Apple Inc Strategic - Business Plan Example

Apple Inc. Strategic Plan Inserts His/Her Inserts Grade Inserts 7th June Outline I. Implementation plan a. Objectives b. Functional tactics c. Action items d. Milestones and a deadline e. Tasks and task ownership f. Resource allocation II. Required organizational change management strategies III. Key success factors, budget, and forecasted financials IV. Risk management plan Apple Inc. Strategic Plan I. Implementation Plan a. Objectives 1. Product Leadership: To develop product leadership as a primary value discipline and to master efficient operations as a secondary value discipline (Treacy & Wiersema, 1993) 2. Product Uniqueness: To compete on product uniqueness as an element of the company’s generic strategy with preparations to compete on cost when the market forces eliminate the product uniqueness advantage 3. Integration: To pursue market integration opportunities in response to the strong market growth and strong competitive position of the company b. Functional Tactics 1. To attain and retain product leadership, Apple Inc. needs to: i. Implement policies seeking to entrench an innovative culture backed by a keen understanding of market trends and consumer demands. ii. Keep ahead of the industry by developing collaborative frameworks with innovation centers such as Universities by funding research into aspects that can improve the production technologies and product applications (Jeffrey & Norton, 2006). 2. To maintain product leadership as part of Apple Inc.’s Generic strategy, the company must: i. Maintain the tradition of releasing cutting age products with a focus on cutting-edge applications and service regimes. This means that the company must strive to release at least one new product based on a technological breakthrough. ii. Release new versions of popular products based on market reviews and consumer criticism. iii. Carefully analyze competitor trends and develop appropriate responses to competitor advances in product technologies. 3. In order to get the best results from the grand strategy of the company based on the strong market growth and the strong competitive position of the company, Apple Inc. needs to: i. Pursue horizontal integration by acquiring firms that manufacture critical components of its products in order to forestall any disruptions in supply (Porter, 1980) ii. Develop strategic alliances with manufacturers that it cannot acquire to ensure that it still gets the components it needs for its products at competitive rates and with minimal supply interruptions c. Action Items 1. Policy Implementation: Appoint a coordinating team to appraise all company policies regularly to ensure they foster innovation. 2. Development of collaborative frameworks: Identify and approach universities and other research institutions worldwide with a bias towards IT innovation to pursue joint research. 3. Annual release of a new product: Establish a new product development council to recommend next releases of products 4. Release of upgrades of popular products: Task the product development council to recommend product upgrades based on customer reviews 5. Competitor analysis: Establish a permanent task force to review all new products from competitors to determine whether Apple Inc. still has initiative in the product area, and actions needed to regain or retain leadership. 6. Pursuit of horizontal integration with parts manufacturers: Some component manufacturers may be open to takeover offers by Apple Inc. The business team will assess the viability of the component manufacturers and report to the Apple Inc. Board on the viability each potential takeover. 7. Development of strategic alliances with other manufacturers: The business team will also determine the value of developing strategic alliances with each player in the Apple Inc. supply chain to establish and pursue the most advantageous alliances. d. Milestones and Deadlines Action Items Milestones Deadline Policy Implementation Development of a policy evaluation framework End of 4th quarter 2012 Completion of evaluation of all existing policies to determine their role in promoting or inhibiting innovation End of first quarter 2013 Inclusion of a policy review system to account for innovation in the existing policy development framework End of second quarter 2013 Development of collaborative framework Identification of the top 10 universities and research institutions, and assessment of their collaboration policies End of second quarter 2013 Development of a collaboration agreements End of third quarter 2013 Signing of collaboration agreements End of fourth quarter 2013 Annual release of a new Apple Inc. product and release of product upgrades Establishment of a Product Development Council End of third quarter 2012 Development and implementation of the operational procedures for product release Competitor analysis Establishment of a permanent Task force on competitor product review End of third quarter 2012 Release of weekly product reviews for new products Horizontal integration and development of strategic alliances Development of a criteria for suitability of takeover, or of the establishment of strategic alliances with participants of the Apple Inc supply chain End of third quarter 2012 Identification and prioritization of all players in the Apple Inc. supply chain End of fourth quarter 2012 Conclusion of talks and announcement of takeovers and establishment of strategic alliances By fourth quarter 2015 e. Tasks and Task Ownership Tasks Owner Development of a policy evaluation framework Apple Inc. Board Completion of evaluation of all existing policies to determine their role in promoting or inhibiting innovation Special Committee appointed by the Board Inclusion of a policy review system for innovation in the existing policy development framework Apple Inc. Board Identification of the top 10 universities and research institutions, and assessment of their collaboration policies Special Sub Committee appointed by the Apple Inc. Board Development of a collaboration agreement Board Signing of