The External Factors Affecting Apple Company - Case Study Example

APPLE COMPANY APPLE COMPANY Insert name: Insert course code: Instructor’s name: 18 August, 2010. 10. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Apple Company is an organization in Australia but have other branches in countries like U.S Italy, China and many more. Like any other company, Apple requires effective human resource management so as to cope with the technological issues and staffing. In this report, we look at the external and internal environmental factors that affect the company and its relation to the human resource management of the company. Various aspect of HRM planning are discussed in the report. Table of Contents 10. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 2 Table of Contents 3 2.0 INTRODUCTION 4 3.0 THE EXTERNAL FACTORS AFFECTING APPLE COMPANY 5 4.0 INTERNAL ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS AFFECTING APPLE COMPANY 7 4.1 HRM business planning 7 4.2 Recruitment and staffing 9 10 5.0 CONCLUSION 10 10 References: 11 2.0 INTRODUCTION Apart from designing and manufacturing, Apple Inc. also markets personal computers, portable digital music players as well as mobile communication devices; and sells various related software, services, and peripherals along with networking solutions. The company’s hardware products entail the Mac-book along with Mac-book Pro notebook computers; Mac Pro and iMac desktop computers; Mac minis, Xserve servers as well as Xserve RAID Storage Systems. The organization’s Mac products include Intel microprocessors, iLife software as well as Mac OS X Leopard operating systems. Software products comprise of Mac OS X, iLife ’08, iWork ’08, and Logic Studio in addition to FileMaker Pro. Additional products are like the iSight digital video cameras, the iPod line of portable digital music players as well as accessories, the iPhone with touch controls, phone iPod and internet services, Final Cut Studio, a high definition video production suite of applications along with the iTunes digital entertainment management software for MP3 music files, television shows and movies. The firm operates over 215 retail stores in China, the UK, the U.S, Canada, Japan, Australia and Italy. The size of the Apple Store is about 2,500 – 20,000 square foot. Apple’s retail stores standard $4,000 in deals per sq. ft. per year. The iPod has sold over 100 million units, iTunes has sold over 5 billion songs and rents and sells over 50,000 movies daily. In 2008, the organization released upgraded versions of the Mac Pro, Mac-Book as well as Mac-Book Pro, iMac, iPod, iPhone and introduced new products like the Mac-book Air notebook computer, which is less than an inch thick, Time Capsule, a wireless backup appliance for Mac computers as well as MobileMe internet service for mobile Apple products (Plunkett, 2008 p. 84). 3.0 THE EXTERNAL FACTORS AFFECTING APPLE COMPANY The Human Resource Management of Apple Company is mainly affected by trends and developments in four important contexts. For the most segments, the contexts are located in the external environment of the company and the drive much of the activity in human resource management. The fours contexts are: Workplace attitudes. Such changes in attitudes that affect the HR function comprise changes in employee expectations, more work place flexibility, and greater recognition of the significance of work-life balance as well as human diversity in work place. Development in technology. The implementation of new technology influences the organization’s staff in areas such as allocation of new work tasks, training along with skill development as well as changes to the to the culture of the organization. Legislation laws. Legislation laws and regulations passed by the state and federal government influences several areas of human resource such as occupational health and safety (Work Cover), employee relations (industrial relationships, specifically concerning the Work Choices legislation) as well as equal employment opportunity (anti-discrimination). Ethical and socially responsible management (ESM). ESM has become more significant to all function areas including HR. Ongoing improvements in the four contexts make it imperative that management takes a broad perspective and becomes even more sophisticated and skilled in its management of people. This is a very challenging responsibility and which is the function of HR managers (Mylonas, Harvey, and Hodges, 2007 p. 300). The cultural value of the workers as well as executives mainly affects the company. This mainly affects the information generation for staff appraisal. In management, the impact of cultural variables on conventional management is not always clear and only partially supports the cross-national transferability of factors affecting change in management control systems. There are a number of values that are related to culture that affect this company. First, culture has a long-term orientation. Environmental issues engender concern for the long-run (like intergenerational equity) rather than the short-run. If national culture values are reflected in the values of Apple Company then it seems plausible that if Australia has a high score on long-term orientation, it will adopt a longer-term perspective in strategy, planning as well as other aspects of