How Steve Jobs Made Apple so Productive and Successful - Research Proposal Example

 How Steve Jobs Made Apple so Productive and Successful Table of Contents Introduction 1 Literature Review 2 Methodology 3 Discussion of Findings 3 Presentation 5 Conclusion 6 References 8 Introduction Apple is one of the most admired companies globally because of its quality products and continuous innovation. Many people all over the world have become dependent on their products including iPhone, iPad, and iPod among others. The main aim of Apple Company under Steve Jobs was to innovate and not to follow and this enabled Jobs to innovate many products that are loved by many globally. According to Imbimbo (2009, p.7), Jobs was the head of Apple computer. However, after the death of Jobs, there were doubts whether Apple will continue innovating just like Jobs did but these doubts were overthrown following the invention of different new products by the company after Job’s death. This paper focus on the Apple Company and how some of the key stakeholders like Steve Jobs have contributed to its success. The research question is ‘to what extent is Steve Jobs responsible for the success of Apple?’ To effectively explore this research question, this essay will focus on some of the innovations by Steve Jobs and also how his work and innovative mind made Apple to be one of the most productive and successful companies worldwide. Moreover, this research aims at finding the state of Apple company after the death of Jobs, whether it continues innovating and remains successful or not. Literature Review Various literatures have been reviewed so as to effectively handle the research question. This paper explores about seven scholarly sources to determine how Jobs influenced the success of Apple Company during his leadership, and also it covers the Apple after Jobs. Different scholars have presented different opinions on Steve Jobs contribution to the success of Apple Company. According to Lussier and Achua (2010, p.24), the most important innovations by apple under Jobs’ leadership include iPhone, iPad, iPod, iTunes, and Apple Stores among others. Jobs was a perfectionist and he focused on producing the best and since he was obsessed with being the creators and controllers and not followers, he released new products one after the other (Imbimbo 2009, p.8). In addition, Jobs was behind the simplification of the shape of an apple and he also insisted on additional colorful stripes inside the apple (Lusted 2012, p.37). Nevertheless, Apple Company became the innovator and introduced Macintosh Plus under Jobs leadership (Zylla-Woellner 2013, p.2). Jobs has been considered to be the one behind Apple’s success by many scholars, however, Jobs himself believed that the reason behind the company’s success was because they employ the people (Finklem and Mallin 2010, p.53). Methodology The research methodology employed in this research will be qualitative research methodology through application reviewing literature from journals and other scholarly sources. Both the primary and secondary data for this research will be gathered through carrying out an indepth analysis and intersection of literature on the topic. The sampled scholarly literature will be gathered from a population of books, articles and journals that have analysed the success of Apple Inc. under the guidne of Steve Jobs. The sample will selected based on the most recent scholarly literature on how Steve Jobs influenced the success of Apple Inc. Literature review will be appropriate as it will involve a review and analysis of past literature and researches carried out by other researches. Discussion of Findings Following an extensive research and gathering necessary information about Apple Company and its success, this section presents a thoughtful discussion on the research findings. Apple’s success can be entirely linked to Steve Jobs since he has be the one behind the company’s most innovations (Zylla-Woellner 2013, p.3). The impact that Steve Jobs had on Apple and the whole world was huge and incredible. Perfectionism was Jobs’s well-known quality, for instance, he took much time creating Macintosh because he was obsessed with detail and he came up with the idea of an internal fan because he believed that it was noisy and clumsy (Surowiecki 2011). According to Jobs, for an object to resonate with consumers, each part of it must be done right including the parts that are not visible. Such perfectionism significantly contributed to Apple’s success. Jobs noted that the success of apple is achieved by producing great products that the company opts for and then believe that consumers will like the products the same way (Lussier and Achua 2010, p.25). Steve Jobs was directly responsible for devices that individuals use every day as part of their lives. For instance, Jobs invented AppStorm on an iPad and this application is very important to many people and this indeed is an indication of how Steve Jobs positively impacted on people’s lives. The iPad itself which became an easy-to-use consumer tablet was a product of Job’s impact on the company. Jobs and his company significantly influenced the world we live in because their products are the best and attract millions of customers. Upon his return to the company, Jobs was mainly concerned with maximizing profits and saving the company from its bankruptcy and he had in mind many innovation projects like Apple Newton. Innovation and Jobs seemed to coincide at the Apple and this was one factor that made Jobs to make Apple so productive and successful. Notably, just a few years after he had returned to the company, Apple launched the highly successful iMac which is one of the product lines that has survived to date. More so, Jobs initiated the creation of iPod and this has really changed the manner in which we listen to music in the same way CDs did with cassettes. Accordingly, Apple under Steve Jobs launched iTunes which really transformed the