance. Apple has failed at many things. Its success isn’t the result of access to special equipment, manufacturing capability, or a great location, but rather superior leadership, access to great talent, and unusual talent management approaches.

Almost everyone in business is aware of Apple’s amazing product success and the extraordinary leadership of Steve Jobs. Some authors have described the firm’s approach to HR, but few have analyzed the firm close enough to identify  why the approaches work. Visits to the headquarters and interviews with HR leaders convinced me that there are lessons to be learned from this company. After two decades of researching and analyzing Apple’s approach to talent management, I have compiled a list of the key differentiators.

Apple Talent Management Approaches to Emulate

This three-part case study covers the many talent management factors that contributed to Apple’s extraordinary success in workforce productivity and innovation. It does not focus on the many important things that Steve Jobs did at Apple, because such things are not easily copied by others. It also focuses primarily on the approaches used within Apple’s corporate facilities versus those of Apple’s retail operations.

Agility Allows for Innovation into Completely New Areas

Many firms develop the capability to dominate their industry. Procter & Gamble, Intel, and Toyota are excellent examples. Apple is in a different league, however, because it has demonstrated the ability to shift into and dominate completely new industries every few years. For most of its history, Apple was a computer company (and its name used to be Apple Computer), but in the last decade Apple tackled the music industry with the iPod device and iTunes distribution channel. Next Apple conquered and dominated the smartphone industry with the iPhone and “App Store.” Most recently Apple challenged the PC as we know it and is in the process of disrupting the publishing industry. This ability to successfully shift from one industry to another in a few short years is known as agility. In my book, even wildly successful firms like Google, Facebook, Toyota, or Procter & Gamble can’t come close to matching Apple’s agility track record.

A great deal of Apple’s agility comes from the direction and vision of its senior leadership and its corporate culture, which reinforces the need to get ready for “the next big thing.” While Apple looks for agility in talent, the real key to Apple’s agility occurs post onboarding. At Apple, there is a cultural expectation that after succeeding in one task, you will immediately move on to something completely different. You know that you will have to retool and learn quickly. The expectation of radical change eliminates resistance and sends a message that employees can’t rest on their laurels. That means that they must mentally prepare for (and even look forward to) the next extraordinary challenge, even though you will get almost no “career path” help in determining which is the next best challenge for you. Apple employees work in numerous disconnected team silos, competing against one another with little or no foresight into the purpose or intended use date of their work.

The rapidly shifting work load means than an employee bored with their work won’t be for long because the work and the focus will change, a major attraction factor that brings in recruits desiring the challenge of radical change. Looking at the big picture, Apple’s ability to move into and dominate completely unrelated industries is only possible because of its extraordinary talent, the way that it manages it, and its approach to building an image that attracts the new skills needed to successfully move into completely new product areas.

A “Lean” Talent Management Approach Contributes to Extraordinary Productivity

Most firms strive to have a productive workforce. One of the best ways to measure workforce productivity is revenue per employee. Apple produces what can only be considered extraordinary revenue per employee; $2 million. A second measure of workforce productivity is profit per employee: nearly $478,000 for Apple (unbelievable considering it has a retail workforce).

If you are familiar with the concept of lean management, then you’ll understand the prime drivers for Apple’s extraordinary employee productivity. For years, the leadership of Apple has followed the philosophy that having less is more, meaning that by purposely understaffing and operating with reduced funding, you can make the team more productive and innovative.

Innovation at most firms is expensive because you must pay for a lot of trial and error. The lean approach, however, can improve innovation because with everything being tried, there simply isn’t enough time or money for major misses and re-do’s. “Unrealistic deadlines” at Apple mean that you have to get project problems solved early on, because there isn’t time to redo things over and over. Being lean forces the team to be more cohesive. Even providing a lean schedule forces everyone to be productive because they know there is no room for slippage. At Apple, the lean approach means that even with its huge cash resources, every employee must adopt the mentality of leanness. If you understand the lean concept and its advantages, you shouldn’t be surprised that numerous innovations have been developed in “garages,” the ultimate lean environment.

Build and Reinforce a Performance Culture

Any business analysis of Apple will reveal its laser focus on producing industry-leading results. While some feel the performance emphasis comes solely from Steve Jobs, the “performance culture” is continually reinforced by operational processes and practices. For example, having stock as a primary motivator forces employees to focus on the performance of the company and its stock. The rewards and recognition programs at Apple don’t include a component for effort or trying — only final results. Rather than celebrating numerous product milestones, only the final product unveiling is worthy of a major celebration.

A performance culture requires significant differentiation based on performance, and it’s clear that in this culture, the top performers and those who are working on mission-critical products are treated significantly differently. In fact, current and former employees frequently complained about the special treatment given to those designated as the “top 100 most important employees.”

Treating top performers differently may cause some employees to be disgruntled, but treating all employees exactly the same will frustrate your high-impact top performers and cause them to leave. Functions receive different funding also, based on their potential impact. Overhead functions that don’t directly produce product (i.e. HR) are often underfunded compared to product producing functions like engineering and product design.

Although there is certainly politics at Apple (where marketing seems to rule), having a degree from a prestigious school or past success on other products won’t get you far in the highly competitive culture at Apple. Jobs has no degree at all. The internal competition is fierce (even though they don’t know what other teams are doing) to develop or contribute to the most-talked about feature for the next WOW product.

Rather Than a Work/Life Balance, Emphasize the Work

Numerous HR functions proudly and prominently push work/life balance. Like them, Apple is proud of its long-established culture. You won’t find the term “balance” anywhere on the career site; instead, Apple makes it clear it is looking for extremely hard-working and committed individuals. On the website, for example, it proudly states: “ This isn’t your cushy corporate nine-to-fiver .” It reinforces the “hard work” message several times, including “ Making it all happen can be hard work. And you could probably find an easier job someplace else. But that’s not the point, is it ?

And: “ We also have a shared obsession with getting every last detail right. So leave your neckties, bring your ideas .”

If you don’t care about getting every precise detail perfect, great work, and a lot of it, Apple makes it crystal clear that this is not the place for you.

Next week: Part 2 — more talent management approaches to copy and learn from.

Talent Management Lessons From Apple … A Case Study of the World’s Most Valuable Firm (Part 2 of 4)

In Part 2 of this case study on Apple’s talent management practices, I look at its approach to innovation, compensation, and benefits, careerpathing, and online recruitment (its career site). Some approaches discussed are unique to sub-factions within Apple, as would be expected in any organization of significant size. It’s also quite rare for organizations that design, manufacture, and sell through direct retail to have consistent approaches across all units.

Talent Management Lessons To Learn and Copy (continued)

You should not be surprised to learn that the firm that made the term “think different” a brand uses talent management approaches that are well outside the norm. In addition to  the lessons presented in Part 1 , some approaches other firms can learn from Apple include:

Career paths reduce self-reliance and cross-pollination  — in most organizations, HR helps to speed up employee career progression. The underlying premise is that retention rates will increase if career progression is made easy. The Apple approach is quite different; it wants employees to take full responsibility for their career movement. The concept of having employees “own their career” began years ago when Kevin Sullivan was the VP of HR. Apple doesn’t fully support career path help because it doesn’t want its employees to develop a “sense of entitlement” and think that they have a right to continuous promotion.

Apple believes career paths weaken employee self-reliance and indirectly decrease cross-departmental collaboration and learning. Absent a career path, employees actively seek out information about jobs in other functions and business units. In a company where creativity and innovation are king, you don’t want anything reducing your employee’s curiosity and the cross-pollination between diverse functions and units. Automatically moving employees up to the next functional job may also severely narrow the range of internal movement within the organization, which could reduce the level of diverse thinking in some groups.

Create and manage a culture of innovation  — most firms have a culture with a singular focus on one attribute like performance, quality, customer service, or cost-containment. Apple is unique in that it has two dominant cultural attributes that exist side-by-side. The first (discussed in part one) is “performance,” with the second being “innovation”; the latter may actually be the strongest of the two. The dual emphasis works at Apple because the firm operates in the consumer technology field, where there is a universal expectation for “disruptive” performance.

Producing $2 million-plus in revenue per employee certainly establishes Apple as a performer, but it is its industry-dominating product innovation that differentiates it from competitors like HP, Sony, Microsoft, and IBM. Three factors drive the innovation attribute, including the expectation of continuous innovation, extreme secrecy within the product development process, and continuous brainstorming/challenge meetings (even at play just days before a product launch).

“I expect a pony”

Apple’s culture of innovation is unique because the goal is to produce a “pony, not a real horse but instead something so desirable that everyone wants it and considers it ‘gorgeous.’” Simple evolution doesn’t cut it — only extraordinary industry-leading innovation that results in WOW products does. To accomplish that, Apple doesn’t do what most consumers assume it does. Instead of developing completely new industry technologies, Apple takes existing technologies and then bundles numerous small developments on top to produce what appears to the public as giant step forward. It takes a powerful culture and group of managers to delay taking great work public faster, but Apple knows that numerous small releases don’t produce the same media and consumer buzz.

The expectation of innovation permeates the culture

The expectation of innovation is driven by Apple’s history of innovation, its leaders (who forbid the use of “that’s not possible”), and the peer pressure among employees to be among the contributors to the final product that the customer sees. In order to generate this expectation of innovation, it doesn’t rely on posters or motivational slogans (although they have those too …  around here, changing the world just comes with the job description ). Instead, every communication, process, product launch event, and even advertising slogans ( Think Different, Imagine the Possibilities, Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. Etc. ) make it crystal-clear that innovation is at the heart of Apple’s success. Innovation has driven Apple’s past and current successes, and it will continue to drive future success. After walking in the door of the corporate offices in Cupertino, California, you can literally “feel” the expectation to innovate.

Secrecy drives internal competition

The second critical driver of innovation is the product development process. This innovation process is unique in that it doesn’t rely on a formal “ideation” type model; instead, it has been described as an “iteration” process energized by peer competition and Apple’s famous siloed/secret approach to teams. Apple does many things using small development teams, as many firms do, but doesn’t rely on a single team to design each product element. Multiple teams may be assigned to the same area (or they may accidentally wander into the same area). The approach has been called 10 to 3 to 1 because 10 teams may work on a product area independently. When work is ready for review a formal peer review, it will whittle 10 mockups to three and eventually down to one. It is an approach that is unique to Apple. Outsiders may consider it expensive and slow, but they can’t argue it isn’t effective.

Apple is well known for its obsession with secrecy in order to heighten the impact during a product release. Secrecy is also the most unique element in its innovation process. In order to maintain secrecy, development and design teams are intentionally siloed. As a result of these communication barriers, team leaders may not be initially aware of how many teams they’re competing against and what those other teams are working on. The level of open collaboration that you might find at other firms like Google is not possible under this process, but neither is early-stage groupthink. Once possible feature solutions move forward to peer review, the organization benefits from broader scope best-practice sharing and collaboration. While it may seem counterintuitive, Apple has turned “team silos” that would be a negative factor at most firms into a positive force.

