Leadership, Strategy and Change for Apple Company - Case Study Example

Leadership, Strategy and Change Introduction Organisational success depends on approaches to leadership, strategy and change adopted by management. Approaches to leadership, strategy and change that respond to the needs of the industry are important for organisational success as they represents channels for management to introduce organisational activities and processes necessary for achievement of particular goals. This study evaluates the different approaches to leadership, strategy and change evident in the activities and processes in Apple as the case study organisation. The study highlights academic theories relevant to the practices of leadership, strategy and change management undertaken by Apple. Organisational background Apple has risen to be world’s best business organisation in the areas of manufacturing, designing and selling consumer electronics, PCs and computer software (Hertzfeld 2004). Initially, the company was a market leader in the production of Mac personal computers with the company deriving success in introducing new features based on consumer preferences. However, Apple has sought to diversify into other markets within the technology-based industry as it released the iPod (world’s first media player device), the iPhone series of phones which are recognized as pioneer smart phone and the the iPad tablet computers. These innovations were also directed towards consumer software products such as the OS X and iOS operating systems followed by a customized media browser, web browser (Safari), iTunes, and a number of creative suites including iWork and iLife (Fisher 2008). These technological moves ensured Apple moved from being a solely personal computer manufacturer to recognition as leading producer of operating software, consumer electronics and consumer software (Young and Simon 2005. Apple is one of the technology driven companies that have had the greatest impact in the consumer electronics industry although there some challenges along the way. One of the greatest challenges that Apple successfully weathered is the threat of bankruptcy the company faced in 1997 but a number of changes and strategies have over the years led to change of fortune with the company returning to solvency. The company’s transformation has been noted to be a result of transformations that led to profitable operations as the management focused on production of consumer electronics based on high standards of innovation, prestige and quality. Consumer loyalty has played a significant role in the turnaround as Apple focuses on launching features that captivates the interests of its consumers. This loyalty has driven company sales with the company featuring in several occasions among Fortune magazine’s World’s Most Admired Companies in addition to financial revenues for first quarter of 2014 indicating 45.6 billion dollars and 10.2 billion dollar net profits (Apple 2014). Approaches to leadership, strategy and change by Apple Approach to change indicates the management can have different perceptions of employees and their roles in the change process. Higgs and Rowland (2005) determined two sets of approaches to change noting that process is influenced by whether it follows the directive and Self-assembly approach or assumes master and emergent approach. For approach to change based on directive and self-assembly, the approaches focus on changing the people while master and emergent approach is about doing change with people. However, doing change with people is perceived as having significant impact on organisational success and can be more effective when changes are to undertaken within a short time. Although a number of writers have stressed the importance of leadership affecting change through directive and self-assembly approach, the participative nature of working with people makes it the best for positive outcome. Change process that seeks to tap into diverse capabilities of the workers improves the quality of desired results as every employee contributes to the outcome. Emergent approach to change is perceived as being the most successful as it allows employees working as team or individuals to operate with less confinement due to minimal application of rules with a loose set of directions for implementation process (Aitken and Higgs 2011). Although possession of skills is important for leaders to perform their duties, leadership does not rely entirely on senior manager having technical skills for performing certain tasks. According to the study by Katz (cited in Bowerman and Van Wart 2011), high-ranking officials in an organisation require minimal technical skills to perform their duties; however, conceptual skills were necessary for the senior officials to lead others effectively to success. For employees in the lower position having technical skills is more valued than possession of conceptual skills although employees in all organisational positions must always have human skills. The difference between technical and conceptual skills was evident in Apple where the leaders such as Steve Jobs did not have the skills in either software or hardware systems but had mastered conceptual skills necessary in dealing with individuals who possessed technical skills (Bowerman and Van Wart 2011). Leadership plays an essential role in determining organisational strategy and success of change initiatives (Higgs and Rowland 2001; Higgs 2003). The choices and approaches adopted in solving organisational problems are seen as being dependent on the beliefs and mind-sets (Dean Anderson and Linda Anderson 2010). Therefore, the behaviour espoused by leaders will be evident in the approaches to change and strategy implemented in various organisational processes. Leadership behaviour is also evident in the decisions and characteristics of the rest of employees, as they tend to respond to the requirements of the leadership (Higgs 2003). When studying the influence of leadership approach to organisational operations, it is essential to identify areas of leadership involvement through undertaking activities that drive the change processes. These activities are evaluated based on different levels and perceptions of personal involvement, follower persuasion and influence over their contribution to organisational operations. However, while the presence of individuals who with capability to assume leadership roles and influence organisational outcomes is essential for the success of the organisation, there is increased evidence that only those who play a more facilitative and enabling roles are thought of as having positive influence on organisational outcomes (Higgs 2003). Leadership control over all organisational operations is also important for the success of Apple. For success of the organisation, senior managers keep track of daily routine through weekly meeting where every team gives its update on the progress of various projects in order have overall view of organisational progress towards achievement of set goals and objectives. Additionally, this close control of