Apple_inc._strategic_management_implemen.pdf

School of Business Strategic Management by Department “Strategic Implementation”

Prepared By: Sobhi Braidy Submitted To: Dr. Razan Al-Masri

A Group Project submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the course: Global Strategic Management “IMGT490”

Semester-Year Fall 2015-2016

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Subject: Strategic Management of Apple Inc.

Topic: How Apple Inc. use strategies in different parts of the organization, how they apply the process of each strategy, and their positive effect in the future on the organization.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENT The report submitted today is a result of collective efforts, there is so many hands stand behind completing it, and thanks for the group members who work hard to give this complete work. Tough words are inadequate to thank our teacher Dr. Razan Masri for stimulating our abilities by assigning us this project, and for her help, guidance, and helpful suggestion, which helping us complete this project in time. Finally, we hope that this project will be an integrated and successful and to obtain impress of the audience.

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Abstract In our project we start by defining what are a management, a global management, and a strategic management means. And as we know every organization has its own strategies, so we will talk also on how an organization uses strategies, what are the types of these strategies, and when, where, and why they are using them. Our project will focus on Apple Strategies and every type of strategy listed in this project it will focus on Apple how they use them. Also on our project we focus on the Implementation process, where it start, what is the process APPLE Inc. must follow, and how we get a complete Implementation process. And in order to talk about the Implementation process clearly, we had to talk on other strategies process so we define and talk briefly on the formulation process, and the environmental scanning. After we define and talk about some strategies process we start defining and talking about the role of the strategies in the different departments of APPLE Inc. and how its affect the function of APPLE positively in the short-run and long-run term. In the last paragraph we talk about Board of Directors and its role, how their decisions are affect the company, and we finish our project in a small conclusion about the benefits of the strategic management and how it positively affect APPLE Inc. with some useful recommendations.

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Table of Contents Table of Contents ................................................................................................................................ 1 ACKNOWLEDGMENT................................................................................................ 3 Abstract .......................................................................................................................... 4 Table of Contents ........................................................................................................... 5 List of Figures ................................................................................................................ 7 Outline: .......................................................................................................................... 8 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................... 11 Overview of Apple Inc: ............................................................................................... 13 APPLE INC. ................................................................................................................ 13 Strategy Formulation ............................................................................................... 14 Strategy Implementation .......................................................................................... 15 1. Strategy Analysis and Formulation of Apple Inc ................................................ 16 3.

SWOT Analysis for Apple Inc. ......................................................................... 17 1.

Cost leadership strategy: ............................................................................ 22

Advantages of cost leadership: ............................................................................ 23 Disadvantages of cost leadership: ........................................................................ 24 2.

Differentiation Strategy: ............................................................................ 24

3.

Integration Strategy: .................................................................................. 26

Environmental scanning: ............................................................................................. 26 Apple using Porter‟s Five Forces Model ................................................................. 27 APPLE in the Market: .................................................................................................. 29 Apple Strategies in the Market ................................................................................ 29 1.

Apple Branding Strategy ........................................................................... 29

Apple‟s Marketing Mix Strategy (4P‟s): ............................................................. 33

2. A.

Apple‟s Products (Product Mix) ................................................................... 34

B.

Apple Distribution Place: .............................................................................. 34

C.

Apple‟s Promotions (Promotional Mix)........................................................ 35

D.

Apple‟s Prices and Pricing Strategy .............................................................. 35

7P‟s Target Market: ................................................................................................. 36 Importance of strategies in HR Department: ............................................................... 37 We have two types of HR strategies: ....................................................................... 38 Creating an effective structure ................................................................................. 39 The Advantages of an Effective Organizational Structure: ..................................... 39

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Management Information System (MIS) in Human Resource ................................ 40 Apple's HR Strategies: ................................................................................................. 41 7 Essential steps to build an effective HR Department............................................ 41 4P‟s HR Concept: .................................................................................................... 43 APPLE‟s Board of Director ......................................................................................... 43 Role of the BOD: ..................................................................................................... 45 Conclusion: .................................................................................................................. 46 Recommendations: ................................................................................................... 46 References .................................................................................................................... 48

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List of Figures Figure 1: ....................................................................................................................... 16 Figure 2: ....................................................................................................................... 21 Figure 3: ....................................................................................................................... 22 Figure 4: ....................................................................................................................... 32 Figure 5: ....................................................................................................................... 33 Figure 6: ....................................................................................................................... 37 Figure 7: ....................................................................................................................... 43 Figure 8: ....................................................................................................................... 44

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Outline: I. Introduction A. Introduction to Management B. Definition of the Strategic Management and Features C. Apple Inc. 1. Executive Summary 2. Introduction II. Strategic Implementation and Formulation of Apple Inc. A. Definitions for both Implementation and Formulation B. Differences between the Implementation and Formulation C. Process of implementation used by Apple III. Environmental Scanning A. definition B. what should be scanned C. importance of environmental scanning D. internal/external IV. Strategic by Departments, Apple Inc. A. The role of strategies in marketing 1. Definition of the strategic marketing 2. Entering Apple Product the global markets 3. Long-term strategy for Apple product distribution B. Importance of strategies in HR department 1. Apple HR strategies 2. 7 Essential steps to build an effective HR Department

