DACK PATRICK: MGT450: Strategic Planning for Organizations

Planet Apple

PLANET APPLE

Planet Apple, As described in our text from Pearce and Robinson, Apple has had a few hard times over the past fifteen years (2009). From slow sales in the early 90s to a booming 2001 with the introduction of the iPod, Apple has lived by the old saying of, The ones who see things differently (Apple, 2002).

According to Pearce and Robinson, Apple even funded Microsoft Computers a wapping $150 million in a promise for Microsoft Corp. to continue to make Mac-compatible version of its Office software (p.467). Here I will use SWOT analysis to show all the strengths and weaknesses of my personal favorite brand, Apple Computers. Personally, I believe Apple has amazing strengths like strong brand loyalty which predicts return customers and keeping their computers so user friendly that it is easier to keep an existing customer than to lure in a new one.

Lets take a closer look...

DACK PATRICK: MGT450: Strategic Planning for Organizations

Content of my SWOT Analysis

PLANET APPLE

Content
1. Description of Case
2. Issues Requiring Decisions 3. SWOT Analysis 4. Strengths 5. Weaknesses

6. Opportunities
7. Threats 8. Selected alternatives 9. Conclusion 10. References

DACK PATRICK: MGT450: Strategic Planning for Organizations

Description of Apples case

PLANET APPLE

Planet Apple and Steve Jobs

Pearce and Robinson describe in Strategic Management that Apple had issues in 1997 with their company due to a shrinking market. In this case, it is stated that Apple does make some of the worlds finest computers but there is a huge problem with Apple that has finally been secured in recent years and that is its software isolation... Nothing works with Mac.

Since the invention of the iPod and iPhone, companies such as Electronic Arts (who make video games), VMWare (who are a leader in software platform development), and even young people at home have all made the ambition to sell their creativity in Software Development. Apple even released the Software Development Kit (SDK) as a free software application to create Mac-friendly applications and games right in your own home without the need of heavy scientific research to create and manipulate (Pearce & Robinson, 2009).

Apple has had issues with compatibility, they have found themselves in a 10% market compared to Microsoft/IBM based computers, and have had to

compensate for this by having computer prices that

are 2-4 times that of a Windows based computer. But what is one of the biggest weakness of Mac? There lack of presence in the BUSINESS ARENA.

DACK PATRICK: MGT450: Strategic Planning for Organizations

Issues requiring decisions

Apples current and previous issues requiring decions Some of the largest complaints of Apple computer is the expense of the things. Whether it is an iPod, iPhone, MacBook Pro, or even a brand new 26 iMc, you can bet that you will be paying high dollar for their trendy products. Pearce and Robinson discuss Apples very simple and non complex strategy by stating that Apple sincerely focuses the products and because of this REWARDS will follow. Apple accomplishes a lot of this by not hiring just anyone to create application support and design but by going after the best engineers and graphic designers to Confirmation Message keep a strong hold on what is being produced for their Apple has made over computers and portable devices. $15.6 billion in

PLANET APPLE

revenue in 2009-2010.
In 2003, Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple, took his 2001 creation of the iPod and made its software Windows Cancel OK compatible opening up all doors to cross platform operations. By making iTunes Windows friendly, he has now been able to take his iPod into a more dominant future as well as making sales sky rocket because now anyone can use the iPod.
Over the past couple years, iPod and iPhone users have switched to Mac computers because if how user friendly they are, how much more stable then Windows they are, how there are no viruses for Mac, and that the innovation is 100% more stable than anything a Windows based computer can ever support. But what are Apples strength through all this? What are their weaknesses? Do they have any possible opportunities or threats? Keep reading and let me explain more....

DACK PATRICK: MGT450: Strategic Planning for Organizations

SWOT: Strengths
Current and Previous Strengths

PLANET APPLE

Apple is a very successful company in recent years to to high sales of its popular iPod music player which has increased its second quarter profits in June of 2005 to $320. The favorable brand perception that Macintosh has also helped increased sales of their computers. With delightful commercials and a must-havefeel to them, you can almost bet that the iPod or MP3 player will be a normal house hold item in the years to come. iPods gives the company access to a whole new series of segments that buy into other parts of the Apple brand like Google, EA Sports, and other large graphic and web based companies (Pearce & Robinson, 2009). Sales of its MacBook and notebooks products is also very strong and this represents a huge contribution to the income of Apple. As stated on the new iPad release on Apples website, Apple has sold over 250,000,000 iPods since its release in 2001 and as of Apples first quarter of 2010 they have made $15.6 billions of revenue (Jobs, 2010).
Apples

Content
1. Description of Case

We are here. 2. Issues Requiring Decisions

3. SWOT Analysis 4. Strengths 5. Weaknesses 6. Opportunities 7. Threats 8. Selected alternatives 9. Conclusion 10. References

niche audience provides the company with some lagging from the direct price competition.
Giving Web

a face-lift to desktop and notebook lines.

technology can be used to improve product awareness and sales. Computers have good brand loyalty from all their users.

Apple

Partnership

with Intel Computers as of 2006 has helped them more in cross platform operating systems.

DACK PATRICK: MGT450: Strategic Planning for Organizations

SWOT: Weaknesses
Email Views

PLANET APPLE

Weaknesses of Apple Computers

Though Mac is currently using Intel processors inside their new computer including notebooks and desktops, they still have a weak relationship with Intel and Microsoft.