management, including staff performance appraisal. The second is masculinity. Masculinity refers to a society in which social masculinity responsibilities are evidently different. Masculine perspective is focused on material success while femininity relates to the quality of life. The third value is individualism. In the setting of Apple Company, individualism can be reflected in individual performance, and a calculative involvement of individuals with the business rather than group-based performance measures as well as moral involvement. In an environmental context, a high score for individualism implies less concern for intra-generational and inter-generational equity issues, and greater focus on individual performance measures and appraisal (Bennett, Rikhardsson and Schaltegger, 2003 p. 158). Globalization is another factor that is greatly affecting the operation of companies like Apple. With improvement of technology, the company is demanded to keep in step with the new changes in the production department and staffing (Kew and Stredwick 2005 p. 170) 4.0 INTERNAL ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS AFFECTING APPLE COMPANY 4.1 HRM business planning HRM business planning is an internal factor that affects the Apple Company. Business plans are documents that give more details on medium-term plans as well as objectives. They indicate where the business will be in one year or after a period of five years and can then be redrafted annually within the context of formal strategic planning updates. Strategic planning in a formal sense ought to occur annually so as to ensure that there is a necessary fit between external and internal environment. These formal planning ought to be well scheduled every year before the company’s annual budgetary cycle. This ensures that resource allocations are aligned with the tactical trend of the corporation. The business plan ought to focus on several functional areas in details as well as on what should be done in these areas in the period to come, by whom and how, so as to get the strategy implemented. These business plans the generally form the foundation for short-term, annual action plans. One of the action plans might relate to how Apple Company initiates a new policy that has to be drafted, or a review of some or the entire HRM policy documentation. These kinds of action plans ought then to be in sync with the annual budgets, in addition to being integrated to allow for proper resource allocation. This implies that resources like money, time and workforce need to be allocated in order for action plans as well as business plans to be carried out, which then facilitates execution of business plan thus leading to strategy implementation and mission accomplishment (Amos, et al. 2009 P. 8). Apple’s business strategy basically revolves around how best this company can compete in the marketplace. When drafting the Apple’s HRM business plans, the concept of ‘fit’ is of great significance. The HR business plan must fit the HRM strategy as well as the internal and external factors – mainly the company’s strategic direction and business plans. The Apple’s business plan must also fit the overall HRM policy framework. The HRM business plan’s aim ought to be to operationalize or introduce the concept of fit between general business strategy and HRM grand strategy, and kit should break up the strategic plans into measurable chunks over shorter time periods (Erasmus, Swanepoel and Schenk 2009 p. 176). 4.2 Recruitment and staffing Recruitment is a process of searching for prospective employees as well as stimulating and encouraging them to apply for jobs in an organization. This is an internal factor that affects the operations of the Apple Company. Recruitment needs for Apple Company and others may be grouped into three categories: planned, anticipated and unexpected. Planned needs are a consequence of the changes in the corporation along with retirement policy. Expected requirements are those arrangements in personnel that can be predicted by the company through learning trends in the interior and exterior surroundings. Unexpected needs results from resignations, deaths, accidents and illness. The main concern for a company is to increase the productivity and employees play a great role in improving productivity. A very significant function of HR is manpower planning. Understaffing may make the company lose the company economy of scale along with specialism, orders, consumers and incomes. On the contrary, overstaffing is wasteful and expensive, if sustained and reduces the competitive efficiency of the company. Staffing level planning demands as evaluation of current and future needs of the company so that they may be compared with the current resources and future predicted resources. For demand and supply to be brought into balance, pertinent steps ought to be planned (Talloo 2007 p. 251) These factors will affect the company in future (like five years to come) depending on how well they are implemented. It is important to note that human resource planning (HRP) is significant as it a part of the personnel staff function as well as management process. The factors affect the future profitability of the company, the type of staff, the business plans as well as the grand strategy of the company (Bratton and Gold 2001 p. 174). 