Innovation - Steve Jobs & Apple Computer - Research Paper Example

Innovation - Steve Jobs & Apple Computer Introduction The survival and development of firms in modern market is a challenging task. Even if appropriately structured modern organizations need to keep their competitiveness at high levels otherwise they are likely to fail to meet the targets set by their leaders. The latter have a primarily role in the success of firms worldwide; however, not all leaders have the ability to effectively support their firms; their contribution in their firm’s growth is rather an issue related with their skills, their personal perceptions but also their ability to capture the market trends and appropriately interpret the customers’ preferences. Current paper focuses on the examination of the role of Steve Jobs, a technical entrepreneur in the establishment and the development of Apple Computer; the significant role of Steve Jobs in the development of Apple can be identified by two facts: a) the establishment of the firm in a period where the particular technology was still in its initial phases and b) the growth of the firm since the return of Steve Jobs in the firm in 1997 has been significant – Apple’s strategic plans were appropriately updated – under the control of Jobs – and the firm’s performance was increased; in fact, the growth of Apple since the return of Jobs in the firm in 1997 has been continuous; the initial establishment of the firm by Jobs will be examined and evaluated; at the same time, the use of innovation as key strategic tool for the development of Apple – especially under the proposals and monitoring of Jobs – will be examined. Through the material presented in this study it is assumed that the above entrepreneur played a significant role in the establishment and the development of Apple; his contribution in the firm’s growth is characterized by the promotion of innovative plans and practices that have led to the increase of the firm’s competitiveness towards its rivals. 2. Steve Jobs – profile Steve Jobs founded Apple – along with Steve Wozniak – in 1976. Jobs had all the necessary elements of a successful leader; hard work, analytical mind, innovative ideas; his role in the development of Apple is not limited in the firm’s establishment; In 1985, shortly after the establishment of Apple in 1976 and while the computer invented by Jobs – the Apple Macintosh – was already among the most important technological features of that period, Jobs resigned and established another firm, NeXT, a firm focusing on the development of computer platforms. However, in 1997 NeXT was acquired by Apple and Jobs returned in the specific firm. Since then, the increase of Apple’s performance has been continuous; the development of i-pod and other similar products can be characterized as Job’s major success – after the success of Apple Macintosh. The work of Jobs in Apple can be used in order to evaluate his contribution in the firm’s growth – in the past and the period after 1997. Under the instructions and the suggestions of Jobs, Apple ‘sold almost 200 million iPods and over six billion songs from its iTunes online store’ (Apple, 2009). In accordance with the firm’s website, Steve jobs have been working in different sectors: apart from the computing industry, he also made a significant work in the entertainment industry – the Pixar Animation Studios that Jobs co-founded has participated in the production of quite successful animated films, like the ‘Finding Nemo’, the ‘Toy Story’ and the ‘Incredibles’. The difference between Jobs and the other executives in the specific sector can be identified in the methods employed by Jobs in order to support Apple but also the priorities he set during his work in the specific firm. Regarding this issue, it is noted that ‘in business, one way executives keep score to measure their level of victory is through their salary level and amount of accumulated wealth. But Jobs refused any pay or stock. Instead he received a token $1 salary’ (Manz, 2002, 60). The strategic methods of Jobs have led the firm into a significant growth from 1997 onwards. The i-pod products are just indicative examples of the role that innovation plays in the strategic plans produced by Jobs. The specific products have been proved to be a significant advantage for Apple; its competitors did not manage to develop product with its characteristics and features. However, innovation is not the only factor of success for Jobs; his communication with employees is extremely good. For this reason, it is noted that ‘upon his return to Apple, Jobs seemed to focus much more on helping the company and its employees succeed and apparently was less concerned about his own victory on the executive wealth playing field’ (Manz, 2002, 61). In other words, Jobs tried to continuously improve the communication among employees but also the communication between employees and the strategic management team. Keeping employees satisfied is considered by Jobs to be the priority when having to develop an effective strategic project related with the firm’s various activities. In accordance with the above, innovation along with excellent communication skills can be considered as the most important characteristics of Jobs – these characteristics could be possibly used for the identification and the evaluation of the role of Jobs in the development of Apple. Leadership style and institutional support in the specific organization are further analyzed and explained in the sections that follow. 