Apple Corporation - Case Study Example

? Case Study Analysis (Apple Inc Table of Contents Introduction 3 Company background 3 Organization structure 3 Innovation 4 Competitors 4 SWOT analysis 5 Strength 5 Weakness 5 Opportunity 6 Threat 6 Financial position 7 Recommendation 7 References 8 Introduction The main purpose of this case is to integrate theoretical learning with the application through analysis of the current scenario as well as future projections and recommendations of a company, which is listed in NYSE or NASDAQ. This company analysis is carried out through two different perspectives: business and financial perspectives correspondingly. Business perspective is evaluated through SWOT analysis and for financial perspective; the past five years’ stock trend of the company is carried out. The success of the company is evaluated in this case solution. According to the key findings, the recommendation is developed for future strategic planning of the company for the next five years. Company background Apple Inc. was formerly named Apple Computer Inc. It is an American multinational corporation, which designs and sells high technology electronic goods, personal computers and computer software. The company became popular worldwide because of its innovative products. The company’s best-known products are the Macintosh line of computers, iPod, iPhone and lastly, the current iPad. The company was established on 1 April 1976 in California and incorporated on 3 January 1977. It removed the word ‘computer’ from its name in January 2007 and expanded towards producing consumer electronics apart from its then existing computer business. By market capitalization, Apple Inc. became the largest public limited company in the world beating ExxonMobil, Google and Microsoft in revenue and profit. Organization structure The success of Apple is the contribution of the collaborative work of the employees in the organization. The organization follows a collaborative organizational structure and work culture. There are no committees in the organization and everything is organized like the biggest start up in the world. In each department, all the team members meet every day to discuss the current scenario of their business and the company values, the employees participate in the decision making process. Apple has a reputation of influencing individuality and excellence that helps the company in its decision-making (Apple Inc, 2012). Innovation Apple was formed with the idea of innovation and the company has been following this motive to get a better competitive advantage. The brand has become famous in the world and it has better brand recognition and brand value than other electronic goods companies because each product its own unique innovation, generated exclusively by the Apple only, and not copied from others. Effective use of technology by the company resulted in innovations like Macintosh, iPod, iPhone, and the latest gadget – iPad (SRM University, 2008, p.13). Competitors Apple Inc operates its businesses in multiple industries. The main industry is personal computers. Apart from this, the company is involved in the software industry and consumer electronics. In the personal computer industry, the main competitors of Apple are IBM, Hewlett Packard, Dell Inc., etc. In consumer electronics industry, the main market competitor is Samsung, which has similar products in the market, and Apple has been facing competition from the same in the markets of the developing countries. The direct competitors of Apple are Google, Microsoft and RIMM (Research in Motion Limited). In all these industries Apple holds the leading position and no one can surpass this company in terms of revenue, profit, innovation and brand recognition. SWOT analysis Strength Brand position: Apple Inc. is one of the most desired and prestigious brands among its potential and non-potential customers in the world. The company successfully managed to create a positioning of strong brand value among its customers. The customers associate this brand with the concept of sophisticated, funny, energetic and high quality products and it has been generating enthusiastic and loyal customers by its innovative products. Furthermore, customers support the brands that enhance their brand value (KWHS, 2012). Financial Strength: In terms of revenue and profit, Apple Inc. beats Google and Microsoft, two widely recognized brands in the world. Innovation: Innovation, capability of improving and redesigning its products for a short period of time are the key strengths of Apple. The world has seen Apple redesigned its iPod, iPhone and iPad many times. This influences repeat purchase of products by its existing customers. Product Diversification: Apple manufactures and sells a wide variety of products starting from PCs, notebooks, cell phones, software and other hi-tech electronic gadgets like iPod and iPad. Product diversification enables the brand to penetrate a wider market. Weakness Price: Apple products are for a niche group of the society as they are highly priced. They belong to only premium class. Awareness: Its products are not user friendly and many financially potential customers do not like this brand because of the complicated operating style that it has in its products like cell phones and PCs. Opportunity Apple Inc. can concentrate on its business’ quality control area. The company can shift towards online selling and this will reduce the distribution cost. Threat Major worldwide competitors like Samsung, Sony and others, have influenced the industry where Apple operates. Microsoft has far greater market share in Windows Operating System than Macintosh of Apple. However, its great innovation iBangle has been facing political issues in many countries. Financial position Figure 1: Last five years stock price (Source: Yahoo Finance1, 2012) Last five years stock trend of Apple shows that the company has been growing in increasing order since the 2nd quarter of 2009. The chart also shows that it faced difficulties in its business during the global recession period. It is a good time to hold the stock for both the long term and the short term investors. Recommendation Financially, the company is very strong and it holds a good position in its industry. In terms of business, Apple needs to concentrate on the quality of its products as well as to make the products user friendly. Accordingly, the company will get more competitive advantage in terms of product acceptability by the potential customers. References Apple Inc. (2012). Working with people. Retrieved on April 11, 2012 from http://www.apple.com/about/workingwithapple.html. KWHS. (2012, March 20). Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats: The SWOT Analysis. Retrieved April 11, 2012 from http://kwhs.wharton.upenn.edu/2012/03/strengths-weaknesses-opportunities-threats-the-swot-analysis/ SRM University. (2008). Apple ibangle marketing plan. Retrieved April 11, 2012 from http://www.srmuniv.ac.in/downloads/apple-ibangle-marketing-plan.pdf. Yahoo Finance1. (2012). Basic Chart. Retrieved April 11, 2012 from http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?s=AAPL&t=5y&l=on&z=m&q=l&c=. Yahoo Finance. (2011). Income Statement. Retrieved April 11, 2012 from http://finance.yahoo.com/q/is?s=AAPL+Income+Statement&annual. Read More