5.0 CONCLUSION Apple Company like any other company is a social and economic body in which various persons perform distinct duties so as to attain common goals. Thus there is need for organization design which is the process in which roles and relationships are analyzed to achieve specific ends jointly. Thus in designing its organizational structure, the company should analyze both the current and future circumstances and environmental factors. The company should also plan and implement policies. This is done through organizational analysis, which is the process of defining aims, objectives, activities and structure of the company (Goyal, 2007 p. 363). References: Amos T., et al. 2009. Human Resource Management. Edition3 , Cape Town, Juta and Company Ltd. From http://books.google.com/books?id=z239tBfhu_cC&pg=PA8&dq=External+environment+factors+and+their+impact+on+the+organisation%E2%80%99s+HR+planning+and+job+design+processes+in+companies&hl=en&ei=uZprTIbtKKGHONqHnXA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CEIQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q&f=false (accessed August 18, 2010) Bennett M., Rikhardsson P. M. and Schaltegger S. 2003. Environmental management accounting: purpose and progress. California, Springer. From http://books.google.com/books?id=DaOGgH9iwEQC&pg=PA156&dq=External+environmental+factors+affecting+companies+in+australia&hl=en&ei=TZhrTPikFOiWOJGy7YUB&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CC0Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false (accessed August 18, 2010) Bratton J. and Gold J. 2001. Human Resource Management: Theory and Practice. Edition2, New Jersey, Routledge. From http://books.google.com/books?id=EZ1CLRm3FnQC&pg=PA174&dq=External+environment+factors+and+their+impact+on+the+organisation%E2%80%99s+HR+planning+and+job+design+processes+in+companies&hl=en&ei=Dd1rTJyOqWSOJWG3ZMC&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CDUQ6AEwAjgK#v=onepage&q&f=false (accessed August 18, 2010) Erasmus B., Swanepoel B. and Schenk H. 2009. “South African human resource management: theory and practice”. Edition4, Cape Town, Juta and Company Ltd. From http://books.google.com/books?id=g5PvjILBsWkC&pg=PA176&dq=External+environment+factors+and+their+impact+on+the+organisation%E2%80%99s+HR+planning+and+job+design+processes+in+companies&hl=en&ei=uZprTIbtKKGHONqHnXA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=9&ved=0CF0Q6AEwCA#v=onepage&q&f=false (accessed August 18, 2010) Goyal A. 2007. Business Environment. New Delhi, FK Publications. From http://books.google.com/books?id=uq3jkQyXQMUC&pg=RA1PA363&dq=External+environment+factors+and+their+impact+on+the+organisation%E2%80%99s+HR+planning+and+job+design+processes+in+companies&hl=en&ei=uZprTIbtKKGHONqHnXA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CDwQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q&f=true (accessed August 18, 2010) Kew J. and Stredwick J. 2005. Business environment: managing in a strategic context. SW, CIPD Publishing. From http://books.google.com/books?id=RjS5XTQPnCEC&pg=PA168&dq=External+environment+factors+and+their+impact+on+the+organisation%E2%80%99s+HR+planning+and+job+design+processes+in+companies&hl=en&ei=uZprTIbtKKGHONqHnXA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=6&ved=0CEoQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q&f=true (accessed August 18, 2010) Khosrowpour M. 2004. “Innovations through information technology: 2004 Information Resources Management Association International Conference, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, May 23-26, 2004, Volume 1. Idea Group Inc (IGI)”. From http://books.google.com/books?id=Cn8p2Gnncb4C&pg=PA699&dq=External+environmental+factors+affecting+companies+in+australia&hl=en&ei=TZhrTPikFOiWOJGy7YUB&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CDUQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q&f=false (accessed August 18, 2010) Mylonas A., Harvey J. and Hodges J. 2007. Business Organisation and Management for Queensland. Australia, Macmillan Education Aus. From http://books.google.com/books?id=4fbnSGtzlwC&pg=PA299&dq=External+environment+factors+and+their+impact+on+the+organisation%E2%80%99s+HR+planning+and+job+design+processes+in+companies&hl=en&ei=uZprTIbtKKGHONqHnXA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CC8Q6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q&f=false (accessed August 18, 2010) Plunkett J. W. 2008. Plunkett's Retail Industry Almanac 2009 (E-Book): Retail Industry Market Research, Statistics, Trends and Leading Companies. Texas, Plunkett Research, Ltd. From http://books.google.com/books?id=FEhFZbsHRoC&pg=PT179&dq=size,+location+of+apple+company+in+australia&hl=en&ei=qIhrTMCiJceQjAfWxaD7AQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CEMQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q&f=true (accessed August 18, 2010) Talloo 2007. Business Organisation and Management (For Delhi University B.Com Hons. Course). New Delhi, Tata McGraw-Hill. From http://books.google.com/books?id=fM33afZnVy8C&pg=PA251&dq=External+environment+factors+and+their+impact+on+the+organisation%E2%80%99s+HR+planning+and+job+design+processes+in+companies&hl=en&ei=uZprTIbtKKGHONqHnXA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCkQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false (accessed August 18, 2010) Read More