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2.0 Individual Leadership Positions and their
Responsibilities
4.1 Autocratic style of leadership
4.2 Democratic Style of leadership
5.0 Job description and Specification of CEO
6.0 Salaries and Benefits of Employees
Apple is a multinational
company; it has made its name in the technology industry. It has established
its headquarter in Cupertino, California. It has a vast consumer base and sells
consumer electronics, software and online services. Along the Amazon, Google
and Microsoft, it is considered as one of the big four technology companies.
The iPad tablet computer, the Mac personal computer, theiPod portable media
player, the Apple Watch smartwatch, the Apple digital media player, the AirPods
wireless ear buds and the HomePod smart speaker are the hardware products that
Apple sells. Its founders are Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. It
was founded in the April of 1977, one of the founder sold his share back and
left. Its sales grew quickly and a staff of computer designers was hired within
a few years. Jobs became the CEO in 2000 and rebuilt Apple’s status by
launching iMac. Apple opened its chain of retail stores in 2001. Apple’s
worldwide annual revenue totaled $ 265 billion, in year 2018. Jobs resigned in
year 2011, and Tim Cook took his place and became the new CEO. Apple is one of
the world’s most valuable company and the world’s largest technology company as
well. In this report the responsibilities of the people at the leadership positions
is discussed, as their role is significant in achievement of objectives. We
have also discussed the decision making process of these leaders, their
salaries and job descriptions. We have also discussed Apple’s mission statement
and the vision statement. A SWOT analysis of Apple is also included that
highlights its strengths and weaknesses. Goals and objectives are set in the
last section for Apple.
The person who is
responsible for the overall success of the company is the CEO. The
highest-ranking executive in a company is CEO. Their primary responsibilities
include taking major decision related to the business, they manage the overall
operations and resourced of a company. A CEO is the main public face of the
company, he acts as the point of communication between the board of directors
and the corporate operations. He is elected by the board and the shareholders
collectively.
A Chief Financial Officer
has the responsibility of taking the major decisions related to the finances of
the company and that includes the financial planning, the management of
financial risks, keeping of records and financial reporting. Sometimes the analysis
of data is also the role of CFO. A CFO reports to the CEO and the board of
directors typically, and he may have a seat on the board ad well. A CFO is the
chief spokesperson for finances and supervises the finance unit. The CFO
assists the COO on all the strategic and tactical matters.
A Chief Operating Officer
oversees an organization’s ongoing processes and operations. They are
responsible for the efficiency of the business. The role of the COO is of
executive level and he reports only to the CEO. The control of the diverse
operations of the business is the responsibility of the COO, so experience
matters a lot on this level. A COO also needs to have excellent people skills,
business acumen, and extra ordinary work ethic. The goal of a COO is to make
sure that the business is working fine, and the growth is sustainable.
The CIO is an executive
title and it is for the person who is in charge of the strategy of information
technology and the computer systems that are required to support the
organizations unique objectives and goals. The role of a CIO was mainly
technical in the mid 1980s, but now they also contribute to goal formulation, because
the significance of electronic information has grown in industries. As a
consequence of their increase responsibilities in strategy, CEOs usually
delegate their day to day operations on a deputy and use a team of specialists
to manage the specific areas of IT.
The responsibilities of a
CBO include coordination with a CEO, finance committee, and other leaders of a
company for the allocation of resources to meet the strategic and financial
goals of the company. A CBO has to follow the accounting standards and
principles to ensure that the company is working according to the regulations.
If the industry is related to technology then CBO provides executive leadership
and assist with strategic planning. The contracts, human resources,
procurement, compliance and risk management are the responsibility of CBO. His
duty also encompasses consultation on financial matters, suggestion of
strategies that helps keep the business in line with the budget and growth
goals.
Figure 1: Company
Structure
In any business there are
many options available to opt, and each has its own strengths and weaknesses.
The thing that is expected of a decision maker is to weigh the options , and
chose the best possible option for the business. In modern organizations it is
an integral part of management. Decisions paly an important role as the future
of the organizations depend on the decisions taken. It is a step by step
process, that allows the leaders to make choices by properly evaluating each
alternative. Now it doesn’t matter much that the decision is taken by a manger or an employee or an executive,
the basic process that has to be followed while taking a decision is the same.
It all starts by the identification of a problem, then on that problem the
assumptions are developed, then comes the process of analyizing and collection
of the relevant information and then the influential factors are identified.
And after a brainstorming session decisions are taken and implemented.
Apple has been under two
different and opposite styles of leaderships so far. Its first leader, Steve
Jobs is known to have an autocratic style of leadership, but its now CEO Tim
Cook is known for his democratic style of leadership. Both of these styles have
their own advantages and a drawback, what is important is to strike a balance
in whatever leadership styles you follow.
This is known as the
authoritarian style of leadership. A person leading with this style takes all
the decisions by himself and only a little input is taken from the group
members. They very rarely take advices from others and their decisions are
based on their own choices, ideas and judgments.
In this style of
leadership, a leader takes decisions based on input from all the employees and
tries to make a consensus among them. Any decision is not the sole decision of
a leader it is a collective decision. The group members are encouraged to share
their ideas and opinions.
