SMART Analysis on Apple Inc - Case Study Example

Introduction To answer this question we need to describe different stakeholders who have influence decisions and purposes in businesses. There is also need to describe how the styles they use help their organizations operate. There is also a need to view of different stakeholders as they seek to pose influence in their aims and objectives. This will be done by comparing two different companies so as to evaluate the influence different stakeholders have in their organizations. Comparison of stakeholders interest and influence Stakeholder of Apple Inc. What are the stakeholder’s interests in the business? How does the stakeholder affect the business? Customers Customers of Apple are interested in good service and good quality products for value of money and prices given. The business could be affected as customers could motivate the Apple designer and producers to produce better quality products and further research into cutting-edge technology. Employees The employees of Apple Inc. are very interested in the success of the company as their salary may rise or other work benefits may occur. Employees directly affect the company, as they are involved in producing and distributing the product. If the business is profitable and rising, they will then work more efficiently therefore increasing overall profits within the business. Suppliers The suppliers have an interest in Apple Inc. because if Apple sells more products, then more materials must be ordered to produce that product. By ordering more stock, suppliers gain more money. Suppliers affect the business by offering discounts on orders or giving other benefits if the business is succeeding and ordering in high amounts. Owners The owners and directors of Apple Inc. have the highest interest in the business, as it is their own and directly provides a budget for them. Directors and owners influence their company as they see fit. They themselves produce the vision and leading of the company. Stakeholders of Range Rover What are the stakeholder’s interests in the business? How does the stakeholder affect the business? Customers Customers of range rover have the interest of receiving quality products from the company. This is because range rover is a renowned motor distributor of quality vehicles. Customers of range rover keep the company on toes to keep on improving the brands they produce. This makes the company invest in research and development. employees The employees of range rover ensure that the company’s products are of high quality so as to be able to compete with other companies. Therefore, the employees work towards producing quality and quantity products to cater for the range rover market. Suppliers Their main interest is to fight competition from suppliers of other major manufacturers. The major suppliers of range rover have the immediate feedback from the customers through repairs and sales. Therefore, they are key to improving the company’s reputation. owners Their main interest is to ensure they main their current customers and increase their customers base. The increased sales will ensure the global recession does not affect the operations of the company. The management and the directors have to operate within the current economic status. Therefore, they should be ready to adapt to any economic shocks that could affect the company. AIMS OF APPLE Inc With its excellent set up, Apple is committed towards bringing out the best personal computing experience to the students, educators, creative professionals and consumers around the globe via its innovative hardware, software and internet offerings. Apple is committed to bringing the best personal computing experience to students, educators, creative professionals and consumers around the world through its innovative hardware, software and Internet offerings. http://drdianehamilton.wordpress.com/2011/01/13/top-10-company-mission-statements-in-2011/ AIMS OF RANGE ROVER Range Rover focuses on delivering superior business outcomes and realizes this by aligning the whole organization around making profits, delivering quality and ensuring the customers are pleased and satisfied. STRATEGIC PLANNING, MISSION AND VALUES Strategic planning within an organization entails the processes undertaken giving out big and excellent plans. The set plans entail crucial decision making processes and planning resulting to critical deliberations and plans that enable the organization realize its aims and objectives APPLE: Apple Inc. delights in its mission statement resulting to diverse changes in the computer industry. Its mission statement is rather an outline of products: Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with iPods and iTunes online store while effectively defining its future within the mobile media and computing devices” http://retailindustry.about.com/od/retailbestpractices/ig/Company-Mission-Statements/Apple-Inc--Mission-Statement.htm RANGE ROVER: The Range Rover mission statement aims at “developing a culture of ownership arising from the participation in the wealth of the company, build a competitive, profitable, ‘niche’ focused, integrated motor dealership group. Achieve and sustain above average actual growth in both assets and earnings while maintaining the highest level of professionalism and integrity with the staff and suppliers in order to delight in the customers” http://www.landroverwaterford.co.za/THEDEALERSHIP/MissionStatement.aspx STRATEGIC AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ORGANIZATION AIMS AND OBJECTIVES Aims are long-term goals within an organization that mainly take place in given periods of between three to ten years. The aims are met in through the organization meeting its set objectives that can be termed short term targets within the organization. APPLE is able to effectively outline and establishes its weak points and strongholds coupled with competition. This is critical in the realization of the company’s assets at their disposal and helps the company in setting workable aims. Examples of set aims include being compliant to the environment protection measures and ensuring they remain among the leading high technology brand in the world. RANGE ROVER: Range Rover is committed towards ensuring that the group remains attractive while at