Apple Advanced Business Strategy

Effects of strategic environmental factors on Apple Inc. strategic decisions. SWOT analysis of Apple Inc. Strengths and weaknesess 4 Opportunities and threats 4 PEST Analysis 5 Apple's strategies for competitive advantage 5 Brand image/strength 6 Innovative products 6 Premium pricing strategy 6 Strong supply chain management 6 Part B: Strategic Evaluation and Choice 7 Success criteria for assessing the viability of the strategic options 7 Suitability 7 Feasibility 8 Acceptability 8 Evaluating the product development strategy for Apple Inc. The main principles involved in the organizational structure 9 Evaluation of strategic fit between strategy and structure 11 Conclusion 12 References 13 Advanced Business Strategy Apple Inc. has been able to compete with different companies and it has stood out due strong customer base and unique reputation with consumers in the electronics industry (Apple 2018). Currently, Apple Inc. is one of the famous and biggest technology companies globally with an approximate revenue of more than $60 billion per year.

Part A: Strategic Development and Environment The key elements of strategic decisions in Apple Inc. Apple Inc. This company is famous for introducing the best touch sensor in their products such as mac, iPod, iPhone, and iPod recently. IPhone still remains a market leader in the smartphone technology. In addition, Apple has introduced various unique operating systems for their products such as Macintosh, iPod, iPhone, and PowerBook (Hotelling et al. The company processes in the design of their products are key strategic decisions that are largely handled by a number of organization officials and components. For instance, the production and development of macs involve both Mac hardware and Mac software engineering senior VPs. In addition, Apple strives for innovation in their facilities for process efficiency and optimization of capacity.

For instance, "at the company's data center which is located in a maiden, north of Carolina, the company has employed an innovative cooling system. Al-Laham & Huth, 2011). This system reuses water up to 35 times and reduces the overall water consumption by 20%. Quality and inventory management Apple Inc. The mission and vision statement of Apple specify on product development approach. Through this approach, the company "view innovation a critical success factor in the company. Hotelling et al. For instance, the company has to continue to innovate through products such as iPad, iPhone and the Apple watch. The company has continued to grow since the new products and models it adopts allow it to generate more revenue. Through this strategic tools, we will be able to understand the market declines and development, the business positions and the possible direction for operations which is key in making strategic decisions.

SWOT analysis of Apple Inc. Strengths One the major strength of Apple Inc. is that it has an established and strong brand name among its competitors and consumers due to quality and introduction of new products. In addition, Apple is an innovative company that has strong research and development department for coming up with new ideas in the product. should exploit the online store and take advantage of the improve warranty and reduce its prices to hold a strong position in the market. Threats. The growing fierce competition within the same industry is a serious threat to Apple Inc. The increasing economic crisis has made consumers not to spend too much during a critical situation (Jurevicius, 2016). In addition, the free downloading of videos and music may adversely affect the apple online store.

Since Apple is an electronic organization, it keeps up to date and always moves with new technologies (Al-Laham & Huth, 2011). However, the technological factors that Apple should exploit and factor in making strategic decisions is the trend in cloud computing and growing apps in the market. Apple's strategies for competitive advantage The mobile devices industry is a market that is very competitive and dominated by various key firms such as the Motorola, Samsung and Nokia Corporation. These competitors have extensive product lines that acquire and controls a large portion of customers in the industry. The launch of iPhone in the year 2007, positioned and made apple direct threat and competitor in the industry with a product which had a variety of unparalleled features (O’Regan, 2015).

In addition, Apple aims at selling high-quality products to their customers that have unique features. In addition, the company uses the strategy of high prices to boost the perception of added value. Strong supply chain management An ecosystem of business partners, developers, customers, and suppliers provide the Apple Inc. with a strong and unique competitive advantage. This company controls the manufacturing and always follows strictly the standards of software and has its own stores. However, we will analyze critically the strategies of market development and product development on the basis of acceptability, feasibility and suitability frameworks. Suitability Suitability considers whether the strategy selected will address the raised strategic issues as pointed in the organization's strategic position. It deals with the overall and general rationale of the adopted strategy (David, 2011).

The product development requires apple Inc. to have extensive support from the current management. The market development strategy will require Apple to employ additional resources in the market. Apple needs to diversify to new markets especially the developed countries where low prices are highly welcomed. To achieve that the company must recruit massive resources as per the demands of the new market. This will, in the long run, enable Apple to increase its market share and subsequently increase profits. Due to the financial capabilities of apple, the two strategies look feasible for the company (Jurevicius, 2016). Evaluating the product development strategy for Apple Inc. From the discussions above, it is evident that the two significant strategic options available to the apple company are the product development and market development.

However, the most suitable strategy, in this case, is product development as it embraces the long-term growth of the company and also provides a platform for new innovative technologies. Recently Apple Inc. has shown continuous involvement in the market development and research and also proactiveness by entering new markets such as India and China. The development of a new product such as the iPad and apple watch is directly linked to the assistance and support from the structure of the firm. Apple's organizational structure has three vital characteristics that include "spoke and wheel hierarchy, function-based grouping and product based grouping. Al-Laham & Huth, 2011). The product development strategy of apple is largely achieved through product based grouping which is on the important characteristics in the structure of the organization.

Every product that is within the portfolio of apples such as iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, and apple watch is a result of collaborations between the various products based groups. In addition, the promotion opportunities motivate the employees to perform to their best. Lastly, the organization has clear levels of authority and responsibility that fosters the principle of accountability. However, on the negative side, the organization structure of apple in most cases may compromise the flexibility of the business in reflecting changes in the global market (Teece, 2010). There is need to subject the organizational structure of Apple to changes due to the rapid decrease in the life cycle of their technology products and the declining sales of mac products, iPhone and iPad.

There is need to integrate the elements of divisional organizational structure and matrix organizational structure to increase the efficiency of practices in new product development. Apple views innovation as a critical success factor in the industry. This strategy requires Apple to offer attractive and unique products to the growing market share and performance. In addition, the mission and vision statements of Apple largely emphasize on product development. Therefore the company has continued to develop innovative products such as Apple watch, iPhone and iPad due to its advanced R$D activities and competencies in technological advancements (Jurevicius, 2016). This strategy has enabled Apple Inc. References Apple. n. d. Retrieved March 15, 2018, from https://www. owler. David, F. R. Strategic management: Concepts and cases. Pearson/Prentice Hall.

Hotelling, S. Exploring strategy: text and cases. Pearson Education. Jurevicius, O. October 24). Apple Inc. n. d. Retrieved March 15, 2018, from https://www. scribd. com/doc/24134877/Strategic-Analysis-of-Apple-Inc-Brian-Masi Teece, D. E. Strategic management and business policy. Pearson.