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3. Human Resource Information System V. Role of The BOD In The Strategic Management A. Strategic Decisions B. Evaluation And Benefits VI. Conclusion A. Benefits of The Strategic Management and Its Effect On Apple Inc. Future B. Recommendation

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INTRODUCTION The word “Management” defined as four major steps, Planning, Organizing, Leading, and Controlling, those four steps defined if corporations manage itself in the right way, but those steps don‟t define the real management completely because the management include the activities and decisions taken by the CEO‟s or leaders that affect the way of managing a corporation. And as we know also, the management includes in it the marketing and innovations. But also we cannot say that we are completely defined the management because it‟s include the “Global Management” that is define how the global companies or the Multi National Corporation (MNC) managed because it‟s not the same way that we manage a small corporation we can use it to manage a Global company, everything will change when we talk about the International Management. The International Management or Global Management is refers to the way an organization manages its business internationally and it will be completely different from the local companies because of the many differences available between countries. And to manage a corporation locally or globally they must have a Strategy to keep them in the front and always differentiated from their competitors. The Strategies or Strategic Planning are the plans that putted by a CEO or BOD and affect positively the performance of the corporation in the future, so we can conclude that the strategic plans are a long-term plans that they must putted to manage a corporation on the long-term and they must contain expectation about future competitions, sales growth, unexpected problems that may face the corporation in the future such as crisis, inflation, deflation etc… also the strategic planning defined as “a set of managerial decisions and actions that determine the long-run performance of a corporation” (Strategic Management and Business Policy, IMGT490, Pearson, 13th

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edition, Chapter 1, Page 53, 1st paragraph), it includes environmental scanning, strategy formulation, implementation, and evaluation and control.

Objective: Our project objective is to define what are the real mean of the Strategic Management and the role of Strategies used in an organization; also we focus on some strategies process like the Implementation process, define it, and make sure to deliver the right view to the audiences. Purpose: The general purpose of our project is to put our audience in the action of the strategic management and convince them in the importance of strategies in every single decision taken by a CEO, Board of Director, or even by the Top Managers and how it affect the organization positively on the long-run and short-run term. Theoretical Aspect of the Project: “The Strategic Management is a concept promotes a systematic approach to strategy formulation that is founded in the mission, or purpose of the organization and tests the implementation choices and actions of the firm against that mission. The mission forms the direct basis for the specific targets the firm will select and attempt to achieve. It also defines the nature, form and extent of evaluation of the firm and its environment, as well as the nature of the corporate and business level decisions it makes. Finally the mission defines the conditions by which the firm will determine the success of its actions.” Our theory has been taken from an online book his name is “Strategic Management and Competitive Advantage: Concepts and Cases” Barney, J. B. and Hesterly, W.S 2010. 3rd Edition. Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey.

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Overview of Apple Inc: Apple Inc is a Multi National Corporation hold in the United States of America; it‟s the 3rd largest technology and services organization and the 2nd largest smart phones organization in the world. According to Reuters, Apple Inc. (Apple), incorporated on January 3, 1977, designs, manufactures and markets mobile communication and media devices, personal computers and portable digital music players and sells a variety of related software, services, and peripherals, networking solutions and thirdparty digital content and applications.

APPLE INC. According to Apple Info and Wikipedia websites, Apple Inc. is an American multinational organization located in 1 Infinite loop, Cupertino, California 95014. Apple was founded by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne on April 1, 1976. It was incorporated as Apple Computer Inc. on January 3, 1977 and was renamed to Apple Inc. on January 9, 2007. It was focused firstly on developing and selling personal computer, other related software product, and the electronic product such as MP3 Player and the IPod. Apple main products are the IMac, IPod, IPhone, and the IPad. They are the first company that creates the most successful personal computer ever, and those are some facts about Apple success that can be calculated in 2012. As Apple first quarter report in 2012: “The Company sold 37.04 million iPhones in the quarter, representing 128 percent unit growth over the year-ago quarter. Apple sold 15.43 million iPads during the quarter, a 111 percent unit increase over the year-ago quarter. The company sold 5.2 million IMacs during the quarter, a 26 percent unit increase over the year-ago quarter. Apple sold 15.4 million iPods, a 21 percent unit decline from the year-ago quarter. The Company posted record quarterly

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revenue of $46.33 billion and record quarterly net profit of $13.06 billion, or $13.87 per diluted share. These results compare to revenue of $26.74 billion and net quarterly profit of $6 billion, or $6.43 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter.”

