Apple Inc. (Apple) is a multinational technology company that develops, manufactures, and sells a variety of portable electronic devices and related software, hardware, and online services, such as smartphones, laptops, tablets, wearables, and accessories. The company also offers accessories such as iPhones, computers, tablets, headphones, televisions, watches, speakers, home pods, and iPods, among other goods (Podolny & Hansen, 2020). The company runs several sites, including an app store, where customers can access and download various digital media files. Apple’s retail storefronts, online stores, and direct sales force serve as distribution channels for the company’s wares, reaching consumers, small and medium-sized businesses, and clients in the education, business, and government sectors.
Tim Cook has demonstrated his efficacy from several perspectives, one of the reasons Fortune magazine named him the world’s top leader. Employees have also praised Tim Cook for his inspirational leadership and for encouraging the personal development of his team members. Leadership styles that emphasize perfectionism and authoritarianism are being phased out at the international technology corporation. Tim Cook, the current Chief Executive Officer and a board director of Apple, is the individual accountable for determining the general course of the firm as well as its overarching strategy.
Tim Cook served as Apple’s chief operating officer for five years before becoming the company’s CEO in August 2011. In his role at Apple, he was responsible for managing sales and providing customer service on a global scale. His responsibilities encompassed the entire supply chain, from production to distribution. He was responsible for Apple’s Macintosh division and was essential in the company’s ability to adapt to a growing market by developing new connections with critical suppliers and resellers. He is credited with Apple’s ability to adapt successfully to a growing market.
Apple’s structure is very traditional and hierarchical. It is a Democratic administration. Tim Cook believes in democratic leadership and actively promotes it. Cook must win over the company’s upper management with his strategic plans. Moreover, since Cook took over as CEO, he has given that group more leeway in developing new goods, reducing his engagement in this area. Management that keeps a low profile Tim Cook’s leadership has been hailed for being low-key but effective (Cornelissen, 2020). Some commentators in Cook’s field have dubbed him a “silent leader,” in contrast to his flashy predecessor. The CEO’s job is to monitor the company’s progress toward its goals and take corrective measures to keep things running smoothly.
What has to be done and how it should be done are laid out in a plan, and specific individuals or teams are assigned to implement it. Apple aims to provide every student, teacher, creative professional, and customer with the world’s most remarkable free personalized experience. Its other goal is to establish itself as a go-to brand by informing consumers about its offerings. Apple offers a plethora of free seminars and online tutorials that enable users of all skill levels to acquire more information about recent Apple products because the firm feels a strong relationship between the company and its consumers is vital to gain the trust of its customers.
Administrative tasks are structured with a hierarchy and allocated resources to ensure that objectives are met. Setting up individual positions is another aspect of organizational structure. In order to achieve this goal, it is necessary to make choices regarding the nature and execution of each job’s assigned tasks. There are several tiers of management responsible for issuing orders within the company. Companies employ leadership, which comprises social and informal characteristics of influence, to motivate the actions of others. Managers’ ability to inspire their teams to work toward common goals is critical to organizational success. At the company’s helm, executives are generally well-versed in making critical strategic choices. Apple’s hierarchical structure is beneficial since it gives top executives the ultimate say over the company.
Human resources handle hiring and firing, guaranteeing everyone a fair shot. Having the best personnel will ensure that the firm grows in tandem with technological growth, which is essential for a well-known company whose activities are influenced by technological advances. The company’s employees are highly valued since management realizes they are the key to its performance and financial success. The HR department of this company is looking for someone who is both technically savvy and able to communicate effectively with clients.
Controlling and monitoring ensure that performance stays within predetermined expectations. Moreover, control requires three stages: establishing measures of success and evaluating results, and taking corrective action as required. If they have total control over crucial functions, they can maximize their efforts to meet the needs of their particular clients. Controlling is concerned with the outcomes of the functions listed above. In this step, managers evaluate employee performance and implement corrective actions.
The initial phase consists of quantitatively evaluating the organization’s future objectives. The second phase involves measuring the current performance of the target. The following step involves comparing present performance to desired accomplishment. Lastly, if necessary, the firm takes corrective action to achieve its objectives. These roles constitute the cornerstone of Apple’s management and the fundamental characteristics that enable the company to respond to innovation and change. Each division has its own Senior VP and VP, which is unique (Liu et al., 2022). The function-based grouping and spoke-wheel structure of a department encourage creativity and change.
Additionally, the company’s structure is based on the categorization of products, with an emphasis on interdepartmental cooperation. In contrast, the global technology company’s organizational culture encourages creativity and innovation despite a heavy workload for all employees. Apple’s corporate culture is distinguished by its high confidentiality level and its strong emphasis on diversity and inclusion.
Employees have noted that Cook’s constant questioning culture helps keep everyone on their toes. His strategy works wonderfully to keep employees inspired and produce new ideas. With this method, Cook can get the most out of his staff by ensuring they are well-informed about the company and continually update their knowledge in this area. Contrary to Jobs’ “innovation first” mindset, Cook thinks that “one can only do a few things extremely well.”