way individuals store music. The main aim of Apple under Jobs was not to follow trends but set them. For instance, the invention and release of iPhone formed the basis for smartphones formation and today, many other manufactures release smartphones that follow some of the key principles developed by the iPhone’s design and functionality. All the new products and the success of Apple were driven by Job’s constant desire to innovate. Apple had its own Mac factory and had very unique cables, power cords and disk drives. This made Apple’s computers to cost high prices making it unaffordable by some individuals. Therefore, as Apple revolutionized the world of computing by creating outstanding machines that were more user-friendly and powerful, many individuals never touched Macintosh because of the price and instead they ended up with personal computers. For many individuals, the image of Jobs at Apple is highly connected to the idea of disruptive innovation (Proctor and Bicknell 2012, p.479). The Apple after Jobs performed very well from a financial perspective. A few months after the death of Jobs, the share price of the company increased significantly making Apple to be the most valuable company in the world. Also in terms of innovation, Apple remained on the top since innovation was the main focus of the company under Jobs. After Jobs, there have been new innovations including the iPad mini, a new line of MacBook Pros and also a new Mac Pro. Therefore, Job’s departure did not mean the end of innovation in the company. However, to some extent, some of these innovations can be seen as an update of the products innovated by Jobs. For instance, Jobs’s iPhone creation has been updated to iPhone 5’s design and iPad helped in the creation of retina iPad which has turned out to be a stunning device loved by millions worldwide. Presentation Some people believe that the former Apple CEO John Sculley is at least as responsible for Apple's success as Steve Jobs and possible more. The argument is that by the time Sculley left the company, Macintosh was the best-selling computer brand, but after Jobs resumed the leadership, Macintosh lost popularity until the innovation of iPods. The graph below shows apple’s revenue and profit before the innovation of iPod Adopted from http://www.inc.com/geoffrey-james/why-apple-won-john-sculley_1.html Conclusion There is no doubt that Apple’s success in the past few years was based on Jobs’s ability to introduce new products that captured everyone’s attention worldwide. Job’s return to rescue the company allowed Apple to grow into the most valuable companies in the world surpassing Exxon Mobil. The production of iPhone, iPad, and iPod collectively made Apple company to be successful in the world. Actually, what transformed Apple into the most valuable company in the world was that Steve Jobs did not only produced cool new devices but he also focused on creating new market ecosystems for these devices. This way, Jobs ensured that the market was more powerful and profitable to enable the company increase their sales and maximize profits. Jobs was obsessed with making Apple control the user experience, for instance, he might have insisted that iPod play only songs encoded in Apple’s favoured digital format but this would have limited the iPod market because already many people had MP3s. Therefore, in order to retain customers and attract more, Apple created the iPod MP3-compatible. More so, if Jobs would have insisted that iPods and iTunes operate only with Macs, this would have stopped Apple from having many computer users. To avoid this, Apple Company released a windows-compatible iPod. Jobs created new products and marketed them effectively and some of these products have formed part of everyday technology and he has also transformed these devices into a new way of viewing the world. For instance, he transformed the world of information technology from personal computers to the Ipad, Iphone and iPod. His commitment and obsession with innovation enabled him to release new products one after the other. Therefore, to a larger extent, Steve Jobs was responsible for the success of Apple Company over the past few decades and he formed a strong foundation that has enabled the company to continue shining as the most valuable company in the planet. Indeed, Jobs really contributed to the success of Apple Company but even after his death, the company continued with the inventions and remained to be the most valuable companies in the world. Steve Jobs created the world where computers became an everyday necessity for everyone. More so, he completely changed the way the world will look at the cell phone and music industries. Apple Company under Jobs was able to establish extreme anticipation for every product that was launched. The initial doubts about Apple’s ability to continue innovating after Job’s death were overthrown after the company proved that it is still at the top as the most valuable company in the world as they consistently produced new products. However, the truth remains that what Jobs has done and achieved while working for Apple is incredible and for sure has changed the world. References Finklem, T.A., and Mallin, M.L. 2010, Steve Jobs and Apple, Inc., Journal of the International Academy for Case Studies, Vol. 8, p.49-57. Imbimbo, A. 2009, Steve Jobs: the brilliant mind behind Apple, Pleasantville, NY, Gareth Stevens Pub. James, G., 2013, Steve Jobs Was Overrated as a CEO 2013. Available at: Lussier, R. N., and Achua, C. F. 2010, Leadership: theory, application, skill development. Australia, SouthWestern/Cengage Learning. Lusted, M.A. 2012, Apple: Company and Its Visionary Founder, Steve Jobs, ABDO Publishing Company. Proctor, N., and Bicknell, T, 2012, Apple after Steve Jobs, The Museums Journal, Volume 55, Issue 4, p.479–485. Surowiecki, J, 2011, How Steve Jobs Changed, The New Yorker. Zylla-Woellner, Judith, 2013, Corporate Strategy for Apple Inc Company, GRIN Verlag. Read More