Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
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As organizations adapt to be more effective in dynamic and competitive environments, the role
of their organizational culture in either supporting or resisting internal changes is critical. The
organization's leadership must seek a culture that fits with new strategic demands, and that
culture itself may need to change as the strategy evolves. Helping leaders manage culture change
effectively is the focus of this case study. Changing a culture generally means changing some of
the organization's values, beliefs, and customary ways of doing things. It is like one team
changing the rules of a game during the game. Depending on how this is done and
communicated to the stakeholders (e.g., fans, referees, the other team), some parties to the game
may view the changes as unfair, or even unethical. Leaders must be able to see, understand, and
Examining an organization's culture has become a target for organizational analysis. The
rational aspects alone no longer dominate the management literature. The concept of culture is
used to capture the essence of what must change or adapt within an organization for it to be more
Culture is the set of shared values, shared beliefs, and customary ways of thinking and doing
things which shape and guide the behavior of organizational members. Its importance lies in its
ability to influence the activities of members and the functioning of the organization without the
direct imposition of measures and controls. Research shows that member perceptions of the
organization's culture are associated with cognitive and affective sources of motivation and job
satisfaction.
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As an example of the life cycle shift in culture can be illustrated by describing briefly the
Apple Computer, Inc. is headquartered in Cupertino, California is a leader in the PC field for
home, business and education markets. Their products include the Macintosh line of desktop and
notebook computers, the Mac operating system, the iPod digital music player. The
manufacturing facilities are located in Sacramento, California and Cork, Ireland. Apple
Computers has experienced both good and bad times since it began its garage operation in 1976.
Although it has been a leader in computer technology in the past, it has struggled lately with
keeping pace in the rapidly developing computer industry. In this extremely competitive
industry, the developing technology and evolving computer applications have contributed to this
type of business environment. Over the last two decades, the popularity of personal computers
has made the computer market attractive to consumers worldwide. As mentioned before, Apple
developed as a major player in the computer industry in its early years. Apple grew to a publicly
traded company by 1980. Apple continued to experience early success in the industry being the
first computer company to reach one billion dollars in annual sales in 1982.
In Jan 2004, Apple announced financial results for its fiscal quarter ended December 27th, 2003.
For the quarter, Apple posted a net profit of $63 million. These results compare to a net loss of
$8 million in the year-ago quarter. Revenue for the quarter reached a four-year high of $2.006
billion, up 36 percent from the year-ago quarter. Gross margin was 26.7 percent, down from 27.6
percent in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 44 percent of the quarter¶s
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revenue. During this quarter, Apple shipped 829,000 Macintosh units during the quarter, up 12%
from the year-ago quarter, as well as 733,000 iPod units, up 235% from the year-ago quarter.
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Having learned several painful lessons after introducing the bulky Macintosh Portable in 1989,
Apple introduced the PowerBook in 1991, which established the modern form and ergonomic
layout of the laptop computer. The success of the PowerBook and other products led to
increasing revenue. For some time, it appeared that Apple could do no wrong, introducing fresh
new products and generating increasing profits in the process. The magazine MacAddict has
named the period between 1989 and 1991 as the "first golden age" of the Macintosh. Microsoft
continued to gain market share with Windows, focusing on delivering software to cheap
commodity personal computers while Apple was delivering a richly engineered, but expensive,
experience. Apple relied on high profit margins and never developed a clear response. Instead
they sued Microsoft for using a graphical user interface similar to the Apple Lisa in Apple
Computer, Inc. v. Microsoft Corporation. The lawsuit dragged on for years before being thrown
out of court. At the same time, a series of major product flops and missed deadlines destroyed
Apple's reputation. On August 15, 1998, Apple introduced a new all-in-one computer
reminiscent of the Macintosh 128K: the iMac. The iMac design team was led by Jonathan Ive,
who would later design the iPod and the iPhone. At the Worldwide Developers Conference
keynote address on June 6, 2005, Steve Jobs announced that Apple would begin producing Intel-
based Mac computers in 2006. On January 10, 2006, the new MacBook Pro and iMac became
the first Apple computers to utilize Intel's Core Duo CPU. Apple also introduced Boot Camp to
help users install Windows XP or Windows Vista on their Intel Macs alongside Mac OS X.
