Introduction

Although a lot of business owners take it for granted, reviews are actually very

important for their business. It was that important as around 88% of consumers trust online

reviews as much as they trust personal recommendations from their friends. In a world

where almost everything can be found online now, people often look to reviews to know if a

business is actually credible or not. Hence, the purpose of this study was to evaluate a

business review where I chose Apple Company to be analyze.

Company’s business review are important as it can build their credibility. Aside from

sales, business also needs credibility in order to sustain long term growth. Besides,

reviews Can Improve SEO. Good reviews help their business rank especially with organic

search results.

Therefore, this assignment is vital for us in order to gain more knowledge regarding

company’s business review and learn deeper about our chosen company.
2. Company’s Profile

2.1 Company’s Background

Apple, the world largest publicly traded company by market capitalization with current

estimated value of US$530 billion and the second largest mobile phone manufacturer in the

world. Apple is an American company based in Cupertino, CA, that is solely focused on

manufacturing and selling consumer electronics, software programs and online services. Its

products include, but are not limited to, cell phones, media players, tablets, computers,

computer applications and operating systems.

The company was established by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne as a small

personal computer manufacturer and its first product was hand made by Wozniak himself

and was called Apple I. Wayne sold his share a year after for US$800 at the same time an

investor named Mike Markkula became part of the company and helped Apple with the

business expenses needed to expand and invested US$250,000 in Apple. The company’s

revenues were growing at an exponential rate and doubling every four months for the first

five years.

Apple kept growing and introduced new versions of its computer in 1977 and 1980

hoping to compete in the corporate computers field. By the end of 1980, Apple went public

and its shares were offered in the stock market for US$22 per share. Apple launched the

Macintosh in 1984, which sold well at the beginning, but failed to grow or even maintain the

sales numbers few months after. Its high retail price and limited use due to lack of software

options were the reason behind this failure. This all changed with the introduction of

LaserWriter and PageMaker, an affordable printer and publishing software that, when

combined with Macintosh capabilities, becomes highly appealing for businesses, writers and

publishers.

A year after, Jobs got into a power related conflict with the CEO at that time, John

Sculley. This led to Jobs leaving the company and selling all of his shares in Apple, except
one, for US$70 million. Jobs established his own company called NeXT which had a focus of

software programing. At that same time, Sculley had a strategy of implementing a 55% profit

margin on Apple products. This strategy failed as soon as PC’s came out having similar

capabilities as the Macintosh and sold for a fraction of Macintosh’s retail price. Apple faced a

huge loses at that time and went back into the shadow. To get over this loss, Apple decided

to get back the share it lost to Microsoft and the PC market by working together with IBM

and Motorola to bring a new platform to the market (Apple History, 2015). It also launched an

email platform called eWorld, which was part of its business diversifying strategy.

In 1996, NeXT won a bid to provide an operating system firmware to Apple. NeXT

was acquired shortly thereafter that and Steve Jobs was able to make his way back into

Apple. A year after his return, he was appointed interim CEO and became permanent four

years after. Jobs’ return was a company changing moment for Apple due to the new

philosophy that he implemented, which consists of simple design and unique products.

In 1997, Bill Gates, Microsoft CEO, and Steve Jobs decided to settle a long-term

legal battle regarding patent infringement by bringing the office suite to Apple computers,

making internet explorer the default browser on all Apple computers and having Microsoft

invest $150 million in the Apple. Apple used this investment to bringing more creative

contents to its products and investing in the education market. This eventually led to the

introduction of the iMac, an all-new computer with an attractive design of a multicolor see-

through plastic shell.

Apple sales of the iMac averaged to about 1 million units a year and it announced a

strong return to the computers market. The year 2001 was full of major events for Apple. It

started with introducing the Mac OSX, an all-new user-friendly computer firmware that was a

revolution at its time due to its stability, quality of graphics used in the interface, and it

brought the well-known high security level of Unix operating systems to Apple computers.
 Later in May of that year, Apple announced opening a chain of retail stores to assist

in establishing a direct connection with its customers, and better marketing for its products

due to the dissatisfaction of how third-party retailers presented Apple products. The major

event in that year was announced in October and it was the introduction of the iPod, a digital

music player.

