Apple Computer Culture - Essay Example

Apple Computer Culture Apple is a leader in IT industry. Strengths Apple include knowledge, HR, relationships, selling and history. Effective management is at the heart of organisation development and improved performance. The process of management, however, takes place not in a vacuum but within the context of the organisational setting. Applications of organisatinal behaviour and the effective management of human resources are upon the nature of the industry, and its culture and climate. In Apple culture is reinforced through the system of rites and rituals, patterns of communication, the informal organisation, expected patterns of behaviour and perceptions of the psychological contract. The positive feature of Apple is that it uses informal communication method which helps it to achieve the goals. It helps to provide satisfaction of members' social needs, and a sense of personal identity and belonging. This type of communication provides additional channels of communication and provides a means of motivation, for example, through status, social interaction, variety in routine jobs, and informal methods of work. Informal type of communication provides a feeling of stability and security, and through informal 'norms' of behaviour can exercise a form of control over members. "The informal approach to management meant that influence was a primary way of achieving one's objectives" (Gibbs, Beer, 1991). The culture and structure of Apple develop over time and in response to a complex set of factors. "Employees expressed great concerns about both Apple's management and its working environment. Many felt that executive management did not have a clear business direction, and that they did not keep employees adequately informed' (Gibbs, Beer, 1991). Apple management team did not take into account that the nature of the 'business' and its primary function have an important influence on its culture. Usually large organizations like Apple have more formalised structures and cultures. Increased size is likely to result in separate departments and possibly split site operations. Nevertheless, this created a problem for Apple's "old" employees who felt that, "There is not as much chance to talk at Apple now. There is less passion or personal commitment. Hotlinks keeps Apple people passionate." (Gibbs, Beer, 1991). This caused difficulties in communication and inter-departmental rivalries with the need for effective co-ordination. A rapid expansion, or decline, in size and rate of growth, and resultant changes in staffing will influence structure and culture. Unfortunately, Apple management did nothing to improve this situation because information through Hotlinks went round them, and they "need managerial shift from control to context" (Gibbs, Beer, 1991). It is important to note that Apple "encouraged individualism". Individuals in the organisation are not guided at all times by the primary goals of the organisation. On the other hand, Apple culture is based on a team work: "people in Apple valued teamwork and liked to work in teams' (Gibbs, Beer, 1991). Goals and objectives pursues profitability, but this is not by itself very clear for its effective management. Apple must give attention to objectives in all key areas of its operations. The combination of objectives and resultant strategies influence culture, and may themselves be influenced by changes in culture. The problem is Apple is that employees have to complete "immediate objectives". It means that the main focus is made on "to get the job done than to get it right" (Gibbs, Beer, 1991). The primary function of Apple determines the nature of the technological processes and methods of undertaking work, which in turn also affect structure and culture. Employees doe not know long-term strategies which prevent them from effective performance. In order to be effective Apple tries to be responsive to external environmental influences. Apple operates within a dynamic environment and it requires a structure and culture that are sensitive and readily adaptable to change. Culture is a major factor in the appropriateness of management's methods of motivation. In addition to arrangements for the carrying out of organisational processes, management has a responsibility for creating a climate in which people are motivated to work willingly and effectively (Handy, 1993). Apple's organisational climate influences the level of morale and attitudes which members of the organisation bring to bear on their work performance and personal relationships. It was admitted that many new employees differed greatly form the "old" staff. One employee described his vision: "I came to Apple when it was riding high in 1987. 