Leading Apple with Steve Jobs - Assignment Example

Top of Form Bottom of Form Apple Company Apple Company Apple Inc. is a multinational corporation created by Steve Jacobs and Steve Wozniak in 1977 in Cupertino, California. Originally known as Apple Computer Inc. its initial focus was in the manufacture of personal computers like Apple 11, Macintosh and Power Mac. The company later broadened its product base to include consumer electronics, personal computers, computer software and commercial servers. It also deals in digital content and runs a chain of stores known as Apple Stores. Some of its products include iPhone Smartphone iPod portable media players. Apple Inc. is the story of the late Steve Jobs life and history, and he is in many ways linked to the success of the company. In the 1990’s Apple’s market share and fortunes suffered a dip and spiraled down. Steve Jobs, who had left the company in 1985, made a comeback in 1996, became the CEO and embarked on changing the company’s fortunes. His return heralded the beginning of a new way of doing things. He introduced products that were easier to use and more responsive to consumer needs (Elliot, 2012). The first of these was the iMac introduced in 1998, followed by the iPod music player in 2001 and the iTunes music store in 2003. These products under the leadership of Jobs significantly turned around the company’s fortunes and changed its philosophy, from a computer company to a consumer electronics and media sales one. More eye-catching products including Smartphones and tablets were introduced and by 2012 it was the largest global public trading corporation with a US $626 billion value higher than that of established names like Microsoft or Google. Its revenue in 2012 totaled US $ 65 billion dollars and rose to US$ 156 in 2012 which was a major turnaround (Dubrin, 2015). This turn around teaches us several lessons in Management starting with the inspirational leadership of Steve Jobs. He relied on a group of engineers and designers to innovate Apple’s products. This group was highly motivated and inspired. They would often go for retreats to brainstorm and come up with suggestions. The core team would be comprised of the best brains, and the retreats would serve as means of creating a work-life balance. This team would be well compensated in line with Maslow’s motivation theory and ERG expectancy theory. The core team was close-knit, loyal and stuck together. It was tasked with the creation of Apple’s unique products; a challenging, intrinsic as well as extrinsically rewarding job. Steve Jobs set them clear and inspiring objectives and pushed them to create unique products. Their jobs were designed to challenge them psychologically. As a leader, Jobs was very inspirational and never allowed personal distractions to get in the way of his job. He led his team in creating simple products that could easily be used by laymen hence widening Apple’s market base. He was a leader who was ready to bite the bullet and take responsibility for his decisions. This further motivated his team. Steve Jobs was a controlling character and as a leader he emphasized the need for lean organization structures with him at the helm as CEO (Dubrin 2015). A perfectionist to boot, he often bettered the products of other manufacturers teaching us that leading companies do not necessarily have to be innovators. For example under his watch Apple manufactured single products that could buy, share, manage, store and play music at the same time. These products were already in the market singularly, but Jobs upped the game by making a single product that combined all these features. When John Sculley took over as Apple CEO in 1983 to 1993, he changed Apple’s direction and placed emphasis on profits rather than products. An accomplished marketer who had worked with the major multinational soft drink manufacturer Pepsi, he shifted Apple’s focus from production to marketing. Even though a balance is necessary when designing organization structures, the focus must be on core functions and divisions. The result was a downturn in Apple’s profits culminating in the return of Steve Jobs in 1997. When Jobs returned he changed focus from profits to products and innovation and after massive restructuring Apple went on to become the world’s biggest corporation under his watch. The lesson about focusing on products and profits will follow. Upon his return, Jobs worked hard to change Apple’s organization culture and took it back to innovation, creativity and production (Elliot, 2012). His strategy bore fruit. As a leader Jobs was very independent minded and did not rely on market research to find out what customers wanted but instead led the way in creating products that consumers love. He is quoted as saying consumers do not know what they want, and it is up to the organization to lead in showing them the way. His philosophy was based on intuition and instinct to anticipate consumer needs. He was in tune with the organizational environment, and that is why Apple’s products were a hit in the market. His leadership style was personalized and self-centered. Steve Jobs pushed his workers to the limits. While this would seem infuriating, it produced extraordinary results. Nothing is impossible. In tune with Henry Mintzberg definition of leadership, Steve Jobs was a leader and entrepreneur who displayed extraordinary conceptual, technical and human skills. A key element in product sales is packaging. Steve Jobs believed in aesthetics and was very particular about the way Apple products were packaged. He had a passion for perfection. His inspiring style of leadership created self-belief in his core team with great outcomes. He was honest, candid and forthright (Lussier 2008). There was no room for mediocrity under Steve Jobs. Jobs believed in personal interactions as a key way of interaction, communication and motivation despite working in a digital environment. He advocated for a free atmosphere and organized frequent meetings with his staff. During such meetings, he would encourage deep thinking and engage team members in personal talks. This served as a good basis for intrinsic motivation. Staff felt their contribution was valued by none another than the CEO. Innovation requires creativity and continuous learning. Apple under Jobs was a learning organization that encouraged mastery. This mastery allowed it to become a leader in creating new and exciting products. Employees were conditioned to continuously improve themselves and the products in order to meet the organization’s objectives and Steve Job’s high expectations (Isaacson, 2013). Steve Jobs was not the type of leader to suffer fools and he would admonish those who were unable to meet his high standards while promoting those who did. He personally punished deviant and nonconformist behavior while reinforcing the expected behavior. Leaders need to be both visionary and have the ability to see the minute details. Jobs could do both. He combined both creativity and technology and the arts and the sciences. He was not the best technician or designer, but he was able to combine both roles effectively. Lesson leadership cuts across all disciplines. Jobs reconciled with his main competitor Microsoft advising his staff to focus on doing the best for Apple rather than bothering about competitors. This is a lesson in organizational relationships. He chose a strategic response to avoid a turbulent environment. Innovation is important for success (Elliot, 2012). Jobs created a company whose innovations cut across computers, movies, music, phones, tablets, retail stores and digital publishing. As a leader, he had a very strong personality was impatient, passionate, intense and emotional. He was result oriented and on his return to Apple chose to focus on a few products rather than diversify. Steve Jobs work at Apple is a lesson in self-belief. He will go down in history as one of the greatest innovators this century fit enough to be compared with great innovators like Henry Ford. He taught us to believe that change is possible, and those crazy enough to try hard often change the world. He was a nonconformist and rebel who broke the rules for the benefit of society. After the departure of Jobs, Tim Cook took over as the CEO of Apple in 2012. His leadership style has already shown a marked contrast with that of Jobs. He is said to be more socially conscious, relationship oriented, and people focused. According to Dubrin (2015), Apple is still the top company in technical innovation and only time will tell the difference between him and the late and legendary Steve Jobs. References Dubrin A., (2015). Leadership: Research findings, practice and skills, Cengage Learning. Elliot J. (2012). Leading Apple with Steve Jobs: Management lessons from a controversial genius, John Wiley & Sons. Isaacson, W. (2013). Steve Jobs, Simon and Schuster. Lussier, R. (2008). Management fundamentals: Applications, skill development, Cengage Learning. Shein, J. (2011), Reversing the slide: A strategic guide to turnaround and corporate renewal, John Wiley & Sons. Young, J., & Simon, W. (2005), iCon Steve Jobs: The greatest second act in the history of business, John Wiley & Sons. Read More

 

Read More