The iPod had smashing sales and took Apple’s total revenue from $1.9 billion dollars

in the first quarter of 2000 to $3.2 billion dollars in the same quarter of 2001. Three years

after, Apple announced that it had 76% of the music play market. In order to supply the

demand for digital music tracks, Apple introduced the iTunes store, a digital media library

focused on music. Apple was able to sell a total of 1 billion songs on iTunes in just three

years after its launch, and a grand total of 10 billion songs by early 2010.

In 2007 Apple entered the cellphone market by introducing the iPhone, which was

highly admired due to its unique style, touch screen capability and lack of physical keyboard.

The iPhone was followed by the iPad in 2010, which was simply a bigger iPhone without the

calling capabilities, targeting people who are looking for lightweight devices with big screens

that can do most of the tasks they can do on their computers.

Later on 2010, a significant historical moment occurred. Apple’s most important rival

and the longtime dominant of the computers market, Microsoft, lost its position in regards to

stock value and revenue when Apple stock market value and total revenue surpassed

Microsoft for the first time ever.

This was far from expectations back in the 80’s and 90’s, but due to Apple continued

success in several markets especially the cellphone market while Microsoft was failing in

several business fields especially in its online search engine business, it became possible.

Apple’s success continued, even after its success maker Steve Jobs’ departure in 2011 and

Tim Cook taking his place, by introducing new high-tech products such as Apple watch,

Apple TV.
2.2 Company’s Vision

Apple, Inc.’s vision, as found on their website, is “Apple is committed to bringing the best

personal computing experience to students, educators, creative professionals and

consumers around the world through its innovative hardware, software, and Internet

offerings”

2.3 Company’s Mission

Apple, Inc.’s mission is stated on their company website and is the following: Apple designs

Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and

professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes

online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App

Store, and is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices with iPad

2.4 Company’s Values

Apple, Inc.’s values can also be obtained from their company website and include the

following factors: We believe that we’re on the face of the Earth to make great products. We

believe in the simple, not the complex. We believe that we need to own and control the

primary technologies behind the products we make. We participate only in markets where

we can make a significant contribution. We believe in saying no to thousands of projects so

that we can really focus on the few that are truly important and meaningful to us. We believe

in deep collaboration and cross-pollination of our groups, which allow us to innovate in a way

that others cannot. We don’t settle for anything less than excellence in every group in the

company, and we have the self-honesty to admit when we’re wrong and courage to change.
2.5 Company’s location

Apple Inc.'s world corporate headquarters are located in the middle of Silicon Valley,

at 1–6 Infinite Loop, Cupertino, California. This Apple campus has six buildings that total

850,000 square feet (79,000 m2) and was built in 1993 by Sobrato Development Cos.

Apple has a satellite campus in neighbouring Sunnyvale, California, where it houses

a testing and research laboratory. Apple Insider claimed in March 2014 that Apple has a top-

secret facility for development of the SG5 electric vehicle project codenamed "Titan" under

the shell company name Sixty-eight Research.

Apple Company has 21 office locations across 19 countries including Sydney, Hong

Kong, Paris, Istanbul, Tokyo, Seoul, Kuala Lumpur and many more. Apple has

opened 510 retail stores across 25 countries and regions, including 271 in the United States

and 239 elsewhere, since May 2001.

2.6 Company’s organization chart
 Begins with this company’s business plan, like other organizations, Apple Inc.

departments are formed by the placing the similar functions in the groups. As described

before the main divisions of Apple Inc. human resource, finance, marketing and productions

are adopted by the functional approach. In each division the functional subsystem and

departments create hierarchies. Operational management is linked with the production

division’s activities.

The people in Apple Inc. are grouped together on the basis of their expertise and

resources. It enabled the Apple Inc. to learn from its functions. The present structure in

Apple Inc. has focused upon those activities which reduce the costs and increase the

flexibility in its operations. The managers in Apple Inc. have a greater control of the

organizational activities and avoiding the tall and other several hierarchies. A relative flat

structure of the Apple Inc. has decentralized the authorities and responsibilities of its

management. The managers and employees at lower levels are encouraged to take part in

fostering the company’s strengths. The advantages of decentralization are numerous i.e.

enhancing the planning, decision making and control processes. Apple Inc. has focused on

its marketing operations on the major business areas like iPod and iTunes. The marketing

department shows a great responsiveness to the outside world.

The finance treasury division of Apple Inc. provides the financial policy to company.