Strategy Formulation Strategy Formulation is referred to “as strategic planning or long-range planning, is concerned with developing a corporation‟s missions, objectives, strategies, and policies.” It begins with situation analysis. The process of strategy formulation basically involves six main steps: 1. Setting Organization‟s Objectives 2. Evaluating the Organizational Environment 3. Setting Quantitative Targets 4. Aiming in context with the Divisional plans 5. Performance Analysis 6. Choice of Strategy However the process of formulation can begin using the SWOT Analysis method. “SWOT is a shortcut or abbreviation used to describe the particular Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats that are the strategic factors for a company.” Strategy formulation includes planning and decision making involved a company that developing their own strategic and long-term plans, and its goals and objectives. The formulation is to place the force before the real action, is entrepreneurial activity, emphasize effectiveness, it‟s a rational process, and we have to focus also on that the formulation require someone with greater skills in logic and be initiative in work. All these points show how a formulation strategy works in the real world. But after all,

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the formulation will be ineffective if it‟s not followed by the second step The Implementation. Strategy Implementation The Implementation strategy is referred to “the sum total of the activities and choices required for the execution of a strategic plans.” It is the process in which objectives, strategies, and policies are put into action after they are formulated. Those are the general steps followed by the implementation strategy: 1. Developing an organization having potential of carrying out strategy successfully. 2. Disbursement of abundant resources to strategy essential activities. 3. Creating strategy-encouraging policies 4. Employing best policies and programs for constant improvement 5. Linking reward structure to accomplishment of results. 6. Making use of strategic leadership So we can see now that the implementation and formulation are two consecutive parts, to do a correct implementation we must firstly have a good work and study the formulation strategy very well, and without a hard work on implementation the whole work in the formulation part will disappear.

Strategy Formulation

Strategy Implementation

Strategy Formulation includes planning and Strategy Implementation involves all those decision-making involved in developing means related to executing the strategic organization’s strategic goals and plans. plans. In short, Strategy Formulation is placing the Forces before the action.

In short, Strategy Implementation is managing forces during the action.

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Strategy Formulation is an Entrepreneurial Strategic Implementation is mainly Activity based on strategic decisionan Administrative Task based on strategic making. and operational decisions. Strategy Formulation emphasizes on effectiveness.

Strategy Implementation emphasizes on efficiency.

Strategy Formulation is a rational process. Strategy Implementation is basically an operational process. Strategy Formulation requires co-ordination Strategy Implementation requires coamong few individuals. ordination among many individuals. Strategy Formulation requires a great deal of initiative and logical skills.

Strategy Implementation requires specific motivational and leadership traits.

Strategic Formulation precedes Strategy Implementation.

Strategic Implementation follows Strategy Formulation.

Figure 1: Table That show the main differences between Strategy Formulation and Strategy Implementation and what are their conditions to be done correctly. 1. Strategy Analysis and Formulation of Apple Inc A. Apple Vision and mission Statement In the strategy analysis and formulation we have two important parts that we must define them before we start our work on analysing and formulating our work. Those two parts are the Vision Statement and the Mission Statement. The vision statement is the future vision of an organization on what they must have in the future; it‟s somehow the goals of an organization. The mission statement is what an organization has to do in order to achieve their goals or in other word their vision statement. 1. Apple Vision Statement

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"Man is the creator of change in this world. He should be above systems and structures, and not subordinate to them." Apple goals and objectives are “to obtain stellar products and services within tight timeframes, at a cost that represents the best possible value to our customers and shareholders.” 2. Apple Mission Statement Apple has never published any mission statement but these points are quoted from Tim Cook the CEO of Apple Inc. regarding Apple's business philosophy interview: i.

We believe that we are on the face of the Earth to make great products

ii.

We believe in the simple not the complex

iii.

We believe that we need to own and control the primary technologies behind the products we make

iv.

We participate only in markets where we can make a significant contribution

v.

We believe in saying no to thousands of projects so that we can really focus on the few that are truly important and meaningful to us

vi.

We believe in deep collaboration and cross pollination of our groups which allow us to innovate in a way that others cannot

vii.

We don‟t settle for anything less than excellence in every group in the company, and we have the self honesty to admit when we're wrong and the courage to change 3. SWOT Analysis for Apple Inc.

Apple SWOT Analysis highlights the most significant Strength that Apple can use to improve its performance in the market and the Weaknesses and the

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Threats that the company should address it and turn it into strategies can be used to compete it in the market, also the SWOT analysis show us the Opportunities that Apple has in the market that differ it from its competitors.

Apple Strength (Internal Factors) This aspect of Apple SWOT analysis shows the biggest strength that enables the company to stand in the market and face the threats of other competitors. 1. Strong brand image 2. High profit margin 3. Effective innovation process Apple is one of the most valuable and strongest brand images in the world, this point in the swot analysis show that the organization able to introduce in the market a new product and hit high sales depending on its brand image strength, also the policy of high prices that followed by Apple, give it the opportunity to attained a high profit margin depending on the high class buyers in the market who will pay any amount putted by Apple to buy their products, who give it the capability to invest in the R&D more than other competitors. Either Apple is known for the rapid innovation, based on (http://panmore.com/apple-inc-generic-strategy-intensive-growth-strategies), the rapid innovation allow the organization to stay up-to-date with the latest technologies to ensure the competitive ability.

Apple Weaknesses (Internal Factors) This aspect of Apple SWOT analysis shows the weaknesses that affect negatively on the business growth goals.

