Functions Management
The purpose of this report is to analyze the leadership and planning systems at Apple Inc. Apple has been one of the success stories of the past decade. Leadership has played a strong role in Apple's success, with the company generally thriving under Steve Jobs and struggling under other leaders. With Jobs' passing, the company faces a challenge of adapting its leadership and planning systems, both of which were centered around Jobs' charismatic leadership.
The study focuses on two sources of information. There is little academic literature on Apple, in part because of the company's famous secrecy. The business press, however, has analyzed the company's leadership and planning processes and was used as a source of information. In addition, literature focusing on the leadership and planning theories was used to develop the frameworks for analysis.
The findings of this report are that Apple's success in the past has relied on charismatic leadership and a highly centralized planning process. The death of Jobs will signal a change in the company's leadership style in the coming months and years, and this will bring with it significant challenges. It is recommended that Apple adapt to this change in several ways, including co-opting the memory of Jobs to maintain the veneer of charismatic leadership, while reverting to a more transactional style. The company will also need to make changes to open up planning and leadership to a broader group of employees, in order to tap into the latent innovation capabilities throughout the organization. This will help to replace the innovation function, if not the transformational leadership that has been so essential to the company's success.
Introduction
Apple Inc. was founded in the mid-1970s by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak as a maker of personal computers (FundingUniverse, 2011). It was the former who would eventually come to shape the culture of the organization and have significant influence during his terms as CEO on the functions of management used by Apple. The company has, in the past ten years, become a highly influential firm based on its marketing, its products and its culture, all of which are intertwined with one another. The company is somewhat secretive about some of its business practices, and coupled with its recent run of success this makes it all the more compelling a story.
In general, employee well-being is not a big concern at Apple. The company is famous for its culture of secrecy surrounding new innovations, and for the tight control that senior management puts on all significant activities within the organization. The well-being of employees is considered to the point that they need to attract and retain talented people, but that is as far as it extends. The company has been known to fire employees who violate its code of secrecy and even lie to employees about projects in order to spread misinformation (Stone & Vance, 2009).
This essay will focus on a few key functions that have proven essential to Apple's success. The essay will focus on leadership, something that has been critical to the company's success. In particular will be a discussion of succession. Lastly, the planning function is something that will be discussed. Much of Apple's success in the past decade relates to how well its product innovations, marketing, and fostering of corporate culture have worked together. This integration is not by accident, but rather the result of a careful planning process.
Discussion
Leadership is essential to the success of any organization, and for Apple leadership has been a key determinant of the company's success. A moderately successful, innovative firm in the 1970s and 1980s, Apple fell on hard times during the late 1980s and 1990s as the result of poor leadership after Jobs first resigned from the company. The company's reversal in fortunes began shortly after Jobs returned. Equally important was that when Jobs returned he had made adjustments to his strategies, but not the leadership style with which he had been successful (Kanter, 2010).
There is no shortage of leadership theories, but one that embodies Apple well is charismatic leadership. This theory of leadership rests on the assumptions that self-belief and charisma are important components of great leaders. People, it is assumed, will follow those who they personally admire (ChangingMinds.org, 2011). The common traits of charismatic leaders is that they are the ones who "pull all the strings," something that accurately describes Jobs' style. The other leaders at Apple -- each of whom was a failure -- could well have failed because the...
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