the process by leaders ensures perfection of the competed project, as leaders are able to recognize areas of improvement through the process until realization of the final output. Apple was also able to form a culture of strict accountability due to the strict control of the processes with workers being ready to report on their usage of allocated finances and other resources necessary for achievement of set tasks (McInerney 2011). However, strict control of the employees is bound to be monotonous as making reports based on short intervals increases time spent on preparation for presentations rather than spent on continued development of the designs. Further, it is not easy to appreciate the level of progress within such short time spun as employees might present new reports but with minimal level of progress. Strict control also limits the level of personal input that might be important in enhancement of the quality of final product. Different studies have examined the role of leadership with a number of researchers moving beyond generic descriptions to analyse the role of leadership approaches in implementation of change processes. Higgs and Rowland (2000; 2001) identified up to five aspects of leadership competencies that have positive impact on organisational change processes. According to the researchers, leaders are identified based on their ability to recognize and convince others in the organisation about the need to undertake change. Secondly, leaders create the necessary structure for change process, which is essential in creating the necessary confidence gained through establishment of tools and processes to support the necessary activities and demonstration of depth of knowledge on pertinent issues. Thirdly, effective leaders will seek to tap into a wealth of resources available and accessible to them by creating mechanisms that will enable engagement of others in the change process. Additionally, the proposed change and its processes must have a clear implementation and sustainability strategy through an effective monitoring and review process. Lastly, involvement of others in the change process must be through efforts that facilitate and develops their capabilities to find their own solutions and being supported in implementation. The five features of competencies in effective leadership summarized by Higgs and Rowland (2000, 2001) have provided important guidance for the emergence of Apple as one of the leading companies in the consumer electronics industry. The management encouraged every employee in different teams to overcome personal limitation and reach beyond their perceived capabilities. Based on this challenge, a number of employees were increasingly motivated and strived to meet the challenges of working in demanding environment. However, some of the employees were frustrated as they could not keep up with the working conditions that sometimes required them to offer more than what regular jobs require. The challenge for employees to perform at their best is essential as it leads to characterisation of people based on their emotional commitment to withstand stressful workplace environment (Katzenbach 2012). Leadership is an essential component of for every successful organisation particularly during times of crisis when decisive actions should be undertaken to steer the organisation out of challenges presented in the market and organisational systems. During such occasions, organisations with innovative leaders have greater chances of survival since the management has the capacity to develop superior strategic measures to avert forced restructuring and downsizing (Agbor 2008). Consequently, organisations with creative and effective leadership have increased capability to deal with challenges resulting from increased competition and turbulence in the market as the management is well prepared to present superior strategic measures compared to their competitors. Further organisational leadership plays an important role in creation of positive working environment for the employees. Through effective selection, recruitment and training policies, the management acquires and create employees with attitude, talent and skills necessary to drive organisational vision. Therefore, organisational leadership creates an important basis for cultivating synergies between the organisation and its employees. Through teamwork, leadership provides guidance to other employees to overcome workplace environmental challenges, which increases their motivation to achieve organisational goals in a worthy way (Kalamas, D. & Kalamas and B. 2004). However, employee motivation is achieved through creation of a workplace environment that responds to their professional and personal needs. Leadership creates the conditions for propagation of organisational policies by creating achievable objectives with attainment limited to a given period of organisational operations. Lyerly and Maxey (2000) perceive the vision of an organisation as a symbol of mental image of existing possibilities and desirable future for the organisation. The future of an organisation is a direct outcome of the decisions made by those in leadership and is dependent on ability to recognize necessary organisational changes that will lead to realization of the desired future position. However, not all future projects are seen as being successful as this will depended on the ability of those in leadership to use accurately and intelligently current market position and organisational capabilities to affect improvement and sustainability of the organisation (Sage and Rouse 2011) Perception about the future of the organisation reflects visionary leadership as it is based on where the leader wants the organisation to be in the coming days. Introduction of revolutionary products into the market has been one of the strong points for Apple, as the management introduces what the rest of the industry had never conceived. These innovative products changed the enjoyment of music and communication through devices such as the iPad, iPhone and iPod. During the time, Steve Jobs as the chief executive officer demonstrated his ability to predict future market for the new products by setting the visions for how the organisation will operate. The leader demonstrated great awareness by strategically positioning the organisation to take advantage of creative and innovative potential (Ireland 2008). This represents an essential strength both for the leader and the organisation as the strategy adopted led to taking full advantage of external opportunities. Exit from the personal computer market was also an essential approach for the organisation as it ensured the organisation avoids intensive competition in the mature market to create new markets based on the innovative products. During the time of implementing necessary changes, there was some resistance as some felt the organisation was moving aware from its core business, which was supposed to be the personal computer market. However, Jobs assured everyone that the strategic shift was timely, as long-term strategy for Apple would see it