Please select one of the following types of organizations. If possible, select the one that you are currently working in. Research and reflect on what has been learned over the past 25 years as it relates to quality management and continuous process improvement towards “what will the future of strategic quality planning, improvement and control look like for the organization of your choice?”
- Product-Based Organizations
- Service-Based Organizations
- Self-Service-Based Organizations
- Health Care-Based Organizations
- Continuous Process-Based Organizations
- Defense-Based Organizations
Your final paper must be at least 15 pages and no more than 20 pages excluding the title and reference pages.
Final Paper
Name
Institution
Course
Instructor
Date
Product-Based Organizations
Most companies grow and become a better version of themselves after some time as they learn from experience along the way. This assertion is vividly portrayed by Apple Inc. that has come from a humble beginning to be one of the giant and most successful companies in the world. Apple Inc. is a multinational technology company in America that develops, modifies, and sells consumer software, consumer electronics, and online services (Olson, 2018). Apple Inc. began seeing a rejuvenated growth in 1997 when Steve Jobs took the leadership of the company as its CEO. At that time, Apple Inc. had only 8,000 employees and $7 billion in revenue that increased to 137,000 employees and $260 billion in revenue in 2019 (Podolny and Hansen, 2020). Maintaining high-quality products has always been the reason Apple Inc. has maintained such a commanding success. Apple Inc. is well known for its innovations in hardware, software, and services as guided by the lessons it learns along the way and market dynamics (Podolny and Hansen, 2020). However, there is still more than Apple can do to better its success. This discussion will research and reflect on what Apple has learned over the past 25 years as it relates to quality management and continuous process improvement to give accurate recommendations and projections for future improvement of the company, particularly in terms of quality.
Apple Inc.
Apple is an American technology company headquartered in Cupertino, CA. It manufactures and sells consumer electronics, software programs, and online services. According to CompaniesMarketCap.com (2022), it is the largest publicly-traded company with the highest market cap of $2.447 Trillion and a share price of $151.21. Apple is also the second-largest mobile phone manufacturer in the world with a Global Smartphone Shipments Market Share of 18% after Samsung which has 23% (Team Counterpoint, 2022). Some of its products include, but are not limited to, media players, cell phones, tablets, computers, operating systems, and computer applications. Quality management of these products is primarily prioritized by the company to maintain a competitive edge in the market. Since the introduction of the iPhone 1 in 2007, Apple currently has moved up to iPhone 13 Pro Max, with each being an improved version of the preceding one (Michael, 2022). Its focus has always been to provide users with the best possible product experience.
Apple Inc. was established in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne, as a small personal computer manufacturer. It began by selling Wozniak Apple 1 Personal computer that was handmade by Wozniak himself (Aljafari, 2016). Wayne sold his share and left the company but was replaced by Mike Markkula, who helped the company grow exponentially, with revenue doubling every four months for the first five years (Apple History, 2015). By the end of 1980, Apple went public and had its shares offered in the stock market for US$22 a share (Apple History, 2015). Around 1985, Jobs got into a conflict with Apple’s CEO at that time, John Sculley, and left the company after selling his shares.
Apple faced huge losses thereafter, and was in the vague of bankruptcy when Jobs rejoined it as the interim CEO in 1997. This followed the acquisition of Jobs’ company, NeXT by Apple (Aljafari, 2016). The return of Steve Jobs marked a rapid shift of the company to a path of unceasing growth attributed to the new philosophy of simple design and unique products that Jobs introduced (Apple History, 2015). Apple began by developing the iMac, “an all-new computer with an attractive design of a multicolor see-through plastic shell” (Aljafari, 2016). There was a rapid selling of the iMac of about 1 million units a year that led to a strong return of Apple to the computers market.
Apple later introduced the Mac OSX as an all-new user-friendly computer firmware that became very popular at that time because it had a high graphic quality in the interface, stability, and security to the Apple computer operating system (Aljafari, 2016). In the same year, Apple began establishing direct connections with customers by opening a chain of retail stores for better marketing. It also introduced iPod as a digital music player – a move that made the company’s revenue grow from 1.9 billion dollars in 2000 to 3.2 billion dollars in 2001. By 2004, Apple had occupied 76% of the music player market (Aljafari, 2016).