the same retaining intellectual capital aspiring for a committed sales making, service and growth excellence. ANALYSIS OF THE ORGANIZATIONS THROUGH SMART The aims and objectives outlined above may be communicated effectively in the business through the conduction of regular meetings with the managers, supervisors and co-workers. This can also be communicated via annual company reports. Nevertheless, with companies having huge and massive business activities, regular meetings would prove quite a task and this call for messages passage through the company websites, notice boards or social platforms pages for people to view and scrutinize. Within Apple Inc., the goals and targets are initially discussed among the Chief Executive Officer with the management teams in the lower structure of the organization. With major goals, video conferencing and official annual reports are utilised for critical discussions. With regard to the more detailed and other short term objects same for any arising issues, they are communicated through the official team meetings held within the various departments in the company. SMART analysis on Apple Inc Specific: The specificity of the company is evident with its eventual goal of achieving the increase of phone devices with a rate of 7% by 2013 and increases the use of smart devices. Measurable: by setting and laying down measurable goals, Apple Inc. is out to compete and realize greater objectives with the growing computing electronic technology market. Achievable: with achievable goals being set, targets are made and realized giving an upper hand with respect to clear and outright projection and realisable performance. Realistic: with clear indication of growing need for the computational technology, the setting of realistic goals is imperative. This ensures that Apple does not come up with unrealistic goals that would impact negatively on its reputation. Time Related: Apple Inc. ensures time related goals for the sake of being in line with the market demands for new and updated innovations. The changing technology calls for ensuring Apple understands the growing and changing customer preferences to create the right and competitive products. SMART analysis on Range Rover The range Rover outlines and evaluates its goals and objectives within its management executives and regional teams to ensure they comprehend the diverse necessity in the market. The communication is made effective with the clear Rover company established communication channels. The following smart objectives are employed to ensure the company remains competitive, innovative and delivers quality motor vehicles. Specific: the tradition of automobile industry shows that companies establish specific models. The Rover Company is no exception and remains specific with establishment of new products and projects towards the increasing its market output by ensuring that its sales of the latest and classic vehicle models is elevated. Measurable: with clear and workable goals, the Range Rover is able to evaluate and establish goals that are realised with luxury car brands. Achievable: the set goals are achievable with context of ensuring classic, durable and car brands worth the customers’ value. The Rover Company ensures its objectives are within reach to realize the market potential. Realistic: coming up with unrealistic objectives within the motor industry is a grievous venture and Range Rover ensures its aims and objectives are realistic in context to realizing unchanged looks within the market making it a realistic brand. Time Related: with regard to market timelines and customer tastes, the Range Rover ensures that its goals and objectives remain within the time related precincts to articulately meet the customers’ requirements, tastes and preferences with regard to the vehicle products. http://www.brandchannel.com/features_effect.asp?pf_id=31 THE INFLUENCE TOWARDS THE CREATION OF THE STRATEGIC PLAN Stakeholders, business environment and type of business ownership have influence on the creation of the strategic plan at Apple Inc. and Range Rover. The table below clearly outlines the same: Stakeholders Business environment Business type/ownership Apple Inc. With the stakeholders, it is clear that their influence to the strategic plan with their control of the overall performance of the company by purchasing the company’s products. The result is the eventual analysis and evaluation of the company’s sales statistics with the aim of establishing future targets, goals and strategies for the company. With the Apple’s business environment, it creates a sense of awareness with regard to the necessities for the goals set and the strategic planning processes. With the business ownership of Apple’s Inc. it is imperative that the strategic plan is made effective with respect to the fact that Apple Inc. is a large organization based on the plans laid down by the capacity limits of the owners on abilities and capabilities to manage and be responsible for. Range Rover Stakeholders of Range Rover company undertakes the crucial role of ensuring strategic planning geared towards responsible, sustainable development as the integral means of work. This is critical for the realization of its core values aimed at driving the long-term success of its business operations. Range Rover ensures a business environment aimed at delivering quality with evaluation of new ideas and technologies to keep with the market demands and be at the helm of world class automobile manufacturing. Range Rover’s type of business is established globally with the establishment and manufacture of world class and heavy duty vehicles. Range Rover ensures business types that are up to standard, competitive in the market front and meets the customer’s best preferences within the auto-mobile sector. How the stakeholders seek to influence the aims and objectives of the businesses With high expectations and direct interest in the business activities of the organizations, stakeholders seek to enhance and influence the aims and objectives of the business. Their great concern stems in the fact that any impending changes within the personnel is of tantamount results whether the job consistence will be maintained and the eventual realization of business operations and success consistency even with eventual