Apple's A Competitive Advantage?

Apple has grown into one of the largest technology manufacturing companies and has become known for innovations in both technology and aesthetically pleasing products. Apple more well-known devices include the I-Phone which revolutionized the mobile phone industry, and the I-Mac Laptops and home computers which have been found huge success and are popular among a variety of age groups and demographics. In the mobile phone industry, Apple’s main competitors would be Google who is the creators of the Android operating system which is used by a majority of non-Apple phones. As for the computer industry, Apples main competitors consist of Microsoft who had created the Windows operating system which is used and pre-installed on a large portion of competitor computers, this includes companies like Lenovo, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, and Acer. With so much competition in this area and the ever evolving ability of technology as described by Moore’s Law, companies can lose their competitive edge if they become complacent and stop trying to innovate.

Apple is one of the largest and well recognized companies as far as technology is concerned. They built a differentiation strategy that sets them apart from their competitors and allow them to sell their products at a higher price while still appealing to a loyal target audience. They have also strive themselves on building an ecosystems that keeps all of their products intertwined with one another and this has proven to be successful for them because they have branched off into several different but relevant markets. Although Apple is a very successful company, since Steve Jobs is no longer a part of the equation, there are many questions concerning whether or not Tim Cook will be able to sustain the company’s competitive edge. In order to fully assess that it is important that we conduct a S.W.O.T analysis not only on Apple but also on its competitor so we can see the areas in which the company strives and those in which they can make improvements. Once all the information is gathered, it is important for the company to use their strengths to capitalize on their opportunities while minimizing their weaknesses better allowing them to avoid their threats to not only have a competitive advantage for the moment but sustain one for the future.

In 1997, Steve Jobs returned to Apple as an advisory and with the purposes of reshaping the product line. The changes made by Jobs resulted in increased sales and $309 million in profits. Job changed the mindset of Apples management and development team. He encourage them to have the “think different” management style that promotes the development of products that are ahead of the technology and design curve, and a creative retail strategy. It is this strategy that would eventually make Apple the best-selling company in the PC industry.

Once again Apple has been the first to the market when it comes to new features such as the touch screen, which has helped to keep its competition at arms length. Like all other Apple products, the smartphone is seen by many consumers in the industry as fashionable and a must have. Also Apple’s online music store support has also been a huge lift to its smartphones, as consumers can download music and thousands of applications.

Apple started out as a manufacturer of personal computers predominantly for more than two decades. The Apple I was the company’s very first product that was sold as an assembled circuit board on July 1976 and during the first five years of operation, revenues doubled at a rate of 51% every four months with an average growth rate of 700%. Eventually by 1970, Apple was in the computing market to compete with IBM and Microsoft but was still struggling to gain a significant share in the market. However, in the 1990 Apple released several lines of Macintosh which included the Classic, LC, II, Quandra, Performa and Centris that sold, but from profit margin it was considerably lower than that of earlier models. It was evident that Apple had created too many similar models that not only confused potential buyer but lost interest from that of Apple enthusiast of the time. In addition to the decline of revenues, Apple struggled with the release of Window 95 operating system from Microsoft which enhanced IBM and Pc computers. . In 1998, Apple released the iMac which led Apple’s return to profitability but it wasn’t until the release

In 1985, the microcomputer industry suffered its worst slump in over a decade. Many new computer products had been promised or rumored but were not yet available, causing consumers and businesses (due to recession fears) to delay purchases until they could evaluate the new machines. Moreover, the home market was saturated and the market for new customers difficult to penetrate. Consumer preferences also changed. Service and how new products fit into an existing family of products had become more important. There was a growing demand for personal computers that could communicate and share information. It was estimated that this demand was growing at 30% a year, or twice the rate of the overall industry.

