The Apple Computer Company is one of the most innovative technology companies to
ID: 458052 • Letter: T
Question
The Apple Computer Company is one of the most innovative technology companies to emerge in the last three decades. Apple, Inc. is responsible for bringing to market such products as the Macintosh computer and laptop, the iPod and iTunes, and most recently, the iPhone. The success of the company can be traced primarily to a single individual, the co-founder, Steven Jobs. First, review the following case study: •Steve Jobs and Apple, Inc. Then, respond to the following: •Determine and explain what type of leader Steve Jobs was. •Explain how his vision and values were reflected in his leadership style. •Summarize the initial challenges he faced when starting Apple. Specifically, address Jobs’ strategy and implementation. •Identify and explain the drivers for change in the personal computer industry. •Discuss how Steve Jobs used partnerships and collaboration. •Analyze Jobs’ approach to continuous process improvement. •Determine what skills, ideas, and approaches might be useful in your own work/life situation. Utilize at least two scholarly sources.
Explanation / Answer
1. Steve Jobs can be termed as an unconventional, entrepreneurial leader. Unlike leaders, Jobs was never inclined for consultative or a consensus building approach. Rather, his approach as a leader was to demand excellence from his workers. As a leader he was tenacious, patient, focused and stubborn. He motivated his team to focus on simplicity in design rather than complexity and as a leader he believed that pursuing simplicity was more difficult than pursuing complexity.
2. Steve Jobs' core values were innovation and simplicity. His vision was to be a yardstick of quality by providing excellent products to the customers. His vision and values were reflected in his leadership style. He pushed his team to pursue excellence. He had expectations of high quality and he wanted the same from his team. His leadership was fueled by his belief in excellence and as a leader he wanted his team to focus on work mantra, ethic and innovation.
3. Steve Jobs faced lots of challenges initially while starting Apple. When working on the prototype Apple I, the company was in need of a capital of $1,350 and Steve Jobs had to sell his Volkswagen microbus to raise the money. (His partner Steve Wozniak sold his Hewlett-Packard calculator). After the initial success of Apple I and Apple II, LISA and Apple III did disappointing business and this led to a substantial decline in market share. This was followed by the failure of Macintosh. All these led to a clash between Jobs and Apple's board of directors. Jobs was stripped of all power and had no control in the company. This led to his resignation in 1985. Job's strategy, during these trying times, was to focus on excellence. This led to the high price of Macintosh. His implementation was poor after the initial success of Apple I and Apple II and his passion for product and design excellence made him ignore the costing aspect.
4. In the 1980s the software was the main driver for change in the personal computer industry. Microsoft introduced its MS-DOS (Microsoft disk operating system). Graphical User Interface (GUI) was introduced by Apple in Macintosh. These robust and user friendly software made the use of PCs widespread. Another key driver was the low cost computers launched by Apple in the form of Apple I and Apple II. This increased the penetration of PCs.
5. Steve Jobs believed in partnerships and collaboration. He was raised in the collaborative spirit of Silicon Valley. He valued partnerships and collaborations and believed that a great team is necessary to make a great product. An example of partnership and collaboration is when Steve Jobs roped in Microsoft to inject $150 million in 1997 to rescue Apple which was on the verge of bankruptcy. He thus leveraged partnerships and collaboration for creating maximum synergy.
6. Steve Jobs was a lean thinker and always pursued continuous process improvement. He had a clear approach - to keep things simple and focus on quality. His objective was to create super efficient processes. Although he never technically used six sigma approaches, he always focused on improving the processes so that value can be added for the customers.
7. In terms of skills and approaches, i believe that most of Steve Jobs' approaches will be useful for my work situation. Passion for innovation and continuous improvement will always help me grow as a professional. Focus on excellence will drive me to improve the processes and thus enhance the value addition done by me.
References:
a. https://hbr.org/2012/04/the-real-leadership-lessons-of-steve-jobs
b. http://www.forbes.com/sites/susankalla/2012/04/02/10-leadership-tips-from-steve-jobs/#7d2c62165a02
Related Questions
Navigate
Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.