Paired design meetings force free-thinking to continue until the end of the design

Another element of the design and innovation process is the holding of weekly “paired design meetings.” Every design team is expected to hold two meetings each week. The first is a traditional production meeting where small refinements are discussed and made. The second is a “go crazy” meeting, in which everyone brainstorms and uses free-thinking to scope out parameters. Most organizations stop these brainstorming meetings once the design parameters are clear, but Apple continues them long into the development cycle to guarantee that completely new ideas will constantly raise the innovation bar.

The talent management lessons to learn in the area of innovation include the concept that intense competition may produce innovation faster than any formal ideation process. In addition, peer vetting of ideas, delaying collaboration until toward the end of the development process, and requiring the continuous use of brainstorming processes may result in bolder innovations and higher levels of risk-taking.

Tying economic rewards to overall company success can reduce selfish behavior  – You won’t find anyone who will publicly argue that Apple pays well with regard to base compensation. Economic rewards at Apple are significant, but largely tied to the company’s valuation. The primary monetary motivator at Apple is “the opportunity for wealth creation” as a result of stock ownership. Most employees at Apple get periodic stock grants to reward their contribution. By putting the focus on the stock, they send every employee a clear message that individual accomplishments are important only if they directly contribute to the overall success of the company. This approach, coupled with the firm’s famous “product focus,” keeps everyone focused on product success rather than individual results and individual rewards. Individual rewards are provided based on performance and consist of stock grants and cash bonuses up to 30% of base salary. Apple’s retail employees also have stock opportunities. They are paid on an hourly basis and do not receive a sales commission.

Benefits and even pay play a secondary role in recruiting and retention — at Apple, the primary long-term attraction and retention factors are stock growth and exciting work. Because of the importance of these two factors, its message on benefits is clear. If you’re doing the best work of your life and having a major impact on the world, do you really need sushi in the cafeteria? (It has that also.) Although most talent competitors to Apple spend huge amounts of money on benefits, Apple’s offerings are spartan when compared to Google, Facebook, and Microsoft. While Apple’s health plan is well-funded, and it has good food and an on-campus gym, neither the food nor the gym is free. One perk that does excite potential applicants (especially in retail) is the employee discount on Apple products which is given to every employee. These discounts further support and reinforce Apple’s companywide emphasis on the product.

Your corporate jobs website should boldly inspire  — because the primary goal of most corporate career/jobs websites is simply to provide company and job information to potential candidates, most corporate job pages are chock-full full of information. Apple’s website is lean on information but strong on inspiration. As a result, after exploring the site, the potential applicant comes away inspired rather than with a pile of information about the company.

There are two categories of inspirational messages on the site, and each one is bold. The first group of corporate messages makes it clear that Apple is “anti-corporate.” In fact, the first bold headline you see is “ corporate jobs, without the corporate part .” They also highlight what they are proud  not  to have including  endless meetings, being bureaucratic, having executive perks and managers wearing suits . Instead they boldly tell you “ don’t expect business as usual .”

The second category of inspiration on the website concentrates on openness, innovation, and changing the world. Key phrases include “ open minds, collaboration, and of course innovation .” You will also find the phrase “ there’s plenty of open space — and open minds ” (obviously perfect sentence structure isn’t a high priority either). Finally, they promise to “ give you a license to change the world ” and “ be inspired .”

Its focus on inspiration is so strong that for a tech firm, there is a surprising  lack of technology-speak on the page . You will not find blogs, videos, or any mention of Apple’s availability on Twitter or Facebook easily. When it comes to mobile access, the site will render fine on the latest smartphones, but receives a 1.51/5.0 with regard to meeting mobile standards. If you visit the site, you might even find links that don’t work and features that load very slowly. What you will find is inspiration — loads of it.

I’ll leave you with this introductory statement from its career site:

“There’s the typical job. Punch in, push paper, punch out, repeat. Then there’s a career at Apple. Where you’re encouraged to defy routine. To explore the far reaches of the possible. To travel uncharted paths. And to be a part of something far bigger than yourself. Because around here, changing the world just comes with the job description.”

Next week,  Part 3:  Employer branding, recruiting, retention, and other talent management approaches to copy and learn from.

Talent Management Lessons From Apple… A Case Study of the World’s Most Valuable Firm (Part 3 of 4)

Want to impress your CEO? Few CEOs wouldn’t mind having the innovation track record of Apple, so there is probably no quicker way to become an “instant hero” then by learning how Apple’s talent management practices have contributed to its success and applying those practices relevant to your organization. In this installment of the case study, we’ll look at internal branding, employer branding, and recruiting.

Internal Brand Encourages Fighting the Status Quo

Steve Jobs and the management team at Apple have worked tirelessly to build a unique internal brand image at Apple that positions employees (at least mentally) as revolutionaries and rebels. Many years ago the organization influenced this internal brand by challenging employees to think how much more exciting it would be to be a pirate, rather than someone who followed the formal protocol of the regular Navy. It even flew a pirate flag over its corporate headquarters. The tradition of being revolutionaries is upheld even today with many supportive slogans including “Part career, part revolution.”

Apple is well known for using T-shirts, parties, and celebrations to build cohesion and to reinforce the internal brand as a ragtag group of revolutionaries. By getting employees to view their role as attacking the status quo, it helps to spur continuous and disruptive innovation. It has been successful in maintaining that internal brand image despite the fact that the top-down approach and intense secrecy run counter to its hatred of bureaucracy and all things “too corporate.” The external image further supports the internal brand.

You Can Have a Strong External Employer Brand Without an Employer Branding Program

Many among us dream of working at Apple, but unlike Google and Facebook, it’s pretty difficult to find out what it’s actually like to work there. A quick search on the Internet reveals that apart from a few alumni, most who have roamed the halls are pretty tight-lipped about their experience. While that silence is probably largely driven by Apple’s widespread use and vigilantly enforced non-disclosure agreements, even the corporation itself is relatively mum. You won’t find a great deal of employment advertising or find the Apple name on any one of a dozen or more best-company-to-work-for lists covering the technology sector, even though competitors like Google, Microsoft, and Intel are regularly listed.

Despite the silence, most would agree that Apple has a great “employer brand image”; Universum ranks Apple No. 10 among global engineering companies. The lesson to be learned is simple: use management practices that support your desired brand and elaborate brand management work will be unnecessary. Get your potential applicants to admire your firm for who and what the firm does by being the admirable firm.

Your Product Brand Should Serve Double-duty as Your Employer Brand

Instead of spending millions on building an employer brand, Apple lets its product brand do all the talking. Apple works hard on building and maintaining its product brand, which is ranked as  the #1 global brand  according to BrandZ ranking. Although product brand messages are intended primarily for customers, the messaging which emphasizes innovation and thinking differently also hasa major impact on potential applicants and employees. The logic is that if your organization lives up to its product promises, then it is natural to expect that the company’s jobs would also live up to the firm’s brand promise. In their minds, potential applicants make the connection between great products and a great place to work. In addition, because Apple’s products are talked about by everyone, there is a lot of brand association power lauded on those who work at Apple.

This public awareness and admiration can, coupled with a strong employee referral program, make generating a high volume of quality applicants easy. That same attention and curiosity will also enhance a firm’s retention rates because your employees will realize that the public sees them as collectively changing the world. Having employees believe that they are likely doing “the best work of their lives” is a powerful situation that most companies can’t easily mimic.

Being a Most-admired Firm May Be Enough

Apple does receive some notoriety in the press as the world’s  “most admired firm.”  In fact, Apple has been No. 1 for four years running on the list. That is an amazing feat. Apple dominates this list by being ranked first in eight out of the nine possible ranking factors. Those eight categories include factors that impress potential applicants, including people management, quality of management team, innovativeness, and social responsibility. The most admired list is based on the perceptions of business people and executives, something that Apple excels at managing. Having your firm admired garners enormous publicity in addition to increasing employee pride, engagement, and retention. The lesson to be learned by other firms is that if you don’t offer great benefits (which Apple doesn’t) you can get the same or even larger impact if you manage the perceptions of executives at other firms.

We want our people to be on the leading edge, so that everyone wants them… and then we must treat them right so they will stay, no matter what offers come along! – Apple Senior Manager

Aggressively Recruit the Best From Other Firms

The pirate-raiding mentality at Apple certainly carries over into recruiting. Apple has a long history of recruiting away top talent from other firms. In fact, the development of its iPod probably wouldn’t have occurred if it wasn’t for importing external talent from firms that didn’t appreciate the value of this new technology. Steve Jobs himself has been known to get directly involved in recruiting top talent. Apple has a top-grading type philosophy in that it targets top performers. Jay Elliot, its former VP of HR, cites one of Apple’s core principles as: ”Always… hire the best  ’A’ people. As soon as you hire a B, they start bringing in Bs and Cs.”

Apple’s recruiting approach is evolving because it has recently imported a team of recruiting leaders from Electronic Arts, but historically, despite the aggressive philosophy, its recruiting methods were pedestrian. It uses job boards and has an employee referral program that has paid up to $5,000, but its candidate experience is far from perfect. Glassdoor users rate Apple interviews 3.0/5.0 with regard to difficulty. Its college recruiting effort isn’t exceptional, with the exception of using recent college hires to help recruit the new crop. The key lesson for other firms to learn is that you can generate huge volumes of high-quality applicants if your firm is highly admired and if potential employees believe that they will be working on leading-edge products that everyone will be talking about.

In the retail group, there are two notable recruiting practices. The first has been the naming of the “ Genius Bar ,” where technical support is provided. Many applicants and employees in the retail area seem to be willing to put up with the relative drudgery of retail work simply for the opportunity to someday work their way up to becoming certified as a “genius.” The second is the use of employee referral cards that are well-designed and powerful. They reinforce the companywide focus that originated with Steve Jobs on recruiting the best from other firms. Recruiters and employees who witness great customer service at other retail and customer service outlets hand the card to those few individuals who provide impressive service. The front of the referral cards say “You’re amazing. We should talk.”

The back praises the individual and their work with a near perfect narrative … “ Your customer service just now was exceptional. I work for the Apple store and you’re exactly the kind of person we’d like to talk to. If you’re happy where you are, I’d never ask you to leave. But if you’re thinking about a change, give me a call. This could be the start of something great .”

Next week,  Part 4 : Apple’s approach to training and development, management, leadership, and other difficult-to-categorize talent management lessons to learn from.

Talent Management Lessons From Apple… A Case Study of the World’s Most Valuable Firm (Part 4 of 4)

The purpose of this case study was not to say that you should copy everything Apple does, but rather to point out that with relentless execution and focus on key factors even a firm near bankruptcy can fight its way back to the top. In 13 years Apple has transformed itself from an organization of the verge of collapse to the world’s most valuable firm, amassing a phenomenal innovation record in the process. While Apple’s approach wouldn’t work for every firm, there are lessons to be learned that can influence program design regardless of industry, firm size, or location.