This department is responsible to handle the international capital transactions of company,

liquidity guaranteeing and risk management. In Apple Inc. the role of the financial manager is

crucial for the strategic management. The capital required for the R&D is raised by the

Finance division which maintains the innovation position of the Apple Inc. Internal problems

of Apple Inc. were in the form of the sale force accessing directly to corporations. Apple Inc.

relied on the 300 manufactures while IBM had 6000 to 7000 direct salesman. However the

Apple Inc. has focused to establish more sales staff. Many issues concerning to these sales

person were noted regarding the prices of products. Apple Inc. has also marketing problem

as it failed to communicate the Macintosh’s business image in market. The fact that
marketing strategy was not according to requirements and did not make it more famous in

market; it also did not focus upon the technology. Products are manufactured on the basis of

customer’s needs. Apple Inc. needed the fundamental importance of getting close to market.

Meanwhile, in term of internal and external factor which impact the business

operations plan, Apple Inc. has faced the serious challenges during the last 30 years but

recovered from those serious situations with advent of innovation. Apple Inc. faces the threat

of competition because of free services in market. A good business achieves the market

share by creating better legal services to customers. It can be compared with the bottle

water which is better in quality as compared to tape water which is in approach of every

person. However there is legal competition ahead in market. No company was successful to

attach the market the before the Apple Inc. did so.

Better service is directly related with the new and better technology. Roxio was the

first company which followed the Apple Inc. to produce the products on the concept iTunes

Music Store. Sony and Microsoft are other big players of market to download the services.

On the other hand Dell Computers are partnering with MusicMatch. Traditional retailers like

Amazon and Wal-Mart have presented their own plans.

Apple Inc. is facing the competition from these competitors and profiting the leading

position in market. Copy rights issues are also concerned with Apple Inc. Apple Inc. faces

the issues of jobs as a part of their system. Sales force for the direct access to corporation is

required for the success of business operation plan. IBM has the direct salespeople more

than 6000 while Apple Inc. relied only on the 300 manufacturers’ representatives. The

reason behind the small number of sales force may be the selling Macintoshes at lower

prices as compared to dealers (Brady, 1989).

On the other hand, Apple Inc. has made efforts to satisfy its stakeholders in various ways

which included all the environmental issues for its corporate governance. It has satisfied the

employees, local communities and general public by minimizing the environmental impacts
on its entire business operations; integrated the sound environmental, safety management

and health practices. The environmental mission statement of Apple Inc. has integrated all

above mentioned practices into all business operations to ensure that it offers

technologically innovative products.

Apple Inc. aims to communicate on the policy which provides the benefits of

environmental consciousness, safety maximization, energy efficiency and health protection

to its various stakeholders. In the HRM objectives Apple Inc. has adopted the strategies

because of the consumer’s preferences as the external environmental force. The HRM of

Apple Inc. has established the partnership agreements to keep the trust and fairness. The

recruitment policy of the HRM is modified in the ways to adapt the external changes in

environment. Therefore the higher number of skilled staff is recruited in the area of web

development; web is considered a preferred medium for the technology professionals for

applications.

A positive work environment has proved that Apple Inc. is outstanding for the

visionary products. The organizational competency of Apple Inc. is increased by the HRM.

Apple the Inc. is in an exclusive position. It has produced both software and hardware; it

cannot be analysed only the PC manufacturing company. It is also providing the software

solutions, server producer and online contents.

The issues in quality of products attracted the attention of business. The management

concept is rendered by the wave of successful entrepreneurship. Top managers are

committed to make decisions before communicating fully with all those who are involved in it.

When subordinates ask for the decision the top managers think about the organizational

response towards the decision for strategic plan. Ways of decision making enhance the

business operations and credibility throughout the organization Apple Inc. People love to

purchase the products of Apple Inc. because of power, easier way to use and reliability. The

business managers at Apple Inc. ensure the delivery of the products to companies according

to their requirements. Business customer contacts the business managers and long term
relationships are established between them. Apple Inc. management has the ability to sell its

products having no supply chain system. It earn the revenue by the selling the iPod devices

and Mac computers. Its iTunes virtual stores are generating the revenue more than $ 1

billion every year. The managers at Apple Inc. face the incentives of using the strategies to

control the earnings in many traded companies. The managers are allowed to purchase the

stocks. In this way the staff at Apple Inc. is encouraged. The management system of Apple

Inc. has policies and procedures, responsibilities and roles of its managers. For example, a

best health management system is maintained by the concerned managers to ensure the

safety and health of its employees. If any inadequacy is seen in this system then top

managers adopt the corrective actions including the verification through audit processes.

