Apple Financial Successes

They decided to build a computer that was portable or customer friendly; therefore, their initial reason for starting the company was to fill a niche in the market with the customer in mind (Richardson& Terrell 1). This initiative revolutionized the technology industry. Steve Jobs got credited as being an exemplary, visionary and innovative leader ahead of his time and the plans he had put in motion then, have been attributed to the company’s success up to date. Management decisions such as the alliance with Microsoft to produce Mac products have led to substantial financial achievements (Richardson& Terrell 1). The company continues to reinvent itself, continuously improving their outcomes and beating themselves at their own game with better and more technologically advanced products.

The latter had stepped in for Jobs several times during medical absences from work. Both CEOs share unapologetic confidence in the products produced by Apple and serious attention to detail that has seen excellent products generated year in year out. Much of the success though maintained by the current CEO has its foundation on the founding CEO for his risk-taking nature that was geared towards releasing cutting-edge products and innovation. He developed ruthless recruitment that focused on hiring the best people for the job, confidentiality in operations, obsession over details, focus and accountability, customer focus, keeping an eye on the brand and the competitors. (Hurley-Hanson& Giannantonio 12-13 ) Tell the incredible story of Steve Jobs management that though experienced several pitfalls and hurdles, persisted to a success story because of his determination.

Managers need to consistently not only motivate employees but also challenge them to come up with better ideas and strategies that grow the company. The company ended up making profits from a product produced within a short period and at a lower cost. Yu (36) reports that the CEO remained close to that project, testing it and sending it back to the drawing board if a song he searched could not be found in less than three button pushes. Apple’s management was consistently striving for perfection and exceptional quality to make sure the products were simple to use for the customers and good value for money. In an attempt to solve music piracy problem, he created a marketplace for songs at a low cost of 99 cents per song (Yu 36).

This move later led to the sale of 100 million iPods boosting Apple’s revenues by more than half (Yu 40). Steve Jobs was known to engage in the sustenance of product change. Whenever new products like the iPod were rolled out, he would create separate divisions to handle all affairs on that product. Although critics might argue against this form of management; even dubbing him ‘the narcissistic CEO’, it cannot be denied that these structures allowed for him to introduce very many programs and ideas that transformed the industry (41). When Steve Job’s successor Tim Cook took over in 2011, skeptics were wary of whether he would be able to replicate Job’s magic and maintain Apple Inc. However, it is evident that the concepts employed underlying the methods are what have driven the remarkable success of the company.