To meet the growing demand for digital music tracts, Apple introduced the iTunes store as a digital media library for music. Within 3 years, Apple had sold 1 billion songs on iTunes songs, and by 2010, the total sale had hit 10 billion songs (Aljafari, 2016). 2007 market the introduction of the iPhone and the entry of Apple into the cellphone market. The iPhone had admirable qualities such as unique style, lack of physical keyboard, and touch screen capability that made it thrive in the market. Apple then introduced iPod in 2010 for people who preferred lightweight devices with big screens that could function as a computer (Aljafari, 2016). The success that Apple reaped from this technological advancement made it overcome its most formidable rival, Microsoft, in 2010 in terms of stock market value and total revenue. Steve Jobs left Apple in 2011 and was replaced by Tim Cook, who has continued his legacy and quality improvement style by introducing new and improved products (Aljafari, 2016).
Under Cook’s leadership, Apple has continued to improve the quality of the iPhone up to the latest iPhone 13 Pro Max. Immediately after the death of Jobs in 2011, the iPhone 4S was introduced characterized by a personal assistant program. Other products include the iPad Mini (2012), the iPad Pro (2015), the Apple Watch (2015), AirPods (2016), electrocardiograms (ECGs), the MacBook Air (2020), MacBook Pro (2020), and the Mac Mini (Wikipedia contributors, 2022). Due to this continuous growth and development, Apple became the first company to reach a value of one trillion dollars. It doubled the figure in 2020 (two years later) and became one of such companies to do that. Currently (2022), Apple collaborated with Samsung Electro-Mechanics to develop an M2 chip instead of LG Innotek. It has filled a trademark for RealityOS, an operating system for virtual and augmented reality headsets, in May 2022 and plans to introduce the handset in 2023 (Wikipedia contributors, 2022). Similarly, Apple is also looking forward to releasing iPhone 14 with improved qualities and developing the third-generation technology of 5G-enabled smartphones.
Lessons Learned
Apple bears a story of continuous growth and success. As it looks forward to a better future, it can borrow insights from its success and failures, learn from peer companies, and also from strategic evaluations of recommendations of market analysis and technological engineers (Podolny and Hansen, 2020). For instance, the management style that Jobs adopted made great contributions to the company’s success. When jobs arrived at Apple in 1997, it had a conventional structure, judging from the scope and size of the company at that time. It was categorized into small business units, with each having its own P&L responsibilities. General managers were assigned to lead the information appliances division, the Macintosh products group, and the server products division, among others (Podolny and Hansen, 2020). Such a setup is well-known for causing conflicts among managers, particularly over transfer prices.
The first step that Jobs took was to lay off the general managers from all the business units and restructured the company under one P&L. All the functional departments of the business units were combined into one functional organization (Podolny and Hansen, 2020). Up until now, it is the same system that is being used at Apple and has resulted in tremendous growth of the company (Podolny and Hansen, 2020). This is a big lesson for the company. Despite the general take that such a big company should not be structured as one functional organization, it has proven this assertion wrong. Therefore, those who are planning to maintain the success of the company should not be hasty to alter the structure but should maintain it as long as it is still feasible and profitable. For instance, Tim Cook, the current CEO, still maintains this structure in which he holds the only position on the organizational chart where the engineering, design, marketing, operations, and retail of any of Apple’s main products meet (Podolny and Hansen, 2020). Other leaders, including Senior vice presidents, manage products, not functions.
Apple has learned that innovation is one of its top priorities to ensure success. It structured itself to rely on functional expertise for maintaining innovation enhancement. Apple brings to the decision-making board the most expertise and experience personnel in a domain as one of its fundamental beliefs (Podolny and Hansen, 2020). Such a belief is based on the fact that Apple operates and competes in an environment with a high level of technological disruptions and changes (Podolny and Hansen, 2020). Consequently, expertise intuition, and judgment, particularly of the people who have experience in the field must be upheld to keep abreast with the inherent changes and disruptions in the market environment. The company has a culture of making bets about the technologies and designs that are likely to succeed in the computer and smartphone market, even before market forecast and market feedback is received. The accuracy of this betting is enhanced because it is made by technical experts rather than general managers (Podolny and Hansen, 2020). Future leaders must not haste to change this culture because it has been proven to be very effective in perpetuating the success of Apple.