Apple procurement managers are responsible to manage the business relationship with

suppliers and coordinate the Apple’s supplier responsibility auditor.

Apple Inc. has five divisions to manage the products and marketing departments of

the company. These five divisions are responsible to evaluation and manufacturing of the

devices, software and hardware of computer system. The four support divisions also work to

handle the marketing and post-sale products. A new position of Chief Operation Officer was

created by Scully to centralize the operations and involving the senior management in the

daily business decisions (Annual Report, 1988). Human Resource (HR) is responsible for

the safeguarding the most valuable assets of the Apple Inc. It handles the many programs of

the company to achieve the company’s goals. Human resource at Apple Inc. is also

responsible to reach at the needed resources. The Apple Inc. has six important valued

creation functions including the marketing, R&D, finance, Human resource management,

information systems and operations and logistics. The chain of activities required to

transform the inputs into outputs are primarily concerned with actual design, manufacturing,

delivery, marketing of products and customer support activities. The ultimate task of the R&D

resource at Apple Inc. includes the new innovation and use of technology which meet the

customer’s requirements (Hill & Jones, 2004). Information system at Apple Inc. is an
important asset which provides the business assisting facility. For the success of the

business operation plan the information system is a core to keep the business run online

without any obstacles. Other valuable resources which have potential powers for the

customers as well as the management at Apple Inc. include the servers which distribute the

information about Apple’s products and create new internet resources for the mailing list,

online feedback and further open the communication lines.

From the above discussion it can be concluded that Apple Inc. is a well-known

development and business company of the world. Its success lies in its business operation

plan which indeed depends upon the various necessary actions taken from the design of the

product to sale of the product.

Apple Inc. has many successful factors that determine its success in key areas of the

operations. An important factor that is apparent is about the vision of the organization. It is

true that creative energy always begins with vision. These organizations impact significantly

on the world (Collins & Porras, 2004). Apple has a very clear and purposeful vision which

can be seen through the innovative products for the last many years (Senge, 2006).

The main purpose of the Apple Inc. was to develop the computers for the world and

making contribution to the world by its advance technology products. Beside this vision

Apple Inc. takes further steps of actions which are practiced throughout the organization. In

the Apple Inc. employees were able to lay the foundations to achieve the long term goals.

They were able to start the business at small scale and contributed at a higher level. The

company acted upon the Kotter’s model and understood the potential uses. The success of

the Apple Inc. is attributed to the capability of the company making refinements and building

the more powerful products. The company has changed the core nature of the business.

The Apple Inc. innovated the (GUI), file folder and desktop metaphor. Kotter’s 7th

step manifests by using the credibility to make changes in system, policies and structures

(Kotter, 2007). Apple uses the core competencies which the employees have acquired
through redefining the market segmentation. Apple has met many successes and overcome

the challenges. Apple Inc. has made changes and implemented new policies because of

changing trends of computer markets.

Apple Inc. is a computer technology which is best known due to its innovative

structure. It is focusing upon the production of personal computers. In the advent of evolving

technology it has shifted into the electronic market. Apple Inc. operates its business in more

than 170 retail stores in US, Japan, UK and Canada. It has produced more friendly

computers for the consumers. All of the achievements at Apple Inc. are attained through the

people who design and develop the products and staff at the retail stores.

Why is the business operation plan important at Apple Inc? This business operation

plan is important because it generates the steady increasing revenues and sending its

products in the big markets of the world. Due to its good leadership the Apple Inc. achieved

the high profile. Three manufacturing facilities are shaping the foreign operation in countries

like Ireland and Singapore.

Due to its internal strengths and successful business operation Apple Inc. has

become a competitive company. It has footed in the computer market with an innovative

style in the computer market. It production system is well handled as the operating system is

free of all tangles of the Microsoft operating systems. In the physical appearance, usability

and specifications; it has given a large degree of control to company.

Apple Inc. encourages the R&D environment and constantly releasing the products

as seen in the latest Mac mini and iPod. It has made the Apple Inc. a big innovative

company and brings the creative and new ideas in the computer market.

Next, we move to Apple Inc.’s organizational culture & its characteristics .Apple

products commonly used in offices and homes. Apple Inc.’s organizational culture empowers

the business to continue succeeding in the computer software and hardware, cloud services,

consumer electronics, and digital content distribution services industries.

