Informed Human Resource Decisions in Apple Incorporation - Case Study Example

? Organizational Analysis: Part 2 Apple Inc The Business Apple Computers Inc. now known as Apple Inc. is an American based multi-national corporation that designs and manufactures personal computers, computer softwares and other electronics. Apple’s main product lines are the music player iPod, the tablet iPad, the cellphone IPhone and Macintosh, the personal computer. Apple Computers was founded by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, back in 1976. The first product that Apple Computers released was Apple I and with its release the company was incorporated in California in 1977. Later on, Apple launched several other computer products such as Apple II, Power Mac and Macintosh. Apple Computers Inc. broadened the horizon of its products in 2001 when it released the music player, IPod. After which the company reestablished itself as Apple Inc. This product became so popular that it led the company to design more innovative products such as IPhone and IPad. The company is also widely known for its operating systems and software. Mac OS X operating system, ICloud and ITunes are some of the company’s extremely popular software. Steve Jobs, one of the founders of Apple Inc. resigned from the company after having some issues with the then CEO of the company John Sculley. Since its incorporation, Apple Inc. rose predominantly until 1996, when it suffered a loss of $68 billion dollars for the quarter due to certain inappropriate decisions made by the management. Later in 1996, Apple Inc. acquired NeXT and brought back Steve Jobs. This step proved to restore the company back to its former glory because NeXTstep was going to serve the purpose of designing Apple’s next generation operating systems under new management. Apple’s main competitor has been Microsoft. For the most part in their rivalry, Microsoft has been taking the lead but things have changed in the last couple of years. Apple Inc surpassed Microsoft in 2010 and became the largest technological company in terms of value. Under Job’s management, Apple took drastic measures to find its place back in the market. Job’s introduced the company to new methods of conducting business. Jobs identified the issues that were troubling the company and took measures to deal with them. Jobs knew that there was nothing more personal to the people than their computers so their computers had to look more than just a plastic box. The idea was to make computers beautiful and appealing. This innovative idea of Jobs was put into practicality by Jonathan Ivy which led to the manufacture of IMac. This partnership later garnered IPhone, IPad and IPod. Jobs brought several other ideas with him to conduct business. Apart from making, powerful, user friendly and more appealing computers, Jobs made them available on the internet. Online Apple store turned out to be a great success and generated a lot of revenue. In 2001, Apple opened several retail stores across America which not only sold computers but other gadgets and electronics such as cameras and mp3 players as well. Now these retail stores have spread all across the globe. 2. Informed Human Resource Decisions The mission statement of the organization requires the Human Resource department to act in accordance with the following guidelines: “• Take an active role with management in developing the philosophies and strategies that define the working environment. • Be the keeper of the strategy for maintaining employee alignment and commitment; maintain the policies, programs, and processes that support employee alignment and commitment. • Keep management aware of any changes in the alignment and commitment of the critical asset — its people” (Lam, 24) Apple Inc. has a thorough and well managed human resource system. It basically involves four stages that are advertising, hiring training and retaining. The company publicizes the opportunity to become a part of its work force through online forums, universities, Apple store leader program and Internships. Interested candidates are required to go through the hiring process which analysis their eligibility on the basis of their qualification and interview. All the candidates are evaluated to assess their capabilities. Selected candidates are trained during their probation period after which they are welcomed to become a permanent part of the organization. The retaining process of human resource involves offering the selected candidates innovative work environment, a promising career, discounts and benefits. The company requires some particular information before awarding someone the opportunity to work. Some important things that are asked from the candidates in the interviews include questions regarding the assessment of the individual’s personality. The interviewers need to know what makes the candidate suitable for this job. They can require the candidate to state his/her strengths and weaknesses. The human resource department also needs to know what the candidate expects from the company so that they can check whether the personal aims of the candidate align with the goals of the organization or not. Apart from the personality assessment questions, the panel poses other technical questions towards the candidate to assess his/her capabilities regarding the area he/she has applied for. Before making an offer to a selected candidate, the company runs a background