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Apple's success during this period was evident in its stock price. Between early 2003 and 2006,
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direction, and the company was flexible and freewheeling. The group can be described as
renegades and crazies. This culture profile has been produced from the organizational culture
assessment instrument. The high degree of emphasis in the adhocracy quadrant, moderate scores
in the clan quadrant, and low scores in the hierarchy and market quadrants produce the profile
adhocractic culture. Within a few years of incorporation, apple established one of the most
successful ventures ever experienced in the industry, the formation of a group of pirates, dubbed
the macintosh team. This team of selected employees was charged with developing a computer
that people would want to purchase for use in their homes. Until then computer were large,
intimiditating pieces of hardware that merely replaced slide rules for engineers and
mathematicians. Few people would have considered using one for personal or family
applications. This small group of apple pirates, however, designed and developed the macintosh
computer.
The team¶s endeavors were so successful that the entire organization adopted the team culture
and to look like profile 2 in figure1, a highly cohesive clan. Employees wore apple logos on their
clothes, had apple bumper stickers on their car, and spoke warmly of the apple family. The
enormous success of the company led it toward a third kind of culture. With hundreds of
thousands of computers being sold, distribution channels expanding worldwide, the freewheeling
clan faced a need for controls and standard procedures. Policies and regulations were needed and
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Appe¶s CEO was the quintessential innovator and team leader, perfectly comfortable in an
organization dominated by adhocracy and clan cultures. He was not an effeciency expert and
administrator and not inclined to manage a hierarchy. John Scully from Pepsico was hired,
therefore, to manage the shift to stability and control. Predictably, this shift created such a crisis
in the organization, with the clan and adhocracy orientations being supplanted by a hierarchy
orientation, that founder Jobs was ousted from the company. A new set of values and priorities
reflected in a new culture made Job¶s orientation out of sync with current demands. The shift to a
replacing family feelings with rules and policies. Scully was a master effeciency and marketing
expert, however, and his skills matched more closely the shifting culture of Apple as its growth
As Apple developed into a large, mature organization under Scully, the culture again shifted into
a fourth stage, profile 4 in figure1. It ceased to be the agile, innovative company that
characterized the young group of renegades in its early life but instead was an outstanding
example of effeciency and marketing savvy. In many organizations this becomes the norm, with
the clan and adhocracy cultures being minimized and the hierarchy and the market cultures being
emphasized. Many management consultants and leadership gurus therefore spend a great deal of
energy assisting companies in developing the capability to reinstitute clan- and adhocracy-like
attributes so that they can be more balanced organizations. It is not that all four types of cultures
must to be emphasized equally. Rather, it is that the organization must develop the capability to
shift emphases when the demands of the competitive environment require it.
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One reason for the performance difficulties of the Apple is the continued emphasis in the
company¶s culture on the bottom two quadrants in figure1. In an industry faced in the late 1990s
with the need to innovate constantly with very rapid cycle times, instead of a shift back up to the
adhocracy quadrant, seems to have negative effects on Apple¶s performance as a company until
The company¶s culture changed in response to new environmental and competitive pressures.
This pattern of culture change was less standard than that occuring in new, young companies.
According to surveys by J. D. Power, Apple has the highest brand and repurchase loyalty of any
computer manufacturer. While this brand loyalty is considered unusual for any product, Apple
appears not to have gone out of its way to create it. At one time, Apple evangelists were actively
engaged by the company, but this was after the phenomenon was already firmly established.
Apple evangelist Guy Kawasaki has called the brand fanaticism "something that was stumbled
upon". Apple has, however, supported the continuing existence of a network of Mac User
Groups in most major and many minor centers of population where Mac computers are available.