 Apple Inc.’s organizational culture is a key factor in the continuing success of the

business. A company’s organizational or corporate culture establishes and maintains the

business philosophy, values, beliefs, and related behaviours among employees. This

business analysis case shows that Apple has a corporate culture that enables human

resources to support various strategic objectives. For example, the company’s cultural traits

are aligned with the drive for innovation, which is a major factor that determines business

competitiveness in the information technology, online services, and consumer electronics

industries. Based on the organizational culture, this business condition facilitates the

fulfilment of Apple Inc.’s corporate mission and vision statements. Through the leadership of

Steve Jobs and, now, through the leadership of Tim Cook, the company continues to

enhance its cultural characteristics to maximize human resource support for business

relevance in various markets around the world. Apple shapes its corporate culture and uses

it as a tool for strategic management and success.

Through its corporate culture, Apple Inc. strengthens its competitive advantages against

other firms in various industries. The company competes against information technology

firms like Samsung, Google, Amazon.com, Dell, Lenovo, Sony, and PayPal, as well

as IBM and Intel. These competitors impose a strong external force that influences strategic

management among firms in the industry, as illustrated in the Porter’s Five Forces analysis

of Apple Inc. As a result, cultural traits must reinforce necessary competitive advantages

through the workforce. The company partially achieves this strategic objective through its

organizational culture.

Apple Inc. has an organizational culture for creative innovation. The company’s cultural

features focus on maintaining a high level of innovation that involves creativity and a mind-

set that challenges conventions and standards. The business depends on cultural support

and coherence, which are determinants of competitiveness and industry leadership,

especially in addressing aggressive and rapid technological innovation and product

development. The following are the main characteristics of Apple’s corporate culture

including Top-notch excellence, creativity, innovation, secrecy and moderate combativeness.

Firstly, in term of top notch excellence, Apple’s organizational culture comes with a policy of

hiring only the best of the best in the labour market. Steve Jobs was known to fire

employees who did not meet his expectations. This tradition continues under Tim Cook.

Such a tradition maintains and reinforces a corporate culture that promotes, appreciates,

and expects top-notch excellence among employees. This cultural trait is institutionalized in

Apple’s organization. For example, the company has programs that recognize and reward

excellence among workers. Excellence is emphasized as a critical success factor in the

business, especially in product design and development, which is a major growth strategy

Next, creativity. This cultural characteristic pertains to new ideas that help improve the

business and its products. Apple’s management favours creativity among employees’

knowledge, skills, and abilities. This characteristic of the corporate culture enables the

company to ensure sufficient creativity, especially among employees involved in product

design and development processes. Such creativity is observable in the design and features

of iPhones, Macs, and iPads, among other products included in Apple’s marketing mix or

4Ps. In this regard, the organizational culture helps maintain the company’s capacity to

satisfy customers’ expectations and preferences.

Besides, innovation. Apple’s organizational culture supports rapid innovation. The company

is frequently appraised as one of the most innovative companies in the world. Based on this

cultural trait, the firm trains and motivates it employees to innovate in terms of individual

work performance and contributions to product development processes. The corporate

culture facilitates rapid innovation, which is at the heart of Apple Inc.’s business. Rapid

innovation ensures that the company continues to introduce new products that are profitable

and attractive to target customers.

Other than that, Secrecy. Steve Jobs developed Apple to have an organizational culture of

secrecy. This cultural characteristic continues to define the company’s human resource

development. Secrecy is part of the company’s strategy to minimize theft of proprietary

information or intellectual property. It is also a strategic management approach that enables

Apple Inc. to maximize its leading edge against competitors. Through the corporate culture,

employees are encouraged and expected to keep business information within the company.

This cultural trait is reinforced through the company’s policies, rules, and employment

contracts. In this context, Apple’s organizational culture helps protect the business from

corporate espionage and the negative effects of employee poaching.

Lastly, Moderate Combativeness. Apple’s organizational culture has moderate

combativeness. This feature is linked to Steve Jobs and his combative approach to

leadership. He was known to randomly challenge employees to ensure that they have what it

takes to work at Apple. However, under Tim Cook’s leadership, the company has been

changing its corporate culture to a more sociable and a less combative one. Nonetheless,

combativeness remains a major influence in the business. Apple’s corporate culture exhibits

a moderate degree of combativeness that presents challenges that aim to enhance

employees’ output.

