- Internal Code :
- Subject Code : HRMM055
- University : University of Northampton
- Subject Name : Management
Managing and Organisational Behaviour
Table of Contents
Objective.
Introduction..
Organizational Overview...
Background of The Founder and The Leader..
Management and Leadership.
Identification of The Leadership Style from Leader’s Qualities, Characteristics, and Behaviours.
Importance of Leadership Style as Part of Management and Identification of Management Style.
Negotiation and Conflict.
Identification of The Conflicts and The Negotiation Required in Reference to Leadership Style.
Impact of Conflicts on Office Management.
Organisational Culture and Effectiveness.
Culture of The Organisation Influenced by Leadership/ Management and Conflict/ Negotiation..
Effectiveness of The Organisation Impacted by Leadership/ Management and Conflict/ Negotiation Factors.
Conclusion..
References.
Objective of Apple Inc. Research Report
The report focuses on the impact of the management and leadership and the conflict and negotiations on the organization Apple Inc. The research also focuses on the role and efficiency of good leadership skills of both the founder Late Mr. Steve Jobs and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the company, Mr. Tim Cook.
Additionally, the report also aims at the analysis of the merits and the impacts of the factors that contribute to organizational dynamics and the leadership strategies, management policies, business production theories, qualities and different behavioral approaches and political and power oriented policies that are taken into consideration to implement business growth of the company by the CEO, Mr. Tim Cook. The overall impact of the office structure and the conflicts arising in business or among the employees and the procedures and decisions of negotiation taken in the issues of conflicts by the leader and its consequences on the effectiveness of the organizational culture of the company are also discussed.
Introduction to Apple Inc. Research Report
Organizational Overview
Apple Incorporation (“the organization”, “the company” or “Apple”), formerly known as the “Apple Computer, Inc.” is an American company founded by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak which built a personal computer and the coined the concept of the Graphical User Interface (GUI) in the computer devices. It has headquarters in Cupertino, California. Apple originally started as a manufacturer of personal computers for the public and later on occupied the business computer market. It also entered the entertainment market by introducing the ‘iPod’ and later on entered the mobile phone segment by introducing the ‘iPhone’.
In September 2014, after the death of Steve Jobs, the first product released on a separate product line was the iPhone 6 and the Apple Watch. In August 2018, Apple Inc. turned out to be the highest-valued company ever and the same was confirmed by the CEO Tim Cook, in the format of a memo which was sent by him to all the Apple employees with the mention of the “significant milestone” which the company reached (Sherr I. 2019).
Background of The Founder and The Leader
The founder and the most successful CEO of Apple were Steve Jobs. The organization enjoyed an era under the founder and late CEO Jobs, during the period 1997 - 2011. Although the leadership under Jobs was autocratic and every decision of the company went through his hands (Dudovskiy J., 2019). He was overburdened by the processing of the vast transactions of the company and his approach towards business development was self-oriented. However, since 2011, the leadership scenario and management procedures at Apple have entirely changed and have taken a new form under the leadership of Tim Cook.
Tim Cook was named as the CEO of Apple in August 2011 due to the deteriorating health conditions of the former CEO and founder of the company, Steve Jobs. At that time, Cook was the Chief Operating Officer of the company and held the responsibilities of the worldwide sale of the products and operations including the sales activities, support and services, and the end-to-end management of the global product supply chain of Apple. He was also the head of the Macintosh division of the Apple computers and worked to ensure flexibility in the increasingly demanding marketplace and also worked for the consistent development of the supplier and reseller relationship (Apple Inc. 2020).
After earning an MBA from the Duke University, a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering from the Auburn University, Tim has spent years in the industry while serving IBM for 12 years as a director of the manufacturing functions and the distribution functions of the personal computer division in the Latin and North America. He also served as the vice president of Compaq and used to handle the responsibilities of the management of the product inventory of Compaq. He has also worked as the Chief Operating Officer at the Intelligent Electronics’ reseller division and then before his naming as the CEO of Apple worked in the company as the Chief Operating Officer as well (Apple Inc. 2020). With his vast experience, he has become today the most popular and the lost loved CEO among the employees of Apple because of the approaches and strategies he has implemented to make both Apple and the employees, both a global success (Yarrow J., 2013).