collaboration agreement Board chairman and CEO Establishment of a Product Development Council R &D department Development and implementation of product release operational procedures CEO Establishment of a permanent Task force on competitor product review Marketing and R&D department Release of weekly product reviews for new products Marketing department Development of a criteria for suitability of takeover or of the establishment of a strategic alliance Business development department Identification and prioritization of all players in the Apple Inc. supply chain VP in charge of supply chain management Conclusion of talks and announcement of takeovers and establishment of strategic alliances Board f. Resource Allocation The Board, with the help of the Chief Financial Officer and the head of Human Resource, will determine the appropriate budgetary and human resource allocation required to complete these plans. Budget caps on the three main objectives are as follows. 1. Product leadership: 20 million dollars 2. Product uniqueness: 50 million dollars 3. Integration: 100 million dollars II. Change Management Strategies The first component of an organizational change strategy is communication (Pearce, 2005). It is very important to communicate the issues surrounding the proposed initiatives to reduce fear, uncertainties, and lack of cooperation from the members of the organization. There should be a means of providing timely feedback to the employees and stakeholders at any time during the implementation phase. Secondly, these decisions should involve all the stakeholders of Apple inc. Lack of stakeholder involvement leads to resistance even if the changes are good for the company (Meredeth & Mantel, 2011). Involving the stakeholders by giving them appropriate information and an opportunity to participate in the process leads to the generation of goodwill. The third change management strategy is the need for gradual change rather than sudden change (Project Management Institute, 2003). Since the company is in good business standing, there is no urgency to change all the systems at once. Gradual change offers the implementing groups the opportunity to learn and to monitor the changes that new systems are bringing to the company. In this sense, it is more beneficial for the company to change slowly over time as it deals with the ripples, rather than changing in a huge way because too much change in too little time disrupts the efficiency of established processes. III. Key Success Factors, Budget, and Financials a. Key Success Factors 1. Firm leadership: The implementation of this plan requires very firm leadership from the Board to ensure that all the players required to make it successful participate meaningfully (Porter, 1980). The functional units will also play an important leadership role in the management of the specific initiatives. 2. Availability of financing: Most of the projects in this plan will require finances. This is especially true for the acquisitions section (Meredeth & Mantel, 2011). Therefore, the availability of funds to implement the initiatives is necessary for its overall success. b. Budget Based on the three objectives, the Budget caps for the three areas are as follows Product leadership: 20 million dollars Product uniqueness: 50 million dollars Integration: 100 million dollars c. Breakeven Point The determination of the breakeven point will depend on the success of the implementation of each individual objective. The criteria for determining the breakeven point will difference between the total projected return from the initiatives in the specific area and the total expenses related to it (Treacy & Wiersema, 1993). The preferred time span for reaching this point is within three years after the completion of the specific initiative. IV. Risk Management Plan Area Risk Severity Impact Management Policy Implementation Lack of /unavailability of internal specialized staff within the company 4 Poor quality policies Hire consultants from reputable risk management firms Development of collaborative frameworks Cost of collaboration too high 3 Over budget expenditure Justify the expense based on future returns Reduce the areas of collaboration to financially manageable ones Best research institutions already working with competitors 2 Reduced quality of research Find the next best institutions or with individual researchers Failure to find common ground in the development of the collaborative framework 4 Lack of collaboration with research institutions Reduce the scope of research required, or work with individual researchers Annual release of products Failure to make ground breaking creations 2 Product leadership will be at stake Innovate on existing products by increasing functionality Competitor analysis Failure to recognize new products causing competition from business rivals 3 Loss of product leadership Expand sources of information to include volunteers and bloggers on technology Integration and strategic alliances Failure to close integration and strategic alliances deals 2 Company will remain dependent on external providers exposing it to supply chain risks and limitations to its innovative requirements Build capacity internally References Jeffrey, M., & Norton, J. F. (2006). MCDM, Inc. (A) IT Strategy Sychronization. Kellog School of Management , 1-9. Meredeth, J. R., & Mantel, S. J. (2011). Project Management: A Managerial Approach (8 ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons. Montgomery, C. A., & Porter, M. E. (1991). Strategy: Seeking and Securing Competitive Advantage. Boston MA: Havard Business Press. Pearce, J. A. (2005). Strategic Management: Formulation, Implementation, and Control. New York: McGraw-Hill . Porter, M. E. (1980). Competitive Advantage: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster. Project Management Institute. (2003). A Guide To The Project Management Body Of Knowledge. San Diego: Project Management Institute. Treacy, M., & Wiersema, F. (1993, January). Customer Intimacy and other Value Disciplines. Havard Business Review . Read More