Apple Inc. - Case Study 1182b

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KEY ASPECTS OF APPLE’S CORPORATE CULTURE

Organisational Culture : Definition A pattern of shared, basic assumptions that the group learned as it solved its problems of external adaptation and internal integration, that has worked well enough to be considered valid and, therefore, to be taught to new as the correct way to perceive, think, and feel in relation to those problems. (Schein, 1992). Or more simply put…The way we do things around here (Burke and Litwin, 1989). Characteristics of Organization Culture Organization culture is created when the early leaders of the organization, usually the founders, make decisions and take action (by skill, dumb luck, or a combination of the two) based on their personal views of the world. If these actions work, the leaders continue to apply their specific models of thinking, decision making, and actions to other issues, and if success continues, a culture embodying these predictable patterns is gradually formed over time. As the culture matures, of the organization begin to implicitly share a set of common values and to explicitly share a set of accepted behaviors. If the organization proves to be very successful, then stories, and sometimes myths, form around the founder or founders. Recounting these heroic tales further inculcate the organization with the powerful examples of success achieved by thinking and acting in the “correct way.” So the culture of the organization defines the norms (and thus the acceptable boundaries) of individual and team behavior. Over time, as long as success continues, the culture becomes highly ingrained to the point of becoming invisible to the of the organization. That is why it is so difficult for group to talk about their culture, because it operates at a level below our normal consciousness. Of course, all organizations have subcultures, such as functions where the credos and behaviors, say, of the consulting group might be (and almost always are) different from the ones of the people in ing. Furthermore, location has an impact on culture. The Latin American group probably will have elements of its culture quite different from those located in the Asia Pacific. Apple Inc. Apple Incorporation, headed by its co-founder Steve Jobs, is one of the American multinationals that designs and sells personal computers, software and consumer electronics having worldwide annual sales of around $19.3 billion.. The company’s

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product family comprises of the Macintosh line of desktop and notebook computers, the iPod digital music player, the Mac OS X operating system, the iTunes Music Store, the Xserve G5 server, and others. Apple's products are sold through its own 170 retail stores in USA, Canada, Japan, Italy and UK as well as through third party wholesalers and online. The company employs strength runs over 20 000 permanent and temporary workers all over the world. Apple was one of several highly successful companies founded in the 1970s that gave birth to a new corporate culture challenging the traditional notions of a corporate culture. Other highly successful firms with similar cultural aspects from the same period include Southwest Airlines and Microsoft. Characteristics of Corporate Culture at Apple :

1. Focus on design ( Innovation & ion) The first thing that every employee must about Apple is that the company cares more about the design of products than any other firm in the market. Unlike Microsoft, which has historically done a poor job of creating aesthetically pleasing products, Apple really gets design. It understands what consumers want, it knows how to meet those desires, and it sets out to beat any and all expectations. It's not always easy, but Apple seems to get it right every time. If an employee doesn't help the company do that, he might end up with another company sooner than he thinks. The two distinguished features of Apple’s culture are innovations and ion. The corporate culture at Apple was remarkably influenced by it’s CEO & cofounder Steve Jobs who had a very quirky style of management. It has employed the integrator approach - the model with both the highest costs and highest risks. But it was the inevitable choice for Apple's innovation-venerating culture, which demanded something akin to absolute artistic control. In 1995 Steve Jobs compared innovation to "fashioning collective works of art" and said it afforded "the opportunity to amplify your values" over the rest of society. At Apple, the work culture was driven by a ion for new products with no end to challenges and opportunities. 2. Believe in Jobs Apple is an interesting firm. Its corporate culture extends beyond its employees to its consumers. So, what it expects from its employees, it also expects from its customers. One of the most important things it expects is for both stakeholders to believe in Steve Jobs. Over the past decade, Jobs has been Apple's savior. He has

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helped the company revive its aging business model, innovate beyond all expectations and deliver some of the better products on the market. Sometimes, that belief in Jobs can go too far, as evidenced by the most recent iPhone antenna debacle, but for the most part, believing in Steve Jobs has been good for Apple and good for both employees and consumers. 3. Forget everything that came before it When employees come to Apple, they are expected to immediately do one thing: forget everything they ever knew about the technology world. Apple does everything differently. Whether it's the design of products, how it goes about devising ideas for new products or simply the way it carries itself, everything is different at Apple. To pretend like something is similar to a past employer is a mistake that could cause more trouble than it's worth. Apple is different. 4. Believe Apple is better than all others Apple has an ego unlike any other company in the space. Whereas Microsoft always believes that the other shoe is about to drop, Apple believes that it can stop the shoe from ever falling. Part of that is due to Steve Jobs' ego. He believes that his company is the best in the world and it should carry itself that way. Apple haters can't stand that, but it has become a call to arms for all of the company's lovers and employees. 5. Take flaws to heart Because of its ego, Apple takes it to heart when it hears people criticize its products. In true Apple fashion, it responds with a level of venom that most other companies in the industry can't muster. After all, what other firm in the space could have taken an antenna issue as bad as the iPhone 4's and turned it on the competition without thinking twice? Apple doesn't like being told that it's wrong. And both its employees and its fans are expected to dislike it, as well.

