Management Essay Sample: Description of the Apple Inc. Company

Apple Inc. was my preferred company since I have always yearned to work with the company. It is an American-based multinational corporation that is headquartered in California. Its plants are found in China despite its main headquarters being in the United States.

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Market served: The primary market served by the company is the high-end market in the society. Its products are highly priced to target the high social clientele.

Products and services offered: The company deals with the production of consumer electronics, commercial servers, and computer software. Some of the most renowned apple products include iPod, iPhone, and the Macintosh computers (Rachet, 2014).

Vision statement

Apples vision statement is;

Man is the creator of change in the world. Therefore, man should thrive to stay above the structures and systems and not be subordinate to them (Huang, Hu & Zhang, 2013)

Mission statement

Apples mission statement is;

Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, besides its iLife, OS X, professional software, and iWork. Apple leads the digital music advancement with its iTunes which is an online store and iPods. Apple redeveloped the mobile phone with its revolutionary App Store and iPhone (Huang, Hu & Zhang, 2013)

Yearly sales

Year Oct-Sept ($) 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Sales 108.6B 155.97B 170.87B 183.24 213.28B

(Lessin & Ante, 2013)

SWOT ANALYSIS

Strengths

Fantastic OS and softwareTag of innovation Consistency in its designsCustomer loyaltyHigh brand equityWeaknesses

Lack of variety, it can make a change this into a strength by diversifying its production.

Steve Jobs are no moreThe company has experienced weak returns on its assets and investment over the past few years. For instance, within the period 2001-2005, the company recorded a 4.7% return on its assets which was relatively lower than the industry average which was at 5.5% (Rachet, 2014).It has a high dependency on essential components that are supplied by IBM.The product life cycle of its products is short, and this aspect discourages consumersHigh set pricing

Apples operating system does not work with outside hardware. The aim of this feature is to keep design control.

Opportunities

Availability of accessories in the marketGeographic expansionTechnological advancementsMore dependency on digitizationThere has been a rise in viruses and worms on personal computers, the company can, therefore, venture into developing antivirus (Rachet, 2014).

Threats

Increased competitionLosing its brand due to lack of innovation

Overdependence on specific suppliers such as IBMDecline in the sale of personal computersUncertainty of the global economic conditionsSupplier pledges must be kept for example health, safety and labor (Rachet, 2014).The cost of labor in the countries where the company has its plants is also a threat.EVALUATION OF THE COMPANYS CUSTOMERS

Customer demographics based on age and gender

Men aged 65 years and above spend more on Apple products; they spend an average of $976 on these gadgets. Women between the ages of 25 to 34 spend the least amount on Apple products (Lessin & Ante, 2013). The chart below provides an overview of how consumers purchase Apple products based on age and gender.

(Lessin & Ante, 2013)

Apple consumer demographics based on income

(Lessin & Ante, 2013)

Based on ethnicity it has been established that whites make more purchase as compared to Africans. Similarly, the largest sales have been witnessed in the United States as compared to any other country.

Each of Apple Inc. consumers, buy specific Apple products from specific stores and for specific purposes. Teenagers mostly purchase iPods primarily to socialize with friends, go to Facebook, Twitter, and MSN, play games and listen to music. University students mainly purchase iPads, iPhones and MacBooks. They use the products to store their notes (Huang, Hu & Zhang, 2013). They prefer these products because they are light and portable. The business consumers are more intrigued to purchasing MacBooks, iPads and iPhones. They use these devices to communicate with clients and complete their work efficiently. Children and kids are also a market target for the Apple Company. They purchase products such as iPads and iPods (Huang, Hu & Zhang, 2013). They are easier to use, and parents can download various game applications to teach the young children. Most of the companys products are purchased from its online store and its retailers across the world.

Consumers purchase Apple products regularly averagely after every two years. Most consumers make a new purchase once a new model is launched. The company mostly launches new products after two years.

THE COMPANY STRUCTURE

The companys structure is extensive and is one of its principal pillars to its successful innovation. It mainly relies on the traditional hierarchy that is integrated with other types of organizational structures. The company is a strong advocate for teamwork and understands the strength behind building strong teamwork. The function based grouping, the spoke-and-wheel hierarchy are the more prevalent in the companys structure. The company is using both tops down and bottom up the structure (Williams, 2013). The company is led by Tim Cook who oversees the operations of the entire company. Instructions flow from the top management to subordinates, conversely, through regular meetings and conferences the subordinates can give their opinions and concerns to the management.

The companys management is relatively efficient and effective in its activities; however, the management was best under Steve Jobs leadership. Little advancements have been made. Thus the current management needs to embrace the latest management strategies to stay abreast of its competitors (Williams, 2013). Specifically, the company needs to diversify its products to cover a wide range of products to increase its customer base, since it is currently facing stiff competition from other consumer electronics such as Samsung and Microsoft.

ROLE OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

The company is no doubt a global leader when it comes to innovation and creativity. This is greatly pegged on the companys strong focus on research and development. The research and development department are very reactive to the market changes and are consistently producing products that meet and exceed consumer needs (Williams, 2013). The company launches new products after every two years. This has helped the company remain relevant and consistent in its production.

REASONS FOR DROP IN MARKET SHARE

Over the past few years, the company has experienced a fall in its sales. The sales department to a large extent can be argued that is responsible for the fall as it has lagged in its sales roles (Huang, Hu & Zhang, 2013). I would, therefore, recommend that the sales department partner with the marketing department to increase the awareness of the company to new upcoming markets. Its marketing has been outshined by the competitors who are increasingly controlling a larger market share (Williams, 2013).

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE RECOMMENDATION

The change can be implemented by venturing into other markets. Currently, the company focuses on the high-end consumers, in a bid to increase the market share I can tap other market segments such as the middle class (Williams, 2013). The success will be determined when there will be increased sales volume and increased profit.

References

Huang, L., Hu, C., & Zhang, X. (2013). Consumer experience analysis: A case study of Apple Inc. from consumers' perspective in experience marketing.

Lessin, J. E., & Ante, S. E. (2013). Apps rocket toward $25 billion in sales. Wall Street Journal, 4.

Rachet, B. (2014). Swot Analysis of Apple Inc. Docs. School Publications.

Williams, C. (2013). Principles of management. South-Western Cengage Learning.