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1. Limited distribution network 2. High selling prices 3. Sales limited mainly to high-end market Due to Apple distribution policy that require on the seller or the distributor to be recognized by the company itself and by the government of the country who want to distribute in it, Apple has put a limitation for the distribution of their products. Also the high selling prices policy put immediate limit on who will buy these products and stay only between the people of the medium and high classes. The low class people who represent the greatest part of the market stay outside the Apple market segment who will affect negatively on Apple revenues and reputation.

Apple Opportunities (External Factors) This aspect of Apple SWOT analysis shows the opportunities that the organization can use them in order to stay in the front of the market. 1. Distribution network expansion 2. Rising demand for Tablets and Smartphone‟s 3. Creation of new product lines To stay the leadership of the technologies market and to stay in the competition with other competitors, Apple can expand its distribution network so they can enter with a strong base into new markets. Also the rising of demand for Tablets and Smartphone‟s give the company an opportunity to create a new specification that allow it to stay in the competition with other companies. Either they can see what the needs of the markets and create a new product that differ Apple from its competitors. This dimension of Apple‟s SWOT analysis indicates that the

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company has major opportunities for further growth despite aggressive competition.

Threats facing Apple (External Factors) This aspect of Apple SWOT analysis shows the threats facing the company from various sources such as competitors. Threats can affect negatively on the financial returns of the company. The most significant threats that are affecting Apple: 1. Aggressive competition 2. Imitation 3. Rising labor cost in countries where Apple plants are located Apple competes with firms like Samsung, which also use rapid innovation. Because of the aggressive competition between the firms it‟s necessary to have strong fundamentals to maintain the competitive advantage. Also Apple face the threat of imitation, it‟s easy for any competent company to imitate Apple mobile design. In addition, the rising cost of the labors in countries where Apple are located, will face the company with the threat of lower the margin of profit or increase the selling price.

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Figure 2: Show the four points of the SWOT Analysis process of Apple Inc. Porter’s Five forces Factors: Porter‟s five factors are the most powerful tools that show the core of the power in a business or company. Below are the porter‟s five forces factors of Apple Inc.

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Figure 3: Showing Porter’s Five Forces Model at APPLE Inc. 2. Strategy Implementation of Apple: In page 1 and 2 of our project, we define the implementation strategies and we list the general process used, but Apple Inc. Use a different implementation strategy in which allow them to stay the leaders of the market. Apple implementation plan take into consideration three major points: 1. Cost Leadership Strategy 2. Differentiation Strategy 3. Integration Strategy 1. Cost leadership strategy:

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“It‟s a business strategy concept developed by Michael Porter, it‟s describe the ways to establish the competitive advantage, and in basic words it means the lowest cost of operation in the industry.” In other way, it‟s having the lowest costs with providing your products in the same value, which enable the company to compete in the market with an advantage not available with other competitors. How to implement cost leadership strategy? By using economies of scale, lean manufacturing, experiences, supply chain, tight cost and overhead control, and cost minimization in the R&D department. Nowadays, Apple Inc. Use cost leadership strategy by drawing policies and strategies that‟s aimed to ensuring that the company has the lowest cost producer and distributor in the market. Because the lack of information available on the websites and online search engines we will describe briefly the advantages and disadvantages of the cost leadership strategy without real examples from Apple Inc. Advantages of cost leadership: A. Higher profitability: The selling of products in a lower cost basis and competitive pricing, allow the organization to have a margins greater than other competitors who invest more to produce a similar quality for the same product. B. Increased market share: By earning higher profits, the organization can use them in increasing their market share and satisfy their customers demand.

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C. Sustainability: During tough economic times, or in a beat down price war in the market, companies with lower costs of production have a better chance to survive facing other competitors. D. Capital growth: When an organization use cost leadership strategy, they‟ll have more capital resources available to invest for further developments. Disadvantages of cost leadership: In order to have a cost leadership strategy, the company need to reduce the cost of some of their services such as the customer services who will lead to lose the loyalty of their customers, and in the other hand, they will reduce the cost of the R&D department who will lead to the lack in the innovation, and it will affect negatively on the customers who looking for the up-to-date technologies and innovations. 2. Differentiation Strategy: Since 1980s Apple has successfully used the differentiation strategy to separate their product in the market from other competitors‟ products, starting with their mackintosh computers to their music player “Ipod”, and smart phones “Iphone”. Those are the four majors differentiation used by Apple in the market worldwide: Product Design 

A major aspect of a product differentiation strategy comes from product design. Products that display a different visual style, include different features or handle different tasks stand out from those offered by the competition. Apple has made product design a hallmark of its product differentiation strategy since the company's origins. When Apple introduced the iPod, iPhone, and iPad, no similar consumer electronics products existed in the market that included so many features in one package.

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Pricing Strategy 

Another factor in product differentiation plans stems from the company's pricing strategies. Apple Computers co-founder Steve Jobs sought to create a topnotch product with a price proportionate to its level of quality while maintaining high profit margins. The lowest-priced Apple products consistently fall in the mid-range, but customers are willing to pay that price for the high quality of the user experience. This pricing strategy runs counter to that of makers of PC "clones," which put out low-end computers and rely on slim profit margins.

