Corporate Responsibility and Marketing Strategies of Apple Inc - Case Study Example

Running head: corporate responsibility and marketing strategies 19th October Introduction AppleIncorporation is an American based firm whose main activities include designing, developing and selling of computer software, consumer electronics, as well as personal computers. With its headquarters based in Cupertino, California, the company which was founded by Steve Jobs, Ronald Wayne and Steve Wozniak, is known for its quality brands that have attracted the world attention. Some of the notable brands include iPod media player, iPad, iPhone smartphone, iTune Store, Mac Pro, the new iPad, iPad Air, and Apple TV among others. Having being established in 6, Apple Company has a diversified product portfolio, an aspect that has made it to be the second largest mobile phone maker globally. Considering revenue generation in the filed of information technology, the company is also the second largest in the world after Samsung Electronics. One of the key aspects that have made the company to be successful was effective leadership style especially by the late Steve Jobs. With approximately 425 retail outlets, Apple enjoys strong positive brand-customer relationship due to the extensive advertising that started in 1970s. This paper seeks to discuss Apple’s corporate social responsibilities and marketing strategies. Apple Company ethical and social responsibilities Apple Company management team believes that education can empower employees and improve their lives. Based on the fact that education is a great equalizer, the company invests heavily in assisting employees throughout its supply chain. In this way, the workers know their rights while at the same time they are able to improve their skills. For instance, in 2013, approximately 280,000 people based in 18 supplier sites undertook various courses through the Apple free education program. Additionally, 1.5 million employees were trained on their rights. Another notable ethical aspect that Apple adopts is to help the suppliers protect student interns. This entails ending excessive working hours. For example, in 20132, the company suppliers achieved 95% compliance in reference to Apple maximum 60-hour worksheet (Lantos, 2001). To promote transparency within the company, Apple publicly releases the list of refiners as well as smelters in its supply chain. It is worth noting that for workers to improve their productivity, the working environment should be safe. Apple believes that every worker has the right to a safe and healthy working place. In this regard, the company has established Apple Supplier EHS Academy, an initiative that focuses at addressing shortage of conducive environment in addition to working safety (Anderson, 2012). Additionally, apple expects its suppliers to perform their activities in environmentally responsible manner. Apart from working with experts to identify risky facilities, Apple has developed various methods to reduce their impact on the environment. For example, through the Clean Water Program, the company reduces the use of freshwater by recycling water in its production facilities. Based on the various Apple’s ethical and social responsibilities as identified, it clear that the company has met its responsibilities (McMillan, 2012). It is out of these responsibilities that the company has not only received support from US government but also from customers globally. Impact of ethics and social responsibilities violations by Apple’s suppliers According to the Apple’s 2011 supplier responsibility report, its suppliers have been involved in various unethical practices. For example, there were cases of underage labor at 10 facilities, risky working situation in 2 facilities, and a case of bribery at 1 facility among others. Another labor practice that was reported in 2006 in China in Foxconn and Inventec manufacturers that produces iPod was poor working condition of 200,000 workers. Additionally, it was reported by Mail on Sunday that workers who worked more than 60 hours per week were being paid $100 per month, which they used to pay for rent as well purchase food from the company. In 2010, employees planned to sue the contractors of the iPhone as the result of poisoning by a cleaner whose duties were to clean the LCD screens. With such ethics and social responsibilities violations by the suppliers, Apple’s reputation has negatively been affected. For example, the attempt by China workers to sue the suppliers made consumers to question the morality of the company employees. Additionally, labor movements have questioned Apple adherence to labor rights due to the cases that have been reported by US and China based suppliers. Methods that Apple can utilize to ensure that its suppliers adhere to wage and benefits standards As the competition becomes stiff in the technology industry, it is imperative that firms make all efforts to maintain a productive workforce. In addition to providing training, it is essential for companies to offer competitive wages and benefits to their workers. One of the methods that Apple can utilize to ensure that its suppliers adhere to wage and benefits standard going forward is to establish the salary scales and that should be distributed to all the suppliers. The company should ensure that depending with the level of education of the workers the company should indicate the minimum salary that such an employee should earn. The second method is to establish a flexible benefit scheme that employees should be allowed to chose the benefit they