6. Never it defeat Part of Apple's allure is its desire to never it defeat. No matter how badly its products are getting beaten, the company seems to find a way to pull itself out of the fire with one last shot to save the day. Nowhere is that more evident than in the computing market. With the right strategies, Steve Jobs turned things around after

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making more than a few controversial (and risky) decisions that paid off. Today, Apple is setting record profits. There is nothing that Steve Jobs hates more than to see a competitor beat his company. Perhaps that's why Google's gains in the mobile market are so galling to the CEO. 7. attention to detail If Apple understands anything, it's that attention to detail pays off in the long run. Google's Android operating system, for example, might be selling well, but after using the software for a while and comparing it to iOS, most consumers will find that it lacks some of the flashiness of iOS. That doesn't make it any less useful—in fact, it's arguably just as useful as iOS—but it does leave some consumers wondering why Google didn't go the extra mile. In most cases, Apple goes that extra mile. It has become a staple of the company's vision. And it's something that it expects from its employees. 8. Only Steve Jobs is indispensable If Papermaster's departure is any indication of how Apple is run, it's clear that only Steve Jobs is indispensable. What other company, cultural differences or not, would be willing to see the person who has helped the world's most recognizable smartphone succeed beyond most expectations leave without any remorse? It goes back to Steve Jobs' ego. He ostensibly believes that he is the key to Apple's success. Apple lovers and some employees might agree, but Papermaster was also integral to the success of the iPhone. Who Apple will get to run the iPhone team as effectively as Papermaster did is anyone's guess. But perhaps it doesn't matter. Apple has proved once again that only Steve Jobs' job is safe at the company. 9. Secrecy reigns supreme As Apple was mainly into innovation, the company's policy was to keep things confidential. Secrecy was built into the corporate culture and the company always maintained tight control over information. 10. Domination is everything Steve Jobs has one goal in mind when it comes to technology: domination. He doesn't simply want to beat the competition in the all the markets his company competes in, he wants to destroy them. He wants to make it clear to the world that his company can best them all. Steve Jobs has something to prove to the competition, customers and just about everyone else. And he expects his staff to

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help him achieve that. If they don't, they will find themselves working at Microsoft in no time. 11. Career Opportunities and Employability Security Apple followed a positive policy of recruitment, including internship, on-the-job training, and several career opportunities. It focused on the importance of having computer-based knowledge in the job market... 12. Work Hard, Play Hard Since its inception, Apple had focused on innovation and ventured into those markets where it could make a significant contribution. According to analysts, one of the main goals of the company was to make technology seamless for the customer... 13. Run Your Own Show Analysts were of the opinion that Apple skipped the traditional notions of what a corporate culture should look like in of organizational hierarchy. Even though the company witnessed a series of changes in CEOs, who executed their own ideas, it still fostered individuality and excellence in order to attract talent into the organization. There was no organizational hierarchy & no bossing. 14.Nurturing Diversity Apple was an Equal Opportunity Employer and promoted diversity within the organization. The employees came with diverse experiences and from diverse backgrounds. Employees cited corporate diversity as one of the most positive aspects of the corporate culture at Apple.

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The co-founder, Steve Jobs focused on building a high-performance culture by doing three things well: 1. He refocused the strategy to be about one thing. That meant he killed off even good things. 2. He eliminated ive aggressiveness and encouraged debate when new ideas were forming. When you are thinking about difficult problems together with exceptionally bright people, there are going to be disagreements. But it is through the tension of that creative conflict that new ideas get born, new angles get explored, and risks get mitigated. Thinking together means you deal with conflict up front, rather than have to counter ive aggressiveness on the back end. 3. He set up a cross-disciplinary view of how the company would succeed. This holistic vision means there is cohesion throughout the company, from concept to product to sales. For example, the retail strategy could have been a separate or disparate part of the whole, but Apple has made its retail strategy part and parcel of its overall promise of ease of use.

Functional and Dysfunctional aspect of Apple’s Corporate Culture: Apple is a unique US-based consumer electronics company, known for its ability to come out with path breaking products. This is mainly due its functional & dysfunctional style of management culture. Functional aspects of Apple’s corporate culture: From the very beginning, Apple’s culture has always been outstanding for two distinguish features: innovations and ion. The corporate culture at Apple was remarkably influenced by it’s CEO & co-founder Steve Jobs who had a very quirky style of management. It has employed the integrator approach - the model with both the highest costs and highest risks. But it was the inevitable choice for Apple's innovation-venerating culture, which demanded something akin to absolute artistic control. In 1995 Steve Jobs compared innovation to "fashioning collective works of art" and said it afforded "the opportunity to amplify your values" over the rest of society. At Apple, the work culture was driven by a ion for new products with no end to challenges and opportunities.