Retail Outlets 

Apple's pricing strategy extends to its differentiation in the retail electronics marketplace. While users can purchase PC clones, tablets and mobile phones from nearly any electronics outlet, Apple differentiates itself by providing limited quantities to "big box" retailers and focusing its retail efforts on its Apple Stores. For its third-party retailers, Apple uses a "minimum advertised price" to prevent outlets like Walmart and Best Buy from undercutting the prices found at the Apple Stores.

Brand Loyalty 

Apple has been among the most successful technology companies in the development of loyalty to a brand. Loyal Apple customers will wait in line to purchase the latest iPhone, download music through iTunes, watch their favourite television shows on Apple TV and play games on their iPads. The company's efforts toward building brand loyalty have allowed Apple to differentiate itself from Microsoft, Samsung and other competitors in its various arenas.

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“Those four points has been taken from the ehow.com site” Read more:http://www.ehow.com/way_5815745_apple-differentiation-strategy.html

3. Integration Strategy: The competition with Apple is difficult that competes with other‟s technology company, because of the wide range of products line in Apple also with the HighTech used in the corporation; allow them to be a difficult competitor in the market. Also Apple is vertically integrated, it controls all the major critical parts of the chain used to make and sell products. Apple builds great hardware, owns the core software experience, optimizes its software for that hardware, equips it with web services (iTunes and iCloud), and finally controls the selling experience through its own retail stores. Beyond that, Apple also has a culture that is completely unique, which is another part of the reason for its success. Steve Jobs in his many keynotes has pointed out that Apple‟s approach to products is that they are at the union of liberal arts and technology. And nobody in the industry so far has been able to match Apple‟s eye for design.

Environmental scanning: By definition the environmental scanning is a process that consists on gathering and analyzing as many information to serve its tactical strategies. Environments which a company desires to operate or entre, There are six main categories of environmental data to consider when evaluating marketing decisions. These are social forces, demographic forces, economic forces, technological forces, political and legal forces, and competitive forces.

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Apple uses environmental scanning to gain business intelligence by tracking systematically their customers and the use of their product (like purchasing apps, songs and other product s), allowing apple to obtain information from system feedback that pushes apple to make quality control adjustments to their marketing strategies. With Steve Jobs gone apple‟s carrying on his legacy (innovative and scalable designs) The world we live in today is technology based, Constant adaptation and advancement to gain competitive advantage in a rapidly changing and unstable technological environment will always prove to be a challenge, but Apple seems to have the formula for success. Apple using Porter’s Five Forces Model Apples quality products, superior technological advancement, and unique marketing strategies keep the supply of Apple‟s products in high demand. With limited manufacturers supplying equal product value or quality, Apple is able to maintain high supplier power. Apple might want to make a few changes to ensure productivity and profit from both current and future buyer, stopping the dreadful chain of making the next product a spin-off of its predecessor. Environmental Scan basically analyzes and evaluates the internal as well as external data and factors that affect the organization. Environmental scan involves the recognition of organization's environment that has potential influence on organization's environment and therefore, is critical to make successful strategies. Internal Environment: Apple's internal environment dynamic and creative. It has developed an internal

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environment which encourages its human resource to become a part of Apple brand and image. According to Apple's website, its employees love working their because of the creativity, productivity, and being a part of innovation and excitement. Apple works a lot in developing a culture in the corporation that can promote values which supports its brand image, which is that the customer can expect having new experiences through Apple's products. Apple's internal environmental scan shows that the company is highly devoted to the R&D, which enables it to access the latest technology in order to allow it be always at the lead, and its marketing strategy involves the use of celebrities in their advertisements such as Jamie fox, Samuel Jackson, Selena Gomez… (34 apple commercials starring celebrities) Secrecy can also be seen as strength of their inter-environment because due to this there is smaller chance for competitors to copy. External Environment: Considering its external environment, Apple has focused on two major strategies and tactics: First it has made strategic alliance with IBM, Microsoft, and AT&T, these alliances are beneficial for Apple as they provide further computer growth to the company and also guarantee software that are accessible and recognizable to consumer worldwide. Secondly, they focus on the strategy to concentrate on internal growth, which they have implemented by creating new products for the market they have already developed and by locating new markets as well. The global expansion is important for Apple as large consumer markets are present in foreign countries where the

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corporation has not started to serve yet, recently the company has opened in the Arab nation its first store located in the UAE, and introducing the brand new Arabic Siri.