In any style of
leadership, what matters most is that those decisions should lead the
organization towards its goals.
The CEO of Apple, who is
currently Tim Cook, should work to maintain a motivated environment. It is his
responsibility to develop business strategies and plans that would align short
term goals with long term objectives. He should also oversee operations and
business activities to make sure the implemented strategies are producing the
desired results.
i.
Make decisions of high quality to take the
business to advancements and increase profits.
ii.
Follow the guidelines and policies of the
companies so that the subordinates will be encouraged to do the same.
iii.
The financial and non-financial reports
should be reviewed by the CEO so that he can recommend for the solution to
those problems.
iv.
Analyization of difficult situations, and
provide efficient solutions to ensure the survival of the company.
v.
Have a sound and deep knowledge about the
industry.
Chief
Executive Officer; the highest salary is of CEO, as his work
involves highest level of responsibility, it is around $13,00,000 - $1,900,000.
Chief
Financial Officer; the salary and significance of a CFO is
just next to CEO so his salary is the second highest, $650,000 - $3,800,000.
Chief
Operating Officer; to make sure that the operations are going
on smoothly and without any interruption, is the responsibility of a COO, he
gets around, $400,000 - $590,000 for this job.
Chief
Business Officer; to promote growth of the business and
supervising the activities and processes of all departments is the role of a
CBO. He gets, around $550,000 to $3,000,000 for it.
Chief
Information Officer; information is the need of the hour in
this highly dynamic world, this job role is one of the most significant in nay
organization, a CIO gets, $320,000 to $460,000 for this role.
The questions that should
be asked for a leadership position are as under, they describe the potential,
eagerness and eligibility of a person to lead.
i.
What management style you think should be
followed?
ii.
Are you aware of your strengths and weaknesses?
Explain them.
iii.
How would you contribute to the
growth of the company?
iv.
What strategy would you opt for the
development of policies?
v.
How would you handle stressful
situations?
vi.
How would you handle a crisis
situation?
vii.
Where will you be in next 5 to 10
years?
Apple is the world’s largest
tech company, its mission should be something that would reflect the company’s
motive to retain that position in the future as well. Its mission should be to
deliver the most valuable tech products to its customers. Apple aspires to give
its customers the best experience, by its innovative hardware, software and
services. They should have the belief that they are on this level and to
maintain it for the future they should keep making great and value generating
products.
The vision of the Apple
is to give people that great experience, that would make them feel worthy and
give them access to the latest technologies. This world is highly technology
driven now and to make a mark its necessary to give the best possible product.
So Apple has plans to introduce, iPhone SE 2, that would be a low cost mobile
with a 4.7-inch length. Then another product is the AirTags, that is also a new
feature. Other than that, MacBook Pro, High-End Headphones and Small Wireless
Charging Mat are also in process.
i.
The strengths of Apple company, lies in a
variety of factors, it has a range of products which is of breat interest to
customers, namely, iPad, Mac, iPhone, Apple Watch etc. The benefit of it is
that if one product fail, still there is a chance that other product will be
successful.
ii.
Apple is also very careful in selection of
employees, so it has a very competent employee base.
iii.
The brand image of Apple is very strong since
the beginning.
There are also some
weaknesses, alongside strengths;
i.
A weakness of Apple products is that they
are high in prices.
ii.
The other weakness is that, these products
allow only limited connection to other devices.
iii.
It has lesser variety in the designs of
its phones.
Apple is a leading brand
and it has a host of opportunities available;
i.
Demand of computers and laptops, is
increasing day by day, so Apple can definitely gain greater sales by
introducing new designs and models.
ii.
Globalization is definitely a huge
advantage as it is giving people the opportunity to buy the products they need
and want easily.
iii.
People are becoming dependent on
technology more and more every day, and Apple is itself a tech company so it is
in a great advantage.
Apple is a
well-established company, but it does not mean that it do not have any threats.
i.
The demand of smart phone has fallen down
by, 3% in recent years, the reason has come out to be the huge prices of them,
and there is also no reason to buy a new phone when the existing phone is
working fine.
ii.
Apple is also not safe from competition,
it has many competitors, the famous being Huawei and Samsung. It has to
outsmart its competitors in order to win over them.
iii.
One of the greatest threats to Apple is
that its products are being imitated as soon as they are launched, and those
fake ones are available at very cheap prices. This is definitely an impediment
in Apple’s sales.
In the above SWOT we can
see that the uniqueness of Apple products is the strength of Apple Inc. it has
to maintain its quality and uniqueness to be ahead of others. A major weakness
is its high prices and a lack of retail stores in many countries. But it
definitely has a great potential if its strengths and opportunities are
channeled the right way, threats are dealt with and opportunities are explored.
The China-US trade war is
definitely an alarming situation for Apple as it has greatly affected Apple’s
sales in China. Also the competitor brand Huawei that is from China is standing
straight in face of Apple that is definitely a big political issue to be dealt
with.
The economic stability of
many countries is a great opportunity for Apple to explore it can establish its
outlets in those countries and that would expand its business. However the increased
labor cost of Apple products is affecting its profitability.
