Entrepreneurship Class- Case Analysis

Analysis of Key Issues

TOP ISSUE #1: THE FREQUENT CHANGE IN TOP LEADERSHIP THROUGH

THE YEARS

Consideration: Due to Steve Jobs leaving Apple initially for health reasons, outside leadership

had to be brought in to efficiently run the company. In response to the constant executive change

from Jobs to Sculley to Spindler to Amelio back to Jobs, the company had endured several cultural

and business-focus shifts.

For example, while Sculley was in reign, the Research and Development sector of Apple was at a

high 9% of sales, while competitors ranked in at 1-5%. Apple at this time was considered highly

“over-priced”, which Sculley tried to alter to bring Apple into the market as the low-cost producer

of computers with mass-market appeal. This strategy changed the look of Apple to the consumer

base, but attempted to compete with the lower priced IBM clones.

Another example of moving the company into another light was with Amelio taking the CEO

position, who promised to bring Apple back into the industry with its original premium-priced

differentiation strategy.

The issue I found with the cultural and constant shifts in strategy every time a new CEO would take

control, is the lack of consistency not only within the organization, but to the end consumer. Apple

stood for innovative technologies that came at a premium price point because of the target market

they were seeking. When this strategy changed on a dime, consumers are led to have a confused or

altered perception of what the company stands for, involving the brand image and brand

recognition.

Action: Create a strong enough company culture and clear message to portray to the public,

regardless of where the next CEO takes the company under his/her control. Even under new

leadership, a strong company should still stand and stay true to its mission statement. The Pros of

this would be the ease of transition into new leadership as well as allowing the consumers to remain

true to the Apple products and brand as an entirety. The cons however would entail that this idea

of staying true to a company culture is an easy task when a new leader comes in and wants to make

their mark on the company, which is not necessarily an “easy” task.

TOP ISSUE #2: STAYING INNOVATIVE IN THE EVER-CHANGING TECH

INDUSTRY

Consideration/ Take-away: Another key issue of this case was the fierce competition that Apple

was constantly faced within in the marketplace. According to exhibit 6 in the case, in a worldwide

market share comparison, Apple is ranking in at a low 4.2% comparative to the top Hewlett-

Packard (20.3%) market share in 2009.

Action: While global competition is high, the new launch of technologies is essential to keep the

company in the spotlight. Therefore, in order to be faster to market than outside competition, the

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company needs to focus its resources on R&D and also generating a quick to test and quick to

market strategy. If the company takes its time in testing new, innovative products, the

marketplace will change and competition will be able to launch the “next new thing” faster.

Apple was also the first mover in a lot of aspects. In the tech world, being the first mover

certainly has its pros for example establishing high returns and setting the bar for the competition.

While the cons may include high risk and any type of backlash from the customer base, I believe

putting additional resources to improve R&D is appropriate especially within this specific

industry.

Perspective of the Company CTO

In the shoes of Apples Chief Technology Officer, I would bring the technology to the highest

level of excellence and ease of use possible with a focus on the end user. Apple technology is

known within the case to end up being a sleek looking brand that stood for innovation under the

leadership of Steve Jobs, throughout all product lines. As a technology executive I would put a lot

of my focus on creating the next big product to hit the marketplace in the world of technology. As

the case stated, much of the sales went right back into Research and Development which would

help in the creation and launch of new products. I would also put a large focus on the ease of use

for the customer. For example, MACs are not incredibly similar to other PCs from the way they

minimize windows, utilize applications, etc. I would attempt to make the use of our products

seemingly easy and convenient for all users that make up the five key buyers of PC sales; home,

small and medium businesses, corporate, education, and government.