A text view is a region of the screen with multiple lines of text. It supports scrolling when the content is too large to fit inside its bounds. Text views can be used to display text and/or enable the user to edit that text (in which case a keyboard appears).

Another large issue is that they have a weak presence in business arena. You rarely see many large businesses using a Macintosh computer in every office, the expense would be incredible (Pearce & Robinson, 2009).
Apple has a weak presence in markets other than education and publishing. If you didnt know, most movies in the movie theater, songs in your CD player at home, and most websites you visit on the Internet were all created in a Mac... but what about the other things in life we do on computers? Slow turn around on high demand products (Apple, 2009). In past years, the relationship between Steve jobs and employee were not good which result in reputation loss (Pearce & Robinson, 2009).

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Web / Email Views

A web view is a region of the screen that can display rich, HTML content (including navigation) inside your app. For example, Mail uses a web view to display message content:

Apples market share is far behind from their major competitor Microsoft. It seems they can not keep up even though Mac OS X is far beyond that of Windows Vista or 7.

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DACK PATRICK: MGT450: Strategic Planning for Organizations

SWOT: Opportunities

PLANET APPLE

Opportunities...
In recent year computer viruses have devastated many PC users. Little do most know is that these users can easily save themselves $100s of dollars a year in anti-virus software, malware software, and pain staking days of slow slow internet by doing one SIMPLE thing.. BUY A MAC. Mac cant even get computer virus and most people do not even know it. So what opportunities await Apple?
The increase in worms and viruses on a Windows based computers might be able to be resolved if Apple comes up with an antivirus solution for Windows. Mac has a large population of generation X and Y which are extremely individualistic and name brand conscious... just look at any employee in an Apple Retail store. Apple can develop good relationship for joint ventures such as Google and ELectronic Arts (Pearce & Robinson, 2009). Downloadable music and MP3 players are highly marketable (Pearce & Robinson, 2009).

The laptop market growth is high; Apple Computers should focus to develop new models to cater the need of customers like a high-dollar MacBook and a low dollar MacBook..

DACK PATRICK: MGT450: Strategic Planning for Organizations

SWOT: Threats
Threats and Possible Threats

PLANET APPLE

Companies not seeing Apple as compatible with their software is a major threat. Unfortunately as of January 2010, the amount of user using a Macintosh based computer is still roughly 10-15% which leaves room for even less people to want to join the Apple production team. The biggest threat is Apple facing strong competition from Hewlett Packard, Dell, Sony and Toshiba in laptops. Downloading free music from other online sources like BitTorrent is so common it could impact sales on iTunes. Apple software, cell phone software, and applications are all very expensive compared to its Windows competitors. The long lasting recession may impact the sales of the company due to higher prices of the products and services. Microsoft recently launched Microsoft Vista and Windows 7 which has been gaining market share due to popularity. The switching in technology is very fast.

DACK PATRICK: MGT450: Strategic Planning for Organizations

Selected Alternatives

PLANET APPLE

Selected alternatives for Apple...

Apple's products are very profitable whether they are new or old, just take a look on eBay. Even in the best of times, only one or two Windows OEMs earns a profit compared to the ultra sleek Mac OS X. We now see even Microsoft forced to layoff workers to keep its head above water which with a Microsoft lead work wouldnt you think they would play their finances right? We also see Dell take a major hit and you cant even find HP or Compaq in a IT conversation anymore... bottom of the list they remain. Low-end computers such as Dell or HP are cheaper for the customer to buy but at the end of the day they are not a heck of a lot cheaper to manufacturer such a Macintosh. The main difference you will find in red ink on the bottom line... Dell was notorious for using its low-end to get the customer "into the store" where it could then sell a computer that actually earned a profit where Apple does not have to resort to the old bait-and-switch tactics, their customers are happy about that.

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DACK PATRICK: MGT450: Strategic Planning for Organizations

Conclusion

PLANET APPLE

Conclusion
Apples partnership with AT&T has helped sales and popularity race to the top. The invention of the iPod and iPhone has brought Apple back into the game making it more popular than it ever has. Over the past 30 years Apple has come up from just computer design and is now holding down developing consumer electronics like the iPod and the new iPad. The company was started by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne in the 1970s and today Steve Jobs is the current CEO of Apple. Apple uses a differentiation business strategy as its focus, which means that all employees and departments work together in the creation of their products though nothing is typically written on paper (Pearce & Robinson, 2009). Apples main business initiative is customer relationship like most businesses operating today. When working with or purchasing from Apple you are promised top notch customer service and assistance. I know personally that when ever I have ordered something from Apple.com or visited a retail store nearby to have something fixed, I have always been greeted and treated with the upmost respect and the best customer service. Hopefully in the near future Apple will be more of a standard in computers rather than a luxury that is hard to afford.

DACK PATRICK: MGT450: Strategic Planning for Organizations

References

PLANET APPLE

Pearce J., & Robinson R. (2009). Strategic management: Formulation implementation and control (11th ed.) New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin Apple, Inc. (2002, May 06). Google books. Retrieved from http://quotationsbook.com/quote/43082/

Jobs, S. (2010, January 25). Apple special event. Retrieved from http://events.apple.com.edgesuite.net/1001q3f8hhr/event/index.html

Apple, Inc. (2009). Guided tour of apple. Retrieved from http://www.apple.com/hotnews/business