Management and Leadership
According to Fortune (Colvin G. 2016), apple is the most valuable company of the world and its CEO holds the first position in the list of the ‘World’s Greatest Leaders’ and just after four years of becoming the CEO after the co-founder, Cook has made the impossible to possible by taking Apple to such a position globally. A leader is a person who follows a social process through which he can influence the feelings, thoughts, and actions of the person (Lashinsky A., 2015). He has been praised as a leader who is turning out the manpower at the organization more responsible and a better human being (Bort J., 2015).
Identification of The Leadership Style from Leader’s Qualities, Characteristics, and Behaviours
Unlike Steve Jobs, the new CEO of Apple doesn’t follow the autocratic management system but on the other hand follows the democratic system while managing the complete structure of the organization and hence attracting more employees towards his policies thus resultantly gaining popularity (Luhana, 2014). The HR Chief of Apple since 1997, Denise Smith informed the public during a technical conference about the working experience she had with both the popular CEOs. However, she praised that working with Jobs gave the motivation to achieve the impossible but working with Tim was ‘amazing’. The style, qualities, behavior, and characteristics of the leader decide whether he will be able to take the company and the employees on the top among all other companies (Bradshaw T., 2013).
The leadership policies of Tim Cook have attracted the employees and have also made them happy. He is motivating all the employees to come together and work as a team while making effective use of the resources of the company (Igbaekemen and Odivwri, 2015). The type of leadership style followed by Tim Cook as the CEO is the democratic and transformational style of leadership and management. A most important element of this kind of leadership style is the qualities of support and supervision with each other because respecting the decisions of the other person creates a sense of respect and praised self-esteem in the mind of the employee for the leader which will in return lead him to feel impressed and dedicated towards the leader (Ceil C., 2018). The leadership qualities of the leader are responsible for the sustainable performance of the organization in the long run (Cavazotte et al., 2012). Moreover, a leader with a democratic style of management and leadership will always be ready to listen to the ideas and the views of his employees so as to provide and take majority supported decision thus resulting into escalating the spirits of the followers which will ultimately boost the performance and efficiency of the employees hence, making the organization and the leader both successful as a whole.
Importance of Leadership Style as Part of Management and Identification of Management Style
The “Quiet Leadership” style of the CEO has been highly praised because of the efficient usage of this leadership style by him. As stated by He has even been nicknamed as the “Quiet Leader” by the leading Industry experts (Bradshaw, T. 2013).
Tim Cook is completely different as compared to the former CEO of Apple, Steve Jobs. When it comes to the leadership style regarding the management of the employees and the business of the company, a totally unique and different management style and policy is being followed and created so that the business can grow and always be on the top. However, there are many statements about Tim Cook that he doesn't have the spark of ambition and bigger inside him unlike the predecessor Steve Jobs (Seitz P. 2016). For instance, as per the report published by BCG financial services firm, it has mentioned that under the leadership of Tim Cook Apple is trying to resist to enter the new product categories the Apple watch which was launched in 2015 is the number one Smartwatch all over the world but as compared to the iPhone launching the sales of the Apple watch have been quite disappointing. Also when it comes to the discussion of Apple music debited in the same year 2015 June reached around 15 Million subscribers but is not considered worth and is not being considered to be a priority and hence results as a low margin business.
As of now, Apple incorporation is facing a significant leadership challenge because Tim Cook has already set the standard of the financial performances under his leadership which are so high that no CEO in the future can meet the level of these standards (Colvin G. 2016). However regarding the composition of the senior leadership team there has been a lot of criticism which the company is facing as 81% of the total senior officials in the company are males and out of those males, almost 82% of them are white (Guynn, J. 2017).
Negotiation and Conflict
There is no business that could just run without any conflict at any point in time. The conflict may be either internal or external depending upon the situation but the same will definitely be there in such a big organization. The method used to deal with the conflict displays the approach made by a leader towards the dispute.