reference check on the following information: • Academic references • Prior work references • Financial references • Law enforcement records • Personal references (Shetty, 22) Lastly the candidates have to go through a medical examinations which checks whether the candidate is physically fit to perform his/her duties or not and whether he/she is carrying any infectious disease or not. 3. Recruitment Process After the medical examination, an offer is made to the candidate. The candidate is then asked to fill out a couple of forms after which he/she can start working at the organization. New recruits are then introduced to the induction program which familiarizes them with their job and the environment. This program allows the individuals to get familiar with the code of conduct of the work environment. Moreover, this program helps break the ice between new and senior recruits. Apple’s recruitment process is very through and effective, yet several recommendations can be made that could save time and effort. First of all, instead of carrying out a medical exam on the candidates, the department can ask them to submit their medical health reports which can be later verified through the reference. Secondly, when a vacancy is announced, only the job description is circulated. Adding more details, like promotional opportunities and insurances along with the salary range can create a larger pool of candidates. Moreover, simple advertisements of job announcements are not guaranteed to gauge the real talent that the company may want. Therefore, the company should keep an eye out for hidden talent as well. 4. Labor Relations, Training, Diversity Practices, and other HR Areas Apple’s Human Resource department is well known for its good management. The department holds certain values that help in maintaining a good environment. The department aims to: 1. Create and maintain a mentally stimulating environment so boost employees’ creativity and level of involvement in the work. 2. Encourage the employees to be willing to take the risks required to carry out the operations of a dynamic enterprise such as Apple Inc. 3. Provide equal promotional opportunities to all the employees. 4. Be authentic with all their interactions with the employees. This will make them feel trustworthy which will build their association with the company. 5. Provide incentives and opportunities to the employees to help them prepare for long term financial necessities. 6. Provide the employees with protection and insurance against accidental events. 7. To help the employees build a suitable career. As already mentioned, during the induction program, new recruits are introduced to other members of the organizations. They are familiarized with the code of conduct that is maintained in the company. Such measures help the individuals in becoming comfortable with their work environments. Moreover, the peer to peer interaction during the induction program helps in spreading a welcoming message among the new recruits. New recruits are given proper training in the probation period. In this period, the employees learn everything they need to know in order to survive and establish a prosperous career at the organization. New recruits are required to undergo the probation period so that their performance can be measured practically. Apple has an Employee help line which has proven to be an effective HR tool. This help line serves as the counseling center for the employees. It deals with day to day concerns of the employees. This “help Center consists of a group of 14 people who are trained in Apple policies and procedures” (Lam, 24). Complicated situations and issues that arise in the course of regular operations are forwarded to senior members of the human resource staff. These cases are further investigated properly. “In the last year, the Employee Help Line obtained about 165,000 calls” (Lam, 24). 5. Summary of Compensation Policy Apple understands that, its strength lies within its skillful employees. Therefore, retaining these employees is extremely important to the organizations. Their retention depends on the way the organization treats them. Apart from the salary, it depends on the compensation and rewards that are offered to the employees. Apple’s compensations policies allow them to act in a way that would ensure employee retention. It policy aims to 1. Associate rewards with the performance of individuals 2. Offer the employees attractive pension plans such as 401k. 3. To offer the individuals a remuneration package that fulfills their normal requirements. 4. To motivate them by offering them as many benefits as Apple’s competitors offer their employees. 5. To grade the levels of remuneration, benefits and compensation with the experience, skill and role of the individual employee. Works Cited Apple incorporated. (30, July 2012). The New York Times. Retrieved from http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/apple_computer_inc/index.html Lam, O. (24, November 2005). Apple computer. Retrieved from www.bmak.com/Ray/AppleComputers.pdf Muehlhausen, J. (n.d.). Apple's business model: Before and after jobs 2.0. Retrieved from http://businessmodelinstitute.com/apples-business-model-before-and-after-jobs-2-0/ Shetty, N. (22, January 2011). Human resource management of apple. Retrieved from http://www.managementparadise.com/forums/human-resources-management-h-r/213861-human-resource-management-apple-inc.html Read More