In part 4 of this case study (here’s parts  1 ,  2 , and  3 ) on talent management lessons, the attention is on development practices, role of management, and inspirational leadership.

Make your employees “own” their learning, training and development  — because Apple frequently produces new products requiring expertise in completely different industries (i.e. computers, music devices, media sales, and telephony), its employee skill set requirements change faster than at almost any other tech firm. While there is plenty of training available, there is no formal attempt to give every employee a learning plan. Just as with career progression, employee training and learning are primarily “owned” by employees. The firm expects employees to be self-reliant. Its retail salesforce for example receives no training on how to sell, a practice that is certainly unconventional in the retail environment. The lesson is simple: providing target competencies and prescribing training can weaken employee self-reliance, an attribute problematic in a fast-changing environment. Employee ownership of development encourages employees to continuously learn in order to develop the skills that will be required for new opportunities.

Make managers undisputed kings  — Apple is not a democracy. Most direction and major decisions are made by senior management. “Twenty percent time” like that found at Google doesn’t exist. While in some organizations HR is powerful when it comes to people management issues, at Apple, Steve Jobs has a well-earned reputation for deemphasizing the power of HR. Although Apple was the first firm to develop an HR 411 line, I have concluded that most of the talent management innovations at Apple emanate from outside of the HR function. There is a concerted effort to avoid having decisions made by “committees.” Putting the above factors together, it is clear that at Apple, managers are the undisputed kings. The resulting decrease in overhead function interference, coupled with the increased authority and accountability, helps to attract and retain managers that prefer control. Unfortunately, concentrating the authority has resulted in having some managers being accused of micromanagement and abusing team members.

Having a product focus drives focus, cooperation, and integration  – Apple is notably famous in the business press for its “product-focused” approach (versus a functional or regional focus). Everything from strategy to budgets to organizational design and talent management functions are designed around “the product.” One of the primary goals of talent management is to ensure that the workforce is focused on the strategic elements that drive company success. That focus can be distracted with selfish or self-serving behavior that instead shifts the emphasis to the individual, a business function, a particular business unit or even a region. Although deciding to have a product focus is normally a business decision, it turns out that Apple’s strong product focus also has significant positive impacts on talent management.

This laser focus on producing a product makes it easy for everyone to prioritize and focus their efforts. A product focus is so powerful because it’s easy for employees to understand that final products can never be produced without everyone being on the same page. A product focus increases coordination, cooperation, and integration between the different functions and teams because everyone knows that you can’t produce a best-selling product without smooth handoffs and a lack of silos and roadblocks. With a singular focus on producing product, there is simply less confusion about what is important, what should be measured, what should be rewarded, and what precisely is defined as success. A product focus increases the feeling of “we’re all in this together” for a single clear purpose: the product.

Apple purposely offers only a relative handful of products, so employee focus isn’t dispersed among hundreds of products as it is at other firms. By releasing products only when it can have a major market impact, Apple essentially guarantees that every employee can brag that they contributed to an industry-dominating product that everyone is aware of. This focus on product helps to contribute to employees feeling that they are “changing the world.” This focus may also reduce the chance that employees will notice that the day-to-day work environment with its politics and the required secrecy may be less than perfect. And because Apple is no longer a small firm, with nearly 50,000 employees, a unifying and inspiring theme is required to maintain cohesion and a single sense of purpose.

Find a passionate and inspirational leader  — although Steve Jobs is no longer the CEO, no analysis of Apple would be complete without mentioning his importance in the firm’s success and the design of its talent management approach. He influenced nearly every aspect of the talent management approach. Not only is he one of the highest-rated CEOs by the public (he is  ranked  number three on the glassdoor.com list) but as a role model, he has had a huge impact on innovation, productivity, retention, and recruiting. His value is indisputable. The day after he resigned, Apple’s stock value fell by as much as $17.7 billion. It is too early to tell whether the new CEO, Tim Cook, who is markedly less inspirational, will be able to maintain the momentum that Jobs created. He has already shifted some executives and changed the company’s philanthropy approach by instituting a matching gift program for charitable donations.

Other miscellaneous talent management issues  — Apple executives are certainly in high demand at other firms that seek to be equally as innovative (for example, the head of the retail operation recently left to become CEO at JCPenney). Despite this demand, Apple certainly doesn’t have any significant turnover problems. You can, however, find  plenty  of negative comments about Apple on sites like glassdoor.com. Some describe Apple’s approach toward employees as a bit arrogant, and employees are certainly pushed to their limits. If you don’t “bleed six colors,” you simply won’t enjoy your experience at Apple for long. Although originally the firm emphasized employee recognition, it is not easy for those outside the firm to connect recent product successes to a single individual or team.

Apple is a team environment. Although many teams are forced to operate in isolation, that actually helps to build team cohesion. The competition between the different development teams is also intense, but that also helps to further strengthen cohesion. Like most engineering organizations, its decision-making model is certainly focused on data. Apple management likes to control all aspects of its products, but despite that, it is one of the best at using outsourcing to cover areas like manufacturing, which it has determined is not a core corporate competency.

Final Thoughts

Although Apple clearly produces extraordinary results, its approach to talent management is totally different than that of Google and Facebook, which also produce industry-dominating results. As Apple has grown larger, its rigor around sustainable innovation has grown as well, a feat that proves impossible for most organizations including the likes of HP, Microsoft, and Yahoo.

The three “big picture” learnings I hope you walk away from this case study with include:

• Focus on “the work” — it is management’s responsibilty to do whatever is necessary to keep work exciting and compelling.
• Strive for continuous innovation — Apple’s emphasis on being “different” is so strong that it can’t be overlooked by any employee or applicant. It delivers industry-dominating innovation levels because everyone is expected to.
• Deliver on your brand — Apple works hard to make sure that potential applicants, employees, and even competitors admire its products, the firm, and how it operates.

These three factors are not easy to copy, but they are certainly worth emulating. If you can bring them and the results that they produce to your firm, there is no doubt that you will be a hero.

Author’s Note : If this article stimulated your thinking and provided you with actionable tips, please take a minute to follow and/or connect with Dr. Sullivan on  LinkedIn .

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How Apple Is Organized for Innovation

• Joel M. Podolny
• Morten T. Hansen

When Steve Jobs returned to Apple, in 1997, it had a conventional structure for a company of its size and scope. It was divided into business units, each with its own P&L responsibilities. Believing that conventional management had stifled innovation, Jobs laid off the general managers of all the business units (in a single day), put the entire company under one P&L, and combined the disparate functional departments of the business units into one functional organization. Although such a structure is common for small entrepreneurial firms, Apple—remarkably—retains it today, even though the company is nearly 40 times as large in terms of revenue and far more complex than it was in 1997. In this article the authors discuss the innovation benefits and leadership challenges of Apple’s distinctive and ever-evolving organizational model in the belief that it may be useful for other companies competing in rapidly changing environments.

It’s about experts leading experts.

Idea in Brief

The challenge.

Major companies competing in many industries struggle to stay abreast of rapidly changing technologies.

One Major Cause

They are typically organized into business units, each with its own set of functions. Thus the key decision makers—the unit leaders—lack a deep understanding of all the domains that answer to them.

The Apple Model

The company is organized around functions, and expertise aligns with decision rights. Leaders are cross-functionally collaborative and deeply knowledgeable about details.

Apple is well-known for its innovations in hardware, software, and services. Thanks to them, it grew from some 8,000 employees and $7 billion in revenue in 1997, the year Steve Jobs returned, to 137,000 employees and $260 billion in revenue in 2019. Much less well-known are the organizational design and the associated leadership model that have played a crucial role in the company’s innovation success.

• Joel M. Podolny is the dean and vice president of Apple University in Cupertino, California. The former dean of the Yale School of Management, Podolny was a professor at Harvard Business School and the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
• MH Morten T. Hansen is a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, and a faculty member at Apple University, Apple. He is the author of Great at Work and Collaboration and coauthor of Great by Choice . He was named one of the top management thinkers in the world by the Thinkers50 in 2019. MortentHansen

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Title: Embracing Cultural Diversity: A Case Study of Apple Inc.'s Management of its Multi-Cultural Workforce

The case study in question looked at the cultural parallels and divergences between the United States and a few overseas locations, as well as how they affected Apple Inc.'s management of its diverse workforce. The study adopted a literature review methodology and drew from pertinent scholarly articles and academic studies on cross-cultural management and organizational behavior. The study looked at the effects of many cultural factors on Apple's leadership style, decision-making, motivation, and employee relations. These dimensions included power distance, individualism versus collectivism, uncertainty avoidance, and masculine against femininity. The survey also emphasized some of Apple's poor management strategies for its diverse staff, including discrimination, prejudice, and language hurdles. The study made a number of recommendations for improvements to Apple's cross-cultural management methods based on its results. These included encouraging cultural sensitivity and understanding among employees, changing leadership philosophies to reflect cultural norms, and creating procedures and policies that respect and encourage diversity. The study came to the conclusion that strong cross-cultural management was crucial to the success of multinational corporations like Apple and that developing successful worldwide businesses required an awareness of other cultures 2

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Please note you do not have access to teaching notes, apple was sweeter when steve jobs held sway: company illustrates contrasting attitudes to organizational change.

Human Resource Management International Digest

ISSN : 0967-0734

Article publication date: 3 June 2014

This paper observes that Apple illustrates the right and wrong ways to bring about organizational change, and emphasizes the key role of personalities in the process.

Design/methodology/approach

Compares and contrasts the performance of Apple under the leadership of Steve Jobs and John Sculley.

Advances the view that Steve Jobs was more successful because he focused on innovation, while John Sculley paid more attention to current products and profitability.

Practical implications

Describes how the Steve Jobs era saw the introduction of such iconic Apple products as the iPod, iPhone and iPad, which helped the company to gain pre-eminence in its field.

Social implications

Argues that, in today’s globalized business environment, organizational change is a must. Demonstrates how to achieve this successfully.

Originality/value

Describes two sides of the Apple story and draws the lessons for other businesses involved in organizational change.

• Information technology
• Organizational change

Kaliannan, M. and Ponnusamy, V. (2014), "Apple was sweeter when Steve Jobs held sway: Company illustrates contrasting attitudes to organizational change", Human Resource Management International Digest , Vol. 22 No. 4, pp. 25-28. https://doi.org/10.1108/HRMID-07-2014-0084

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Copyright © 2014, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

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Apple Inc. in 2020

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About The Author

David B. Yoffie

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Apple Inc. in 2020 – Select Market Data

• Apple Inc. in 2020  By: David B. Yoffie
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Human Resource Management at the Apple Inc. and Sony Corporation Essay

Introduction.

