International Human Resource Management Challenges of Apple - Case Study Example

Analysis of Apple Inc. of Affiliation: Analysis of Apple Inc. Analyze the organization overall, its primary purpose, the customers that it serves, and its size. For a period now, the name Apple has remained dominant brand in the business platform for the great success it has realized in its past years of operation. Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne founded Apple Inc. in 1976, with the main activity of developing and selling of personal computers (Grady, 2009). However, currently Apple Inc. has expanded substantively to stand as a multinational organization in the Information Technology world, specializing in the design, development, and sales of consumer electronics in addition to computer software and personal computers. Apple is also involved in the marketing of mobile communication and media devices with other peripherals and associated accessories (Lashinsky, 2012). The organization has realized significant success in its operations over the past years, with a current stand at world’s second largest organization in information technology by revenue, third largest phone maker in the world after Samsung and Nokia. Currently, it has control of approximately 408 retail stores in fourteen nations globally, with a wide spared of clients all over the world from every nation. Headquartered in Cupertino California, Apple’s initial target market was the United States and a few European nations, considering that technology in the 1970s was not common in most of the developing nations (Grady, 2009). However, through increased technological development and aspects such as globalization, the organization has expanded its market globally, capturing a substantive market share in the industry. Today, African states are among the biggest markets that Apple has an aspect that contributes towards enhancing technological growth in the region. Through the influence of continued growth, Apple in September 2013, managed to overtake Coca-Cola as the world’s most valuable brand (Noe, 2012). Despite the numerous successes, the company has realized in its operations, Apple Inc. is also faced with numerous challenges ranging from Human Resources to criticism mostly on its contractor’s labor practices as well as its environment and business practices. Examine the common HR challenges that the organization currently faces Like in all other organizations, Apple Inc. also faces various challenges pertaining to human resource management, which stagnate the success progress towards the realization of goals and objectives. Two of the greatest human resource challenges faced by Apple Inc. today are low employee wages and high turnover. With the low pay, a majority of competent and qualified employees leave the organization in search of greener pastures in other organizations that offer better pay for similar roles played (Grady, 2009). Indeed, this aspect has contributed severely towards Apple Inc. realizing loses. Another human resource management challenge facing Apple Inc. today is that of high turnovers, which is contributed mainly by the high operational costs experienced by the organization. The fluctuating economic situations in the United States have been the greatest contributors to the increasing high costs of production. In both instances, the international status such as the unbalanced economic situation contribute significantly by increasing the costs of various elements and resources used in the production of various products and services. Considering the brand name that Apple Inc. has built over the years, it is indeed a great challenge for the human resource management to retain such a brand with challenges currently faced by the organization. With many employees leaving the organization due to poor remuneration, there is yet another challenge that is currently developing. This is that of the reduction of competent and skilled workers within the organization. Competence and skills contribute significantly towards the success of an organization and therefore, lowering both the quality of production as well as success. It is therefore, a perspective of substantive importance for the organization to develop appropriate strategies for mitigation or reduction of such challenges (Lashinsky, 2012). Determine the primary ways in which the international status of the organization influences these common HR challenges. For any organization to realize success in its operations, the human resources department must play the greatest role. Apple is not left out on such a perspective and has contributed immensely towards the development of appropriate human resource strategies that work towards the realization of the organization’s goals and objectives. The main human resource strategies that Apple has used towards the enhancement of its success include teamwork, innovation, talent strategy, and an effective communication system within the organization (Meyer, 2010). Approximately 90% of all successful organizations attain success because they are able to innovate. Competition has become stiff in the information technology industry, and therefore, it is the prerogative of an organization to innovate new products and services into the market, in order to have a competitive advantage over its competitors and realize success (Dess, 2012). Innovation entails appropriate understanding of the ideal requirements. It is by so doing that an organization is able to develop new processes of operation, which contribute towards the development of new products and services into the market. Additionally, innovation entails thinking like designers for organization leaders, resulting in the creation of new options and availing numerous choices to from which to choose (Meyer, 2010). This enhances efficiency in the operations of the