deem fit for them. As a culture, the company whose revenue has been on the increase should ensure that the suppliers adjust the wages upwards on annual bases. Through such strategies, the employees will be motivated thus enhancing their productivity, increased sales for the suppliers and basically improved reputation for Apple. Impact of Apple increasing price to provide beer wage and benefits Apple’s customers would be willing to pay more for its products if Apple had to increase selling prices in order to provide better wages and benefits for suppliers’ workers. Some of the major aspects that make Apple to be different from other companies are extensive innovation and production of world class brands. According to 2014 Interbrand Best Global Brands report, Apple is the world’s most valuable brand. With a logo and a brand valued at $119bn, the company has adequate resources to cater extensive advertisement and promotion. The company has been able to win the mind of the consumers due to the continuous introduction of brands for example the new iPads have experienced high demand in the market. Due to the positive relationship between the company and the customers would like the company to show great level of admiration to their supplier’s workers. Additionally, it is the belief of the consumers that through its suppliers, Apple will continue to offer top brands. This implies that the consumers would like the supplier’s to pay their workers better wages. It is worth noting that during their purchasing process, Apple consumers are not influenced by the prices but rather the features offered by the brands. This is based on the fact that majority of Apple consumers have the financial ability to acquire the company top brands. Apple’s current overall marketing strategy The major factor that has made Apple to be a global brand enjoying strong customer’s awareness and loyalty is current extensive marketing strategies it has adopted. This is indicated by its marketing mix. Product Apple has a diversified product portfolio that entails quality brands that meet the needs of US and foreign consumers. The production of portable computers such as Mac Book Pro, iMac, MacBook Air, Mac and Mini, Xserve among other makes the company to be choice of the customers. Other top brads include iTunes, iPod Nano, ipod Classic, Mac Program, iPhone Program and Airport Extreme among many others (Tim, 2004). Price Apple emulates skimming and premium pricing techniques. This implies that during the launching of a product, it set high prices but later it lowers the prices. One aspect that the company uses for a product such as the iPad is to lower the price if consumers dictate. Examples of prices are Mac Book - $999, iPod Nano-$149, Quicktime Pro for Windows- $29.99, and AppleiPad minimum price is $499 (Tim, 2004).. Place The company headquarters as noted earlier are located at Cupertino, California. However, in order to effectively serve its customers in a better way, Apple has service providers and consulting firms in Asia, Middle East Europe, Africa, and Latin America. With more than 200 outlets globally, apple is able to enjoy appropriate distribution. One of the most new retail outlets is located in Shanghai, China. Promotion Extensive promotion in the market is also a key aspect that has created Apple as a strong brand image. For example, the company offers special discounts for brands such as iPod Nanos as well as 8GB iPod Touch among others. The company also offers free shipping for order which is over $50 and which is offered by online shipping store (Tim, 2004). One of the unique promotional aspects by Apple is a search tool that allows customers to locate a nearby Mac product consultant. Actions that Apple can take in order to improve its competitive advantage Apple has opportunities to improve its competitive advantage by undertaking various actions. First it can restructure its Africa market to include more outlets. In terms of technology, Africa has become a very potential market as companies noted the important of technology. A good example of a company that has enjoyed high revenue due to its expansion in Africa is Coca-Cola. With a distribution centre almost in all African countries, Coca-Cola has benefited from strong brand awareness and high revenue (Goldstein and Lee, 2005). The second action Apple can take is to expand its sports sponsorship in Europe, Asia and other areas. It worthy to note that one of the key aspect that has made Barclays Bank to enjoy strong brand awareness and loyalty is continuous sponsoring of premier league in UK. Conclusion Based on the above discussion, it is clear that Apple success has not only been based on strong mating strategies but effective leadership that values innovation and the consumers. Despite the criticism that has been generated due to unethical behaviors of the suppliers, the company has effectively competed in the global market. References Anderson, A. (2012). Apple Power Cables to Become Even More Environmentally Friendly. KeyNoodle. Retrieved January 14, 2012. Goldstein, D and Lee, Y. (2005). The rise of right-time marketing. The Journal of Database Marketing & Customer Strategy Management 2 (3): 12–25 Lantos, P. (2001). The Boundaries of Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility. Journal of Consumer Marketing 18 (7): 95–98 McMillan, R. (2012). After Greenpeace Protests, Apple Promises to Dump Coal Power. Wired Magazine. Retrieved August 18, 2014. Tim, F. (2004). Apple Marketing Mix. Available from http://www.marketingteacher.com/apple-marketing-mix/ Read More