Human resource management involves management of people in the organisation, and such other important functions as recruitment, selection, performance, appraisal, and other personnel functions in the organisation. The objective of HRM is for the success of the organisation through its assets, the working force. HRM maximises human resource potentials, including their talents, skills, and capabilities for the strategic advancement of the organisation.

Armstrong (2006, p. 3) defines human resource management as the “strategic and coherent approach to the management of an organisation’s most valued asset – the people”. The ‘people’ are the workforce, who spends a lot of time working for the success of the company’s objectives. Storey’s (1989) definition states that HRM is “a set of interrelated policies with ideological and philosophical underpinning.”

Human resource management system involves recruiting qualified people for the organisation. This is known as staffing. The organisation’s objective plays a critical role in the staffing process. The management is responsible for identifying and selecting persons capable of implementing the organisation’s plans.

Traditionally, personnel management took the functions of HRM. When functions and responsibilities multiplied due to various organisational and environmental factors in these times of intense globalisation, changes had to be introduced in the organisation. HRM has taken over the function of personnel management, which range from recruitment to training to managing the personnel and their various functions and roles in the organisation.

The objective of this essay is to analyse and determine the advantages and disadvantages of human resource management with respect to two case studies, Apple Inc. and Sony Corporation. The importance of HRM and how it affects Apple and Sony are given enough space for discussion.

Literature Review

In the age of globalisation, knowledge is both a product and resource. Organisations are now focused on knowledge-based economies, and are more concerned with the knowledge people possess, or what is termed ‘people-embodied knowhow’. Firms invest much on intellectual capital. (Rodriguez and de Pablos, 2002, p. 174)

Companies attain competitive edge through constant innovation. The first periods of the new century marked profound shifts in organisation’s strategies with aims for talents, technologies and customer’s focus and loyalty (Venkatraman and Henderson, 2008, p. 258). Organisations keep constant contact with customers, looking for ways to satisfy their needs and wants. Good customer relation is an important aspect of business (McColl-Kennedy & Schneider, 2000, p. S884).

Meeting the customers’ needs and wants is a business trend in the age of globalisation. Organisations now aim for customer loyalty while keeping cost of production low. This is shooting two birds in one shot but difficult to achieve; difficult because meeting the customers’ needs and wants at the same time minimising cost of production do not ensure quality product or service.

Apple and Sony are two of the world’s leading organisations in the electronics and technology industries. Both organisations have their own unique brand of management and handling of human resource, but they both adhere to the dictum that meeting customers’ needs and wants can lead to the success of their objectives.

Nevertheless, both organisations also do not leave their employees behind as they promote and enhance work-life balance within their respective workplaces, also believing in the dictum that employee happiness is related to customer happiness. Satisfied employees result in quality work.

HRM Paradigms

There are two paradigms focusing on HRM. The universalist paradigm, which is dominant in the United States, is widely used elsewhere. This paradigm assumes that the purpose of the study of HRM, and in particular strategic human resource management, is to improve the way human resources are managed strategically within organisations (Harris et al., 2003).

The contextual paradigm is concerned of what is in context and the reasons behind. This paradigm is not helpful in regions like Europe, where significant HR legislation and policy is enacted at European Union level (e.g. freedom of movement, employment and remuneration, equal treatment) as well as those of particular countries or sectors (Brewster et al, 1996 cited in Harris et al, 2003).

However, the universalist paradigm has strength – a simple, clear focus, a rigorous methodology, and clear relationships with the needs of industry.

HRM is now considered the determinant factor in the success or failure in international business. The success of global business depends most importantly on the quality of management in MNCs. There is a shortage of international management talent that constrains implementation of global strategies (Scullion and Paauwe, 2004).

There is a lot of challenge placed on the manager in managing an organisation of different culture; this puts his expertise to the test. Along with this line of thought is the concept on comparative human resource management that explores the extent to which HRM differs between different countries or between areas within a country or different regions of the world.

International HRM examines the way in which international organisations manage their human resources across these different national contexts. There are complex problems or issues found in international context which are not found in the national setting (Harris et al, 2003).

International HRM handles different institutional, legal, and cultural circumstances which the organisation has to face in its operations. Then, it has to look at other management practices like cost-effective ways that can help the organisation. Obviously, countries differ in many situations, for example policies, and so forth. A performance appraisal system may work in the United States but not in other countries like the Middle East or other developing countries.

Human Resource Management

Technological advancement and continuous innovations in HRM have motivated organisations and businesses to react to changes in the global competition. Organisations have to reorganise, reevaluate and reprogram outdated functional programs and activities, and realign them to the present trends for improvement and competition. Personnel and field people, ordinary employees, including middle- and top-level management have to refocus along the line of technological innovations.

External and internal environments of organisations are becoming complex; they are handled with a globally-oriented brand of management, with the aid of Information Technology. Corporate management is now handling a global-scale type of management, requiring different kinds of strategy, which is very much different from the traditional one.

Advancement in technology is fast; innovations are applied every minute. There are new inventions, new technology introduced every minute, and new infrastructure allowing business-to-customer and business-to-business interaction. This spawns databasing or shared repositories.

The internet has revolutionised business functions and introduced countless innovations in the globalised world. Technology paved the way for information revolution, knowledge-based economy, and various kinds of learning in the global environment and setting.

The people are the organisation’s greatest asset, and human resource is to manage or maximise this special asset. A definition of human resource management is that it “emphasizes that employees are critical to achieving sustainable competitive advantage; that human resources practices need to integrate with the corporate strategy, and that human resource specialists help organizational controllers to meet both efficiency and equity objectives” (Bratton, 1999, p. 11).

The definition emphasises human resource potentials, including their talents, skills, training or areas of expertise for the strategic advantage of the organisation. An HRM concept holds that human resource management systems and the organisation structure should go along with the organisational strategy. Four functions can be laid out along this concept, and these are selection, appraisal, rewards and development, and managing people. (Armstrong, 2006, p. 4)

HRM has several objectives and these are: for strategic integration, commitment, human capital investment, cultural management, and total quality management (TQM). (Talloo, 2007, p. 247)

Human resource policies should be integrated with strategic business planning (Legge, 1989, cited in Armstrong, 2006, p. 13). HRM stresses on the integration of human resource policies with strategic planning. HRM however is internally coherent (Armstrong, p. 13). HRM is “a set of interrelated policies with an ideological and philosophical underpinning” (Storey, 1989).

Recruitment and Selection

An important topic in this analysis paper is recruitment and selection. Harzing (2004, p. 251) provides three types of orientations for multinational corporations (MNCs). These are ethnocentric, polycentric and geocentric.

• Firms with ethnocentric staffing policy prefer to appoint parent country nationals (PCN) to top positions in their subsidiaries.
• Organisations which follow a polycentric staff prefer to choose host country nationals (HCN).
• Firms with a geocentric staffing policy simply choose the best person, regardless of nationality. They are called third country nationals (TCN).

Performance Management

Performance management is an HRM function that focuses on improving the performance of employees. It aims to emphasize the employees’ capabilities and individual talents that should contribute to the entire performance of the organisation. Performance management also aims to provide the means through which the staff can provide better results in such a way that the customers will be benefitted in the end (Armstrong, 2000, p. 1). Performance management strategy focuses on what is involved in managing the organisation. This is managing within the context of the business. The organisation has to let every employee know that performance management strategy concerns everyone in the business – not just managers. (Armstrong, 2000, p. 2)

On the other hand, managers are not the only ones accountable for their performance, but responsibility is shared between managers and team members. The strategy should be to involve everyone in the team, and that everyone is jointly accountable for the results; if something goes wrong, all should be blamed for the fiasco.

Performance management also involves communication, this time between the supervisor and the employee. Both have the reciprocal need to communicate what needs to be done in order to establish a clear understanding for the employee’s job function, on how the employee can contribute to the success of the organization’s objective, and how to do the job so well to make the entire process of work a success. (Bacal, 1999, p. 3)

Performance management is concerned with improvement, employee development, satisfying the needs and wants of the customer, and also satisfying the stakeholders’ expectations. (Armstrong, 2006, p. 215)

Human resource is a strategic partner in Apple’s advance to the twenty-first century, with new innovations and new products.

Apple is one of the leading innovators in computer and emerging technologies, and it seems it cannot be beaten by competing giant like Microsoft. Steve Jobs, one of Apple’s founders, said, “The trouble with Apple is it succeeded beyond its wildest dreams. We succeeded so well, we got everyone else to dream the same dream.

The rest of the world became just like it.” Steve Jobs was ousted by the board many years after he helped found Apple, but later came back to resurrect it. Whatever happened and went wrong along the way is part of any success one can experience, or any success of an organisation.

When Apple Computer started its vision, everything then referred to technology; hence the name. But its makers and founders realised that it has to be more than just technology. Apple has to survive as an organisation to meet the needs of its customers and to its many stakeholders. It changed its name to Apple Inc., a more accurate and competing name. It is a leader when it comes to products and services.

Apple started its humble beginnings in a garage, met ‘turbulences’ and tests along the way as an organisation, and now it is a leader in the marketing of PCs, iPods, iPhones, and other high-technology materials of the new century. Apple is a success story. In 2007, Apple was Number 1, 3 rd year in a row, in the Top 50 Innovative companies in the world. Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) was Number 2, while Toyota was Number 3. (Dalal, 2007, p. 1)

It started as a computer-selling company until it grew into a large global organisation specialising on multi-media products and services. Apple’s marketing of its various technology products involves integration or the use of the Internet to market emerging technologies. How these technologies are introduced and sold to the market are one of the highlights for this paper.

Human Resource Practices

Apple Inc.’s commitment to innovations is rooted in the strategy of human resources. It metamorphosed from a computer company into a broader media and entertainment company, which is based on superior design and supported by a close-knit of partners and alliances.

Apple Inc. has to go with the tide of globalisation. Outsourcing is a new trend in global organisations. Seventy percent of Apple computer components are outsourced. Outsourcing activities are partnered with Chinese outsourcing companies. (Zivnuska et al., 2007, p. 57)

Outsourcing creates a strategic advantage for Apple Inc. It has revolutionized processes in the workplace, provided tools and valuable data and information to managers and employees, shortened workloads, and had done many things of great importance to businesses and organisations. Outsourcing has produced a distinct kind of industry. It is also the result of the internet’s emergence as a primary provider of service for businesses and organisations.

The company also encourages managers to assign work based on their competencies, and shuffle employees between departments. This particular HRM function allows for a transfer of technical know-how, or knowledge sharing. There are disadvantages to this kind of HR practice. Szulanski (1996) called this the internal stickiness within the firm.

Organisations usually apply and transfer best practices within the firm, but there are barriers that impede the transfer of knowledge. Szulanski however said that the movement of knowledge within the organisation can be seen as a unique learning experience for the individuals in the workplace.

The success of Apple can be attributed to a clever and successful management of human resource. As music, movies, and photography were becoming digital, Jobs introduced elegant and simple devices which attracted millions of customers, particularly the young. Apple also focused on counterculture themes.

