Understanding the Business Environment - Apple Company - Case Study Example

Understanding the Business Environment (Module) Assignment The Business Organization Apple Company is one of the most dominant multinational companies in the world’s smart phone industry. It is an American company and its headquarters are based in Cupertino, California. Apple Company designs, develops and sells variety of products ranging from electronics; television, watches and music accessories, personal computers, computer software and even smart phones. By revenue, Apple Company is the second largest information technology organization of the world after the Samsung Company. It is also among the top three world’s largest mobile manufacturers of the world (Colvin, 2009, p. 76; Fisher, 2008, p. 65-67). The company operates more than four hundred and thirty seven retail stores in more than fifteen states across the world (Frank, 1990, p. 21). The company has more than seventy two thousand eight hundred employees. The company continues to serve quite a huge number of consumers around the world following its quality products. The company further continues to enjoy a high level of the brand loyalty from its respective customers (Huba & McConnell, 2013, p.14). Apple Company is best known for its effective marketing and advertising strategies that have made its brands maintain consistent popularity in the world’s market (Rob, 1987, p. 18). The Market Structure it operates in Apple Company is an oligopoly in the Smartphone industry. There are particularly three very prominent and competitive operating systems in the world’s market today; iOS which is owned by the Apple Company, Android by the Google Company and the Windows phone by the Microsoft Company (Lin & Ye, 2009, p. 617-621). The three companies are widely known and recognized in the global market. From an economist point of view, Apple Company operates in more than one market structures. It operates in an oligopolistic market in the case of smart phone manufacturing as well as in a monopolistic market in the case of manufacture and sale of branded computers (Krugman & Maurice, 2008, p. 76). We will however focus on the market of smart phones alone. An oligopolistic market is the kind of a market that is dominated by a limited number of competitors (Fisher, 1989, p. 113-124). The companies in the oligopolistic market always maintain their position in the market since it is too costly for more competitors to find their way into the market (Abbring & Campbell, 2006, p. 4). The oligopolistic market has more barriers of entry in the market but fewer barriers to exit the market (Hirschey, 2000, p. 451). Some of the barriers to entry in the smart phone oligopolistic market include the government licenses, access to technology that is complex, the issue of patent as well as the economies of scale (Husso, 2011, p. 7). The most influential barrier to entry in an oligopolistic market in most economies of the world is the government regulations (Gillespie, 2007, p. 1). In most cases, government regulations tends to favor the existing firms and discouraging the new firms from coming into the market (Colander, 2008, p.2008).In an oligopolistic market, every seller has the capabilities of influencing the market of the particular good or service since the market constitute of few large firms (Melvin & Boyes, 2002, p. 267). Also, every seller in this particular market has to adequately respond to the choices made by the rivals in the market (Mazzeo, 2002, pp. 223). For a company to adequately remain competitive in this particular market, it has to keep on advancing its product by further differentiating its product (Ackerberg, 2005, p. 45). The oligopolies in the market always remain aware of the reactions and counter moves of their rival firms in the market. For example whenever the Apple Company comes up with an advanced iPhone, Samsung for example develops a more advanced smart phone. The oligopolistic market is more of a chess game or the pool game where the different players have to assess the moves and the countermoves of the other in determining how well to win the game (Lacobucci and Winter, 2010, p. 228). The different players in the oligopolistic market have to keep on assessing the moves and predict the counter moves of their rivals in the market to adequately achieve their set goals and objectives (Soames, 1996, p. 25). In case one of the sellers limit the output, the prices goes up hence providing incentives to the particular firm to adequately expand its output levels (Pindyck & Rubinfeld, 2001, p. 320). In particular situations, the sellers in the oligopolistic market may decide to employ a number of trade restrictions just like in a monopoly (Gans et.al, 2003, p.67). Such restrictions include market sharing as well as collusion. This is geared towards raising the prices of the particular product and restricting its production (Temple, 2000, p. 94). The trade restrictive practices in the oligopolistic market are aimed at stabilizing the unstable markets (Hawk and Motta, n.d., p. 102-103). However, such trade restrictions normally have legal restrictions in most countries of the world. Generally, oligopolies are therefore the price setters in any given market (Perloff & Pearson, 2008, p. 445). The products in the oligopolistic market are normally homogenous or differentiated (Samuelson