APPLE in the Market: Apple Strategies in the Market According to the Principle of Marketing Book “marketing strategy is the fundamental goal of increasing sales and achieving a sustainable competitive advantage. Marketing strategies includes all basic, short-term, and long-term activities in the field of marketing that deal with the analysis of the strategic initial situation of a company and the formulation, evaluation and selection of market-oriented strategies and therefore contribute to the goals of the company and its marketing objectives.” 1. Apple Branding Strategy Apple Inc. Use the branding strategy in order to compete across several high competitive markets. They depend on the loyalty of their customers, good reputation, and on the luxurious of their products to attract other customers. Since Apple was voted the overall winner of the 2012 CMO survey award for marketing strategies for the 5th year consecutively, (Apple was named as a winner or co-winner of the CMO survey for five years consecutive). They has attained high sales and high market share, and the consumers are well noticed and familiar with the brand name and its products. So they are willing to pay premium price to buy Apple products, regardless to other competitor‟s product due to Apple brand equity. a. Benefits of Branding Strategy i. Emotional Appeal: – As stated by Clarity marketing LTD (2005), the emotional appeal help deal a great targeting in the

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consumer‟s emotions. A strong and familiar brand name will act in decision making when a customer choose to buy the same product from two or more competitors, because they will automatically choose the familiar brand name and the most knowing quality even if the company putting a high selling price. ii. Loyalty: If a customer had a positive experience with the company he will automatically return to it when he want to buy another similar product, or related product even if they don‟t want it as a daily uses, but they will buy it according to the old positive experience and also they will recommend your product to other customers. iii. Extension and Safety: When the company take a decision to enter the market with a new product line the loyal customers will buy it according to the reputation, familiarity, and the positive relation between them and the company. iv. Lower Marketing Investment: When a company has a good reputation in the market, and its brand name are familiar with the customers, they don‟t need a huge amount of investment in the Ads. And promotion sector because they have already known by the customers and don‟t need to promote their products. b. STP Process:

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After the branding strategy created, the company need a further help to stay in the front, the second step is the STP process. STP is consist of three strategies; Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning. Segmentation: The market is divided into three different segments. 

Demographic Segmentation: It is when the market is segmented on the basis of age, gender, education, income, occupation, etc.



Geographic segmentation: It is when the market is segmented on the basis of city, state, region or country.



Psychographic segmentation: It is when the market is segmented on the basis of life style, Social class (Upper class, middle class, lower class, blue collar, etc...), behaviours, opinions, values or ethics.

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Apple Segmentation:

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Figure 4: Figure show the Apple market Segmentation Targeting: It is the second step in the STP process, in which the company will select a segment or series of segments to target it with the products. And there are three methods to targeting: 1. One supplier target one segment with a single product 2. One supplier targets all segments with one brand and several products. 3. One supplier target several segments with several products or brands, and each segment has its own product or brand. Apple uses the second type of targeting, they target all segments with a single brand, “APPLE” contains several products (like the iPhone, iPad, iPod, and iMac).

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Positioning: It‟s the third and the last step in the STP process. It‟s all about perception. After the segmentation and the targeting of a market, the marketers need to put the products in the market finally. Apple positioned as a premium brand and price for the customers who look for a high class relation with the company. This premium price includes all Apple products. Therefore Apple create a culture that has differs it from its competitors by positioning a less price sensitive customers.

2. Apple’s Marketing Mix Strategy (4P’s):

Figure 5: figure show the 4P’s “Target Market” Apple Inc‟s marketing mix indicates how the company matches its business activities to market conditions. This analysis of the firm‟s marketing mix provides insights

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about how to effectively address market conditions and the competitive landscape through appropriate products, distribution, promotion and pricing. Apple continues to use its marketing mix in globally expanding the business through various channels and with a growing product mix, along with an array of promotion strategies. A. Apple’s Products (Product Mix) Apple Inc. has continued to expand its product mix. This component of the marketing mix determines the outputs of the business organization. In Apple‟s case, the following are the main product lines: 

iMac

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iPad

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iPod

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iPhone

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Apple TV

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Apple Watch

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Software

As part of its product development intensive growth strategy, the company continues to develop new products, such as the Apple electric vehicle, which is under development through collaboration with firms like Tesla Motors. B. Apple Distribution Place: Apple‟s marketing mix involves a holistic approach to distribution, taking advantage of different distribution channels. In general, the company uses a selective distribution strategy, which involves some degree of exclusivity that could limit market reach. Apple authorizes sellers to ensure control over this component of the marketing mix. The following places are included in Apple‟s distribution strategy: 

Apple Stores

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Online Apple Store and App Store

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Authorized retailers

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Telecom companies

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Fulfilments‟ services C. Apple’s Promotions (Promotional Mix)

Apple‟s marketing mix includes promotion activities that emphasize the premium image and quality of the firm‟s products. The promotional or marketing communications mix supports business position in reaching more target buyers. In Apple‟s case, this component of the marketing mix includes the following elements: 

Advertising

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Personal Selling

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Sales Promotion

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Public Relations

Apple‟s marketing mix includes advertising through the company‟s website and Apple Stores, as well as advertising through other firms, such as technology news sites. The company also uses personal selling in the form of Apple Store employees who provide product-specific information in the aim of convincing store visitors to make a purchase. In addition, the company‟s marketing mix involves sales promotion, which usually happens at the Apple Stores. D. Apple’s Prices and Pricing Strategy Apple uses a premium pricing strategy. In this component of the marketing mix, the emphasis is on how prices represent the company and its products, while meeting consumer expectations. In Apple‟s case, the premium pricing strategy involves relatively high prices. This pricing strategy helps maintain the high-end image of the