Apple Store openings can draw crowds of thousands, with some waiting in line as much as a day
before the opening or flying in from other countries for the event. The New York City Fifth
Avenue "Cube" store had a line as long as half a mile; a few Mac fans took the opportunity of the
setting to propose marriage. The Ginza opening in Tokyo was estimated in the thousands with a
line exceeding eight city blocks. People talk about technology, but Apple was a marketing
company. It was the marketing company of the decade. Market research indicates that Apple
draws its customer base from an unusually artistic, creative, and well-educated population, which
may explain the platform¶s visibility within certain youthful, avant-garde subcultures.
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The internal environment of Apple Computer, Inc. consists of variables that are within the
organization itself. Strengths and weaknesses are the variables that form the context in which
work is done.
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Because Apple has been around for so long, they have become a household name within the
computer industry. Not only does Apple have name recognition within the industry, the name is
also synonymous with a product interface that is easy to use. Apple holds a significant niche in
the graphics industry. Their hardware and software have a strong graphics platform. c
Early in the industry¶s life cycle, Apple Computer, Inc. decided to pursue a strategy to
competitively position their product. They decided to focus on a specific market segment and
promoted their product within the educational community. Because of this early strategy, Apple
Steve Jobs is considered to be the most important person in Apple¶s history and the company¶s
present. Not only has he founded Apple Computers, but he also saved it from the brink of
disaster when he returned as CEO in 1997. Steve Jobs has done an amazing job revitalizing
Apple Computers. He was an important character in transforming the cultural change Apple has
undergone. With Job¶s deep understanding of the computer market as a pioneer in two
businesses, consumer, and a technician, he implemented many of the strategies Apple should
have done in the beginning. He added value to the Mac software, customized the products to a
target market, and simplified the product chart. As long as Jobs can maintain Apple¶s
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competitive advantage and sustain it, increasing market share should not be too much of a
problem.
These key strengths form a set of core competencies that Apple Computer, Inc. can use to gain
competitive advantage.
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If Apple is unable to continue to develop and sell innovative new products with attractive gross
margins, its results of operations may be materially adversely affected by its operating costs
structure. Apple has also been lacking in their business marketing strategies and distribution
networks. With regards to the personal computer industry, the familiarity of the Apple software
is not there.
While outsourcing arrangements may lower the fixed cost of operations, they also reduce the
Apple has become unable to effectively penetrate the business market. Taking advantage of
Apple¶s current opportunities could mean the difference between strategic success and failure.
The rapid advancement of technology and business processes creates an atmosphere of high
competition in which Apple must be dynamic to survive. Apple has been able to effectively do
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In the past, it might have been harder to locate an Apple dealer in contrast to a PC dealer.
Making use of the internet and retail outlets, Apple has strived to make that change. Apple has
recently adopted Dell Computers¶ procedure of using the Internet to sell their product. The
benefit of selling a product through the internet is it reaches a far wider market and reduces
inventory costs.c
A great opportunity for Apple can be found in the growing population of older individuals.
Apple can grasp this opportunity by targeting older individual with their integrated and easy to
use computer system that allows for less hassle and more enjoyment.
Although Apple has lost market share in the education market it is still an opportunity for them
to gain that market share back. Computers are an important tool to help schools maximize their
investment in student technology. Apple¶s products and services are designed for education
customers and failure to increase or maintain market share in the education market may have an
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Apple operates in a highly competitive market that is constantly making major advancements. If
they are unable to keep pace with these changes, then a share of the market is lost. Risk of
obsolescence is a major concern in their industry. Within two years, a once top of the line
computer can become out-of-date. Apple is in direct competition with companies such as Dell
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and Gateway. These two firms have captured a major share of the computer market. Dell has
been able to gain a large share of the market by selling customized computers directly to the
customer. Dell has an advantage over Apple with the low prices they offer. An average Apple
computer costs over $2,000, where as a fully loaded Dell computer can be purchased for under
$1,500. However, Apple still currently controls the multimedia area of computers.
Demand for Apple¶s products has been negatively impacted by worsening global economic
purchases due to concerns about the overall impact of the weaker economy on their available
funding.