and Marks, 2003, p. 123). The different players in the market also tend to compete on other terms other than the price of the particular goods and services (Lopatka, 1996, p. 907). Such terms include marketing and advertisement strategies, product differentiation, technological innovations, reputation as well as loyalty schemes. In an oligopolistic market, the different firms compete in an imperfect competition (Sullivan & Sheffrin, 2003, p. 153). In a oligopolistic market the number of sellers is mostly not more than ten (Schiller, 2010, p. 97). Every player in the oligopolistic market works towards being the leader and therefore every player does all it takes to beat others. The different firms have to stay alert of the moves made by their competitors and if the competitors decide to invest in the foreign markets, the competing firm has to adequately follow them there (Knickerbocker, 2003, p. 57). History of Government Intervention Apple Company is an American Company but the production of the iPhones is located in Asian countries. Even though the company has been prominent in changing the consumer’s electronics of the world, it has not really contributed in rebuilding the American manufacturing industry. Therefore, the American government is not in a position to intervene in the operations of the Apple Company. Nevertheless, the Asian government have had made interventions in the manufacturing activities of the Apple Company. So as to attract the foreign investors, the Asian governments adequately subsidized the cost of production. This made it easy for the Apple Company to acquire cheap labor, a land to use in its manufacturing activities as well as flexible environmental rules. As a result of the low cost of manufacture of the iPhones as a result of availability of cheap labor and availability of highly advanced technology in Asia, Apple Company has been able to constantly innovate and further upgrade the iPhones. This is what has earned the company a top rank in the smart phone industry. Activities of the Apple Company and its competitors have further made it harder for new entrants into this particular market since they cannot keep up with the innovations. Impact of international trade and Foreign Direct Investment Apple is a multinational company that operates in a number of countries across the globe. Even though the manufacture of the smart phones is done in Asia, Apple Company sells its products to different parts of the world including its country of origin; America. The ease of sale of its smart phone products has highly been made possible as a result of the existence of the international trade. As the company sells its goods and services across the international borders, it gives room for more competition and competitive pricing from other manufacturers of the similar goods and services (Kown, 2010, p. 8). However, this is not the case with the world’s smart phone market. The Apple Company and its competitors having dominated this market, control not only the prices of the smart phones but also the availability of the smart phones in the world’s market. They further control the period of which a certain brand will stay in the market since they are always in competition with one another. The international trade therefore has further enabled Apple Company and its rivals reach out to more and more customers in the global market. Foreign domestic Investment (FDI) particularly plays a vital role in the growth of the international business (Jones, 1996, p. 324). To the company that has gone global, it provides a new market, better marketing channels, cheaper ways to produce goods and even access to more advanced technology (Haddad and Harrison, 1993, p. 54-58). Foreign Direct Investment therefore makes the company that has invested in the foreign market stronger in terms of resources, production capabilities and the market coverage (Xu, 2000, p. 478). In or case, Apple manufacturing operations in Asia has made the company stronger through its brands in the smart phone industry. With adequate access to the new technology, cheap production costs as well as a vast market in Asia, Apple Company has been able to establish itself as a prominent player in the market. Nature of the National Environment The Apple Company’s factories that produce the iPhone are located in the Asian and more specifically China. In the recent past, China has become a destiny for most corporations of the world following the high market growth (Forbes, 2002, p. 338). Over the years, China has grown to a point of becoming the second largest economy of the world immediately after the United States. China has enjoyed a stable political climate for many years now. Even though China has approximately the same land as the United States, China has almost a double population compared to that of the US. It has a population of around 1.35 billion people. Regardless of the big population, the Chinese economy has largely grown over the years. The country is further made of different ethnic groups with strong Chinese cultural beliefs and norms. In the recent past, different scholars have argued that the Chinese cultural beliefs and norms highly influence the Chinese market (Hofstede, 2003, p. 67). This has been evident following some cases like the failure of Barbie doll brand by the Mattel Company in China. Nevertheless, there are various