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company and its products. Another effect of this pricing strategy is that Apple products attract a smaller market share composed of people from the middle and upper classes. Nonetheless, the company maintains profitability because premium prices entail higher profit margins. Thus, Apple‟s marketing mix is aligned to the company‟s premium product development strategy. This 4 P’s mix strategy article has been taken from panmore.com with the approval of the site admin “http://panmore.com/apple-inc-marketing-mix-4ps”

7P’s Target Market: So far we have also the full target market in which it‟s known by the 7P‟s target market

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Figure 6: Show the 7P’s marketing mix

Importance of strategies in HR Department: Strategic HRM can be regarded as a general approach to the strategic management of human resources in accordance with the intentions of the organization on the future direction it wants to take. What emerges from this process is a stream of decisions over time, which form the pattern adopted by the organization for managing its human

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resources and define the areas in which specific HR strategies need to be developed. HR strategies will focus on the specific intentions of the organization on what needs to be done and what needs to be changed. Also the purpose of HR strategies is to guide development and implementation programs. They provide a means of communicating to all concerned the intentions of the organization about how its human resources will be managed. They enable the organization to measure progress and evaluate outcomes against objectives. We have two types of HR strategies: 1) Overarching HR strategies: Overarching strategies describe the general intentions of the organization about how people should be managed and developed and what steps should be taken to ensure that the organization can attract and retain the people it needs and ensure so far as possible that employees are committed, motivated and engaged. They are likely to be expressed as broad-brush statements of aims and purpose, which set the scene for more specific strategies. 2) Specific HR strategies: - Talent management – how the organization intends to „win the war for talent‟. - Continuous improvement – providing for focused and continuous incremental innovation sustained over a period of time. - Knowledge management – creating, acquiring, capturing, sharing and using knowledge to enhance learning and performance. - Resourcing – attracting and retaining high-quality people.

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- Learning and developing – providing an environment in which employees are encouraged to learn and develop.

Creating an effective structure A healthy organizational structure allows its employees to focus on producing quality products and services. Effective organizations provide opportunities to its employees to develop new skills. This allows the staff to constantly improve business operations and ensures that the company maintains a competitive edge required to thrive in a dynamic global marketplace. Creating a healthy organizational structure begins by assessing your company‟s needs. Sustaining the structure involves running events and programs to maintain a productive workplace. The Advantages of an Effective Organizational Structure: 1) Facilitates Specialization Organizational structure facilitates division of work since each boss has specialized knowledge on his field of work. He has better and accurate knowledge to guide his subordinates. 2) Control Over Resources This can only be done if an organizational structure is clearly defined and there is control of employees through an effective organizational structure.

3) Easier Communication

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This simplifies the work of executive employees so that they are not overwhelmed by the activities of the firm 4) Better Employee Performance Organizational structures clearly show various jobs to be performed by employees and which supervisor will manage them

Management Information System (MIS) in Human Resource The Management Information System is a collection of Men, tools, procedures and software to perform various business tasks at various levels in the organization. Many organizations have separate MIS departments which are involved in maintaining records, performing transactions, report generations and consolidation of the important information which will be supplied to the various levels of the management. MIS primarily serves the functions of controlling and decision making At the managerial level, MIS has three basic levels: operational, middle management and top management where the information is passed from bottom to top. That‟s why in today‟s organizations Human Resource is considered as one of the key resources of business organizations. The transaction processing layer of MIS in human resource function deals with routine activities like attendance recording and payroll calculations. The operational level activities also include maintaining the employee records which is used as a basis for strategic layers. With the growing importance of human resource management and increasing size of the organizations, maintenance of employee related data and generating appropriate reports are the crucial aspects of any organization.

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Therefore more and more organizations are adopting computer based human resource management systems (HRMS). This paper is an attempt to design and implement an MIS for the business organization and show how it helps in taking management decisions related to management function especially for the top management. Apple's HR Strategies: information are an essential tool for managers in the recruitment and evaluation of human resources in organizations. Since they support the goals and objectives of the organization, It importance lies on personnel administration operational programs, including employee record keeping, budget control, compensation, benefits management, and government reporting. Strategic HR planning is an important component of strategic HR management. It links HR management directly to the strategic plan of your organization. Strategic HR planning is also important from a budgetary point of view so that you can factor the costs of recruitment, training, etc. Apple has developed an online recruitment system that allowed the company to offer special services to their customers, by training a group of people around the globe with different languages to offer these services for example solving apple account problems. With low cost apple manages to relief the pressure on their HQ, by recruiting local that deals with local issues. 7 Essential steps to build an effective HR Department 1. DEFINE BUSINESS CONTEXT. Define the business environment. Recognize and define expectations of key stakeholders to face business challenges.