It is quite obvious from the case that Apple is facing many obstacles. It has way more competitors today than it had two or three decades back. Part of it has to with the highly globalized environment that companies are operating in these days. Another major obstacle is the technological environment which is rapidly changing compared to the one that Apple experienced when it first emerged on the global scene. But the most important of it all seems to be a mental thing. It appears that Apple, over a period of time, developed a rigid mental model that related success of Apple with sheer innovation. This same mental model has lead to demise of many companies in the past, Xerox Corporation being the prime example of that.

1. Apple is known to provide customers with a personal computer revolution that is easy-to-use machine. It was founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. Apple was a success at the beginning period of its production due to marketing and technological innovation and the company has invented. Apple grew quickly as the development of the products increases and the revenue continued to grow. Apple’s business strategy is to focus its products on differentiation by providing a unique product that is impossible to clone and charges its products at a premium price. In 1983, Apple faced a difficulty because PC entered the market and was marketing their products at

Issues: our main issue is competition and this is why we should increase our marketing strategies to keep our brand image and to drive away

In the ever connected world, we live in consumers often appear lost or disconnected without their cell phones, tablets, handhelds, and other mobile devices. One such company has gained significant multinational market share in the industry. Apple Computer Inc., is known as Apple Inc. has proven that a company may successfully diversify its portfolio if they continue to be innovative in creating new products and improving older products.

Even though Apple has encountered many setbacks, it continues to bring new and improve products to the market. Apple’s competitive strategy has been innovation. They have made an extraordinary effort developing, implementing, and executing its very unique strategy through innovation which has resulted in new product, and the enrichment of the existing ones. More specifically, Apple attempts to meet and supply the needs of a global market, by offering eager and enthusiastic consumers with innovated and high-quality products and services. Apple has employed a differentiation strategy linked to innovation with its three core products (computers, personal media player, mobile phones, tablets and other accessories). A key piece of their strategy involves meeting the needs of the converging digital electronics and computer markets. Apple has elected to implement its strategy by designing and developing proprietary operating systems and software technologies, thus allowing for strict protection of its intellectual rights.

Apple Computer experienced many difficulties in the 1990’s. As five years passed, the company has had four different CEO’s. As each CEO took over, the company would go thru a different reformation. In July of 1997, Apple had submitted two-thirds of its market share. It was said that losses topped 1.6 billion dollars and shares were trading near all-time lows. Co-founder Steve Jobs had come to Apple’s rescue when the company was at its lowest point. He unleashed a series of dramatic moves like a stunning decision to sign a long-term cross-licensing agreement with Microsoft for $150 million dollars. Jobs then ended Spindler’s(former Ceo) cloning strategy and went on to kill the Newton, John Sculley’s(both former Ceo’s) pride and joy. Job’s

Some of the weaknesses that Apple was able to pinpoint was their high prices and incompatibility with different operating systems. Since Apple already has a great deal of loyal customers Apple could combat this weakness and provide its customers with a reasonably priced compatible product, thus keeping and retaining more Apple Customers.

While this may sound like heresy relative to Apple history. The uniquely demanding strength and influence of Steve Jobs is integral to Apple’s heart and soul. Others will step up when he leaves but they will not replicate him. Furthermore, when Jobs’ strengths are overdone, errors occur. Past issues such as option backdating and disclosure failures regarding his personal health will have larger consequences in Apple’s wider world operation.

Understanding every employee 's capabilities in the organization is a necessary consideration when implementing change as asserted by Rieley (2016). During the first reign of Steve Jobs at the company, innovation was the fundamental focus of the business, but things changed when he left. The team at Apple failed to change with time and focus on technological growth that the market demanded. The then leader of Apple John Sculley never paid attention to innovation as his main focus was to market the already made products and make profits. For instance, the company invested heavily in the production of Power Book 5300 PC which was highly anticipated in the market. However, most of these devices were not made up to the required standards as some of them were never operational. Other gadgets had unpreceded issues with lithium-ion batteries that occasionally exploded into flames. Other products such as the Macintosh TV which were made with the aim of replacing PCs were operating slowly, not to mention the high prices that were placed on them. Such miscalculations led the company to incur huge losses, while the competitors were steadfast in developing new and more reliable gadgets.