What is your favorite company What is it about this company that you believe sets it above its competitors and makes it a great company - Admission/Application Essay Example

Apple Inc. Company Profile Apple Inc. is a multinational company founded in 1976 by entrepreneurs Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne and is based in Cupertino, California ( Fisher, 66). It deals in development of some of the most grandeur electronics and software in the world. The company designs, manufactures and markets mobile communication and media devices, personal computers, and portable digital music players. Additionally, it sells a variety of related software, services, peripherals, networking solutions, and third-party digital content and applications.

Some of its most recognised products include the Mac Series of computers, the iPod media player series, iPhone smartphone series and iPad tablet series. Its line of software consist of OS X and IOS operating systems, the iTunes media sampler, the Safari web browser, the iWork creativity suit and the iLife productivity suite. Apple is the world’s largest publicly traded corporation by market capitalization, with an estimated market capitalization of $446 billion by January, 2014 (Bloomberg. Com).

Despite brutal competition, market uncertainties, legal battles and a dynamic cooperate and environment, Apple Inc. has weathered to surpass Coca-Cola as the world’s most valuable brand in the Omnicom Groups "Best Global Brands" report in 2013 (Bloomberg.com). Why Apple Inc. Stands Out Unknown to many people is the fact that Apple’s success and distinction from all its competition is its top management (O’Grady, 32). Although now late, Apple’s co-founder Steve Jobs was taunted as one of the greatest and most charismatic spokesmen in memorable history.

Jobs and other executives developed and sustained a rather personal and sentimental attitude towards the company and its products. He successfully mediated a soft spot towards Apple products in the hearts of many with his near cult figure around the world (O’Grady, 34). A survey by Bloom Television in 2003 surprisingly determined that as many as 47percet of Apple product consumers would not change their allegiance and hold onto their products as an extension of its charismatic founders whom they admitted to adore (Bloomberg.com). Steve Jobs had been a highly rated CEO and considered one of the best executives of the last decades.

The other managerial perspective that distinct apple from other companies is that it has long been managed by its founders, unlike most mega companies that outsource executives. As thus, the company has enjoyed intimate and pragmatic management with its top management taking particular interest on the running of virtually all itsoperations from invention to customer service initiatives. Apple also owes its long standing success to innovation, uniqueness and creativity. Over the years; apple has had an edge on innovation and top notch designs way ahead of its competitors.

Their iPhone for example, was a revolutionary breakthrough that completely transformed how people interact with their phones. Itis widely viewed as the trigger towards most the current phone technologies. In fact most economic commentators attribute apple’s survival in the turbulent markets that preceded most of its launches to superior quality innovations and unique products that were meant not to sell but to revolutionise lives. Apple survived the Windows driven PC with its light and sleek Mac computer.

It also launched the iPod into a market almost monopolised by Sony’s Walkman products and the iPhone into an apparently saturated cell-phone market at the time (Lashinsky, 16). The only arsenal Apple has had through this tough competition has been unique designs and superior and creative technology. This surprisingly is despite the fact Apple products, given their advanced and constantly improving technology, have cost relatively higher. Apple has never compromised on quality and customarily high standards in all aspects of their operations.

The policy, according to its late CEO is to keep products simple and user interactive while jealously guarding on the product quality (Amidon,106). This however, is a company that defines quality in a very wide andgeneral approach. Quality is in the sense of what need require the company intervention and there is usually an intensive research to precisely determine this. As thus, most Apple products are very marketable as they are always designed to mitigate identified deficiencies. Then there is at least a two year gap between design and launch to ensure the product conforms to quality standards and meets the intended performance expectations.

The quality also ensures that a new product complements and does not render obsolete or less desirable the existing products. With this approach, the company has been over the years, able to introduce successive generations of the same product by making incremental improvements to earlier versions. Then the company has a strict user- interface policy approach to design. In fact its former CEO once reiterated that there is a design critical component of any product the company makes such that if it is not easy to use, it is considered worthless to the customer and does not meet the threshold for production (O’Gredy, 52).

Quality it to this company’s customers does not end upon purchasing an Apple product. Apple understood that even with simple designs, technological varieties and customer needs always creates complexity. As thus, despite its size and far apart bases and facilities, the company went into retail of its products and services. This has ensured direct resolution of problems at the thousands of Apple Stores around the world. By this strategy, the company lives true to its philosophy of not working for just sales but for customer experience.

While most companies embark on aggressive marketing strategies, Apple has largely marketed itself within its own services and products. Conclusion Despite the very hard economic and corporate situations, Apple Inc. has survived upon three major premises; world-class management, innovation and creativity and unwavering commitment to quality. These principles have seen Apple grow into the best brand in the world and kept steps ahead of competition. The company currently enjoys a very positive and strong economic position.

Forecasts also predict very impressive future prospects (Bloomberg.com). Reference Fisher, Anne."Americas Most Admired Companies". Fortune 157 (5): 65–67. 2008. Print OGrady, Jason. Apple Inc. Corporations that changed the world. New York: ABC-CLIO.2009. Print Amidon,Marcia.Apple: Company and Its Visionary Founder, Steve Jobs. Nuremburg: ABDO, Aug 1, 2012. Print Lashinsky, Adam.Inside Apple: How Americas Most Admired--and Secretive Company Really Works. Boston:Grand Central Publishing. 2012.

Print "AAPL Profile & Executives." Bloomberg.com. Version n.a. Bloomberg, n.d. Web. 3 May 2014. .