factors that have made China a big economy in the world. According to recent surveys conducted by various scholars, literacy rate in China stands at around ninety two percent of the general population. The Chinese government has adequately invested in education as a tool of economic development. This has further provided the needed human resource in the different foreign companies that have invested in China (Huang, 1995, p.80). China is a communism state and has more than twenty three states altogether. Currently, China has a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of 7,600 US dollars with only a two percent of the entire population living below the poverty line. According to the recent surveys, China has an unemployment rate of 4.3 percent with the industrial growth rate being estimated to around eleven percent. The nature of communism in China has however denied most of the Chinese citizens the freedom of expression (Brown, 2012, p. 52-86). Recently, as a result of influences from other cultures such as the western culture, the Chinese State is under transformation. Also, the urban areas are immensely developed as compared to the rural areas in China. This has further resulted into immigration from the rural areas into the urban area. Even though China has made remarkable steps in the economic developments as a nation, its current political state as a result of the communism nature of its government is a great hindrance to its future goals (moody, 2009, p. 253-274). Communism has made it impossible for the development of a more democratic China (Wu, 2011, p. 280-287). Many scholars of the world argue that if China does not drop communism, then the country will not be able to exhaust its potential (Torr, 2001, p. 190) Nevertheless, China’s current legislations are very friendly to the foreign investors. If any foreign company is able to meet some of the required conditions by the Chinese government, the company is allowed to adequately invest in the country (Yuan, 2000, p. 130). Impact on Business Over the recent years, China has overtaken the United States of America to become the largest market of the smart phones in the entire world. According to Yufang et.al (2014, p. 2-6), the Chinese market alone accounts for more than twenty one percent of the entire world’s smart phone market share with the sales of smart phones in the China having reached three hundred and eighty million in the year 2012 (Yufang, et. al, 2014, p. 3). The Chinese market for smart phones is even expected to continue expanding in the near future following the saturation of the European as well as the American markets. Also, the Chinese based firms are expected to be the key leaders in future with the low-cost markets (Long-Yi, 2010, p. 6). According to statistics, in the year 2011, the popular smart phone brands of the world; Apple, Android and Samsung dominated more than seventy percent of the entire Chinese market. Also, in the business of operating systems, the Android by the Google Company dominated the market with the iOS by the Apple Company and Symbian OS following at a close range. Impact on the Economic Factors The Chinese national environment has made it possible for acquisition of cheap labor in the manufacture of the Apple iPhones. This has further benefited Apple Company and largely contributed to its gross revenues since the company adequately does the production at very minimal costs. Apple Company operations in China have made the company strengthen its position in the smart phone industry and have the capability of influencing the world smart phone market. Apple manufacture of iPhones in China has also influenced growth of some of the local companies in China through Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and further contributed to the GDP of China through taxation. Nevertheless, the interest rates in China have continued to escalate following the increased inflation that has led to increase in prices of commodities such as the crude oil in the global market. This has placed the Chinese government in a tight spot and in the near future the Central Bank of China may decide to implement even a more stringent monetary policy. Impact on the Political Factor & Legal Factors Political factors entail development of new laws and regulations by the government. In the recent past, the Chinese government has been forced to amend some of its laws and regulations as well as develop more legislation governing the activities of international companies in China. In relation to smart phone manufacturing and sale in China, the Chinese government has developed some privacy laws that have to be adhered to by the various mobile phone sellers and manufactures. Critique the behavior of selected organizations in their market environment Over the past few years, there are a number of issues that have evolved in relation to the conduct of the Apple Company in the world market. First, Apple Company has been accused of underpaying its workers who work for more than fifteen hours a day but only to be paid as little as fifty dollars a month (Musgrove, 2006, p. 1). This is a sign that the company does not treat its workers with dignity. It violates not only the international laws but also its own code of conduct. If the company does not respect its workers, does it respect its customers? Apple Company is known for its