Business-Level and Corporate-Level Strategies

Apple corporation's general environment plays a significant role in influencing its working mechanisms both locally and internationally. External influences in the company distant or macro-environment have a direct impact on the company's performance. In the consumer electronics and information technology services industries, the company's performance is due to strategic management that exploits opportunities and defends the company from risks. Two of the most highly ranked general environment factors of the company include technology and economic environment factors.

Technology and technology breakthroughs are examined to identify company opportunities and dangers in the present and the future. Apple has a chance to grow by offering its technology services to a wider range of customers and institutions thanks to the growing importance of technology integration in business. For Apple to keep up with its competition, the company needs to release new goods more frequently. Apple's brand image and financial performance are negatively impacted by Apple's competitors' low-cost offerings of high-value technical products. Samsung, for example, has maintained its position in the PC market, whereas Apple has lost it. Competition from low-cost, high-tech rivals has contributed to this situation. Apple now has a big chance to take advantage of the growing demand for cloud computing services by establishing an extended cloud framework. The technological environment is likely to impact the future steps taken by the company because presently, this field is filled with numerous players who are all gearing towards competing with apple. With the new emerging trends in technology, the company is highly obligated to have working mechanisms that protect them from any threat from external sources such as competitors.

The economic environment impacts the working mechanisms of apple corporation in numerous significant ways. With the set-up of the modern global market dynamics, apple's success as a company relies on the sales made. For sales to be made, there must be markets that are dependent on good economies. According to MBA school Team (2021), Apple Corporation has numerous expansion opportunities. For instance, economic stability in industrialized countries, rapid economic growth in developing countries, and disposable income among target consumers. However, it is important to keep in mind all the competing factors in the worldwide marketplaces when investigating economic opportunities. In the context of major international corporations like Samsung and Huawei, these external strategic drivers represent growth opportunities for the company and its competitors.

Five forces of competition, also known as the Porter five forces analysis, are those elements that determine the success of a corporation through a comprehensive analysis of the role of other players such as competitors, new players and customers. The five forces of competition include the threat of new entrants, the bargaining power of suppliers, the bargaining power of substitute products, competition, and the bargaining power of buyers. In the case of apple corporation, two of the highly significant forces of competition include rivalry among the different market players and bargaining power of the consumers.

Market competition is a significant force towards the operations of Apple corporations as a company. According to Fergusson (2019), Samsung and Huawei are fierce competitors of Apple. This competition is adversely manifested through rapid invention, aggressive promotion, and Imitation has a significant influence on the sector. Furthermore, there is a lack of product differentiation, with most products serving the same objective. For example, many famous Android and iOS apps are available and cloud storage options from a variety of organizations. By making it easy for customers to transfer suppliers or providers. Conversely, because of the cheap switching costs, customers can easily migrate from Apple to other brands depending on price, functionality and accessibility issues, network externalities and other relevant problems. However, on the other hand, Apple has been instrumental in how they streamline their competitive aspect. The company has been vibrant in creating numerous new outsmarting their competitors by upgrading their gadgets and software to give their customers new experiences compared to their other competitors.

Consumers have an overall say towards highlighting the success of apple corporation. Fergusson (2019) asserts that Changing brands is easy for customers, making them powerful in persuading corporations like Apple to keep their customers happy. On the other hand, each customer's purchase is relatively insignificant concerning the company's total revenue. Customers are weak in this situation because of their weaknesses. Customers can switch providers since they have access to thorough comparative information about the features of competing products. Using this external aspect, consumers can exert a powerful influence on Apple and other firms. However, to counter this challenge, apple corporation can choose to ensure that they are in line with what makes the consumers want to consume their products both in the long and short run. This aspect entails having those strategies that will make consumers not want to go to other companies like Huawei through working on constant updates on their innovations and brands.

Apple corporation can improve its market forces by improving various aspects of its competitive advantage and ensuring that the consumers are pleased with its services. For example, the company can ensure a strong competitive advantage in the market through being extremely aggressive in their dealings, having low differentiated products and low switching costs. For example, through an elaborate product separation, the company can ensure that they maximize on all these product lines instead of having one product line. Secondly, Apple can evade numerous consumer bargaining power through having only those aspects needed by the consumers at specific times.

External threats of a corporation are those attributes emanating from the outside environment and are likely to interfere with the company's success in the long run. In the case of Apple corporation, the two most significant external threats are Aggressive competition from other large players like Samsung and Microsoft. Presently apple competes in a market that is widely considered to be open and accommodative of numerous players. We have had companies like Samsung who have rivalled apple in the global mobile phone market through their Samsung galaxy series, which threatens the market stability of the Apple iPhone. Secondly, Microsoft has also successfully controlled a large market share in computer software programs through innovations such as the windows 10 and windows 11 threatening the success of apple software, the IOS and iMac (Prakruthi and Ramu, 2018). Secondly, the other threat likely to be faced is the Imitation involving firms that compete based on low prices. For example, we have numerous phone manufacturers from China, such as Techno Mobile, who have infiltrated numerous south Asia and African markets with averagely low-quality products threatening the stability of apple products.

Apple corporation boasts of significant strengths when it comes to global market dominance. The first significant strength is the brand name. Apple has created a strong brand name that is in line with convincing the market to stick to its products. The second strength of the company is that it has a chance for effective rapid innovation processes that makes them viable to expand their spheres of operations. However, the company is also likely to face numerous weaknesses in its operations. For example, compared to other market players, Apple products are known to fetch higher prices. These weaknesses can make consumers want to buy from other providers. The second weakness is that the company depend on sales in high-end market segments. This aspect involves the company over-relying on customers who are perceived as rich while not considering the impacts that the poor consumers can have.

Apple corporation has always ensured to use strategies to enhance their strengths and abilities to control the market. For example, the company has used the tactic of avoiding price wars with other companies. Secondly, the company has figured out how to appeal to their consumers' holistic needs by providing almost all needed aspects of their user experience. For example, a consumer can have the iPod for music, the iPhone for communications and the MacBook for computer duties. These two strategies have worked to build the strengths of the company on a different aspect. Apple corporation has also used tactics that have led to their weakness. For example, they have the strategy of pricing their products expensively, which has not served the purpose of their "poor" customers.

With a vibrant working mechanism, apple corporation has built resources, capabilities and numerous core competencies. The company's available resources include business process automation, competitive employee compensation packages, human resource capabilities that has enhanced innovation and the element of product mix diversity (Newton, 2021). Some of the companies' capabilities include artificial intelligence capabilities, vibrant global distribution network, access to user information, a system for rapid innovation and numerous complementary products.

Sources

Ferguson, E. (2019). Apple Inc. Five Forces Analysis (Porter's Model). Panmore Institute February 22 2019. http://panmore.com/apple-inc-five-forces-analysis-porters-model-case-study

MBA Skool Team (2021). Apple PESTLE Analysis. January 26, 2021.

https://www.mbaskool.com/pestle-analysis/companies/17944-apple.html

Newton, V. (2021). Apple Inc. VRIO Analysis – Core Competencies & Competitive Advantages. Rancord Society February 10 2021. https://www.rancord.org/apple-inc-vrio-analysis-core-competencies-competitive-advantages

Prakruthi, A and Ramu, M. (2018). A Study on SWOT Analysis with special reference to

the Apple Company. International Journal of Pure and Applied Mathematics Vol 119 No. 17. https://acadpubl.eu/hub/2018-119-17/1/17.pdf