Name: Hemendra Vyas

ID: 2157628
Case study starts with introduction of Apple and its strong financial position in the
market. Apple is now worth more than GE and Sony. Apples growth is attributed majorly
due to innovative thinking and attention to details in designing its products.
Right from inception to the current date Apple has retained its core commitment to
product design and development. Design strongly focused on innovation and its product
were set as benchmarks in the market. Its products are conceived as highly interactive,
simple and easy to use yet delivering the cutting edge technology.
Steve Jobs has played a pivotal role in developing Apple culture and market dominance.
He has a clear vision, a passion for the company and its people and an ability to inspire
trust. It is evident from the case study that employees have a trust on Mr. Jobs strategy
to lead Apple. From time to time he has been deeply involved in product design and
innovation. This shows that he was a micro-manager. Those who had formal trainings
and extensive experience were impressed by his talents and ability to inspire others. Mr.
Jobs believed in pushing the boundary of innovation and passion of thinking which has
made employees go extra mile to attain success. Jobs focus had been on products
rather than profits and he knew that profits will soon follow. This shows his
foresightedness.
As per the research, founders imprint organizations with their own personality. So even
when Mr. Jobs was not leading Apple, it continued to work based on his ideologies and
hence Apple-Jobs is inseparable. Innovation is so ingrained in Apple culture that Apple
will continue to grow, evolve and innovate in future even after his death. As noted in the

case study, Mr. Jobs had been dictatorial in his decisions but he was a great leader. He
is bold and never shy to experiment with new ideas in market. One of the examples that
exhibits his boldness is his decision to move into retail. Dell attributes its success of
Web based purchasing approach which centered on direct sales and built-to-order
manufacturing. In contrast to Dell, Apple retail store has pre-configured products at
distinctly higher prices. This shows that Mr. Jobs had a big appetite for risk. Apple stores
generated massive foot-traffic of Apple users, fans and curious Non-Apple users. Jobs
and Apple have been dramatic in maintaining secrecy when it comes to release of new
product in market. It is clearly evident that Mr. Jobs had a single minded attention
because when he re-joined he reduced product lines from 15 to 3 and eliminated 70%
of new projects.
From the case study we conclude that Mr. Jobs did not apply conventional leadership
styles. His leadership style had been situational and varied depending on the
circumstances. He is definitely charismatic and autocratic. It is also evident that he was
passionate, impulsive, highly intuitive and persuasive. Jobs can be seen as a
Transformational leader because he brought a major positive change and motivated his
followers inside and outside the organization including customers and other stakeholder
with a strong vision for creating innovative products for end users. Jobs leadership style
is focused on changing the status quo to improve moral capacity. This is evident from
the challenge that Jobs put forward to John Sculley during his recruitment interview.