Apple management chose partners carefully by having close relationships with artists and music groups, for example the U2. Apple’s attention to business strategies went as far as convincing, and gaining the trust of, companies for distributing Apple products. (Paley, 2008, p. 141)

The management style of Jobs also worked in Apple. Jobs provides advocacies and manages work personally by controlling all aspects of a product, from hardware and software to the services they offer.

Most of the time, Jobs and his people spent coming up with the next product which becomes in-demand to match their other products which have been successful before. Jobs also sees to it that the company keeps in close contact with suppliers, and with suppliers’ suppliers. Jobs’ style of leadership is a model to emulate. His people sees him as some father image and a good leader.

This is one style of human resource management which catapulted Apple to greater successes. Paley (2008, p. 3) comments:

“Apple Inc. has been a niche player in the PC market. In 2002, overall PC market sales leveled; Apple’s share was hovering in the 3 percent range. Stephen Jobs moved aggressively by launching iPod, a very-small digital handheld music player. It was estimated that the original sales for this iPod reached 12 million units and a growth of 74 percent annually for several years.”

One striking advantage of the device IPod is that it can work on almost all PCs. Then in 2007, Apple again made another bold move by introducing the innovative iPhone. Apple’s boldness is supported by the workforce’s sound planning led by Jobs.

They also provided an almost accurate estimate of their resources, coupled with skilful and competitive planning, and their commitment to the organisation’s objectives. They took risks but considered many options before proceeding to do their bold actions, considering the company’s finances, supply chain capabilities, and the talents and skills of the employees. (Paley, 2008, p. 3)

Apple’s website is a state of the art showcase of some of the best desktop video in the world. Individual customers, major studios, and permanent customers go to their websites to preview million-dollar movies. From the Apple website, the trailer of some of the sci-fi blockbusters like the ‘Star Wars: Episode One’ and the ‘Lord of the Rings’ have been downloaded for over 25 million times and 1.7 million times in a single day, respectively.

The Mac family, the iPod family, iPhone, and iTunes, are said to be relevant in the present generation. What is important is Apple’s choice of demographics. These kinds of products are important to the young who value music with accompanying video. Apple has tapped the emerging market with emerging technologies coupled with the Internet. There is no other more important innovation than this. And it has given Apple billions of profits.

Another important human resource common that can be attributed to Apple is its strategy inside the organization – it keeps trade secrets. Does Apple keep secrets like technology or trade secret? Actually these are not secrets anymore. Apple, like any other company, keeps secrets for itself, but these are those that should not be kept in the open as it will hurt its operations, and perhaps its profits.

But technology wise, they have already divulged their secrets a long time ago. What are being kept are those that are still in the infancy stage, or those that are still to be copyrighted. Like any other company, they need the protection of the law. Moreover, before they reveal their secret, they have to be protected first.

Jobs and his engineers employ an Apple ‘compressionist’, a talented technician or engineer who dedicates his time capturing or downloading movies from the web or the internet.

Innovations, strategies, and secrecy are some of the important ‘tools’ that Apple used along with new technologies in meeting the needs and wants of its customers. Apple deviates from the ordinary; it’s rare, it uses originality. The success of Apple is due to many factors – technology and people; people who are innovative, creative, hardworking, and ambitious employees and managers.

Sony corporation

The company considers their employees as “the most valued asset” (Pattanayak, 2005, p. 3). The employees are considered a part of the organisation. Founder Akio Morita says that their company treats the employees fairly and that they are very valuable to the organisation. The magic is in how they treat their employees.

Sony’s recruitment and selection of personnel follows the ethnocentric orientation. The top management of Sony prefers to appoint parent country nationals (PCN) to managerial positions at their branches and subsidiaries. Lower level positions and jobs are being filled up by local employees.

This set up is being followed by the US Sony Corporation. For example, the Sony Corporation of America, which is owned by Sony Corporation of Japan, takes care of local HRM functions, but international operations are being handled by top Japanese executives. (Aswathappa and Dash, 2008, p. 138)

This kind of set up has both advantages and disadvantages. An advantage to this set up is that PCNs have the knowledge and familiarity of the organisation’s goals and objectives, along with the home country’s orientation and background. But a disadvantage is the PCN’s lack of knowledge to cultural needs of the local population. The manager who comes from Japan will have difficulty in responding to the problems of employees. This manager has to undergo cross cultural training in order to be responsive to the needs of the local population.

The strategies of Sony are rooted in the Japanese skilful management of human resources. Sony focuses on its valuable asset, the people who commit themselves to pursue the goals and objectives of the company. Sony empowers it employees who in turn give back by serving their customers to the best of their ability.

This could be one of the reasons why they choose the PCN model, or the parent country national. Managers are Japanese nationals who know the objectives and the psyche of the Japanese people for service and quality. Managers of this type do not deliver low cost and products with less quality. These managers are used to quality products and quality service. They have the ability to make good and precise decisions in problematic situations. They ensure that the interests of the company are protected.

Conclusions

Our two case studies, Apple Inc. and Sony Corporation, are two contrasting management models; contrasting in the sense that Apple Inc. is an American company while Sony is a Japanese management model. But what makes the two an interesting topic for discussion is that they are both successful in management, the American and the Japanese.

American and Japanese HRM strategies are also different.

During the early stages of the practice of HRM and later the immergence of international HRM, there were clear differences between American and Japanese personnel practices that led to a more integrated strategically oriented system for managing employees. (Cray and Mallory, 1998)

McKern (2003) stated that before this time, during the early years of the post-war development of the modern international corporation, organisational structures evolved slowly in response to geographical and market diversity. It was easy for management to change structures incrementally.

But now changes in the organisation are based on complex environmental factors. International human resource management has a big role to play in the new global setting. By making full use of human resource, a firm will attain competitive advantage.

Human resource management seems to point its origin to the American concept. But like quality management, the Japanese have perfected it, or at least, made it a part of their operational practices.

Due to rapid growth in industrialisation and the emergence of globalisation, there’s a renewed interest on this phenomenon. Organisations and businesses have become global as a result of technological innovations, and the introduction of more development in communications and transportation.

Companies need personnel and departments in order to grow in this so-called global village. But companies and organisations also have to belt-tighten, lower operational costs and minimise wanton spending. What they need are more personnel with less costs for the hiring and training of these personnel.

Most of the business functions and responsibilities cannot anymore be performed by existing departments with their limited personnel. Companies have to create more departments, recruit more personnel, and add more duties and responsibilities. They need middle- and low-level managers and staff to answer to customers’ demands.

In the business world today, outsourcing is almost ordinary as any other function of business. Advancement in communication has allowed everyone and every business organisation to be connected to the world anytime. The world has never been tightly interconnected as it is today. These connections have been realized at almost no cost to the customer and at a reasonable cost to the supplier.

HRM is continuously challenged with the operational activity of the organisation. Firms have to hire and employ personnel with the necessary expertise. There are changes, paradigm shifts, new industries formed in the process, and more challenges occur as new culture in the workplace is introduced. Human Resource strategy plays a more significant role in the implementation and control of the international firm.

Our two case studies use HRM to further their objectives. Although they have different management perspectives, styles and ways of handling human resource, both global organisations have been successful in their own right. Sony Corporation under the Japanese model is said to be way behind the United States who first started it all.

However, the Japanese have implemented strict guidance which allowed their businesses to succeed in the age of globalisation. We can also relate this to the concept of total quality management (TQM). The Japanese learned it from the Americans, but they are now leading in the implementation of TQM in business and manufacturing.

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Apple’s Stakeholders, CSR & ESG Strategy

Apple’s strategy for CSR (corporate social responsibility), ESG (environmental, social, and governance), sustainability, and business ethics addresses stakeholders grouped according to shared interests and their significance to the information technology business. Apple operates in markets for information technology, consumer electronics, and online services. This diversity of business operations creates challenges for corporate citizenship affecting brand image, as well as the satisfaction of business goals based on Apple’s mission statement and vision statement . Stakeholders expect the multinational technology company to take a leading role in influencing corporate social responsibility trends in the global market.

Corporate citizenship affects Apple’s financial performance, in terms of how customers perceive the desirability of the company’s products based on quality, as well as business policies for sustainability, environmental impact, and material sourcing relating to CSR and ESG. Employees’ perception of the information technology business also influences organizational resilience. The business strengths and weaknesses described in the SWOT analysis of Apple Inc. affect some corporate social responsibility challenges linked to stakeholders’ interests.

Apple’s Stakeholders and Programs for CSR and ESG

The interests of Apple’s stakeholders guide the company’s strategic management, sustainable green operations, and CSR and ESG decisions for minimal negative net impact on the environment, communities, and other stakeholders. Stakeholders expect the company’s information technology products to benefit society. Given these factors in corporate social responsibility, Apple’s stakeholders are as follows:

• Apple’s employees
• Governments
• Communities

Customers . In devising corporate social responsibility strategies, Apple prioritizes customers as one of its top stakeholder groups. This stakeholder group is composed of individual and organizational buyers of the company’s consumer electronics and online services. Customers are interested in the effectiveness, quality, and reasonable pricing of Apple products, such as iPhones, Macs, and iPads. In the CSR and ESG context, customers are stakeholders who seek appropriate pricing and quality in brick-and-mortar and e-commerce operations. Apple’s marketing mix (4P) involves high price points based on the premium pricing strategy. Considering the quality and aesthetics of the company’s information technologies, this pricing strategy suits the market and associated corporate citizenship objectives for quality and pricing of the business.

Customers as stakeholders also expect privacy and security in using Apple’s products. Privacy and security have always been core factors in the company’s product design and development. Addressing these concerns in product development and corporate social responsibility, Apple applies best practices and principles, such as security frameworks used in online services and computer systems design.

In addition, Apple’s corporate citizenship strategy includes environmental policies and programs for recycling and responsible sourcing to address customers’ interests in business sustainability. In this way, the company’s strategic planning for corporate social responsibility accounts for the information-technology sustainability expectations of the stakeholder group of customers.

Apple’s Employees . Employees are major stakeholders in the iPhone maker’s approach to corporate social responsibility. This stakeholder group’s interests include proper compensation and career development, which are linked to Apple’s organizational structure (corporate structure) and initiatives for addressing human resource management (HRM) issues in multinational business. The company’s HRM policies and programs satisfy this stakeholder group through compensation packages that are competitive and attractive in Silicon Valley and beyond.

Employees are also interested in a work environment that supports proper work-life balance, despite the technology company’s rigid human resource management requirements. This work-life balance aspect of corporate social responsibility is partly addressed through Apple’s organizational culture (corporate culture) . For example, the IT and consumer electronics company’s culture encourages excellent work performance, while supporting job flexibility and services for family-related matters, such as maternity needs. To partly satisfy this aspect of corporate citizenship, Apple’s human resource management also involves policies and strategies for preventing employee burnout, which can negatively affect this stakeholder group’s perception of the business and its CSR and ESG status.