Identification of The Conflicts and The Negotiation Required in Reference to Leadership Style
Apple Inc. has been in conflict regarding the design “look and feels” of its products with one of its biggest suppliers Samsung, which is also in the same segment of the market. In 2011, a lawsuit was filed by Apple against Samsung stating that Samsung was trying to copy the design of the Apple products in its Galaxy series of smartphones and tablets. In return, a countersuit was filed by the Korean brand demanding royalties for the usage of Samsung’s wireless technology by Apple. This resulted in an enormous increase in the number of patent-related cases all over the world in almost all the countries where these companies operated. However, the companies were suggested by the court to cut down the patent in dispute and negotiate the conflict through compromise following which, the CEOs of both the companies had a meeting but due to lack of the proper management and leadership approach from both the sides the attempt failed and the dispute was later on solved in the favor of Apple with a reward worth $409 million. A little, if both the CEOs have thought about negotiating the issues of the conflict and tried to find out a solution, such loss of money and supplies would not have been faced by both the companies (Program on Negotiation, 2020a). Here’s where the leadership style and the management policies come into effect and decide whether the company will suffer a loss or will grow because of the conflict.
Impact of Conflicts on Office Management
Conflicts are common among people working in the same company or among brands competing in the same segment of the market. However when the transformational leadership style along with the democratic management style is brought together then in such a case the ill-effect of conflicts does not seem effective enough to cause any losses to the efficiency or growth of the business. (Kodama M. 2017). To assure smooth working in the senior management regarding the strategic decisions for the business, Tim Cook revoked the direct participation of the CEO from the new product development team and created an autonomous team under the authority to stop any conflicts arising among the senior management team regarding the place in such committee (Tway L., 2014).
In order to reduce the effect of the clashes going on among the staff members in the senior leadership team, the Apple incorporation annual report 2019 has been issued with a fixed focus upon the products, services, markets, and distribution competition in the market, the supply of components, research and development of products, new designs and the intellectual property belonging to the company and items such as unresolved staff comments, legal proceedings effective internally as well as externally have also been given importance as the same is highly required in such an enormous organization (Apple Inc. 2019).
Organisational Culture and Effectiveness
Culture of The Organisation Influenced by Leadership/ Management and Conflict/ Negotiation
It is the duty of a leader to continuously keep evolving the culture of the organization at different levels. The work culture of the organization shall be transformed continuously by the leader from knowledge-based culture to learning culture and further to an innovative culture. The impact of leadership and employee management on the organizational culture and effectiveness can clearly be seen in the form of performance provided to the company by the employees. Conflicts at the workplace can easily arise in situations where there is disagreement in the views and incompatibility of the goals of the employees (Hanif et al., 2016).
Effectiveness of The Organisation Impacted by Leadership/ Management and Conflict/ Negotiation Factors
Whenever a change is introduced in the organization, the decision regarding the same shall be taken by the democratic leadership skills as it will involve the transformational leadership skill into effect as well and will ultimately increase the effectiveness of the leader (Carter et al., 2012). In order to maintain the organizational structure intact, effective, and highly efficient, Apple has decided to close the gender and the racial caps of the employees of the company. In 2013, the well-timed public apology by the CEO before the Chinese customers helped Apple in gaining its pride much more than it already had. This step taken by the CEO increased the effectiveness of Apple in China (Program on Negotiation, 2020b).
Conclusion on Apple Inc. Research Report
As per the case of Apple Inc., it can be concluded that the leadership and management skills of the leader are sufficient for the progress of the company as the skills not just manage the administration and efficient functioning of the company, but also increases the trust and dedication of the employees and also the stability of the growth of the organization. The more efficient a leader is with his skills to manage and negotiate the disputes no matter its origin, the more dedicated and devoted the employees will turn out towards him.
It is clear that the democratic leadership policy by Tim Cook has evidently increased employee satisfaction and effective management by implementing the transformational and democratic approach of leadership skills thus assuring the exceptional organizational office culture. The same could be seen in the past 9 years of his leadership as CEO of Apple Inc. However, the proper dealing with the disputes and the efficiency of the negotiations initiated or participated also turn out to be decisive factors that can affect the culture and the effectiveness of the organization in the market. It is also directly proportional to the leadership and management skills and styles of the leader of the organization.
References for Apple Inc. Research Report
Apple Inc. 2019. Annual Report 2019. [Online]. Available at: https://www.annualreports.com/HostedData/AnnualReports/PDF/NASDAQ_AAPL_2019.pdf (Accessed on 09 August 2020)
Apple Inc. 2020. Tim Cook Chief Executive Officer. [Online] Available at: https://www.apple.com/in/leadership/tim-cook/ (Accessed on 09 August 2020).
