Recommendations and Additional Competencies to Apple Inc
Future directions
Change is a constant element of improvement in an organization. Apple needs to undergo various changes that could improve its ability to compete in the future, enable the company to comply with the law and enhance business. However, the process of change is challenging and involves numerous difficulties. Apple should evaluate the various recommendations and engage employees and other critical stakeholders in the chosen processes of change. This approach should ease the process and increase the chances of gaining maximum benefits from the changes.
Ethical Sourcing of Raw Materials
Apple Inc. uses various minerals such as gold, tin, tantalum, and tungsten. Normally, these minerals are obtained from smelters and refiners. These third parties obtain the minerals in questionable and unethical ways. Cases involving conflict, child abuse, and inhuman working conditions have been raised. All these taint the company’s ethical position as far as suppliers go. Overall, the company’s reputation is affected and could have major impacts on its business activities (Merchant, 2017).
Therefore, it is important to prioritize ethics preservation even when dealing with third parties as suppliers. The company is already taking steps in the recommended direction. One of these steps is a third-party audit that has its results included in the conflicts mineral report of 2017 (Apple Inc., 2017). The report hints that Apple intends to eliminate from its supply chain at least ten suppliers who were not willing to commit to the audit processes.
However, the company needs to commit more resources to an aggressive audit and entry into the mines. This should enable them to go past the third-party suppliers while still relying on them for the minerals (Merchant, 2017). The ability to access the mines and understand or observe the working conditions, workforce profile, and other human rights issues is critical in ensuring that the third-party suppliers uphold values and ethical principles that do not taint the company’s reputation.
Increased Promotion and Advertisement
Apple’s promotional and marketing activities need to be increased. This recommendation is mysterious because Apple has a large following. The following is associated with Steve Jobs’ Think Different ad campaign. This campaign has been subtle yet effective, an aspect that makes Apple appear like it does not conduct aggressive marketing (Holmes, 2020). However, a lot has changed since Cook took over leadership at Apple. The company today majorly competes in continuing technologies more than it did in the past (Patel, 2020). This sector invites intense competition due to the multiple number of competitors such as Samsung. Therefore, if Apple wishes to continue to operate within this level of technology, it must embrace more frequent and aggressive marketing campaigns that ascertain its position in the market. Marketing should play a critical role in informing clients about the products and perceived benefits. The design of the advertisement campaigns should ensure the company is distinguished from other market players.
Leadership and Disruptive Technology Adoption
Tim Cook’s leadership is calm and lacks the type of ambition that Steve Jobs demonstrated. Due to this type of leadership, the company invests in continuing technologies that have more competitors and lower margins. In the past, the company was constantly innovative and took pride in exploring modern technologies before they were popular among market players. Using these disruptive technologies enabled Apple Inc. to invest lower capital and make large returns on these investments. It also made it possible for the company to attain market leadership and create a loyal following of clients who yearn to be different. Thus, it is advisable that the company adopt a transformational leadership style. This approach is expected to offer certain benefits such as increased patents, higher revenue, first-mover advantage, entry into new markets, preservation of the ability to compete in the future, and a wider product portfolio (Liu, 2021). In addition, the employees will derive greater job satisfaction.
Device Compatibility
Apple Inc.’s clients enjoy superior exclusivity as a product attribute. Apple produces both hardware and software for its products. This means that consumers who purchase Apple’s products must use its accessories and subscribe to other aspects such as music and book’ access. Such exclusivity makes the products superior. However, it also reduces the social welfare that would normally motivate innovation in a similar direction (Adner, Chen, & Zhu, 2016). When products are compatible with those from other brands, it is possible for clients to combine the software and hardware in ways that fulfil their needs. The current state of incompatibility is also expensive for clients because the damage to accessories forces an individual to replace them at a high price. Furthermore, the constant product updates reduce the lifecycle of Apple’s products significantly (Rose, 2016). This means that Apple’s clients must be on the lookout for the newest product for purchase. While one may argue that Apple targets individuals who like to be different, it is important to consider that the current interest in continuing technologies may demand relaxation of the incompatibility with other devices.
Employee Relations
Apple’s employees have recently spoken up and cited cases of lack of equity and transparency in remuneration as well as workplace safety. The U.S. National Labor Relations Board has been investigating complaints from Apple’s employees (Turner, 2021). Employees who have come out to file complaints related to their work safety and labour rights have often been stifled by the company’s people department. This situation calls for intensive changes in the company’s internal system. Employees are the most important asset of any organization. Failure to ensure their safety and promote equality in all their affairs may drive the best talent away. Apple needs to make this cultural and systemic change because its production is dependent on the workforce, which can be used as a competitive advantage. In addition, the a need to comply with the labour laws that govern the employees’ welfare.
