Apple Iphone - Business Strategy

Apple – iPhone: Business Strategy

MGMT2001 - Semester 2, 2014

Anna James,  Andrew McPherson, Kewei Fan & Thomas Prince[pic 1]

[pic 2]

Executive Summary

Table of Contents

Executive Summary        2

1.        Introduction        5

2. Strategic Analysis        6

External environment analysis        6

General environment        6

Specific environment        6

Internal or competitive analysis        8

Core competencies        8

Strategic Competitive Advantage        8

Internal weaknesses        8

Conclusions about organisation’s competitive position in its market.        9

3. Strategic directions and strategic objectives        10

Vision and Mission        10

Strategic objectives        11

Ethics position        11

Stakeholder Analysis        12

Conclusions on organisation’s strategic direction and strategic objectives.        13

4. Broad Business Strategies        14

Ansoff’s Product Matrix        14

Miles and Snow’s Adaptive Strategies        15

Porter’s Competitive Strategies        15

International strategies        15

5. Strategic Implementation: General Perspective        16

Environmental Turbulence and Business Strategy Focus        16

Evidence of unrealised, unintended or imposed strategy        16

Strategic Flux        16

Strategic Drift        16

Transformational Change        17

Second Curve Activity        17

BCG Matrix        17

6. Strategic Implementation Issues        18

Strategic implementation issues faced by the organisation        18

7. Strategic evaluation        20

Triple bottom line reporting        20

Economic bottom line        20

Social Justice Bottom Line        20

Environmental Bottom Line        20

8. Conclusion and Recommendations        22

References        23

Appendix        27

List of Figures

Figure 1 – Porter’s Five Forces        7

Figure 2 – Ethics Matrix        11

Figure 3 – Ansoff’s Product Matrix        14

Figure 4 – Porter’s Competitive Strategies        15

Figure 5 – BCG Matrix        17

Figure 6 – McKinsey 7S Model        18

1. Introduction

Apple Inc. was founded April 1st, 1976 by Steve Jobs, Ronald Wayne, and Steve Wozniak. Apple originally produced personal computers and continues to do so till this day, however the dawn of the new millennium saw a number of changes that completely changed Apple and shaped them into the company that we know today. Beginning with the release of the iPod, Apple revolutionised the ways in which we use technology to enhance our everyday life. Years later and we now have the iPhone and iPad, both of which have seen incredible success and been the inspiration to many other products in the market today. This report will focus primarily on the iPhone and the strategies adopted by Apple to attain success in our constantly changing technological world.

2. Strategic Analysis

External environment analysis

General environment

In an analysis of megatrends surrounding the technology industry, the most prevalent include economic, technological, environmental and legal factors.

A highly turbulent global economic environment following the global financial crisis in 2008 has impacted Apple. Rising unemployment rates (ABS, 2014) resulted in a decrease in disposable income for consumers which impacts on the consumer’s purchasing power of the iPhone. However, economic recovery has led to an optimistic retail environment.

Technology is the most important megatrend when considering a company such as Apple. The market for smart phones and consumer electronics is constantly changing, with rapid technological upgrades and high levels of competition (Cromar, 2010). Apple’s main competitor Samsung predicts trends in the electronics market including high levels of data storage, secure cloud services and compatible IT consolidation (Samsung SDS, 2013). This requirement comes after several legal issues surrounding the security of cloud storage, copyright and patenting which are prevalent issues in the technological arena (Weiss, 2014).  

An increase in consumer awareness of the environment has resulted in pressure on corporations which manufacture goods and services to consider their corporate social responsibility with regard to the environment. Apple is committed to reducing their impact on the environment, incorporating energy efficient processes and materials into their manufacturing and infrastructure (Apple, 2014, Appendix A).

Specific environment

An analysis of Apple within the context of the Turbulence Model indicates that Apple performs within a highly unpredictable, complex and dynamic environment (Viljoen & Dann, 2003).