slogan ‘think different’ that is used as a marketing slogan for its products across the continent. But is that what really the company does? Apple’s business model comprises of two vital cultures; value and cost culture. In the value culture the Apple Company is driven by the notion of value when pricing its products especially the Smart phones. The company therefore believes that as long as the customers are willing and able to pay for the perceived value of the product, then the company cannot reduce the prices set on its products and that customers are satisfied. On the other hand, the cost culture implies that the company uses its market position to acquire labor at the lowest price possible hence keeping its workers under bad working conditions with little remuneration. This eventually makes the company retain the larger proportion of the profits since the cost of production is very low. Apple’s products and specifically the Apple Smart phones have been doing well in the world’s market. This means that the company has the capability of achieving its goals as well as benefiting both the ordinary persons. In a nutshell, Apple Company does not at all consider being fair to the world. The company only cares about selling the technology they continue to innovate. Therefore, the only thing the company considers to be relevant is to stay dominant in the world’s smart phone industry by charging its customers highly while at the same time exploiting its workers in the name of making production at the lowest possible cost. Apple Company is also well known for using figures such as Mahatma Gandhi and John Lennon in its adverts. However, Apple Company is not as honest as it appears to be in these adverts. Recently, environmentalists from the North California have accused the Apple Company of not having proper recycling programs unlike most of its competitors in the market (Musgrove, 2006, p. 1). Also, recent researches by different scholars of the world have revealed that Apple Company has recently imposed some sort of software on its products capable of restricting the digital media. This software prevents any sort of unauthorized distribution of the digital content and also prevents the consumers from copying the content on the Apple devices they purchase. The company has therefore restricted its consumers from adequately enjoying what they purchase. Identify, select and use a range of economic tools to determine appropriate business decisions There are a number of economic tools that are used by the different economists of the world to make adequate business decisions. Such economic tools include cost-effective analysis, cost-benefit analysis, and fiscal impact analysis as well as the cost analysis. Cost analysis This is the most common economic tool used by the different companies of the world whenever a policy or a program is to be undertaken by a company. Cost analyses adequately reveal all complete accounts of all expenses associated with the policy or the program. The information supplied by cost analysis is critical to the decision maker as well as the practitioner. This tool in fact forms the bases of all other forms of economic analyses. Cost analysis sounds so easy but it is not always the case since one needs to consider a number of costs in a company. Company costs include the direct costs of the company, the indirect cost of running the company as well as the capital cost including the debt the company owes other. Apple Company can adequately use the cost analysis tool to adequately evaluate the issues of wage increase. This is an issue that has formed its bases of criticism in the past years. The company would adequately need to re-evaluate the issue of wages and compensation to its employees as well as the working hours. The company may therefore decide to increase the wages from fifty dollars an year to a hundred dollars an year and also reduce the working time by three hours. Apple Company may also use the cost analysis technique to evaluate the best policy to implement in relation to the privacy regulations of China that the company has been accused of violating. Cost analysis technique in this case will be vital in establishing the start-up expenditures associated with the policy development and implementation. Cost-benefit analysis Unlike in the cost analysis, the cost-benefit analysis involve the advantages and disadvantages of the programs and policies implemented that help the policy developer identify the most valuable option to undertake (Mishan, 1975, p. 45). The method adequately puts into consideration the monetary value of both the benefits and the costs associated with the initiative to be pursued such that they are adequately compared. According to this tool of economics, the programs in which the benefits are more than the cost to be incurred are capable of generating net benefits to the business or to the company. This tool is therefore very useful in decision making in any given company. In our case, cost-benefit analysis will be vital in manufacturing decisions made by Apple Company. Such decisions would entail; if to continue producing the iPhones or to develop a new brand of smart phones on top of the iPhones. In the recent past iPhone 6 which is the most current Apple smart phone in the market has been criticized by some customers for being too expensive when it is just too