Potential Problems and Solutions
The process of making these recommended changes may not be easy for Apple. The challenge will be resistance to the changes that are inherent to each recommended change. The other challenge is the need for extensive human and financial resources for the implementation of the changes. First, the changes that affect the company’s corporate culture, systems, work procedures, leadership, and values are likely to face resistance from different stakeholders. These include employees, management, and external stakeholders. The solution to this challenge is to evaluate the process of change prior to implementation and apply Kotter’s model of change (NCVO, 2020). The internal stakeholders need to be taken through the required changes. It is important to make them understand the necessity of the changes and the positive or negative aspects associated with them. Stakeholder involvement in the process of change will avert most of the resistance and open an avenue for consultation.
Apple will also be required to conduct intense feasibility studies to determine the viability of changes that are related to product compatibility. This change requires an intensive study before the company can begin to implement it. Furthermore, the company needs to look at the effects on revenue, competitive advantage, brand awareness, and production costs as well. This sort of study demands intensive human resources and financial resources. Time will also be required for comprehensive analysis.
The ethical and legal changes that Apple needs to make demand a change in the corporate culture. This may mean that managers must begin to observe the laws and regulations that govern the workforce of employees. They also must institute policies and work procedures that reinforce the changes upon implementation. Implementation of such changes needs to be comprehensive and is almost mandatory. Compliance is critical because it reflects the company’s willingness to abide by the laws.
Conclusion
Apple is a global player in the technology sector. Its products are superior in the market leading to a loyal following. However, Apple is not perfect and needs several changes to improve its business activities, ethical and legal compliance, as well as management of people. The recommended changes are likely to affect the current culture, work procedures, and norms in the company. This is expected to attract intense resistance from different stakeholders. However, careful examination of the changes prior to implementation and utilization of Kotter’s change model for gradual and engaging change are viable solutions to manage the challenges associated with the transformations.
References
Adner, R., Chen, J., & Zhu, F. (2016). Frenemies in Platform Markets: The Case of Apple’s iPad vs. Amazon’s Kindle.
Apple Inc. (2017). Conflict Minerals Report. Retrieved from https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/320193/000119312518073716/d538673dex101.htm
Dudovskiy, J. (2021). Apple Leadership: a brief overview.
Holmes, J. (2020). Apple’s Promotion Marketing Mix.
Liu, Z. (2021). Analysis of Apple Inc.’s Innovation Dilemma From the Perspective of Leadership. Proceedings of the 6th Annual International Conference on Social Science and Contemporary Humanity Development (SSCHD 2020), 517, pp. 551-554. doi:10.2991/assehr.k.210121.112
Merchant, B. (2017). Op-Ed: Were the raw materials in your iPhone mined by children in inhumane conditions? Los Angeles Times.
NCVO. (2020). Involving stakeholders in change.
Patel, P. (2020). Leadership And Innovation At Apple Inc. Case Study. doi:10.13140/RG.2.2.12573.87526
Rose, S. (2016). A brief guide to everything that’s annoying about Apple. The Guardian.
Turner, N. (2021). Apple Worker Complaints Reviewed by Labor Relations Board. Bloomberg.
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Question 
Assignment Details
By now, you have completed the following sections of your project (i.e., a scholarly business plan):
Note: Apple Inc. is the company I chose for this capstone project. Please use them as your reference for this essay request.
Recommendations and Additional Competencies to Apple Inc
Title Page
Executive Summary
Company Summary
Financial Statements and Projections
Market Analysis
Market Strategy
Operations Management and Implementation Plan
Evaluation Plan
Using coursework and making corrections from the weekly feedback, you will add segment H and compile the References page.
You need to complete the following to complete your project:
Communicate recommendations and additional competencies to your organization in a 5-page report (see outline below).
Compile all of the references from Units 1–5 and prepare a References page.
Note to writer: I will compile these upon receiving the completed essay along with those given.
Recommendations and Additional Competencies
Future Directions
Potential Problems and Solutions
The submission details are as follows:
Present your analysis as a 5-page report in a Microsoft Word document formatted in APA style.
Cite any sources in APA format.
Submitting your assignment in APA format means, at a minimum, that you will need the following:
Title page: Remember the running head. The title should be in all capitals.
Length: There should be at least five pages.
Abstract: This is a summary of your paper, not an introduction. Begin writing in the third person.
Body: This begins on the page following the title page and abstract page and must be double-spaced (be careful not to triple- or quadruple-space between paragraphs). The typeface should be 12-point Times New Roman or 12-point Courier in regular black type. Do not use color, bold type, or italics except as required for APA-level headings and references. The deliverable length of the body of your paper for this assignment is five pages. In-body academic citations to support your decisions and analysis are required. Using a variety of academic sources is encouraged.
Reference page: References that align with your in-body academic sources are listed on the final page of your paper. The references must be in APA format using appropriate spacing, hanging indent, italics, and uppercase and lowercase usage as appropriate for the type of resource used. Remember that this page is not a bibliography but a further listing of the abbreviated in-body citations used in the paper. Every referenced item must have a corresponding in-body citation.