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2. ARTICULATE HR VISION. Articulate a vision of the HR function that can be shared inside the function to excite HR professionals. Who we are, what we do, and why we do it. 3. SPECIFY DELIVERABLE OUTCOMES. Define the deliverables, outcomes, or guarantees from doing good HR work 4. MAKE HUMAN RESOURCE INVESTMENTS. Make investment choices on critical practices like cost-benefit. 5. CREATE HR GOVERNANCE AND STRUCTURE. Identify who can do the work (HR, line managers, strategic vendors, staff managers). Create a responsibility grid for that must do the work. 6. PREPARE ACTION PLANS Preparing for a specific action plan for accomplishing HR priorities with detailed task and responsibilities. 7. ENSURE HR COMPETENCIES. Identifying critical HR competencies needed to meet the HR plan. Prepare improvement plans that ensure HR professionals to accomplish the business plan. HRIS stand for: Human Resource Information System Human Resources Information Systems is an integration of HRM and Information Systems (IS). HRIS or Human resource Information system helps HR managers perform HR functions in a more effective and systematic way using technology. It is the system used to acquire, store, manipulate, analyze, retrieve, and distribute pertinent information regarding an organization‟s human resources The HRS is a part of management information system (MIS) which include accounting, production, and marketing, etc.

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Application of HRIS: HRIS can be applied in the following areas of HRM:HR planning, staffing, applicant recruitment and tracking, employee data base development, compensation, Pay roll, salary planning, Developing an innovative organizational structure , developing IT.

4P’s HR Concept: Also there is a type of marketing in the HR department in any organization, and also in Apple in which they try harder to put their employees in the perfect environment so they can work much easier and harder to attend the needed goals.

Figure 7: The 4P’s concept of HR. APPLE’s Board of Director

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Figure 8: Apple Executive Team

1. Tim Cook : Tim Cook is the CEO of Apple and serves on its Board of Directors and his was Apple's Chief Operating Officer and was responsible for all of the company‟s worldwide sales and operations, including end-to-end management of Apple‟s supply chain, sales activities, and service and support in all markets and countries. 2. Albert Gore: Former Vice President Al Gore is co-founder and chairman of Generation Investment Management. He is a senior partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, and a member of Apple, Inc.‟s board of directors. Gore spends the majority of his time as chairman of The Climate Reality Project, a non-profit devoted to solving the climate crisis.

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3. Andrea Jung: Is the President and CEO of Grameen America. Ms. Jung joined Grameen America with the goal of scaling the organization to solve economic issues for women and their families across the country. Ms. Jung ranked consistently among the top leaders on lists including Fortune magazine's "Most Powerful Women in Business," Forbes magazine's "Most Powerful Women in the World," and Financial Times' "Top Women in World Business." 4. Ronald D. Sugar: former Chairman of the Board and CEO of Northrop Grumman corporation, was appointed to Apple‟s Board of Directors. Dr. Sugar will serve as the Chair of the Audit and Finance Committee. “Ron is an engineer at heart, who then became a very successful business leader. We are very excited to welcome him to Apple‟s Board,” said Steve Jobs, Apple‟s CEO. “In addition to having been the CEO of a high-tech Fortune 100 company, Ron has a Ph.D. in engineering and has been involved in the development of some very sophisticated technology.” 5. Sue Wagner: founding partner and director of BlackRock, has been elected to Apple's board of directors. Bill Campbell, the board‟s longest-serving member, is retiring after 17 years of service.

Role of the BOD: The BOD has the right to elect directors, who have a legal duty to represent the shareholder, and to protect their interests. The board of director has an obligation to approve all decisions that might affect the long run performance of the corporation. This means that the corporation is fundamentally governed by the board of directors overseeing top management, with the concurrence of the shareholder. The board of director has five responsibilities, listed in order of importance:

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1- Setting corporate strategy, overall direction, mission and vision. 2- Hiring and firing the CEO and top management. 3- Controlling, monitoring or supervising top management. 4- Reviewing and approving the use of resources. 5- Caring for shareholder interests. Director must also ensure management‟s adherence to laws and regulations, such as these dealing with the issuance of securities, insider trading and other conflict of interest situations.

Conclusion: Apple is a Multi-National Corporation that affects and can be affected by the market environment. As you can see from this project, and after we study the formulation of the strategies by Apple and how they implement them, you can conclude that Apple use the most knowing strategies in the world that also available in the hands of other firms, but they differ from other competitors by their implementation strategy. Apple has a different view toward the strategies available, they doing things in a way that it‟s difficult to other competitors to stand in the market face to face with Apple. Apple is one of the leaders industries in the high-tech market that compete with other MNC‟s in the world such as Samsung, Sony, Microsoft… and to stay in the leadership they must continue formulate strategies for the long and short run to avoid the eliminating from the market. Recommendations: Here are some problems and recommendations we see that Apple must focus on them:

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1. Cost skimming strategy. Apple uses the skimming strategy in which they affect negatively their sales in the market and limit their customers to specific people only. 2. Imitating Product. The firm faces the significant threats of aggressive competition and imitation, which are major challenges affecting the industry. A stronger patent portfolio along with continuous innovation, ensure the competitive advantage of Apple products even when competitors try to imitate them. 3. Scale up its production capabilities. Every time Apple releases a new gadget, customers can't get it. This is a consequence of Apple's legendarily precise just-in-time manufacturing system.

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