Investors . Apple’s investors are stakeholders interested in maximizing the returns on their investments. The company addresses this ESG concern through excellent financial performance and business governance supported through profitable consumer electronics and online services.  Apple’s competitive strategy and growth strategies ensure business competitiveness and profitability. Other strategies, policies, and programs touch on corporate citizenship challenges in the industry, as a way of enabling the information technology firm to maintain a desirable ESG and CSR status for its investors.

Even though investors are stakeholders focused on financial performance, Apple’s sustainability and environmental or ecological programs also matter. In corporate social responsibility, sustainable business practices make the iPhone company more attractive to customers and business partners. This factor contributes to Apple’s competitiveness against other information technology and consumer electronics firms, such as Google (Alphabet) , Samsung , Microsoft , and Sony , as well as companies that compete with Apple TV Plus video-streaming services, like Disney , Netflix , Amazon , and Facebook (Meta) . IBM and Intel , which have operations in computer technology, artificial intelligence, and related services, also influence Apple’s policies and programs for CSR, ESG, sustainability, and corporate citizenship. These companies challenge Apple’s dominance in the market and impose high standards in CSR, ESG, and corporate citizenship. Thus, satisfying the interests of investors as a stakeholder group involves initiatives and strategies for competitiveness and profitability, along with the satisfaction of corporate social responsibilities on a par with other multinational technology firms.

Governments . Governments are stakeholders that require Apple’s regulatory compliance. Different governments have different sets of regulations, policies, and programs that apply to the CSR and ESG of information technology and online service businesses. The PESTEL/PESTLE analysis of Apple Inc. shows that governments impose new laws and regulations, such as laws for reduced ecological impact and for enhanced information privacy and security. Thus, this stakeholder group shapes how information technology firms become sustainable corporate citizens through proper governance.

Apple maintains regulatory and legal compliance, but new laws or regulations occasionally challenge the company’s governance and business practices. For example, new and emerging right-to-repair regulations affect the company’s strategy of exclusivity in repairing and servicing its consumer electronics. Strategic responses to these challenges impact Apple’s performance for CSR and ESG goals.

Suppliers . This stakeholder group is interested in their profitability while doing business with Apple. Suppliers’ interests also include cooperation with the iPhone company, in terms of employment practices. Such cooperation is based on Apple’s corporate citizenship efforts through its Supplier Code of Conduct, which influences decisions in doing business with firms in the supply chain. Part of the technology company’s policy is to terminate business relations with suppliers that continue to fail or refuse to satisfy this Code of Conduct.

Apple’s CSR and ESG strategy imposes rules on this stakeholder group, while supporting mutually beneficial business relations with suppliers of consumer electronic components and other materials. This corporate social responsibility strategy helps manage the bargaining power of suppliers described in the Five Forces analysis of Apple Inc . To provide support for this stakeholder group, the company has approaches for streamlining suppliers’ operations. For example, Apple’s operations management approach to this area of corporate social responsibility involves information and communication technologies that inform about trends in supply requirements, to help suppliers optimize their operations and make them more efficient, green, and sustainable.

Communities . Communities are concerned with the socioeconomic and ecological impacts of Apple’s products. These stakeholders include people in neighborhoods and regions, and interest-based advocacy organizations, like non-government organizations for business ethics, sustainability, green operations, and environmental protection against electronic waste. In the corporate social responsibility context, communities require or expect socioeconomic and environmental benefits from Apple. The company’s Employee Giving program and Strengthen Local Communities (SLC) grant program directly address these CSR concerns. Through such philanthropic endeavors, Apple enhances its corporate citizenship status and makes its online services and consumer electronics more ethical, green, and desirable.

Does Apple’s CSR & ESG Performance Satisfy Stakeholder Interests?

The interests of stakeholders are addressed through Apple’s strategy for CSR and ESG goals. The company’s CSR initiatives maintain a balance between the financial objectives and purpose of the business, and the objectives of various groups that the technology business affects. Considering its programs and progress, Apple’s CSR and ESG strategy satisfies stakeholders’ interests. However, the technology business has opportunities for enhancing its CSR and ESG performance, such as in policies for suppliers’ employment practices. Improvements in this area can strengthen Apple’s corporate social responsibility and business ethics standing, while also helping suppliers strengthen their own sustainability and corporate citizenship efforts. Moreover, the company can improve the sustainability of products and related services to further minimize environmental impact, particularly in terms of e-waste.

• Across the globe, Apple and its teams find new ways to give .
• Apple Inc. – Environmental Social Governance .
• Apple Inc. – Form 10-K .
• Apple Inc. – Supplier Responsibility .
• Fatima, T., & Elbanna, S. (2023). Corporate social responsibility (CSR) implementation: A review and a research agenda towards an integrative framework. Journal of Business Ethics, 183 (1), 105-121.
• Hristov, I., & Appolloni, A. (2022). Stakeholders’ engagement in the business strategy as a key driver to increase companies’ performance: Evidence from managerial and stakeholders’ practices. Business Strategy and the Environment, 31 (4), 1488-1503.
• Homer, S. T. (2022). Perceived corporate citizenship: A scale development and validation study adopting a bottom-up approach. Quality & Quantity, 56 (3), 1435-1461.
• Onkila, T., & Sarna, B. (2022). A systematic literature review on employee relations with CSR: State of art and future research agenda. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 29 (2), 435-447.
• Park, J. G., Park, K., Noh, H., & Kim, Y. G. (2023). Characterization of CSR, ESG, and corporate citizenship through a text mining-based review of literature. Sustainability, 15 (5), 3892.
• U.S. Department of Commerce – International Trade Administration – Software and Information Technology Industry .
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency – Cleaning Up Electronic Waste (E-Waste) .
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Rebuilding Trust: Apple Crisis Management Case Study

Crisis management is an essential skill for any business, as even the most successful companies can find themselves in challenging situations that threaten their reputation and bottom line. 

One such case that garnered significant attention and scrutiny is the Apple crisis. 

Apple, the tech giant known for its innovation and loyal customer base, faced a crisis that put its brand and reputation at risk. 

In this blog post, we will delve into the Apple crisis management case study, exploring the challenges faced by the company, the strategies implemented to navigate the crisis, and the lessons learned from their experience. 

By examining Apple’s crisis management approach, we can gain valuable insights into the importance of proactive crisis management and its impact on businesses in today’s hyper-connected world.

Let’s dive in and learn more 

Overview of Apple’s history and brand image

Apple, founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne, has emerged as one of the most influential and valuable companies in the world. The company’s journey began with the creation of the Apple I, a personal computer that laid the foundation for their future success.

Over the years, Apple revolutionized various industries, introducing groundbreaking products such as the Macintosh, iPod, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch.

One of the key factors contributing to Apple’s success is its unwavering commitment to innovation. The company’s ability to anticipate and meet consumer needs with cutting-edge technology has consistently set it apart from its competitors. Apple’s products are renowned for their sleek designs, user-friendly interfaces, and seamless integration across its ecosystem.

Beyond its products, Apple has cultivated a distinctive brand image that resonates with consumers worldwide. The company’s brand is synonymous with excellence, creativity, and a forward-thinking mindset. Apple’s marketing campaigns, such as the famous “Think Different” slogan, have fostered a sense of aspiration and uniqueness among its customers.

Furthermore, Apple has successfully built a loyal and passionate community around its products. The Apple ecosystem encourages users to remain within the brand’s ecosystem, promoting customer retention and brand loyalty. This devotion is evident in the enthusiastic anticipation and high demand for new Apple product launches.

Explanation of the crisis situation faced by Apple

Apple, a company known for its strong brand image and customer loyalty, faced a significant crisis that posed a considerable challenge to its reputation. The crisis situation arose when reports and allegations surfaced regarding unethical labor practices in Apple’s supply chain.

These reports highlighted issues such as poor working conditions, excessive overtime, child labor, and inadequate safety measures in some of the factories producing Apple products.

The crisis was exacerbated by extensive media coverage and the viral spread of information through social media platforms. News outlets, consumer advocacy groups, and concerned individuals amplified the allegations, putting pressure on Apple to address the situation swiftly and transparently.

The crisis not only raised ethical concerns but also posed a threat to Apple’s brand image. The company’s reputation for innovation, quality, and customer satisfaction was at risk of being tarnished by association with these labor controversies.

Apple was faced with the challenge of not only addressing the immediate issues within its supply chain but also effectively managing the perception of its commitment to social responsibility and ethical business practices.

Factors that led to the crisis

The crisis faced by Apple regarding unethical labor practices in its supply chain was influenced by several factors that contributed to the emergence and escalation of the issue.

• Globalized Supply Chain: Apple’s success as a global technology leader relies on a vast and complex supply chain spread across various countries. The company sources components and assembles its products through a network of suppliers and subcontractors worldwide. The extensive reach of this supply chain increases the difficulty of monitoring and ensuring ethical practices at every stage.
• Outsourcing and Cost Pressures: To remain competitive, companies like Apple often outsource production to regions with lower labor costs. This outsourcing, while driving efficiency and cost savings, can sometimes lead to compromised labor standards. Suppliers under cost pressures may resort to exploitative practices such as excessive working hours, low wages, and poor working conditions to meet demand and maintain profitability.
• Lack of Supply Chain Transparency: Managing a complex supply chain poses challenges in terms of visibility and transparency. Apple, like many other companies, faced difficulties in monitoring and enforcing labor standards across its entire supply chain. The lack of transparency made it challenging to identify and address ethical issues promptly, allowing problems to persist and potentially escalate.
• Limited Supplier Oversight: Despite Apple’s efforts to implement supplier codes of conduct and auditing processes, the sheer number of suppliers and subcontractors involved made it challenging to maintain stringent oversight. This resulted in instances where unethical labor practices went undetected or were inadequately addressed.
• Social Media and Activism: The rise of social media platforms and increased activism empowered consumers, workers, and advocacy groups to expose and publicize the labor issues within Apple’s supply chain. The widespread dissemination of information and the ability for individuals to amplify their concerns quickly led to significant reputational risks for the company.