Apple has many competitors,
who are efficient, and providing advanced technology as well and their prices
are way less. Price is affecting its brand image negatively. Many new
technologies are becoming popular these days like the cloud computing
technology, Apple should certainly invest in it. Apple can also try to expand
the app base of its app store as this is in trend.
Legal factors should be
given enough consideration as their compliance is necessary and breaching them
can cause huge fines. Privacy is another concern for Apple users, it should
make sure that privacy of its users is not breached. Apple has a strict
telecommunication regulation, that can be a threat. Apple has it in its plan to
introduce a car named “Titan, the introduction of this car will result in an
increase in litigations and regulation costs.
Most of the manufacturing
of Apple is in China, where the environmental pollution is becoming a hazard.
However Apple is working on batteries that are environment friendly and emit
less heat. Apple is working on its program of business sustainability through
the disposal and the recycling of non-working equipments.
Goal
1: to
make ground breaking products.
Objective:
to
produce products that are unique and unprecedented. Apple is known for its uniqueness,
and trend setting for the industry. it has its objective to produce something
new for its customers and provide value.
Goal
2: producing
the technology that depicts future
Objective:
to
produce such products that are advanced and people get a glimpse of future
world by using them.
Goal
3: increase
the user base of Apple
Objective:
Apple
aims at increasing the number of its existing users by 2021 and producing apps
that will assist in everyday things.
Goal
4: winning
customer confidence.
Objective:
apple aims at winning the confidence of its customers by tightening its privacy
policy and securing the data of users by 2021. It will do partnerships with
related organizations for this purpose.
Goal
1: to
make ground breaking products.
|
Actions |
Human Resources and
Physical Resources |
Timeline |
|
1. The
strategies and operations of the competing brands should be analyzed. 2. Research
should be done on what could be the future of mobile phones 3. Researches
on the most desirable app should be done. And what more the consumers need. |
Engineering department,
Research
department Analytics
|
Start: 2020 Completion: 2021 |
Goal
2: producing
technology that depicts future.
|
Actions |
Human Resources
and Physical Resources |
Timeline |
|
1. Employ
the best engineers to put their best efforts to make a ground breaking
technology. 2. Employ
the best researchers, to put in their best efforts. 3. Invest
in research and development sector |
Engineering department Research and Development sector Analytics |
Start: 2020 Completion: 2021 |
Goal
3: increase
the user base of Apple products.
|
actions |
Human
and Physical Resources |
Timeline |
|
1. To
increase the customer base, Apple will need to invest in the marketing
department. 2. To
launch a powerful advertising campaign. 3. To
set up, stores in new locations. 4. Give
awareness to people regarding Apple products. 5. Promotions
and discounts. |
Marketing Department Advertising campaigns
|
Start: 2020 Completion:
2021 |
Goal
4: Win
the customer’s confidence.
|
Actions |
Human
and Physical Resources |
Timeline |
|
1. For
this purpose Apple needs to first of all, deliver quality to its customers,
only then will it become able to win their confidence. 2. Launching
campaigns that will create awareness among people about its products. 3. Selling
products with money back guarantee. |
Marketing department Analytics Advertisement campaigns |
Start:
2020 Completion: 2021 |
Apple took a start as a company that aimed to deliver the best possible products with the most advanced technology to its customers. It has achieved much of its objectives and goals since the start, but there is always room for more and we only expect and wish to see Apple providing its customers with the new, improved and innovative products. Apple in the start had no competition in the market, as it was just the start of the technological era, but now in this decade of technological advancement, the competition has toughened up and now it would not be easy to impress the customers with simple technology. Apple has a great advantage of its brand name, it is distinguished in the market from all of its competitors, by making the efficient use of this privilege Apple can maintain its leading position in the technology industry. To maintain a mark is hard in this fast paced, ever changing era, but it is not impossible.
(n.d.).
Atul Gupta, P. L.
(2013). Apple, Inc.: Where Is It Going From Here? Journal of Business Case
Studies , 9 (3), 215-220.
Burnette, B. (2016,
June 21). APPLE INC OBJECTIVES AND STRATEGIES. Retrieved from Brandon
Burnette:
https://burnetteb.wordpress.com/2015/06/25/apple-inc-objectives-and-strategies/
Clover, J. (2020, March
19). Upcoming Apple Products Guide: Everything We Expect to See in 2020 and
Beyond. Retrieved from https://www.macrumors.com/:
https://www.macrumors.com/guide/upcoming-apple-products/
Farooq, U. (2019,
January 11). Apple Pestle Analysis. Retrieved from
https://www.marketingtutor.net/: https://www.marketingtutor.net/apple-pestle-analysis/
Haque, F. (2019,
November 13). SWOT Analysis of Apple Inc. Retrieved from
http://www.thestrategywatch.com/: thestrategywatch.com/swot-analysis-apple-inc/
Khan, O. (2019, August 12). Apple Employee Benefits Review: Are Their Careers Worth It? Retrieved from futurefuel.com: https://futurefuel.io/employee-benefits/apple-careers/
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