Apple’s exciting management style includes a preference for technical expertise over general managers. The foundation of this idea rests on sound logic. Due to rapid technological innovation and market instability, the product life cycle of the industry in which this firm operates is concise (Mickle, 2020). Apple has to make educated guesses in the early stages of new product development regarding which technology, services, and designs have the best potential for success because there needs to be more time to collect substantial market input and market predictions.
Therefore, most of the managers at this technology behemoth are subject-matter experts, and the company relies on them for everything from day-to-day operations to big-picture decisions. According to company policy, it is easier to train experts to take on managerial roles than to train managers to take on roles requiring expertise. Candidates for managerial positions at Apple must show an in-depth familiarity with the tasks at hand. The “experts leading experts” philosophy should inform the organization’s leadership practices. Even with his authoritarian leadership style, Cook has occasionally played to his strengths by emphasizing the value of cultivating cooperation among Apple’s talent pool (Kim, 2020). As is typical of Cook, he played to his strengths in this situation. This is typical of democratic management, which emphasizes reaching a consensus amongst high-level employees before making decisions. This could be seen as proof of a democratic approach to leadership.
Apple’s latest market capitalization milestone—the first for an American company—confirms the company’s status as one of the most successful in business history. Apple’s success can be attributed, in large part, to the company’s management, who recognize the value of customer input. Over 123,000 full-time employees are spread among Apple’s 500 retail stores in 24 countries. No one can keep from having an opinion on what Apple should or should not do. Even though Tim cannot give each person his undivided attention, he has developed a method for determining which requests should be prioritized.
The stress that is put on the several hundred vice presidents and directors who report to the executive team is the biggest problem with expanding the organization. Apple would need to dramatically increase the number of senior leaders to maintain the existing degree of collaboration if the size or scope of a leader’s organization were limited to limit the quantity and breadth of details that the leader is required to own. Likewise, Cook needs to make sure it can create enough of its products to meet demand this year and next (Lemoine et al., 2022), Which he has been doing as Cook all along, securing Apple’s component sales and manufacturing relationships and producing more and more devices every quarter.
Apple is known for its ethical business practices, which include complying with all local, state, and federal standards. The following principles of good business practice guide Apple’s day-to-day operations: Conduct yourself honestly and to the highest ethical standards in all your commercial dealings. Respect: Show your clients, business partners, and vendors, as well as your employees, courtesy and deference in all interactions. Protect the confidential information of Apple as well as our customers, partners, and suppliers, as well as our staff. Compliance – Make sure that all decisions made by the company are by all of the relevant rules and regulations.
Apple expects that its suppliers, contractors, consultants, and other business partners that provide Apple with goods or services or act on Apple’s behalf will adhere to these values in all that they do. To further ensure that human rights are respected and protected, Apple requires all workers to abide by the company’s Code of Conduct. The Apple Conduct Policy is a guideline that all employees, whether full-time or part-time, must follow. This policy applies to all employees, regardless of their employment status. One needs to have a conversation with the appropriate department to report a problem, after which steps will be taken regarding the issue.
Conclusion
Apple is noted for having a democratic style of leadership at the company. Apple’s Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook is known for his “quiet leadership,” and he is universally regarded as an excellent leader. On the other hand, analysts and observers of the business will occasionally criticize Tim Cook for not having the same level of desire and vigor that his predecessor Steve Jobs did. For instance, a report published by a company that specializes in financial services stated that “under Cook, Apple has been cautious about entering new product categories.” Apple’s management structure has several unique qualities, such as its functional organization, which are what set the company apart from its competitors and contribute to its success. Their approach to management has developed over the years to make it more adaptable to new ideas and different ways of doing things.
References
Cornelissen, J. P. (2020). Corporate communication: A guide to theory and practice. Corporate Communication, 1-336.
Kim, H. (2020). Comparison of Strategic Leadership: Steve Jobs and Tim Cook. Business and Management Studies, 6(3), 17-25.
Lemoine, G. J., Eva, N., Meuser, J. D., & Falotico, P. (2021). Organizational performance with a broader focus: The case for a stakeholder approach to leadership. Business Horizons, 64(4), 401-413.
Liu, W., Wei, W., Choi, T. M., & Yan, X. (2022). Impacts of leadership on corporate social responsibility management in multi-tier supply chains. European Journal of Operational Research, 299(2), 483-496.
Mickle, T. (2020). How Tim Cook made Apple his own. The Wall Street Journal, 7.
Podolny, J. M., & Hansen, M. T. (2020). How Apple is organized for innovation. Harvard Business Review, 98(6),
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/https://www.apple.com/compliance/pdfs/Business-Conduct-Policy.pdf
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2012-12-06/tim-cooks-freshman-year-the apple ceo-speaks?leadSource=uverify%20wall
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