Impact of the crisis on Apple’s brand and reputation

The following are key impacts of the crisis on Apple’s brand and reputation:

• Brand Perception : The crisis undermined Apple’s carefully cultivated brand image. The allegations of unethical labor practices tarnished the perception of Apple as a company that prioritizes the well-being of its workers and upholds high ethical standards. The negative media coverage and public scrutiny eroded trust and raised doubts about the authenticity of Apple’s commitment to responsible business practices.
• Consumer Trust: Apple’s loyal customer base, which had been drawn to the company for its innovative products and perceived values, was confronted with allegations of worker exploitation. This eroded the trust and loyalty that customers had placed in Apple. Concerned consumers started questioning the ethics behind their purchasing decisions and may have become hesitant to support the brand.
• Investor Confidence: The crisis had implications for investor confidence in Apple. The negative publicity and potential ethical implications affected the perception of Apple’s risk management practices and corporate governance. Investors may have raised concerns about the company’s ability to effectively manage supply chain risks and protect its brand value, leading to potential impacts on the company’s stock price and shareholder sentiment.
• Reputational Damage: The crisis resulted in significant reputational damage for Apple. The labor controversies received widespread media attention, leading to negative headlines and public discourse about the company’s ethical standards. This damage extended beyond Apple’s core customer base, reaching a broader audience and potentially influencing perceptions of the brand among potential customers and stakeholders.
• Competitive Disadvantage: The crisis also created a potential competitive disadvantage for Apple. Competitors in the technology industry could capitalize on the negative publicity and position themselves as more socially responsible alternatives. Apple’s reputation for innovation and quality alone might not be sufficient to counterbalance the ethical concerns raised by the crisis.

Apple’s Crisis Management Strategy 

Following are key aspects of Apple crisis management strategy:

Immediate response to the crisis

When faced with the crisis of unethical labor practices in its supply chain, Apple swiftly initiated an immediate response to address the situation. The company recognized the gravity of the allegations and understood the importance of proactive crisis management.

The following are key aspects of Apple’s immediate response strategy:

• Acknowledgment and Investigation: Apple promptly acknowledged the allegations and expressed its commitment to investigating the issues thoroughly. The company recognized the need for transparency and took responsibility for addressing the labor concerns within its supply chain.
• Supplier Audits: Apple conducted comprehensive audits of its suppliers to assess the working conditions, labor practices, and adherence to ethical standards. These audits aimed to identify non-compliant suppliers and gather detailed information to formulate appropriate corrective actions.
• Collaboration with Suppliers: Apple worked closely with its suppliers to address the identified issues and enforce compliance with ethical labor standards. The company engaged in open dialogue, sharing its expectations and implementing measures to improve working conditions and protect workers’ rights.
• Supplier Code of Conduct: Apple reinforced its supplier code of conduct, which outlines the expectations and requirements for ethical labor practices. The company communicated the code clearly to all suppliers and emphasized the importance of compliance. Non-compliant suppliers were urged to make necessary improvements or face consequences.

Initial actions taken by Apple to address the crisis

During the initial stages of the crisis, Apple took several immediate actions to address the labor concerns and mitigate the negative impact. These actions demonstrated the company’s commitment to resolving the issues and improving working conditions within its supply chain.

The following are some of the key initial actions taken by Apple:

• Supplier Engagement and Remediation: Apple actively engaged with its suppliers to address the identified labor issues. The company worked collaboratively with suppliers to develop and implement remediation plans that focused on improving working conditions, ensuring fair wages, and eliminating unethical labor practices. This approach emphasized corrective actions rather than simply severing ties with non-compliant suppliers.
• Worker Empowerment Programs: Apple recognized the importance of empowering workers and ensuring their well-being. The company implemented programs to educate workers about their rights, provide channels for reporting grievances, and establish mechanisms for feedback and improvement. These initiatives aimed to empower workers and create an environment where their voices were heard.
• Enhanced Supply Chain Transparency: Apple took steps to improve supply chain transparency, making information about its suppliers more readily available. The company published annual reports that detailed its supplier responsibility initiatives, audits, and progress made in addressing labor concerns. This transparency aimed to build trust among stakeholders and hold Apple accountable for its actions.
• Collaboration with Industry Peers: Apple actively collaborated with other industry leaders and stakeholders to address the systemic challenges within the technology supply chain. By partnering with organizations and sharing best practices, Apple sought to drive industry-wide improvements in labor practices and create a more sustainable and ethical supply chain.

Crisis containment and damage control

In addition to the immediate response, Apple implemented crisis containment and damage control measures to limit the negative repercussions of the labor crisis. The company recognized the importance of effectively managing the situation to protect its brand and reputation.

The following are key actions taken by Apple for crisis containment and damage control:

• Clear Communication: Apple developed a comprehensive communication strategy to address the crisis. The company proactively communicated with stakeholders, including customers, employees, investors, and the public, to provide updates on the progress made in resolving the labor issues. Transparent and timely communication aimed to rebuild trust and maintain transparency throughout the crisis.
• Public Statements and Apologies: Apple’s top executives issued public statements acknowledging the gravity of the situation and expressing apologies for any harm caused. The company took responsibility for the issues within its supply chain and emphasized its commitment to remediation and preventing similar incidents in the future. Public apologies were crucial in demonstrating accountability and a willingness to learn from the crisis.
• Continuous Improvement and Reporting: Apple emphasized continuous improvement by regularly reporting on its progress in addressing the labor crisis. The company shared annual reports, sustainability updates, and supplier responsibility progress reports to showcase the strides made in improving working conditions and upholding ethical practices. Transparent reporting aimed to rebuild trust and demonstrate Apple’s ongoing commitment to accountability.

05 lessons learned from Apple Crisis Management Case Study

These lessons learned from Apple crisis management case study can serve as valuable takeaways for other organizations facing similar challenges. 

Let’s discuss each of these:

Proactive auditing and monitoring

Apple learned the importance of proactive auditing and monitoring of its supply chain to identify and address potential issues. Regular audits and inspections help ensure compliance with ethical standards and allow for early intervention and remediation.

Transparent communication

The crisis highlighted the significance of transparent communication with stakeholders. Apple realized that timely and honest communication about the crisis, its causes, and the steps taken to address it was essential for rebuilding trust and maintaining transparency.

Supplier collaboration and support

Apple recognized the need for collaboration and support with its suppliers. The company learned that working closely with suppliers, providing resources, guidance, and training, helps improve ethical practices and strengthens the overall supply chain.

Long-term commitment

Apple understood the importance of a long-term commitment to addressing the crisis and preventing future incidents. The company recognized that sustainable change requires ongoing efforts, continuous improvement, and a steadfast commitment to ethical practices and responsible business conduct.

External validation and partnerships

The crisis highlighted the value of external validation and partnerships. Apple sought certifications and accreditations from recognized third-party organizations to provide independent verification of its efforts. Collaborating with industry peers, NGOs, and advocacy groups allowed Apple to gain insights, share best practices, and drive collective change.

Final Words 

Apple crisis management case study provides valuable insights into how a company can navigate and recover from a crisis while minimizing the negative impact on its brand and reputation. The labor crisis presented Apple with significant challenges, but the company responded with a comprehensive and strategic approach.

Ultimately, Apple crisis management case study highlights the significance of a holistic approach that goes beyond immediate crisis response. By taking responsibility, implementing meaningful actions, and fostering a culture of responsible business conduct, a company can rebuild trust, enhance its reputation, and position itself as a leader in ethical practices and sustainability

About The Author

Tahir Abbas

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Cases in Human Resource Management

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Cases in Human Resource Management provides students with insights into common challenges, dilemmas, and issues human resource managers face in the workplace. Using a wide variety of well-known companies and organizations, author David Kimball engages students with original, real-world cases that illustrate HRM topics and functions in action. Each case is designed to encourage students to find new solutions to human resource issues and to stimulate class discussion. Case questions challenge students to think critically, apply concepts, and develop their HRM skills. The contents are organized using the same topical coverage and structure as most HRM textbooks, making Kimball the ideal companion for any introductory HRM course.

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• Original case studies bring concepts to life through a number of well-known organizations, including Apple, Amazon, Google, LinkedIn, and Zappos.
• Case questions require students to think critically about HR issues and apply HR concepts to each case.
• An emphasis on important issues and current trends in HRM brings up key topics in the field such as state and federal minimum wage, succession planning, executive compensation, mindfulness, cyber attacks, CSR, and managing a multigenerational workforce.
• A chapter on international HRM topics examines important issues like that of helping expatriates succeed.

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Apple Case Study: Supply Chain, Design Thinking, & More

Do you know that Apple earns nearly one hundred thousand dollars per minute? This information may not be surprising because Apple is the world’s most valuable company. However, there are numerous challenges the corporation has faced on its way to success. You can learn many business lessons by doing the Apple case study, and we are here to help!

• 🍏 Apple Inc Facts
• 👍 Apple Case Study – Best Ideas
• 📝 Supply Chain
• 🍀 Sustainability
• 👩 Human Resource Management
• 🎨 Design Thinking and Innovation
• 💻 Crisis Management
• 🔝 Apple Case Study – 50 Best Examples

🔗References

🍏 6 fun facts about apple inc.

• There has been a mystery surrounding the brand’s name. However, the word ‘Apple’ simply came from the founder, Steve Jobs’ favorite fruit.
• Originally Apple had three co-founders: Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne. Ronald Wayne left the company only 12 days after its foundation.
• Apple employs more than 154,000 people, which could be a good-sized town population! Millions more people make money from selling Apple products in local shops.
• Apple’s first company logo was a drawing of the father of physics, Isaac Newton.
• The creator of the iPod, Tony Fadel, initially offered the device to Real Networks and Philips, but they turned it down.
• Apple created the digital color camera. The Apple QuickTake was introduced in 1994 and was one of the first consumer digital cameras.

👍 Best Ideas for an Apple Case Study

Numerous internal and external factors influence Apple company’s financial performance. When doing the Apple case study, choose the sphere that interests you the most and think of what can be improved. Here’s a list of topics that may pique your curiosity:

• The history of Apple company.
• Corporate values of Apple.
• Key Apple’s products and services.
• Importance of technology and innovation in Apple.
• Apple’s corporate identity.
• Apple’s online presence and e-marketing.
• Apple’s supply chain.
• Labor practices in Apple.
• Apple’s executive management.
• Apple’s strategic management.
• The role of Apple’s board of directors.
• Apple’s privacy policy.
• Marketing strategies in Apple.
• Apple’s financial figures over the years.
• Apple’s eco-initiatives.
• Criticism of Apple.
• Apple’s customer support.
• HR strategy in Apple.
• Apple’s crisis management strategy.
• Apple’s primary competitors.

📝 Apple Supply Chain Case

• How does Apple organize its supply chain operations? Apple buys components and materials from various suppliers worldwide. Then the company gets them shipped to the assembling plant in China. From there, products go directly to retail stores and consumers who buy online.
• Main advantages of Apple’s inventory management Apple’s strategy is to keep as little inventory on hand as possible. The company can’t afford to keep too many products in stock because a sudden move from a competitor or an innovation can dramatically decrease the value of products in inventory.
• Apple’s use of multiple suppliers Apple has an extensive network of suppliers in its supply chain in 31 countries worldwide. It allows the company to successfully mitigate disruptions or delays and process large volumes of pre-orders.
• What can other businesses learn from Apple’s supply chain strategy? The main advantage of Apple’s supply chain is the multiple suppliers strategy. Businesses should be encouraged to use alternative suppliers to reduce single-supplier risks and improve financial performance.