3. Factors that have most influenced the creation and the development of Apple – role of leadership style – institutional support The development of Apple – either in its first steps and after the return of Jobs in 1997 – can be characterized as closely related with Jobs. The leadership style of Jobs has led Apple to a significant growth. The aspects of the particular leadership style should be analyzed using existing literature; the key reasons for the radical growth of Apple since the return of Jobs in 1997 could be effectively evaluated. In accordance with Hawkins et al. (2002, 97) ‘traditional leadership theories (for example, contingent rewards) may not apply to postmodern organizations nor may theories that rely on the development of long-term relationships between superiors and subordinates (for example, vertical dyad linkages)’. Through the above study the needs of organizations are set as key criteria for the development of their strategic plans; however, these needs can only be identified by leaders that are appropriately skilled; the personal perceptions and attitudes of leaders also have an important role in the development of their decisions. It should be noted that successful leaders are not necessarily those that have a strong educational background; the experience in the industrial sector involved but also the willingness for taking risks and proposing innovative plans are the most important characteristics of charismatic leaders. In modern market, the role of leaders can be differentiated; their priorities and targets can be changed in order to meet the development of technology but also the continuously changing customer preferences and demands. In the study of Raelin (2005) it is made clear that ‘in the 21st Century organization, everyone will need to share the experience of serving as a leader, not sequentially, but concurrently and collectively; in other words, leaders need to co-exist at the same time and all together’ (Raelin, 2005, 18). The above study does not refer to cooperation between leaders that work in different organizations; it is rather a proposal being addressed to all firms for the development of a close cooperation between the leader and the management team. The communication with the management team needs to be a priority for leaders in modern organization; by explaining the strategic plans to the managers leaders could be expect the increase of effectiveness of these plans; from a different point of view, co-existence of leaders could possible refer to the communication between the leaders and the employees or leaders and the customers. Regarding this issue it is noted that ‘the recent emergence of positive psychology and positive organizational behavior has now clearly shown that hope is a strength that has many important implications for todays embattled organizations- both in terms of effective leadership and employee retention and performance’ (Norman et al., 2005, 55). In other words, leaders need to support the development of hope across the organization; employees should not be left with the thinking that their cooperation with the firm is under threat. Employees should be appropriately motivated in order to keep their performance at high levels. Even if being stressed under the pressure of market trends, leaders should try to keep a balance between the demands of customers and the benefits expected from the application of a specific strategic plan. The implementation of leader’s decision in firms has to be appropriately prepared and monitored taking into account the fact that the appropriateness of business decisions is depended on the results achieved (Duck et al., 1999). It is noted by Vanderslice (1988) that ‘rather than being inspired by leaders to do their best, it is likely that followers will either limit themselves to status-appropriate behaviors or resist their low power roles’ (Vanderslice, 1988, 677). Leaders in modern firms have to set specific priorities; the achievement of these priorities is depended on a series of factors, including the ability of leaders to persuade the public for the appropriateness of a specific strategic plan. It should be noted that leaders in modern firms have not been proved capable enough to face the challenges set when handling serious organizational issues; in fact, there are cases that leaders have been involved in scandals that caused severe financial losses to their firms. The specific issue is developed in the study of Reilly et a. (2007) where it is supported that ‘scandals throughout corporate America have encouraged companies to seek leaders who can sustain profitability and embody positive values within the organization’ (Reilly et al., 2007, 245). The failure of leaders to respond to their duties is likely to adversely affect the performance of employees – when the leader’s behaviour is in opposition with the firm’s culture then employees feel insecure – not being able to concentrate on their tasks. The specific fact is highlighted in the study of Anderson et al. (1991) where a relationship has been proved to exist between the ‘leaders behavior and group members attitudes’ (Anderson et al., 1991, 59). In the case of Apple there is no such issue; in fact, in Apple employees have been negatively affected by the fact that Jobs is heavily ill; in order to avoid the turbulences caused in the workplace because of his illness, Jobs decided to stay far from work for a particular period. Organizational environment in Apple seems to have different characteristics – compared to the other firms in the market; the relationship between employees and the firms’ leader is extremely good; the support offered by Jobs to employees is appreciated – employees have been significantly affected by the illness of Jobs – a fact showing the quality of communication between employees and leadership in the specific organization. The intervention of Jobs in the transformation of Apple has been expanded in many sectors; in the customer services department Jobs tried to ensure that the support offered to customers by the firm’s employees will be intensive – as possible (Testa et al., 2005, 456). The quality of the support provided by the firm’s employees to customers has been another key aspect of the firm’s transformation under the influence and the instructions of Jobs – who pays a significant attention on the development of appropriate customer support services. In accordance with the above, the growth of Apple can be characterized