Business Strategy Please Read Attached File Answer Question 1 Page Please Provide Referenc Q35924962

business strategyplease read attached file and answer the question (1 page)please provide references as well.

• Describe theorganizational incentives?

CLOSINGC Organization at Apple Apple has a legendary ability to produce a steady hardware engineering, and worldwide marketing, stream of innovative new products and product along with the CFO and company general council. improvements that are differentiated by design el This group meets every Monday morning to review egance and ease of use. Product innovation is in the strategy of the company, its operations, and on- many ways the essence of what the company has going product development efforts always done, and what it strives to continue do- ing. Innovation at Apple began with the Apple II new-product development efforts, dictating the in 1979. The original Macintosh computer, the first look and feel of a new product, and the materials personal computer (PC) to use a graphical user in- that must be used. The centrality of industrial de- terface, a mouse, and onscreen icons, followed in sign is unusual-in most companies engineers first 1984. After the late founder and former CEO Steve develop products, with industrial design coming Jobs returned to the company in 1997, the list of into the picture quite late in the process. The key notable innovations expanded to include the iPod role played by industrial design at Apple, however and iTunes, the Mac Airbook, the iPhone, the Apple is consistent with the company’s mission of design- App store, and the iPad. The industrial design group takes the lead on ing beautiful products that change the world. The Unlike most companies of its size, Apple has a industrial design group works closely with hard- functional structure. The employees reporting di ware and software engineering to develop features rectly to current CEO Tim Cook include the senior and functions for each new product, with opera- vice presidents of operations, Internet software and tions to ensure that manufacturing can be rapidly services, industrial design, software engineering, scaled up following a product launch, and with Chopkes 12 lmplementing Seralegy Through Oigonszation 4 worldwide marketing to plan the product launch strategy A key feature of the Apple culture is the secre- cy surrounding much of what the company does Thus, product development at Apple is a cross- Information that reaches the outside world tightly functional effort that requires intense coordination. controlled, and so is the flow of information within This coordination is achieved through a centralized the company. Many employees are kept in the dark command and control structure, with the top-man- about new-product development efforts and fre agement group driving collaboration and the indus- quently do not know what others are working on. trial design group setting key parameters During Access to buildings where teams are developing new his long tenure as CEO, Jobs was well known for products or features is tightly controlled, with only clearly articulating who was responsible for what in team members allowed in. Cameras monitor sensi- the product development process, and for holding tive workspaces to make sure that this is restriction people accountable if they failed to meet his high is not violated. Disclosing what the company is do- standards. His management style could be unfor- ing to an outside source, or an unauthorized inside giving and harsh-there are numerous stories of source, is grounds for termination-as all employ- people being fired on the spot for failing to meet his ees are told when they join the company. The goal is to keep new products under very tight wraps until standards-but it did get the job done Even though Jobs passed away in 2011, the fo- cus on accountability persists at Apple. Each task is given a “directly responsible individual,” or DRI in “Apple-speak.” Typically, the DRI’s name will appear on an agenda for a meeting, so everyone launch day. Apple wants to control the message sur rounding new products. It does not want to give the competition time to respond, or media critics time to bash products under development who is responsible. Metings at Apploes Tyrangid Thim Cooks Freshman Vear Sources: I. Tyrangiel, Tim Cook’s Freshman Year: The Apple CEO Speaks Bloomberg Businessweek, December 6, 2012, A. Lashinsky an action list, and next to each action item will be a DRI. By such clear control processes, Apple pushes B.Stone, “Apples Obsession with Secrecy Grows Stronger.” New accountability down deep within the ranks t “The Secrets Apple Keeps. CNNMoney, January 10, 2012; and York Times, June 23, 2009. CASE DISCUSSION QUESTIONS 1. Describe as best you can the organizational 3. What is Apple trying to achieve with its cu architecture at Apple, and specifically, its or ganizational structure, control systems, incen- tives, product development processes, and rent organizational architecture? What are the strengths of this architecture? What are the potential weaknesses? culture 4. Are there changes that you think Apple 2. What do you think is different about the way should make in its organizational architec Apple is organized compared to most high- ture? What are these changes? How might they benefit Apple? firms? NOTES D. Naidler. M. Gerstein. and R. Shaw, Organiza (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1992). G. Morgan, Images of Orga-The material in this section tion Architecture nication (Beverly Hills CA: Sage draws on J. Child, Organizations Publications, 1986). London: Harper& Row, 1984) Show transcribed image text