common. In my view, developing a new brand of iPhone would be an appropriate decision for the Apple Company. Fiscal Impact analysis According to Burchell (1978, p. 15), Fiscal Impact analysis has been defined as the projection associated with the public. Current direct costs and revenues emanating from the growth felt to the local jurisdiction of a certain place. After knowing the cost and adequately assessing the benefits of a program or a policy, it is of great significance to know how the program or the policy the company wants to undertake will impact the budget of the company. This will be vital for the policy maker in deciding whether to undertake a certain policy or program or not. If the Apple Company decides to increase the wage to a hundred dollars, it will mean a double expense to the company. This will eventually have an impact on the taxes paid by the company as well as the employees of Apple Company. The policy maker has to therefore consider a lot of factors before deciding on a final wage figure for the Apple employees including the amount of tax the company pay the Chinese government. Cost-effective analysis Even after assessing the impact a policy or a program has on the budget of the company, it is hard to know if the program or the policy or program will effectively utilize the resources of the company. As a result of this reason therefore, a cost-effective analysis is vital in assessing the options taken by a company. In most cases, companies go for the less expensive alternatives so as to maintain the costs of the company at the lowest possible levels. Having in mind that Apple Company has to change the wage compensation rates to its employees following the continued pressure from the international laws and regulations as well as pressure from the human right activists, the company has to assess the efficiency of the wage increment and its repercussions on the costs of the company. Increase in wages will result in reduction of the company’s retained profits hence a decline in its financial resources. However, revision of the employment terms will ease the pressure from the involved parties and further promote brand loyalty. In a different scenario, Apple Company may aspire to develop a new smart phone brand alongside the iPhone brand or to just stick to the iPhone brand. Developing a new brand will be quite expensive for the company since the company has to commit more of its resource to sustain the production and marketing of the new brand in the market. Through the cost-effective analysis therefore, the company should stick to the iPhone brand and further improve on its features. Relate the influence of international factors to the structure of domestic markets and the decision making of individual firms International factors do not directly affect the performance of a company but they influence the market of the respective products and services. According to Benito and Welch (1994, p. 7-15), the international factors influence the decision of a company to shift its market of goods and services from the domestic market to the international market. Such factors include the currency exchange rates and globalization. Currency exchange rates The exchange rates have a lot of influence on the profits of a company as well as the prices of the various goods and services. When a currency is strengthens against the US dollar, the price of the imports decline in that particular country and vice versa. This is possible since the currency of that particular nation has gained value in expense of the US dollar hence individuals in that particular nation are in a position to purchase the foreign products. This makes the domestic products face competition from the foreign goods and hence the prices of the domestic prices may adequately go down. This would make the domestic market less favorable for investment and firms would avoid the market when the prices of the products are low. On the other hand, with high prices as a result of the domestic currency loosing value in expense of the dollar would make the market favorable for investment as a result of the fact that the imports would be too expensive for the domestic consumers (Cavusgil and Nevin, 1981, p. 114-119). The firms would eventually make entries into the market to provide the goods and services since the prices of the domestic products are likely to go up. The currency exchange rates can therefore determine the domestic market structure in a certain country. With cheaper imports only oligopolies can survive or monopolies that are adequately protected by the government laws and regulations. Globalization This is the process of moving beyond the borders. Through globalization, the whole world is assumed to be a village where exchange of goods, services, views and even technology is possible (James, 2005, p. 193-2009). As a result of globalization the domestic companies may find a way into the international market where they do not only compete with the domestic rivals but also with the international competitors. The domestic firms in this case therefore makes the decision regarding the market to participate in. Globalization also has significant influence on the domestic market structure in that through globalization, the domestic firms are able to source raw materials from low cost locations. 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