CASE STUDY ON APPLE Inc.

Sai Prashanth D Kothuri

1. The company I decided to write on is Apple Inc. A) References: a. Inside Apple. Lashinsky Adam,Burke,Doris.Fortune:5/23/2011,Vol 163 Issue 7 P125-134 b. How Apple revolutionized our world, Newsweek,9/5/2011 Vol 158 issue 10 P 36-37 c. Steve Jobs` Real Legacy, helft,Miguel, Fortune International,9/26/2011 Vol 164, Issue 5 P23-25 2. Hofstede`s onion diagram refers to five cultural values. They are Power Distance Index Uncertainty Avoidance Masculinity vs. Feminity Individualism vs. Collectivism Long vs. Short term Orientation Each of these values is discussed in detail. Power Distance Index: The Power Distance Index (PDI) focuses on the degree of equality, or inequality, between people in the country's society. A high Power Distance ranking indicates that inequalities of power and wealth have been allowed to grow within the society. In Apple, power was vested totally in every employee to take decisions. They were held responsible for every decision taken. They were not reporting to anyone. It`s because of no pressure, the employees could think beyond boundaries and hence contribute towards the making of cool gizmos and gadgets. Uncertainty Avoidance: The Uncertainty Avoidance index focuses on the level of tolerance for uncertainty and ambiguity with in a society. Apple in general has high tolerance for uncertainty and ambiguity. In a company where innovation tends to be their prime motto, apple gives complete liberty to employees to have their ideas and thoughts to be implemented. It couldn`t have been possible for the world to have a taste of the masterpieces created by apple. Masculinity vs. Feminity: The Masculinity dimension focuses on the degree to which the society reinforces, or does not reinforce the traditional masculine work role model of male achievement, control and power. Apple has a reasonably high masculinity ranking with the fact being that there are significantly no women in the top company positions. Individualism vs. Collectivism: This focuses on the degree to which the society reinforces individual or collective achievement. In apple this score would be low meaning the work culture is more of an individualistic culture. When Mobile Me failed, Steve jobs had held the person in charge of the team that designed it, responsible, and had wanted the same person to come out with a solution or product that was something better. Long-term vs. Short-term Orientation: This can be defined as the society`s willingness to overcome obstacles over a period of time. Apple had several obstacles in its way. But still it ended up being on the top. It had faced several financial troubles during the time Steve jobs had left apple. When they introduced IPod, Microsoft came out with Zune and Sony came out with a new Walkman collection. But that did not hinder their efforts to be the number one. The IOS of apple has a severe competition in terms

of android. But the fact, IPhone breaks all the records when it comes to sales clearly tells us that it is a company that takes obstacles as challenges and treads it way towards success. 3. Some of the cultural constructs embraced by apple are: a. Work Hard, Play Harder: Apple has embraced this culture since it` s inception. It focuses on venturing into those markets where it can make a significant contribution by the introducing customer centric technology intensive projects. b. Run your Own Show: Apple does not stick to organizational hierarchy. It respects individuality and allows excellence to grow and to be retained in the organization. c. Nurturing Diversity: Being an equal opportunity employer, Apple takes utmost care to promote diversity and diversity inclusive culture helps to promote innovation and creativity at the work place. d. Flexible Compensation: Apple`s compensations and benefits are enough to accommodate the needs of its employees and it enables them to select from a wide range of options. e. Culture of Secrecy: Being the leader in innovation, secrecy is built in its corporate culture. It`s the way in which employees believe in working for Apple. The unique structure of Apple had allowed it to grow and react more quickly to changes than its competitors. The reason for the quick responsiveness is simple; it is much easier to get a project started if there are only a few people to obtain approval from. Apple initially grew fast, because decisions were made at the lowest possible level. Corporate headquarters made policy and oversaw all activities, but the local employees made the day-to-day decisions on the ground in countries all over the world. This type of top-down philosophy allowed for quick responsiveness and resolutions to situations without involving the corporate headquarters, thus avoiding corporate red tape. 4. The Apple corporate culture has been constantly changing with the changes in its CEOs in the past. But originally, the Apple culture is not that of the typical 70's company that is riddled with corporate rigidities. Thus, stiffness and regulation is just not on the list of policies that are set in place. It was said that even Steve Jobs, the company's CEO, would walk around the office barefoot even when Apple was already among the top corporations in the world. This somehow reflects the casual and free atmosphere in the Apple headquarters. Apple is also very permissive in terms of dress codes, in fact they have none, have flexible working periods and the hierarchy of roles is blurred. This also created an atmosphere that encouraged geeks to work hard and not the count the time they gave to Apple. There is a collective intensity and enthusiasm to bring out the best products possible to outwit competition. It is said that the management issues in Apple revolved around how to make employees stop working and remind them that they have families and live outside of the Apple headquarters. This is very typical of a fledgling technology company of the 90s and beyond such as Google. And to think, Apple has been there since the 70s, it is clearly ahead of the times. This relatively different corporate culture was also used by the company to differentiate itself from its rivals. However, it is said that things have changed within Apple. Along with the rise in its fortunes, it also began to take the form of a regular corporate environ. Some degree of control and regulations were introduced and in return, employees began to count time rendered as they are slowly being replaced with new ones as the hard core Apple originals retired or left the company for good. The changes in the chief executive, each of them have differing ideas on how Apple should be run, also led to changes in the organizational culture. Thus, some of the original character of Apple that made them the most admired company in the States was somehow lost. But Apple never lost touch of its reputation for nurturing individuality and excellence among its people, especially upon the return of Steve Jobs as chief executive. This draws the countries' most talented and technologically

capable people to its employ. Proof to this is the creation of the Apple Fellows Program. This is a recognition given to those individuals who made extraordinary technical or leadership contributions to the corporation. Word Count:1194