Apple has also learned that its priority is to produce the best quality product. Such a goal should never be overridden or curtailed by short-term profits and cost targets. Podolny and Hansen (2020) report such factors to be the primary cause of impaired judgment among leaders and entrepreneurs. The company has long worked by rewarding senior R&D executives based on company performance across the globe rather than the revenue generated by a given product or its cost. Such a criterion encourages innovators and R&D executives to go full on their potential, talents, and creativity to give the best possible product without fearing the associated cost (Olson, 2018). This mindset also insulates product decisions from associated short-term financial pressures. Apple has been able to implement this ideology by excluding the finance team from the engineering team affairs and meetings, while also excluding the engineering teams in pricing decisions (Olson, 2018). However, the costs and revenue goals must not be completely omitted. This is why Apple’s R&D leaders also weigh the benefits to users of those choices against cost considerations.
Leadership has also been a factor of success and quality for the company. Jobs, as a pioneering leader of the company, introduced the defining characteristics of the required leaders as one with deep expertise, immersion in the details, and willingness to collaborate with other functions during collective decision-making (Podolny and Hansen, 2020). Deep expertise is essential for a meaningful engagement in all the work done within the individual functions of the company (Podolny and Hansen, 2020). With such leadership quality, coordination in decision-making among the most qualified personnel is enhanced. Here, experts are both managers and technical workforce because the company believes that it is easier for an expert to learn managerial skills than a manager to learn technical skills (Olson, 2018). At Apple Inc., software experts manage software, hardware experts manage hardware, and so on, as it cascades down to other levels of the organization. It is an expert leading expert system that must be carried along into the future to enhance quality and success because Apple has proven the effectiveness of this style as long it has been successful in the business.
Immersion into details comes down to diligence in terms of shapes and other qualities of the products, including lines of code, cells on a spreadsheet, and test results on a product, among other nitty-gritty (Podolny and Hansen, 2020). For instance, Apple products are characterized by appealing rounded corners, a “squircle” resulting in a softer highlight. Commitment to precise manufacturing tolerances to produce products with these squircles must be carried into the future as long as it is profitable to the company as it has been (Podolny and Hansen, 2020). Even though the upper management is primarily involved in influencing the decision-making process, the lower-level management has also embraced the deep immersion into details in leadership concepts because it is a culture at Apple. It enables leaders to probe, push, and even “smell” an issue comprehensively (Podolny and Hansen, 2020). Most people at Apple like this criterion because they prefer to be mentored and guided by experts rather than general managers.
Collaboration and synergies are the keys to coming up with a successful blend of the various components and properties of a product. Apple had long realized and applied this knowledge in manufacturing their products to the required quality and thus should ensure to keep the culture (Olson, 2018). Apple has a workforce made up of specialists from various areas. For instance, for Apple to come up with the dual-lens camera with portrait mode, it had to bring on board a team of 40 specialists, including silicon design, camera sensor design, reliability engineering, camera software, motion sensor hardware, core motion, and video engineering, to name just a few, to come up with the precise quality (Podolny and Hansen, 2020). It is only through a collaboration of specialists from various fields that Apple was able to come up with such a masterpiece.
However, sometimes, even such as team may reach a stalemate while trying to decide on the best blend for a product. In such a scenario, the CEO and the senior VPs are called upon as tie-breakers (Podolny and Hansen, 2020). Coming with such decisions generally requires quick judgment, little time, and almost flawless accuracy (Olson, 2018). Meeting such requirements may be challenging for a few leaders, hence the reason why Apple has filled in many people with experience in how the company operates in senior positions from within the ranks of its VPs to enhance shrewdness in decision-making (Podolny and Hansen, 2020). The company has learned that even such as number is not enough for a company of its size and scope. As a result, it brings the executive team on board when solving an impasse. These leaders must understand and be devoted to the values of the company to enable them to alternate between being open-minded and partisan as the situation demands. They are expected to strongly hold their positions and willingly accept other people’s views in case others’ views are proven better.