🍀 Sustainability of Apple

• Apple lowers the use of carbon materials Since the creation of the iPhone in 2007, the company has sold over 1.5 billion units. To make the iPhone design more energy-efficient, the company developed an innovation. They created “Dave,” a recycling robot that recovers rare materials such as earth magnets from old phones.
• Apple’s use of renewable energy Moving to renewable energy is a crucial component of Apple’s green policies. Apple’s headquarters in California is 100% powered by solar panels. It contributes to a positive effect on pollution globally and locally.
• Apple is innovative in its materials Apple works closely with two aluminum suppliers to develop the first carbon-free aluminum process. They have already forged highly low-carbon aluminum used for parts and components in MacBook Pro.
• Apple reduces the use of conflict materials A common source of “conflict minerals” is the Democratic Republic of Congo, an area with ongoing human rights violations. Apple has ceased relationships with mineral providers that fail to be certified as ethical and conflict-free.

👩 Apple’s Human Resource Management

• Apple’s human resources strategies The HR specialists of Apple always seem to hire diverse, independent, and talented employees. Most of the employees are provided with training once they join the company. Apple encourages workers to build self-reliance and practical skills to ensure they are mentally ready to jump from one big project to another.
• Apple’s cultural values and employees’ growth Apple is one of the biggest job creators in the US, providing positions for designers, marketers, hardware and software engineers, scientists, etc. Apple offers considerable opportunities to its employees to climb the career ladder and develop free-thinking and creativity.
• Employees’ rewarding system in Apple Apple runs Apple Fellow Program to recognize employees’ significant contributions to the company. Those employees are rewarded and later on designated as team leaders. The company also provides competitive wages, monthly benefits, and periodical grants that serve as a reward to the best employees.

🎨 Design Thinking and Innovation at Apple

• Apple adopting design thinking Design thinking is a human-oriented approach to innovation that Apple applies. This principle is used to achieve innovation considering the consumer at all the development stages. Apple adopts design thinking by considering the form and function of its products.
• Apple’s user-friendly products When it comes to understandability, Apple successfully integrated it into its products. Apple designs products that are easy to use so that new users rarely consult manuals or guides. Apple highlights that they build user-friendly products rather than complex, hard-to-use ones.
• The simplicity behind Apple’s products One of defining characteristics of Apple’s design is simplicity. The company designs its products to look clean, simple, and straightforward. At the same time, Apple products are instantly recognizable at first glance and have now become status symbols.
• Apple designs for the future When it comes to design, Apple is a pioneer. The company’s design team start working on a new design two years beforehand. So, when Apple introduces a new, cutting-edge design, competitors will not have a chance to copy it.

💻 Apple Crisis Management Case Study

• FBI asked Apple for unlimited access to any iPhone user in 2015 After the tragic San Bernardino terrorist attack in 2015, the US government demanded Apple release a new iOS, which would give them access to users’ private information. Apple refused this demand by writing a public letter. In this letter, the company highlighted that they always put the customer first.
• Apple’s supply chain crisis in 2021 At the beginning of October, most of China shuts down for the Golden Week holidays. Phone and iPad assembly was halted for several days due to supply chain constraints and restrictions on the use of power. Consequently, Apple was forced to scale back its total production goal for 2021. This crisis illustrates how external factors can influence even tech giants like Apple.
• Apple’s plan to get through the COVID-19 crisis At the beginning of the pandemic, CEO Tim Cook stressed the company’s plan to keep its eyes on the road and its hands on the wheel. The goal was to keep investing in developing future products and services no matter what. For example, Apple has been working on how an Apple Watch can provide any warning of Covid-infections.

🔝 Apple Case Studies – 50 Best Examples

• HP Company and Apple: financial statement analysis. This essay analyzes two US companies in the computer hardware and software industry, the Hewlett Packard Company and Apple Inc.
• Financial research report Apple, Inc. The purpose of this economic research report is to evaluate the financial records of Apple for investment purposes.
• Income statement: Apple and Samsung. Check out this comparative analysis of the two IT giants in five dimensions: net income, net sales, operating expenses, income tax, and selling and administrative expenses.
• Apple Inc.: the cost accounting. The paper aims to analyze the cost accounting model of Apple Inc. In simple words, cost accounting calculates a company’s total cost of production.
• Apple’s success in the customer electronics industry. This essay explores Apple’s strategic management and planning that help the company maintain leadership.
• The sustainability of Apple’s success. Apple’s market presence stretches beyond American borders. This essay will teach you the peculiarities of Apple’s strategic decision-making.
• The case deal with Apple’s successes. This study explores Apple’s key competitive advantages, such as product differentiation and efficient distribution channels.
• Apple, Inc. financial performance analysis. This is a financial performance analysis for Apple, which provides insights for creditors and investors on a company’s financial health.
• Apple company system strategy analysis. This essay investigates Apple’s most important information systems: office automation, enterprise resource planning, and data warehouse systems.
• A case study in managerial accounting: Apple Inc. Every organization aims to maximize revenue while minimizing costs. This article explores how Apple uses budgeting tools to estimate the total charges in various business processes.
• Analysis of Apple’s marketing mix. This paper studies the development and significance of each element of Apple’s marketing mix to determine its relevance to the company’s mission.
• Cash flow management at Apple Inc. The essay analyzes the financial statements of Apple, including non-cash items, to accurately reflect on an organization’s financial health.
• The human resource plan of Apple Inc. This writing describes the latest cultural change at Apple Inc. and how such an initiative has transformed its performance and profitability.
• Management accounting at Apple. Learn more about the use of accounting information by Apple’s managers within an organization to guide them in making concrete decisions.
• Apple iPhone: demand and supply. This paper aims to analyze the law of supply and demand on the example of the Apple iPhone, a product that has changed the technology market.
• The process of hiring employees at Apple. This essay analyzes recruitment and selection processes, such as job advertisement and interviewing at Apple, Inc.
• Apple’s performance & customer satisfaction with iPhones. Curren’s study follows how Apple succeeds in the competitive business environment by maintaining a pool of loyal customers by delivering quality products and services.
• Apple Inc.: smartphone industry. This report focuses on Apple’s primary segment of sales and marketing, which are the iPhones, a globally recognized product and brand.
• Apple’s competitive positioning. The purpose of this paper is to critically evaluate the company’s existing competitive positioning and suggest how it can be improved.
• Performance management at Apple Inc. This passage discusses linkages between employee performance, HR practices, and organizational performance at Apple Inc.
• Apple Inc.’s strategies throughout its history. This essay is dedicated to Apple’s innovative and effective ways of doing business in different company eras.
• Apple and Dell companies: inventory management. This study focuses on the methods employed by Apple’s managers to maintain the optimum level of stock for the company.
• Apple’s customers and their behavior. This essay aims to understand the decision-making process of Apple’s buyers, taking into consideration psychological and economic factors.
• Apple company: innovation action plan. This sample discusses the innovation opportunities and challenges that are facing the company.
• The financial ratio of Apple and Samsung. For this report, two competitor firms have been selected to review and analyze their financial performance.
• Analysis of Apple’s website: fundamental aspects.
• Strategic management at Apple Inc.
• Apple’s production management.
• Apple’s music streaming future service strategies.
• Ipad by Apple Inc.
• Contemporary developments in business and management of Apple.
• Apple stores retail mix analysis.
• Marketing communication used by Apple.
• Apple iPod product’s marketing audit & management.
• Apple and Microsoft companies’ marketing approaches.
• Apple company managing innovation & entrepreneurship.
• Branding in Apple incorporation.
• Apple Inc. managing technology and innovation.
• Apple Inc.’s development since the 1980s.
• Apple Inc: why it has success?
• Apple incorporation’s managerial economics.
• Apple Inc.’s modeling decision-making.
• Apple Inc.’s analysis and implications for practice.
• Apple company in the Chinese market.
• Apple Inc.’s products and customer dissatisfaction.
• Apple Inc.’s marketing communication scenarios.
• Apple company’s corporate communications.
• Apple company communication system strategies.
• Apple Inc.’s supply chain and recommendations.
• Apple Inc.’s new steps toward competitiveness.
• Operations and Supply Chain
• The Case for Making Multiple Suppliers Part of Your Supply Chain Strategy
• Environment – Apple – apple
• Apple’s Supply Chain: The 9 Major Companies
• Apple and Amazon further climate commitments as sustainability race heats up

Ford Pinto Case Study & Other Analysis Ideas

Mcdonald’s supply chain issues – a case study on supply and demand analysis.

Apple's Human Resource Management Case Study

Apple's Human Resource Management Case Study Apple's Human Resource Management Case Study Recruitment Approaches Best Suitable for Apple: Apple's talent acquisition channels should aim to go beyond the traditional methods of making use of print advertisements and agencies and focus towards integration of newer and more broad-scoped methods of job boards and virtual social networks. Making use of referrals and targeting the most innovative skill-set based individuals in the top-notch colleges is also an excellent method of tapping into potential quality human resource. Referrals are an excellent mode of attracting new employees while allowing the company the additional benefit of aligning the on-board talent and the talent needs. Typically the referrals method is so effective that more than 25% of new talent in a company comes through this channel. Apple caters to an industry that relies on rapid innovation and timely new product development, feeding on a plethora of creative ideas to meet the demands of its customers world-wide. Also the company has adopted a “secrecy” policy towards safeguarding the execution of its core projects and processes in an attempt to maintain its competitive advantage. As the referrals method helps build channels and as Apple struggles to maintain an autonomous control over its core processes, this method will help Apple “mine” the networks of the most apt candidates with the most befitting work histories and networks. The use of private recruiting agencies can help Apple in the acquisition of leadership positions and positions that require diverse or concentrated specialties. The costs associated with this channel are however high. Still, the use of this method is recommended because Apple enjoys the advantage of “name recognition” making the talent acquisition process more productive (Silzer and Dowell, 2009). Recruiter Traits and Behaviors for Successful Recruiting Campaign Recruiters can play an essential role in managing and affecting the job choices made by the applicants particularly in key positions. Specifically in relevance to the recruitment campaign for Apple, the need for trained recruiters who are informative and trustworthy is essential. The targeted talent for Apple consists of highly creative individuals who are more prone to be put-off by a recruitment process with an overt emphasis on the “selection” process. Therefore, Apple must deploy recruiters who are able to build and retain the interest of the candidates. Also, pertaining to the technical specifications of the jobs requiring high skills and creativity; Apple must make the decision between recruiters that are human resource specialists or experts at a particular job. For senior and supervisory positions, I recommend making use of both types of recruiters, as a team, in order to gauge the competency, commitment and devotion towards the proposed job. For executive levels, Apple may employ its experts as recruiters. Studies reveal that candidates associate higher credibility to recruiters that are experts at particular jobs as opposed to HR specialists. In relation to the industry Apple caters to; the technical competency of the recruiter is a key factor affecting its recruitment output. Three Ways for Effective HR Planning Environmental Scanning The first and foremost need for ...

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