operate beyond the personal computer industry. The new strategies ensured Apple become a market leader creating a difference between organisations that had the ability to seize new opportunities to dictate the industry and those rely on production and consumption of available technologies (Wooten 2010). Therefore, it is these beliefs held by Jobs that provided the ground for the adoption of a culture of innovation in Apple. Innovation for Apple implies having employees who are able to perceive a vision of great products that will transform people’s lives due to their unique features. To make this possible, Apple has established a scheme for rewarding employees who demonstrate great initiative through creativity and risk taking. This strategy where the challenge to come up with an innovative idea is cultural aspect of the organisation as employees are constantly pondering about the next item of creativity (Fortune 2008). Approach to leadership strategy and change based on motivation of employees relies on human skill as being important in influencing the level of performance by employees. Promotion of human skills ensures leadership work with people towards realization of organisational goals. Employees are seen as important contributors to organisational success only when those in leadership establish effective and efficient channels of communication. For effective leadership, strategy and change, it is essential that the management align the diverse attributes possessed by employees to ensure they fit into organisational culture (Sage and Rouse 2011). Organisational culture is seen as the outcome of the leadership approach as members the management motivates employees to develop attitude and behaviour necessary to drive new changes and strategies. In order to affect employees’ attitude and behaviour, the organisation presents them with enough opportunities for mentorship, empowerment, development of consistency, and trust, which are essential components of organisational culture (Marquis and Huston 2009). The importance of leadership in affecting organisational culture is evident in the role played by Steve Jobs in the creation of a culture of hard work in Apple. Through his initial interaction with new employees, Steve Jobs successfully infused the quest for excellence as organisational philosophy that workers should seek to maintain. Workers were encouraged to develop a perception that their workplace reasonability was a calling in order to understand the value it excellence (Fortune 2009). Apart from organisational culture, leadership, strategy and change affects organisation climate. Organisational climate is also affected by the decision to work with people in creating a workplace environment that motivates employees to offer their best. Organisational climate is perceived as the measurable aspects within the workplace environment that is affected both directly and indirectly. Through leadership strategy and managing change based on human skills approach, the management motivates and control employee behaviour and attitude towards their responsibilities. As a determinant of employees’ attitude towards organisational functions, the management is keen to influence the development of positive climate that motivates employees (Holloway 2012; Schneider, Ehrhart and Macey 2013). The leadership of Apple is keen on influencing both the organisational culture and climate by motivating employees to perform to their highest potential through introduction of reward scheme to recognise employees’ creativity. Analysis of Leadership, strategy and change that is more evident in Apple From the study of leadership, strategy and change in Apple, leadership is viewed in two main ways. Firstly, leadership strategy and managing change for Apple can be perceived based on traits or as behaviour. This approach is based on what leaders do as opposed to the assessment of their underlying characteristics, which implies a focus on leadership behaviour. Within the leadership perception of leadership strategy and managing change based on behaviour, there is the task oriented approach and relationship-oriented behaviours (McCaffery 2004). Approach based on task-oriented behaviours insists on activities that facilitate achievement of set organisational goals with individual team members also assisted in achievement of personal objectives. Relationships-oriented behaviours on the other hand focuses on assisting subordinate employees achieve personal comfort, with other members and with the existing workplace conditions. Leaders combine these forms of behaviour to enhance the performance of employees as they improve their efforts towards goal attainment (Northouse 2007). Additionally, leadership is perceived as a skill as seen in the way the management uses people to achieve its quest for enhancement of organisational creativity and innovativeness. Leadership, strategy and managing change based on skills does not consider who the people are but what they can accomplish and allocates responsibility based on the acquired experience and capabilities (Northouse, 2007). The analysis of leadership, strategy and managing for Apple reveal reliance of the company on behaviours standpoint. Success of the company depended on the approaches that focused on the new ideas provided by Steve Jobs particularly when considering the company was about to declare bankruptcy before the return of the leader into management. Organisational strategies where developed based on Jobs’ vision on where the organisation should head with subordinates chosen according to their suitability to drive the leaders’ vision. Conclusion This study has evaluated the different approaches to leadership using Apple as the case study. Different theoretical perceptions of of leadership, strategy and change have been analysed to identify the relationship between leadership decisions and existing academic approaches. The management of Apple has depended on innovative ideas to drive demand for the products as they accurately determine future trends in the industry. To achieve success in consumer electronics industry, the management relies on a process of employees’ selection, recruitment and training that emphasises organisational culture reflecting the demands of organisational leadership, strategy and need to manage change. Considering the influences of Steve Jobs on Apple the most preferred leadership, strategy and managing change can be viewed from the behaviours standpoint. References Agbor, E. 2008. Creativity and innovation: The leadership dynamics, Journal of strategic leadership, 1(1), 39-45. Aitken, P. & Higgs, M., 2011. Developing Change Leaders. New York: Routledge. Anderson, D. & Anderson, L. A., 2010. Beyond change management: How to achieve breakthrough results through conscious change leadership. Son Francisco: Pfeiffer Publishers. Bowerman, K. D. & Van Wart, M., 2011. The Business of Leadership: An Introduction. New York: M. E Sharpe. Fisher, A., 2008. America's Most Admired Companies. Fortune, 157 (5), 65 – 67. Fortune, 2009. 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