The greatest lesson that Apple has also learned over the years is the need for change, adaptation, and adjustment as the company continues to grow, venture into new environments, address changing customer preferences, and adopt new technologies and possibilities (Olson, 2018). For instance, the growth pressure keeps forcing the company to employ or promote many people into the VPs position and directors for better management. As the company grows in scope and size, it will have to limit the scope of the responsibilities of the senior managers, as well as the breadth and the number of details they handle (Podolny and Hansen, 2020). This can only be achieved by adding more senior leaders to distribute the burden through collaboration and division of labor. For instance, Apple had 50 VPs in 2006, just before the launch of the iPhone (Podolny and Hansen, 2020). By 2019, the number almost double to 96 VPs (Podolny and Hansen, 2020). However, there was a rapid growth of employees from 17,000 to 137,000 (over an eightfold increment) (Podolny and Hansen, 2020). Comparatively, the ratio of VPs to employees is still very small, a testimony to Apple’s commitment to limiting the number of senior leaders. This increase in the number of personnel increases the diversity of experts that the company absorbs to help it further its strategies, including considering finer details and leaving responsibilities that are out of one’s expertise. Making better these strategies will in turn enhance the quality of Apple products.
Lessons from Negative Aspects
Though Apple can be judged as an epitome of success, it should address some concerns and weaknesses to enhance its performance. For instance, Apple has a limited distribution network as occasioned by its policy of exclusivity (Michael, 2022). Only carefully selected sellers such as iPhones and Macs are authorized to sell Apple products. This strategy limits the market reach and causes the unavailability of these products in many areas (Smithson, 2022). Apple has used the exclusivity strategy for a long time because it offers strong control over the distribution channel and enables a premium pricing strategy (Smithson, 2022). However, this only makes the company depend only on high-end market segments. When prices are high, buyers are found only in the minority bracket (the middle- and high-income), while the majority bracket (low-income) is left out (Michael, 2022). There have been many complaints about Apple’s exorbitant prices that make most buyers opt for comparable alternatives, hence the need to find a way to address this concern.
Apple Inc. is well aware of the importance of advertisement and promotion. However, its strength in advertisement and promotion is still very low. Olson (2018) reports that Apple has very minimal promotional expenditures, though it has been able to develop devoted customers. It heavily relies on its famous and flagship retail outlets for promotion (Michael, 2022). Though Apple has seen success through this strategy, it offers minimal potential at reaching out to new customers as compared to those of its competitors. Therefore, Apple should not be complacent because of the success it has garnered and forget about advertisement. Its competitor, like Samsung, are working around the clock to ensure they overtake Apple. For instance, according to Team Counterpoint (2022), Apple’s market share declined from 22% in 2021 to 18% in 2022, while that of Samsung increased from 19% in 2021 to 23% in 2022.
Additionally, the current market environment is offering Apple stiff competition from established companies and new entrants. As seen above, Samsung has come to the verge of overtaking the company in terms of market share. As such, Apple must enhance its competitive strength in computer software and hardware, and online services to curb the domineering trend of its competitors, particularly Samsung (Team Counterpoint, 2022). Furthermore, Apple might not be able to compete better with these competitors due to the lack of compatibility of its products with other software (Michael, 2022). Users of Apple products, particularly computers and phones have no choice but to stick to Apple software and technologies because they are incompatible with other devices (Olson, 2018). Customers have to purchase Apple apps or accessories only.
Recommendations for Future Quality Improvement
First and foremost, Apple Inc. must stay committedly to the innovative path. Innovation is the primary strength of Apple that has enabled it to produce products that satisfy the everchanging customer demands and the growing technological advancement and possibilities. Technology keeps getting better and better and customers keep needing better products (Michael, 2022). For instance, Apple customers are currently anticipating for iPhone 14 with the hope that it will have better qualities compared to the current iPhone 13 (Michael, 2022). 5 G-enabled smartphones are one of the qualities that Apple must consider in the future to meet the changing technological demand. Apple competitors, including Samsung and Oppo, are already gearing up to adopt the third-generation technology of 5G-enabled smartphones by 2023.
Apple Inc. knows too well that the mobile industry is a changing landscape that is never exhausted of new possibilities. The industry keeps reinventing the market through revolutionary layouts and designs that define the future and technology trends of computer eras as well as mobile phones (Smithson, 2022). Apple will require to keep investing in research and development to keep setting new trends in the mobile industry. This has been Apple’s stronghold, and it should only ensure to strengthen it.