Bort, J. 2015. “Apple’s HR chief: Working with Tim Cook ‘actually helps you to be a better human being’” Business Insider, Available at: http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-denise-young-smith-why-working-for-tim-cook-is-so-great-2015-7 (Accessed on 09 August 2020)
Bradshaw, T. 2013. “Tim Cook: Apple’s quiet leader” Financial Times, Available at: https://www.ft.com/content/1e4e3cf6-c232-11e2-8992-00144feab7de (Accessed on 09 August 2020)
Carter, M.Z., Armenakis, A.A., Feild, H.S. and Mossholder, K.W. 2012. Transformational leadership, relationship quality, and employee performance during continuous incremental organizational change. Journal of Organizational Behavior. 34(7), pp.942-958.
Cavazotte, F., Moreno, V., and Hickmann, M. 2012. Effects of leader intelligence, personality, and emotional intelligence on transformational leadership and managerial performance. The Leadership Quarterly. 23(3), pp.443-455.
Ceil C. 2018. Importance of Leadership for Apple. [Online] Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3520422 (Accessed on 09 August 2020)
Colvin, G. 2016. “Tim Cook’s Epic Growth Challenge at Apple” Fortune, [Online]. Available at: http://fortune.com/2016/01/07/tim-cook-apple-growth-challenge/ (Accessed on 09 Aug 2020).
Dudovskiy J. 2019. Apple Leadership: A Brief Overview. [Online]. Available at: https://research-methodology.net/apple-leadership-and-apple-organizational-structure/#_ftnref4
Guynn, J. 2017. “Apple leadership is more than 80% white and male” USA Today, Available at: https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2017/11/09/apple-leadership-more-than-80-white-and-male/850206001/ (Accessed on 09 August 2020)
Hanif, F., Khan, M., Adeel, M., and Shah, S.M. (2016) Impact of intra-group conflict on group performance-moderating role of cultural diversity. Universal Journal of Management, 4(2), pp.72-78.
Igbaekemen, G.O., and Odivwri, J.E. (2015) Impact of Leadership Style on Organization Performance: A Critical Literature Review. Arabian Journal of Business and Management Review. 5(5), pp.1-7.
Kodama M. 2017. Strategy Transformation Based on Holistic Leadership: A Case Study of Apple. [Online] DOI: doi/10.1108/978-1-78714-421-720171004 (Accessed on 09 August 2020).
Lashinsky, A. 2015. “Apple’s Tim Cook leads different” Fortune, Available at: http://fortune.com/2015/03/26/tim-cook/ (Accessed on 09 August 2020)
Luhana, S.N. (2014) Leadership, and its Management Styles. International Journal for Research in Management and Pharmacy. 3(5), pp.13-15.
Program on Negotiation, 2020a. Negotiation in Business: Apple and Samsung’s Dispute Resolution Case Study. [Online]. Available at: https://www.pon.harvard.edu/daily/business-negotiations/apple-v-samsung-an-example-of-negotiation-in-business-gone-bad/
Program on Negotiation, 2020b. Cultural Barriers and Conflict Negotiation Strategies: Apple’s Apology in China. [Online]. Available at: https://www.pon.harvard.edu/daily/dispute-resolution/dispute-resolution-in-china-apple-apologizes-for-warranty-policies/
Seitz, P. 2016. “Apple Could Use New CEO Leadership, Analyst Suggests” Investor’s Business Daily, Available at: http://www.investors.com/news/technology/click/apple-could-use-new-leadership-analyst-report-suggests/ (Accessed on 09 August 2020)
Sherr I. 2019. Apple’s biggest milestones. CNET. [Online] Available at: https://www.cnet.com/pictures/apples-biggest-milestones-pictures/ (Accessed on 09 August 2020)
Tway L., 2014. Conflict Negotiation. [Online]. Available at: https://prezi.com/tsgl65ry2k3w/conflict-negotiation/ (Accessed on 10 August 2020).
Yarrow, J. 2013. Apple’s New Organizational Structure Could Help It Move Faster, Business Insider, Available at: http://www.businessinsider.com/apples-new-organizational-structure-could-help-it-move-faster-2013-5 (Accessed on 09 August 2020)
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