as closely related with the leadership style of Jobs – employees’ motivation and customer satisfaction – as important part of Jobs strategic plans – have been proved to be key criteria for the success of Apple – despite the strong competition within the particular industrial sector. It should be noted here that the absence of Jobs from Apple did not have a negative effect on his work for the particular organization – a fact not quite common in the market. Towards this direction, it is noted that ‘leader transitions are important passages that have implications for the leader, his or her team, and the organization; such transitions are more frequent than in the past, and the failure rate of new leaders is high’ (Manderscheid, 2008, 686). In the case of Jobs, the transition period – being far away from Apple – did not adversely influence his willingness to support the firm. In fact, since his return in Apple, Jobs contributed in the firm’s significant growth – by proposing innovative plans related with the firm’s range and quality of products but also by supporting the development of communication in the workplace and between employees and customers. The development of Apple under the influence of Jobs has been actively supported by the firm’s board of directors; in fact, there could be no issue of involvement of Jobs in the firm’s strategic management if the firm’s board of directors had a clear opposition. It could be noted here that the condition of the firm at the time that Jobs asked for his return in the firm’s management was quite bad – in 1997 Apple was facing bankruptcy. Under these terms, it is possible that the acceptance of Jobs’ proposal for being involved in the firm’s direction has been made under the pressure of the circumstances. Through the years, the specific decision has been proved to be critical for the survival of the firm and its further development. Through the specific conditions it has been proved that the firm does not have – as possibly someone could thought – the support of the government; when the firm suffered severe damages – referring to the post 1997 period – the government was not offered to give the necessary support – there was no appreciation of the firm’s contribution in the development of technological innovation in USA. 4. Conclusion Innovation can be characterized as one of the most important factors for the development of modern firms. In Apple, the use of innovation has been combined with other strategic plans, like the improvement of communication in the workplace but also the improvement of communication between employees and customers. Jobs has been proved to be a charismatic leader transforming Apples’ existing practices but also suggesting innovative products – proving that he can identify the customer needs and the market trends (Tucker et al., 2004, 103). Jobs is not a common case of leader. In most firms, leaders try to keep their salaries high – as possible – without taking into consideration the financial position of their firms but also the needs of the employees – sufficient funds should be left to the firms in order to offer to its employees a fair compensation. The qualities of successful leaders are highlighted in the literature. More specifically, it is noted that ‘leadership is now the ability to step outside the culture that created the leader and to start evolutionary change processes that are more adaptive’ (Schein, 2004, 2). From another point of view, it is supported that ‘managers could be differentiated by the range and depth of learning tactics they employ when facing a new or unfamiliar experience’ (Posner, 2006, 217). In the case of Apple, the specific firm would not exist; the firm’s bankruptcy would be unavoidable if Jobs would not enter the firm reviewing all existing practices and updating existing organizational policies. Jobs has set as a priority the promotion of the organization’s interest – not his own. The priorities set by Jobs – as described and evaluated in the previous sections – are the main characteristics of the specific leader – making him different compared to the other leaders of organizations around the world. In accordance with Anderson (1998, 3) ‘transforming leaders build the leadership organization; they are those who have inwardly decided to grow into being more conscious, developed, skilled, sensitive, and creative participants’. All these criteria can be used in order to characterize Jobs – as a leader of one of the most competitive firms in the global market. References A. Books Anderson, T. (1998) Transforming Leadership: Equipping Yourself and Coaching Others to Build the Leadership Organization, Second Edition. CRC Press Manz, C. (2002) The Power of Failure: 27 Ways to Turn Lifes Setbacks Into Success. Berrett-Koehler Publishers Posner (2006) The Leadership Challenge. Wiley-India Schein, E. (2004) Organizational culture and leadership. John Wiley and Sons B. Online Sources Bellis, M. (2009) The History of Apple, available from http://inventors.about.com/od/cstartinventions/a/Apple_Computers.htm Steve Jobs, CEO Apple, (2009) Apple, available from http://www.apple.com/pr/bios/jobs.html C. Journals Anderson, L., Tolson, J. (1991) Leaders Upward Influence in the Organization - Replication and Extensions of the Pelz Effect to Include Group Support and Self-Monitoring. Small Group Research, Vol. 22, No. 1, 59-75 Duck, J., Fielding, K. (1999) Leaders and Subgroups: One of Us or One of them? Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, Vol. 2, No. 3, 203-230 Joerges, B., Wolff, R. (1991) Leaders, Managers, Entrepreneurs on and off the Organizational Stage. Organization Studies, Vol. 12, No. 4, 529-546 Hawkins, K., Tolzin, A. (2002) Examining the Team/Leader Interface - Baseball Teams as Exemplars of Postmodern Organizations. Group & Organization Management, Vol. 27, No. 1, 97-112 Manderscheid, S. (2008) New Leader Assimilation: An Intervention for Leaders in Transition. 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