There were also 10 Decision Areas of Operations Management in current-state business

process of Apple Company. Firstly, Design of Goods and Services. Apple’s processes in the

design of its products are handled through a number of organizational components and

officials. For example, the development and production of Macs involve a Senior VP for Mac

Hardware Engineering and a VP for Mac Software Engineering. This coordination reflects

the nature and characteristics of the corporate structure of Apple Inc. In this decision area of

operations management, these VPs coordinate with the company’s Senior VP for

Operations. The system of interactions ensures that the outputs in this operational area are

successful in making Apple excel in the design of its technological products.

Next, Quality Management. This decision area of operations management emphasizes

quality standards and controls. Apple Inc.’s Senior VP for Operations coordinates with eight

other Senior VPs to ensure compliance with the company’s quality standards. The company

is known for high quality standards that permeate different areas of the business, including

product design and development, retail, marketing, online sales, industrial design, and

human resource management. Thus, Apple has a holistic approach in ensuring quality to

address this decision area of operations management.

Then, Process and Capacity Design. Apple’s human resource management strategies

include support to maximize workforce capacity for product development and design. In

addition, the company works with suppliers to ensure efficient processes and adequate

capacity in this decision area of operations management. For instance, suppliers are given

directives for process design, as well as the Apple Supplier Code of Conduct to optimize

their human resource management. Moreover, Apple Inc. strives for innovation in its facilities

to optimize capacity and process efficiency. Thus, the company has a comprehensive

approach for this decision area of operations management.

Besides, Location Strategy. Apple Inc.’s location strategy is selective, involving limited

authorization of sellers. However, most authorized sellers are located in urban centres to

maximize foot traffic and brand exposure. At present, the company has hundreds of stores in

more than 20 countries around the world. Despite this limited approach to seller

authorization, the company is now among the most profitable in the world, and Apple Stores

have the highest revenue per square foot of retail space in the United States. Thus, Apple’s

selective location strategy successfully satisfies this decision area of operations

management.

Other than that, Layout Design and Strategy. Apple’s layout design and strategy emphasize

customer expectations. For example, company-owned and authorized-seller stores are

spacious with minimal décor to ensure focus on Apple products. In the company’s other

facilities, this decision area of operations management is addressed through innovative

office layouts that encourage creativity and efficiency of workflows. Creativity is a critical

factor among employees involved in product design and development processes at Apple

Inc.

Then, Job Design and Human Resources. This decision area of operations management

requires job design and human resource strategies specific to the trends in relevant HR

management needs. In Apple’s case, job design and HR strategies are based on Steve

Jobs’ original emphasis on excellence. However, the company has been gradually changing

its HR strategies under Tim Cook to reflect a more sociable workplace for optimum

employee morale. Apple Inc. has mastered job design and human resource strategies to

ensure continued support for its industry leadership.

Seventh, Supply Chain Management. Apple’s supply chain is among the most efficient and

streamlined in the world. To address this decision area of operations management, the

company uses automation of processes and regular monitoring of suppliers. This monitoring

evaluates supplier capacity and productivity, as well as compliance with the Apple Supplier

Code of Conduct. The automation aspect serves as the main strength of the corporation’s

approach to supply chain management.

Eighth, Inventory Management. In this decision area of operations management, Apple Inc.

uses different methods of inventory management, such as the serialized method for effective

tracking and control of products. The company also uses the first in, first out (FIFO) method,

which ensures that most old-model units are sold before new Apple product models are

released to the market. Apple Store managers also handle the inventory management of

their respective stores.

Next, Scheduling. Apple Inc. applies this decision area of operations management through a

combination of automation and manual processes. Automation is used for scheduling

activities in the supply chain and production processes. On the other hand, manual

scheduling is used for individual Apple Stores and in some aspects of the company’s offices.

The main aim of the firm in this decision area of operations management is to maximize the

capacity utilization of facilities, equipment and human resources.

Lastly, Maintenance. Apple Inc. addresses maintenance needs through dedicated

maintenance teams. For example, the company has different maintenance teams for its

various facilities. Apple’s IT teams also function as maintenance teams for the firm’s servers

and other IT assets. The VP for Human Resources ensures that the company’s personnel

are always at adequate capacity to maintain high performance at the company’s facilities.

Thus, Apple effectively addresses this decision area of operations management.

Then, we move to Company ‘AS IS’ process. Firstly, Design. It all starts with design. Apple

products have already established a reputation for having impeccable design hinged on

simplicity, functionality, and a distinct look. This is mostly attributable to the inventive and

innovative minds of the members of the design team.