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Apple has a reputation for fostering individuality and excellence that reliably attracted talented people. To recognize the best of its employees, Apple created the Apple Fellows program. Apple Fellows are those who have made extraordinary technical or leadership contributions to personal computing while at the company. Apple was an Equal Opportunity Employer and promoted diversity within the organization. The employees came with diverse experiences and from diverse backgrounds. Employees cited corporate diversity as one of the most positive aspects of the corporate culture at Apple... The corporate culture was exemplified by its intense work ethics. Apple became the pioneer of the “Work Hard Play Hard” ethic Though the work environment was relaxed and casual, there was a very strong commitment to deadlines. The work culture at Apple was a fun but yet demanding.The culture provides the career opportunities for the employees & employees were the owner of their own job, thus making the work environment creative & challenging. Apple offered various benefits to its employees. While benefits packages varied depending on location and employment status, the common benefits included insurance coverage, Flexible Spending s, an Employee Stock Purchase Program, and a Savings and Investment plan..Thus the organization culture focuses on employability, compensation & benefit offer to the employees. Dysfunctional aspects of Apple’s Corporate Culture: Run Your Own Show Analysts were of the opinion that Apple skipped the traditional notions of what a corporate culture should look like in of organizational hierarchy. Even though the company witnessed a series of changes in CEOs, who executed their own ideas, it still fostered individuality and excellence in order to attract talent into the organization. There was no organizational hierarchy & no bossing. Secrecy reigns supreme A discussion on Apple's corporate culture isn't complete without mentioning its penchant for secrecy. Unlike so many other tech firms in the space, Apple's updates rarely get leaked. In fact, it took a mistake by one employee for the world to find out about the iPhone 4 before it was announced. Perhaps that's why Apple has had a long-standing rule that secrecy will govern success at the company. People who leak the firm's secrets, even accidentally, will almost certainly find themselves being escorted out the front door by security. Experts felt

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that Apple’s obsession with maintaining secrecy could hurt the company and its brand in the new milleu. Only Steve Jobs is indispensable Steve Jobs the then CEO & Co-founder of Apple ostensibly believes that he is the key to Apple's success. But perhaps it doesn't matter. Apple has proved that only Steve Jobs' job is safe at the company. The corporate culture of Apple was largely influenced by unique & quirky management style of Steve Jobs. Therefore the biggest challenge for Apple was to move out from under the shadow of Jobs. The performance of the company in his absence was a key concern for all stakeholders. Thus the Apple’s culture valued creative people, however it was dysfunctional from a management standpoint and the experts feels that it needs to change it’s corporate culture to remain competitiveness in the long run. How Apple’s culture contributed to the success of the company? Apple’s corporate culture was ing innovation & ion. The corporate culture at Apple was remarkably influence by it’s CEO & co-founder Steve Jobs who had a very quirky style of management. It has employed the integrator approach - the model with both the highest costs and highest risks. But it was the inevitable choice for Apple's innovation-venerating culture, which demanded something akin to absolute artistic control. In 1995 Steve Jobs compared innovation to "fashioning collective works of art" and said it afforded "the opportunity to amplify your values" over the rest of society. At Apple, the work culture was driven by a ion for new products with no end to challenges and opportunities. This culture fostering innovation & ion creates the ability of Apple to come out with path breaking & various new products with no end to challenges & opportunities. The “Work Hard Play Hard” ethic of Apple exemplified its intense work ethics & though the work environment was relaxed & casual, there was a very strong commitment to deadline. Thus the work culture at Apple was fun but yet demanding which makes it competitive for meeting the targets or deadlines which is very useful for the success of any business. Even though the company witnessed a series of changes in CEOs, who executed their own ideas, it still fostered individuality and excellence in order to attract

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talent into the organization. There was no organizational hierarchy & no bossing. Thus employee at Apple had to run their own show and work in a challenging and creative environment. Apple adopted a style that was not too formal or hierarchical and more result oriented approach which worked best for them. Apple was an Equal Opportunity Employer and promoted diversity within the organization. The employees came with diverse experiences and from diverse backgrounds. Employees cited corporate diversity as one of the most positive aspects of the corporate culture at Apple. This corporate diversity enables Apple to get new ideas, & diverse experience & having creative & talented workforce which is the very much requisites of any successful organization. Though Apple was a success story under the command of Steve Jobs, however experts felt that it was dysfunctional from management standpoint and was largely influenced by its CEO Steve Jobs Who had a very quirky style. They felt that the biggest challenge for Apple was to move out from under the shadow of Jobs. The performance of the company in Jobs absence was of great concern to the stakeholders.