Williams BBA 3651 Unit 1 Assignment

2

Sanders BBA 3602 Unit 6 Assignment

Jakeria Sanders

Columbia Southern

5/3/2021

Sanders BBA 3602 Unit 6 Assignment

Many companies all over the world have implemented culture shifts that have either been successful or negatively affect the performance of these companies. Companies are known to implement these shifts because of unwanted performance of behavior at the place. The main reason behind many companies is to deliver on the needs and requirements of customers and make profits in the process. However, if the company fails to achieve these objectives, then necessary changes or shifts need to be implemented. Many companies have found themselves in these entanglements and the main solution was to implement the necessary changes. Some of the companies include Pabst Blue Ribbon, Old Spice, General Motors, Apple, and Starbucks; while some of these companies were successful in their shift, some suffered losses. This paper will discuss the shift at Apple Inc. and how it benefited from it.

At one time Apple was facing a financial crisis that threatened its success in the industry. However, a bold decision by the company to change its management played a vital role that saw the performance of the company turn around to what it is today. Steve Jobs, as the new manager of the company, played a vital role that fitted into the goals of the company and helped it regain its status in the industry (Dawson, 2010). Jobs made his way back to the company in 1997 intending to ensure that the company regained its glory, on his return, Apple's performance had dropped to a record low. The sales at the company had dropped although efforts had been implemented to market the company online and entice the customers to buy the shares, at least to maintain the relevancy of the company. Although many challenges affecting the company, one with the most impact is that the company lacked a modern OS that could help it compete effectively in the industry. To help mitigate this situation, Jobs searched for a company that had an existing modern OS on which the Apple Mac interface and its features could work seamlessly and in an efficient manner. This way, the company was able to steadily regain its popularity and position in the industry.

Before Jobs came up with the strategy, it was believed that Apple will acquire Be; however, the company went ahead and purchased NeXT. NeXT is a company that was established by Jobs after he was fired from Apple sometime back before he came back as CEO of the company. Another important shift at the company was caused by the death of Steve Jobs. The management shift saw Timothy D. Cook become CEO of the giant company (Schwartz, 2014). Cook, as the new CEO was faced with a tough situation because as a replacement of Steve Jobs, there is not much that he could introduce to the tech company apart from ruining everything that has been accomplished over the years. As the new CEO, Cook has to be careful with the kind of decisions that he makes at the company.

Cook has implemented several projects at the company including the creation of the iPad Mini. Although this was a project that Steve Jobs could have implemented, he preferred doing it at a later date. Two years after taking over the leadership reigns at the company, he was supposed to unveil a new design of the iPhone. Transition at the company has been inevitable as the company experienced massive growth including a triple in the headcount. "Its revenues rose to over six-fold and its profits grew twelve-fold” (Hall, 2012). Also, the stock price of the company increased tremendously from $ 150 to $ 750. Despite his success at the company, some critics believe that Cook's style of leadership may affect performance at the company. Some employees have also shown some fear as they are required to achieve the impossible. Cook is presented as a workaholic who has the desire to ensure that Apple remains an industry leader in the world. Additionally, he has been presented as a data-driven CEO and a good listener who is willing to work with other employees to achieve the goals of the company.

To conclude, Apple has implemented organizational changes that have been designed to improve the performance and day-to-day operations of the company. Under the able management of Steve Jobs and Timothy Cook, the company has achieved so much success thanks to the dedication of these leaders. Jobs achieved so much during his leadership including returning the company to its glory and also ensuring it remained at the top. From the information gathered in this paper, it is possible to conclude that the shift at Apple was fruitful because it helped the company achieve a lot of success over the years.

References

Dawson, P. (2010). Understanding organizational change: the contemporary experience of people at work. London: Sage Publications.

Hall, B. P. (2012). Values shift a guide to personal & organizational transformation. Rockport: Twin Lights Publishers.

Schwartz, H. S. (2014). Society against itself: political correctness and organizational self- destruction. London: Karnac Books.