1 was attracted by the exciting, fast-paced, and challenging opportunity. I didn't know much about the culture, but saw great potential for success" (Gibbs, Beer, 1991). In general, morale of new employees and motivation was connected more with career goals than with team spirit and commitment. "Morale is less of a problem for the new breed of well-paid careerists than it is for the idealists," as one line worker expressed it (Gibbs, Beer, 1991). When morale is low, and feelings of frustration or alienation are found to exist, it is important that positive action is taken to remedy the causes. In Apple, a sense of belonging to the organization is very important. It is built upon the loyalty essential to successful industrial relations. When Apple was a relatively small company, the sense of belonging was created by managers through ensuring that the workforce is: informed, involved, sharing in success. Hotlinks discussion showed that there was a great necessity to implement a change in order to increase "revenue goals". When changes were introduced, many employees felt that they: "are in a transition now, because we have lots of new people. Thus there is a need to balance structure with flat organization and individual autonomy" (Gibbs, Beer, 1991). This example shows that the management of organisational climate is therefore an important means of improving productivity and standards of work performance. Apple has its own climate. The main problem in Apple is that employees and Executives have a completely different vision of company's culture and climate. Nevertheless, new direction form communication to stability, proposed by John Scutley was aimed to shift organization from transition period to stability. Sculley told that the central organizational issue for Apple was, "scaleability. We are trying to understand what works on a small scale that can work on a large scale. Mostly we have not succeeded here yet" (Gibbs, Beer, 1991). So, without an explicit statement of strategy it becomes more difficult for expanding organisations to reconcile co-ordinated action with entrepreneurial effort. 2. The relations between Jobs and Gates were complicated. Steve Jobs managed the company from 1976 until 1983. Robert X. Cringely describes differences between Gates and Jobs: "Steve Jobs thinks solely in terms of tactics, not strategy. His wins are today, tomorrow, next week, next quarter. He revels in every little chance to push people around and make things the way he wants them to be. It was a bad strategy, for example, to snub Gates with "Vanity Fair", but in the tactical mind of Steve Jobs, it was brilliant" (Cringely, 2002). As for Gates, he is man who knows how to win. For a long time, Gates and Jobs had been direct competitors. In 1990, "Microsoft Corporation had introduced a new software program, Windows 3.0 threatened to take away the Macintosh's key differentiating characteristic, its intuitive graphical user interface' (Gibbs, Beer, 1991). This strategy caused millions loss for Macintosh. In contrast to Gates, Jobs is a risky man who "is willing to take a risk to push the industry forward" (Lain, 2002). Jobs and Gates had worked together, but in one interview Gates said that when "they were together, Jobs bossed him around" (Cringely, 2002). Their relations had a great impact on their companies' performance, and mostly on Apple. Nevertheless, competition between Gates and Microsoft resulted in production of "truly innovative products, such Hypercard" (Gibbs, Beer, 1991). Taking into account the history of their relations, it is possible to say that difficulties they faces with were caused by different vision of the same problems and leadership tactics. In case of Jobs, motivating other people was the main advantage of his tactics. He was able to get people to move in the direction he wanted them to go in order to achieve a result. In Apple motivation can be described as goal-directed behaviour and ability to contribute to a solution. In spite all the differences, "Microsoft had signed a five-year agreement to support the Mac in its struggle for survival. Microsoft would not only continue to develop Office and Internet Explorer for the Mac but also invest $150 million in Apple" (Haddad, 2002). The lessons of Gates and Jobs cooperation show that a company can successfully perform if it has clear directions and strategic goals. Employees should be aware of the short-term and long-term goals of the company. Strong commitment to work is likely to result in conscientious and self-directed application to do the job, regular attendance, nominal supervision and a high level of effort. Commitment to the organization will certainly be related to the intention to stay - in other words, loyalty to the company. It is possible to conclude that staff relationships has a great influence on the decision making process. Persons in a staff position have no direct authority in their own right but act as an extension of their superior and exercise only 'representative' authority. In Manor Hotel there is no direct relationship between the personal assistant and other staff except where delegated authority and responsibility has been given for some specific activity. This may be partially because of the close relationship between the personal assistant and the superior, and partially dependent upon the knowledge and experience of the assistant, and the strength of the assistant's own personality. References 1. Cringely, R.X. (2002). Why the New iMacs Will Be Successful No Matter What They Look Like Available at: http://www.pbs.org/cringely/pulpit/pulpit20020110.html 2. Gibbs, M., Beer, M. (1991). Apple Computer (B). Managing Morale and Corporate Culture Harvard Business School, pp. 1-18. 3. Haddad, J. (2002). Jobs and Gates: The Odd Couple Endures Available at: http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/apr2002/tc20020424_9297.htm 4. Handy, C.B. (1993).Understanding Organisations, Fourth EditionLondon: Penguin. 5. Lain, R. O. (2000). The Main Difference between Steve Jobs and Bill Gates. Available at: http://www.lowendmac.com/things/2k0117.shtml Read More