In tandem with this point, Apple management should develop a department specifically responsible for the development of new market ideas and keep the company on an innovative path. The company has enough resources to support this move (Olson, 2018). Automation will help the company lower the impact of imitation on the company on revenue. Apple is also encouraged to enhance the automation of the manufacturing process as well as support the automation of its contract manufacturers in a bid to reduce the growing labor cost (Smithson, 2022). Apple must also increase its aggressiveness in analyzing threats in the market and addressing the identified threats as soon as possible to mitigate the escalation of their impacts.
Apple has many strengths, including a huge base of loyal customers, a workforce of experts in the relevant fields, a formidable brand name, and many more. It should use these advantages to address some of its weaknesses (Smithson, 2022). This will enable it to exploit opportunities, including expanding its electronic distribution to its customers (Smithson, 2022). Most market analysts recommend that Apple should expand its consumer electronics distribution network (SEOAves, 2022). Though its exclusivity strategy has been promising, the company must work extra hard to tap into the huge low-customer basket that forms the majority.
Furthermore, with the strong brand image that Apple has, it can successfully launch and develop new technology lines. However, Smithson (2022) considers this strength a weakness as well because it might end up entering new markets in which it lacks competency. As such, it needs a high level of shrewdness to evaluate its possibilities (Smithson, 2022). For instance, as it moves to enter new services such as video content streaming, payment services (credit cards), and game streaming, it must be well prepared to face dominant players such as Disney, Netflix, Citi, Paypal, Chase, and so on. Smithson (2022) attribute the failure of Apple maps to this.
As Apple moves to improve quality, it should employ new strategies in the business. Aljafari, (2016) recommends that Apple should adopt more operational models, including SMART Model. ‘SMART’ stands for specific, measurable, achievable, and time-bound and is effective in highlighting the objectives of a company to give a clear picture of the outcome (Aljafari, 2016). The five factors facilitate the demonstration of the success as the specific expected results, their effects, and the change implementation strategy are adequately elaborated (Olson, 2018). Apple should carry this model and better its use as it plans to keep adopting more and better technologies.
According to Smithson (2022), measurements enable the quantification of an activity or the result of a particular activity. To achieve better results, the accuracy of measurement, data collection, management, and analysis must be ensured (Aljafari, 2016). Apple has always ensured that the data collection program is feasible. However, in documenting the anticipated changes, Apple will have to set a baseline to give a meaningful strategy for measuring change and interpreting the outcome (Aljafari, 2016). SMART will also enable the consideration of the attainability and achievability of the set objectives and the prioritization of the set goals to work on achieving them in an orderly manner.
In the future, Apple plans to incorporate augmented reality, artificial intelligence, and virtual reality as they take shape in the current business environment. For instance, Apple has Acquired DeskConnect, a tool that uses artificial intelligence, and Regaind, a French business that specializes in artificial intelligence (SEOAves, 2022). Artificial intelligence is a technology that is currently being employed in various sectors for simulation and security purposes and to facilitate customer segmentation (Smithson, 2022). Apple should incorporate these properties to boost its profit margin to maintain a strong market position. DeskConnect helps customers in arranging apps and features by applying commands, while Regaind helps in integrating intelligent search into its iPhone Photos application (SEOAves, 2022). Gaining a firm presence in the future will depend on the corporation of these technologies in its portfolio. Additionally, cybersecurity is also a vital aspect that Apple will have to invest in to keep updating its products to ensure that customers and the company are protected from cybercrime (SEOAves, 2022). As cyber criminals get more sophisticate, Apple will have to employ more sophisticated technologies to ensure safety.
Quality is one of the key strengths of Apple that has enabled it to remain dominant in the phone and computer market. This strategic analysis has revealed that the quality and originality of its iPhone and other products are its key success determinants. Since the company’s stronger debut in this market in 1997, Apple has maintained this reputation via continuous innovation of better versions of its products by incorporating the latest technologies. Apple Inc. must ensure to continue in this trajectory to ensure that it keeps its dominants and relevance in the future. For instance, consumers have always preferred light and smaller gadgets that are more efficient. New technologies and concerns such as artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and cybersecurity are also emerging that Apple will have to adopt and address. So far, Apple has been successful, but it must not flex. It should continue with intense research and development and adjustments for better performance in the future.
Reference
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