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Steve Jobs' Leadership Steve Jobs Founded Apple Essay

¶ … Steve Jobs' leadership Steve Jobs founded Apple because he had a passion to create a new, stylish, user-friendly computer. He did not become an entrepreneur to make money. Jobs was motivated by a desire to see his ideals for what technology should look like and feel like become manifest. This passion became clear after Jobs returned to the company he founded after a brief hiatus. "For years, Jobs plugged away at Apple with his more proprietary approach, not worrying much about Wall Street's complaints. In fact, one of his first moves was to take an ax to Apple's product line, lopping off dozens of products to focus on just four… Apple has eschewed calls to boost market share by making lower-end products or expanding into adjacent markets where the company wouldn't be the leader. 'I'm as proud of what we don't do as I am of what we do,' Jobs often says" (Burrows & Green 2006). Jobs' uncompromising devotion to quality, style, and a coherent brand ethos are why so many Apple consumers fanatically embrace every new release of the company, even when the utility of the item (such as the iPad) is not immediately clear.

When Jobs' ill health has forced him to take leaves of absences, the stock price of Apple inevitably wavers (Steve Jobs, 2011, The New York...

He is seen as instrumental in positioning the company in the competitive technological marketplace. Even his personal, minimalist clothing style mimics that of the computers he designs. Jobs is Apple, and no other leader has been so inextricably connected with his company's success.
Functions

The main functions of leadership are establishing a vision, communicating the vision, motivating, and being a change agent. Jobs crafted a new vision of computers that were user-friendly and stylish. He continues to communicate that vision and motivate individuals in his organization through his commitment to hands-on leadership. He is a change agent for Apple because he continues to act as an entrepreneur. In fact, some call Jobs' style micromanagement, citing examples as his willingness to personally read the fine print on partnership agreements or to personally call reporters to talk about a story (Burrows & Green 2006). But this ensures coherency of organizational ideals. Lower-level managers and bureaucracies do not taint the Apple brand -- everything that goes on at Apple is approved of by Jobs.

Jobs disdains the trappings of wealth of typical corporate executives. He built the brand literally from the ground up. "I did everything coming up --…

Sources used in this document:
References

Burrows, P., Grover, R., & Green, H. (2006). Steve Job's Magic Kingdom. New York.

Business Week, 3970: 62. Retrieved on November 10, 2010 at:

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_06/b3970001.htm

David, Leonard. (2010). Commentary: The last pitchman. Business Week (Online), June 10,
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/10_25/b4183004440240.htm
http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=1&hid=107&sid=538e793e-0fab-49ae-8e00-a24024452940%40sessionmgr113&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=bth&AN=45693823
Steve Jobs. (2011). The New York Times. Retrieved July 17, 2011 at http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/j/steven_p_jobs/index.html
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