organization towards the realization of success. Teamwork is another human resource strategy used by Apple Inc. towards reaching its goals and objectives. Teamwork is an aspect of employees working in unison in order to maximize their efforts in realizing the objectives of the organization (Grady, 2009). Teamwork is one of the most effective and efficient way for influencing success in organization as it ensures that the employees use limited effort and resources while at the same time reducing the time spent in performing tasks towards a particular target (Meyer, 2010). Through teamwork processes such as transition process and action process, Apple Inc. has been able to attain success by meeting its target goals. Transition processes involved aspects such as mission analysis. Mission analysis critically analyses aspects pertaining to the performance of a certain task by a particular group of employees working as a team. These include elements such as the task to be performed by the team, the challenges that face the team, and the availability of resources required to successfully complete the task in a specific period before the start of the project (Noe, 2012). Action processes, which is also an aspect of teamwork within Apple organization contributing towards realization of goals, works in such a way that it monitors the progress towards certain goals. In such a perspective, it is important that individuals within a team pay substantive attention towards all information pertaining to the realization of goals and objectives, while minimizing all possible obstacles. Another human resource strategy by Apple Inc. in attaining success involves attracting technical talent as well as retaining employees who have shown substantive effort in performing tasks for an organization (Dess, 2012). Despite the soaring rates of unemployment experienced by different individuals today, the demand for technical expertise among individuals remains significantly higher than the supply they are able to receive. Considering that acquiring expertise technical talent many organizations remains entirely a dream, it is of substantive benefit for Apple Inc. to tap into such an aspect to establish success. Apple has been able to acquire and retain technical talent by sponsoring various internship processes in institutions with training programs pertaining to skills that they require (Grady, 2009). This enables the organization to identify appropriate technical talents right from the institutions, before any other organization has hands on them. This has contributed towards increased innovation within the organization, contributing immensely towards the attainment of success. The last human resource strategy is the development of an effective communication strategy between both the management and the junior employees. By this particular system, Apple Inc. is able to improve the quality of its services and products as the top management and the employees are able to engage together on the progress of the various activities in the organization towards the attainment of the projected objectives (Lashinsky, 2012). For a top management to engage the employees in certain decisions, most especially those pertaining to production, then the employees then feel motivated enabling them work most effectively in performing different tasks, thereby improving the quality of production (Dess, 2012). Additionally, involving the employees enhance a better understanding of the activities to be done in attaining success within the organization. Recommend one (1) HR strategy from Week 4 that you would implement in order to overcome the common challenges assessed. Justify your recommendation. Regardless of the extent to which the challenges have affected Apple Inc., it is possible to save the situation. One most effective strategy for the elimination of these challenges is that of establishing a lean human resource with the highest degree of competency to perform the tasks in the organization. Having fewer but competent employees ensures that the challenge of low pay is eliminated, as the available resources will be enough to cater for the costs associated with the production of products and delivery of other services . Additionally, reduced employee numbers ensures a reduction in the turnover costs as most of the resources are then directed towards improving the quality of production (Dess, 2012). Predict the degree of effectiveness of your recommended strategy in making the organization more competitive and more productive. Provide a rationale to justify your predictions. The above strategy is indeed one of the most beneficial means through which a majority of organizations realizes success while reducing significantly the costs associated with production. Additionally, with reduced production costs, Apple Inc. is able to establish a competitive advantage over the other market competitors in the industry still grappling with high production costs, considering that the causes remain global challenges and not tailored by any specific organization (Noe, 2012). One rational for the evaluation of the above strategy is by analyzing the organizational progress over a period based on the attributes of reduced production costs and improved quality. References Dess, G. G. (2012). Strategic management: text and cases (6th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Grady, J. D. (2009). Apple Inc. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press. Lashinsky, A. (2012). Inside Apple: how Americas most admired-and secretive-company really works. New York: Business Plus. Meyer, T. A. (2010). Innovate! how great companies get started in terrible times. Hoboken: Wiley. Noe, R. A., & Noe, R. A. (2012). Human resource management: gaining a competitive advantage (8th ed. ; Global ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin. Read More