Since one of the company¶s weaknesses is absence of effective research and development, they
need to focus on expanding their current R&D efforts. The company¶s success depends heavily
on the ability to produce new and innovative products and technology. In an industry where
competition is fierce and the chance that a product may become obsolete is great, Apple can no
longer cut their research and development budget. Apple is known for developing innovative
products and bringing them to the market first. Without the proper R&D these products will
become out-dated and quickly become overshadowed by a competitor¶s product. The iPod has
been a tremendous success for the company, partly because the hardware is compatible with all
operating systems. It is important for the company to develop hardware products that bear the
Apple brand name, but are now compatible with all software.
Another suggestion that Apple Inc. should take advantage of is to better position them selves in
the market. Apple currently is the only company in the PC market whose systems do not run a
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Microsoft operating system. They make an operating to run with their systems. The ³war´ for the
operating system was lost long ago, Microsoft dominates the market. It is our recommendation
that they adopt the Microsoft Operating Systems. Ninety six percent of the market knows how to
operate windows and not Mac OS X. The Macintosh would be more attractive for their
customers but it could also pull potential customer over the barrier of purchasing an Apple
computer.
Apple distribution centers are few and far between. The current retail stores are costly but are an
asset to the company. They allow the customer to test and use Apple products. The solution to
this problem would be to align with stores such as Circuit City, Best Buy, and Wholesalers to
distribute higher end products. This would greatly reduce costs but still allow customers to
experience their products. Apple should improve its distribution channels by promoting internet
and telephone sales, as Dell has done. Posting advertisements on websites such as yahoo.com
and netscape.com.
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Apple was one of several highly successful companies founded in the 1970s that bucked the
traditional notions of what a corporate culture should look like in terms of organizational
hierarchy (flat versus tall, casual versus formal attire, etc.). Originally, the company stood in
opposition to staid competitors like IBM more or less by default. Steve Jobs often walked around
the office barefoot even after Apple was a Fortune 500 company. By the time of the "1984" TV
ad, this trait had become a key way the company attempts differentiated itself from its
competitors. As the company has grown and been led by a series of chief executives, each with
his own idea of what Apple should be, some of its original character has arguably been lost, but
Apple still has a reputation for fostering individuality and excellence that reliably draws talented
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people into its employ, especially after Jobs' return. To recognize the best of its employees,
Apple created the Apple Fellows program. Apple Fellows are those who have made
During the change of CEO in 1997, Apple has undergone a lot of cultural change. This cultural
change could not be handled by Steven Jobs in the beginning. Culture measures have been used
in his leadership to change situations. Its uses have ranged from assessing 'gaps' between an
existing and future desired state of affairs to helping top management articulate strategic and
Two questions emerge for those using culture as a construct for driving change:
(a) To what extent does culture, as an index of the norms, values, and beliefs of organizational
members, have the power to guide change, foster adaptation, and yield competitive success?
(b) To what extent are there ethical issues involved in endeavors intended to change the
organization's culture?
employee attitudes, their motivation, and subsequent organizational performance. Early evidence
comes from research reported by Jobs in which they simulated three companies, each with a
different climate. They succeeded in creating very different organizations in which the quality
and quantity of the output and the employee attitudes and motivation were very different.
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Relatively little has been reported that shows how the leaders of Apple organization have
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Although Apple is having some success in controlling their internal operations relative to
responding to their weakness, they should not be satisfied with being average in this highly
advantage over other firms, and Apple has plenty of room for improvement. Apple needs to
The business strategy literature has steadfastly maintained that for Apple company to attain and
sustain a competitive advantage it must have a fit between its strategy, structure, processes, and
environment. Since the organizational structures and processes significantly affect, and are
affected by, the organization's culture, it is critical for the Apple¶s culture to be compatible with
its strategy, consistent with the environment, and support its intended competitive advantage.c
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Inc.
http://books.google.com/books
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1TOT/is_1_10/ai_n25009732/pg_3/?tag=content;col1
http://www.essaywow.com/2008/05/strategic-analysis-of-apple-computers-inc/
http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Apple-Computer-Inc-Company-
History.html
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