The Industrial Design machine of Apple is where the brilliant ideas come from, and a great

factor of its success is how it is kept cohesive and disciplined by a department head. This is

exactly how Steve Jobs started it. He had the vision, and he steered the design team

towards achieving that vision, keeping them focused and on a straight trajectory towards

their design goal.

Being kept separate from other divisions or departments of the business also greatly helped.

This way, the design team was pretty much left to let their creative juices flow, without

having to mind other issues such as finance, costs, and the technical. They would not even

have to worry about whether the design can actually be made when placed into production;
that is going to be the problem of the engineers and the folks over at manufacturing. Costs?

They don’t have to worry about that, either, because there are other people who will.

Next, Start-up creation. The secrecy continues. Once a new product has been designed, a

team that is solely devoted on the development of that product will be formed. It is

essentially building a start-up within the company. They will devote all their time and

resources on the project or product, and they will be directly reporting to the big bosses.

This cuts through the usual communication or bureaucracy involved, and they will be

answerable to no one else but the executive management team.

Third, ANPP Implementation. This is where the ANPP which stands for the Apple New

Product Process comes in. Since Apple started making the Macintosh, the company has

always made it a point to have a well-documented roadmap or guide for the members of

the team to follow. This was the ANPP. It is essentially a document that contains, in great

detail, all the steps and phases of the development of the product. It covers everything

about the development process, from the specific tasks that must be performed, the

specific persons who will work on them, how long each task is expected to be completed,

and the chronology or order of accomplishment of said tasks to facilitate the completion of

the product.

Fourth, Product Review. While it is true that the team works towards achieving a vision or a

goal for a product, this does not mean that the process is fixed and has no room for

changes or flexibility. Just like in other businesses, Apple also conducts periodic reviews

for the products that are in process. In the case of Apple, these product reviews are

conducted every Monday. It is a good way to track the progress of the product

development team and also take note of issues or serious problems that have been

encountered by the team in the process.

Fifth, Production proper. Finally, the design will be made more concrete as the production

process begins. There are two key personnel involved in this stage: the engineers and the

supply personnel. You have someone in charge of the product process, who will manage

the engineering aspect. He will be working with the supply manager, who is responsible for

sourcing the raw materials needed in the production process.

Sixth, Testing, tweaking, rebuilding. Just because a product has undergone the production

process does not mean that it is outright completed. There is still a need to test it, so

adjustments can be made and, if needed, the product will be rebuilt. Steve Jobs’

perfectionist attitude was apparent in how Apple tirelessly builds, tests and rebuilds its

products, until such time that it is 100% confident in its quality and performance, and gives

it the green-light to be introduced to the market.

Seventh, Packaging. First impressions last, and customers are initially attracted by the

packaging. This is why Apple devotes a lot of attention and resources to the packaging

aspect. It’s not just about having a box with the name and company logo printed on it. The

packaging also takes into account the experience of the customers when unboxing the

device packaging.

Finally, the Launch. Apple has the Rules of the Road, which is basically a product launch

action plan. It details all the key points of the product development process, breaking them

down into the nitty-gritty. This document is so top-secret and highly-valued, and Apple

takes it seriously when working towards the launch of the new product.
Conclusion

In a nutshell, Before Apple, no one considered that technology could be user-friendly.

The company has transformed how we think and live today. When Steve Jobs created

Apple, he kept his passion for creativity and innovation as the focus for the company’s

success. From that strong foundation, born were products that were simple to use, elegant

in design, and most importantly, centered on the user-experience. Apple established a

template for innovation and there are some important lessons we can learn from Apple

Company as I have review before.

One major source of competitive advantage for Apple is brand equity. The company has

built a very high level of trust in the market. It is known the most for its technology and

great quality products. Its high-level popularity is a sign of a strong brand image and the

reliability of its technology and technological products. Apple has always brought innovative

products to the market that are unique and outstanding as well as very different from the

rival products. Apart from technological innovation, its products are remarkable in terms of

design and style. Millions around the world eagerly await new releases of iPhones and

Macs.

Nearly all of the products it has released until now have become major hits. However, both

in terms of quality and innovation, Apple is considered matchless around the world. Its

users are willing to pay a premium price for Apple products which is a sign of strong brand

equity. Strong brand equity translates into higher equity and better sales and revenue.

Today, Apple is the world’s leading technology company. However, its biggest asset is the

trust, people place in its name.

References