Determining the Change-Apple Inc vs Samsung

Determining the Change-Apple Inc vs Samsung

Apple Inc. and Samsung’s position based on the 7S model

Samsung and Apple Inc. are major competitors in the telecommunications industry. Each company’s performance is influenced by organizational aspects that can be analyzed through the 7S model. According to Channon & Caldart (2015), a 7S model is a tool used to analyze a company’s organizational design to determine the organization’s effectiveness through the interaction of strategy, structure, system, skill, staff, shared values, and style. Samsung’s strategy includes replicating the innovations made by major competitors such as Apple Inc. to introduce new products or add features to existing products to create a competitive advantage. Apple Inc.’s strategy, on the other hand, includes differentiation with the main focus on advanced features, design, and product capability. The company uses the first mover advantage to increase market share. Apple Inc.’s strategy also includes using a closed ecosystem where its different software and devices can sync, thus making switching costs easy.

Samsung uses a divisional organizational structure that divides the organization into the IT and Mobile Communications, Device Solutions, and Consumer Electronics divisions. Every division is managed on its own based on product characteristics and aspects. Apple Inc.’s organizational structure is hierarchical. The structure also includes grouping employees based on the projects within the company and fostering collaboration between different divisions and groups. Samsung systems include customer relationship management, employee recruitment, transaction processing, team development and orientation, knowledge management, and business intelligence systems. The systems are regularly evaluated to identify improvement opportunities. Apple Inc.’s systems include employee recruitment and selection, team development and orientation, and performance appraisal systems.

Shared values play a vital role in the two companies’ performance. According to White & Writer (2017), Samsung’s main shared values are excellence, people, integrity, change, and co-prosperity. Apple Inc.’s shared values include accessibility, environmental sustainability, supporting education, privacy, supplier responsibility, racial justice, and equity. The two companies use a participative leadership style. According to Black & Edgecombe (2022), participative leadership includes allowing all members of an organization to participate in decision-making. Employees are engaged in decision-making to find solutions for problems that could affect operations and the implementation of new ideas. Samsung has many employees in different countries who are hired based on skill levels and urgency. Apple Inc. has many employees trained to familiarize them with its values and operations. Samsung and Apple Inc. ensure that employees have the skills needed to complete assigned tasks by hiring employees based on skill level. The employees are also trained regularly to equip them with relevant knowledge and skills.

SWOT analysis

Based on the diagnosis above, Samsung’s main strengths are its many skilled employees and its innovation. The company uses innovation to improve its products to create a competitive advantage and constantly mobilizes its skilled employees to come up with new ideas that can be implemented to remain competitive. Based on the analysis, Apple Inc.’s main strengths are innovation and first mover advantage. The company uses innovation to produce unique products and introduces them in the market before competitors, thus acquiring a large customer base and maintaining customer loyalty. The main weakness that Samsung Company should address is its poor strategy. The company replicates innovations from other companies, thus slowing down growth and limiting competitive advantage. Apple Inc.’s main weakness is its weak business strategy, which can easily be replicated by competitors such as Samsung. The two companies have the opportunity to expand their product lines by leveraging their innovation. However, they have to deal with the threats of stiff competition and government regulations that could impact employee recruitment and selection based on minimum wage and regulations on working hours.

Value judgment

Samsung’s decision to move from a hierarchical organizational structure to a divisional organizational structure has enabled the company to allocate the resources needed to produce products effectively, thus increasing production speed. The divisional structure enables the company to effectively determine the allocation of resources and categorize business operations based on each division’s needs. Apple Inc.’s change from a hardware company to a software company has also played a vital role in the company’s growth. The company has distinguished itself from competitors by creating a closed ecosystem where its products interact, thus creating a good customer experience.

Potential areas of resistance that may occur and at least one strategy to respond to each

One of the areas of resistance is accepting new roles and responsibilities. Employees may resist the operational strategy change because it adds more responsibilities or is more complex, thus slowing down the change process. The most effective strategy to respond to resistance is to explain to the employees the importance of the change and why it is necessary. The second area of resistance is innovation management. Employees may be reluctant to embrace the operational strategy change because it may increase the complexity of their roles. For example, employees at Samsung may find it hard to shift from replicating innovation from Apple Inc. to introducing the organization’s innovations. The most effective strategy to deal with the resistance is motivating employees through incentives.

Recommendations

I recommend creating a research and development department at Samsung to increase innovation. A research and development department will ensure that employees are equipped with the proper knowledge, skills, and capabilities to be innovative, thus enabling the company to develop its products without replicating Apple Inc.’s innovation. I would also recommend altering Apple Inc.’s business strategy to make it hard for competitors such as Samsung to replicate it because the replication reduces Apple Inc.’s competitive advantage.

References

Black, W. R., & Edgecombe, R. (2022). Participative/Collaborative Leadership. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781138609877-ree143-1

Channon, D. F., & Caldart, A. A. (2015). McKinsey 7s model. Wiley Encyclopedia of Management, 1–1. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118785317.weom120005

White, S. K., & Writer, S. (2017, January 17). How core values shape these 5 tech giants. CIO. Retrieved November 30, 2022, from https://www.cio.com/article/237047/how-core-values-shape-these-5-tech-giants.html#:~:text=Samsung%20cites%20people%2C%20excellence%2C%20change,company’s%20mission%20and%20core%20values.

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Determining the Change Paper (Milestone 2) is due this week. You are to select a diagnostic model that you can utilize to review aspects of change activities and actions that have been taken by the companies chosen (Samsung v Apple). For this analysis, we are looking at the parts of the companies as well as their strategies, as surmised by your earlier research in Milestone 1 (order # 25698).

Determining the Change-Apple Inc vs Samsung

Determining the Change (Milestone 2)
Select a diagnostic model that you can utilize to review aspects of change activities and actions that have been taken by the companies chosen. For this analysis, we are looking at the parts of the companies as well as their strategies, as surmised by your earlier research. It is acknowledged that this information will not be complete as you are looking at these companies as an outsider, but a thoroughly researched paper will give enough data to allow some well-defended assumptions on your part.

Here’s what to do.

Select one diagnostic model (i.e., 6-box, 7S, congruence, or one of the others) to apply to the two chosen companies. Choose the model that you feel best identifies and measures the relevant aspects of the organization’s performance.
Apply the data obtained in your research through an analysis of the appropriate chosen model. This will allow you to create a diagnosis of where each company is today (as per the criteria of the model).
Create a SWOT analysis for each of the two chosen companies’ change plans and programs, utilizing information obtained in the diagnosis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats).
Compare the two company analyses to each other and offer your perspective (value judgment) of the effectiveness of the changes made to date in each case.
Identify potential areas of resistance that may occur and at least one strategy to respond to each. (This will most likely come from your weaknesses and threats section of your SWOT. If not, take another look at your SWOT.)