Running head: APPLE INC. 1 Apple Inc. Crystal Smith South University 9-25-19 APPLE INC. 2 Apple Inc. Brief profile Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company that has perfected the art of designing, distributing and sale of quality computer software, miniaturized hand held technology devices and offering diversified online services. The tech giant was the brain child idea of Stave Jobs, Ronald Wayne and Steve Wozniak in the year 1976 (Arocha, 2017). The company targets customers across the globe and this has played a critical role in enabling it to attain a unique competitive advantage in the industry that is dominated by many players. Apple is considered one of the big four companies alongside Amazon, Facebook and Google. Some of the popular company products that are consumed across the globe include but not limited to: iPhone smartphone, Mac personal computer, iPod, portable media and Apple watch smart watch. The success of Apple Inc. in the highly competitive industry is anchored on a number of concrete factors. For example, there is unique culture of valuing the input of employees who have enabled it to address customer queries on the need basis (Arocha, 2017). Apple has initiated huge investments in extensive research and development programs to cope up with the emerging issues at this age of globalization. Strategic planning is the core component that has enabled Apple Inc. deal with array of issues such as stiff market competition; enhance supply chain management channels and expanding the customer network. For the last five years, Apple has been recording positive revenue and profits as compared to its close competitors. This success is also linked to its ability to capitalize on the business strengths to deal with the weaknesses and threats and also exploit on the available opportunities to remain relevant in the highly competitive industry. Steve Jobs has been accorded due credit for being a transformational leader APPLE INC. 3 who has played a pivotal role in revolutionizing the technology industry. He is an innovator, an achiever and creative thinker who took Apple to higher ranks in the technology industry. SWOT analysis of Apple Inc. Strengths (Internal Strategic factors). Apple is one of the most valuable brands across the entire world. It has been able to introduce new products in the industry and this has been linked to premium pricing strategy leading to high profit margins (Smithson, 2019). There is culture of rapid innovation that has enabled it to be at right pace with the latest technology to ensure that it has maintained competitive advantages. It is therefore very hard for the competitors to outsmart Apple. Intensive growth strategies have enabled Apple Inc. meet the set goals and objectives within the shortest time possible (Smithson, 2019). There is an internal culture of embracing transformational leadership style by the top management and this has been of significant impact for the company to survive at the global level. There is use of advanced technology such as big data analytics to understand customer behavior across the globe. The use of artificial intelligence systems have enabled Apple Inc. streamline business operations such as inventory management and well finetuned supply chain technologies and networks. These are just but of the key strengths of Apple Inc. Weaknesses There is limited distribution network and this is linked to the company policy of exclusivity. The company has a strict policy of selecting authorized dealers and this has limited it to reach out to many clients across the globe (Smithson, 2019). High product and service prices have attracted customers from the middle and high income classes leaving out many clients in APPLE INC. 4 the lower class (Smithson, 2019). This is a considerable weakness because majority of customers across the globe are from middle class. Apple Inc. has always depended on high end markets for revenue generation and profit making. These are some of the common weaknesses that Apple Inc. should expedite the process of coming up with long lasting solutions to properly address them. Opportunities There are numerous business opportunities and other external factors that Apple Inc. can take the advantage in order to remain relevant in the technology business. The company has the opportunity to expand the current distribution network. Apple should consider changing the distribution strategy and this is necessary to reach out to many customers at the global scale (Smithson, 2019). Apple has another opportunity of increasing its sales volume and this will be realized through aggressive product marketing. This is especially important for mobile products due to a rising demand of smartphones across the globe. Apple Inc. does have another opportunity of exploring new product lines in order to support business growth at the international scale within a short period of time. Further exploration of the product lines will enable it be in the right position of dealing with aggressive market competition due to many players. Threats Apple is facing the threat of facing tough market competition caused by the aggressiveness of many firms in the industry. Samsung is one of the closest competitors of Apple Inc. that has perfected the art of market competition (Smithson, 2019). Therefore, strong fundamentals of maintaining strong competitive advantages are very necessary. There is another APPLE INC. 5 eminent threat of imitation. There are number of local and international firms that have been imitating the design features of products of Apple Inc. This has reduced revenue generation and profit making. The threat of rising labor costs caused by manufacturers in China is significant. This has been reducing the profit margins for Apple Inc. and also leading to selling of company products at higher prices. Apple’s Mission Statement Apple’s mission statement has been changing over time. This has been linked to the manner in which the market and the industry environment changes. Part of the corporate mission statement reads: “Apple Designs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software” (Rowland, 2019). It is evident that the mission statement does emphasize on digital distribution of various products over the internet. For example, the iTunes online store has been considered the right platform of distributing digital content to various customers across the globe. It is also evident that the company has empathized on the need to enumerate its organizational inputs such as iPods, iPhones and Macs (Rowland, 2019). Revised Mission Statement The revised corporate mission statement should read, “Apple does not settle less than quality products and services of technology and the customer is our first priority”. The current corporate mission statement is long and there is a possibility that some of the customers are not okay with it. By shortening the mission statement and integrating an element of valuing customer input, the company will be able to double revenue generation and profit making. The revised corporate mission statement is simple and does not confuse consumers especially those in the lower and middle classes. APPLE INC. 6 References Arocha, J.B. (2017). Getting to the core: A case Study on Company Culture of Apple Inc. Faculty of the Department of Experience Industry Management California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. https://www.apple.com/diversity/ Rowland, C. (2019). Apple Inc.’s Mission Statement and Vision Statement (An analysis). Available at: http://panmore.com/apple-mission-statement-vision-statement Smithson, N. (2019). Apple Inc. SWOT Analysis & Recommendations. Available at: http://panmore.com/apple-inc-swot-analysis-recommendations
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