occurrence of any crisis. With respect to customers, it is clear that their influence to the aims and objectives are entrenched in their preferences and making of choices alongside the competitors products. This is regard to their search for full satisfaction and looking the best value for their cash. Apple analysis blog illustrates on the company’s supplier plight to understand the flexible business environment and consequently align to the same trend. This is clear that stakeholders have a great role in the influencing of what aims and objectives are capable or not to bring about (Apple’s Situational Analysis). http://appleanalyses.wordpress.com/3-stakeholders/ DIFFERENT STAKEHOLDERS POINT OF VIEW The stakeholder’s interests in the company business operations have a direct relation to the individual or company gains. APPLE INC.: Customers: the customers of Apple Inc. are out for betters and classy innovations from and expect the company to keep with technology changes and advancements. The increasing demands from customers for new and update products keep the entire organization on toes to meet the customer needs. The advantage of the customer pressuring the organization is that they have no obligation to the company and would not incur any direct consequences like a staff of the company. Suppliers: the suppliers are critical within the organization as they ensure the products get to the core of market base. Apple Inc. boasts of like a hundred suppliers who constitute over 90% of the company’s procurement expenditures for materials, manufacturing and product assembly globally. Their major interest is evident with regard to the fact that the organization is an established and well known for its excellent brands in the whole world. Employees: the company employees have a major influence on the organizations plight for better and excellent products. The personnel’s researches, innovations and strategic planning are critical for the eventual outcome of the company sales. Their demands from the executive also have a direct impact on the company. Owners: the owners of Apple Company have great interests of the company with respect to the business progression and thriving within the competitive environment. With the passing on of the founder, Steve jobs, the current CEO Tim Cook and other directors have the plight to ensure the company sales grow tremendously. RANGE ROVER: Customers: customers at Range Rover expect the best and always credits on the car brands of the company. Their plight is for safe, comfortable and durable brands and will put the company to task of ensuring the realization of their tastes. This makes Range Rover remain the classic and establish company within the car branding industry. Suppliers: with great and immense works doe by suppliers; be it the assembly, the repair or even the market establishment; their influence is great to the company owing to their periphery of attaching the company to the market world. Employees: the employees ranging from the engineers, researchers, and marketers to technicians dealing with assembly, their practices to ensure that effective products are created greatly influences the overall impact of the company’s achievement. Owners: the management executive credits its works with the marketing managers at the regional fronts to realize the preferences of the customers. The eventual changes within the company operations are mainly dependent on the influence and deliberations of the owners who are the executives to the company. INFLUENCE EVALUATION: Personal Opinion The overall evaluation of the influence can be clearly illustrated by looking into the four analysed stakeholders. Their contributions as the employees, customers, owners and suppliers have a greater role in the overall operations and eventual achievements. My evaluation follows rates them with the employees being of great importance followed by the owners, customers and the suppliers come last. Nevertheless, their collective influences remain critical for the company’s overall achievement with the argument below just being a hypothetical analysis from my point of view. Employees: the fact that the employees determine the overall outcome of products as per the customers, owners or even supplier’s specification; makes my choice of the employees of much priority with the rate of 9.5 in the scale of 1-10. Their influence is core in the overall ensuring that any laid out strategic plan is implemented accordingly. A good example is the innovators and researchers incorporating what have been proposed to come up with real products. Owners: the owners being the Chief Executive and the directors are critical with context to the company’s achievement. Their influence is crucial with the laying out of the strategic plans to be followed and implemented. Their rating falls at 9.0 with regard to scale. Their influence is critical with strategic planning and overall supervision of ensuring effectiveness. The ability of the Executives to refurbish the set plans makes their influence high critical to the company undertakings and achievements. Customers: the customer rating falls at 8.0 with their influence being critical as their stake in the ensuring company achievement falls with respect to their choice of company products and realize greater returns. For example, the fact those products serve various purposes, the customers’ tastes and preferences are crucial. Suppliers: with the suppliers, according to my view, their influence is crucial and falls at rating 7.0. My personal analysis finds the stakeholders least important among the four but equally and collectively imperative. Their influence mainly is dependent on the efforts of the employees, the executives and customers as they just deliver and collect impending sentiments on the products. With clear emphasis, a good example is the necessity for Apple Inc for suppliers to disseminate materials to come up with products and eventually design them. With the company requirement for upcoming technology, the suppliers are highly crucial for business growth and development to realize elevated returns. This is with regard to the availability for products, but not on the survival of the company making it equally influential but not highly crucial like the other stakeholders. Business Response to the Stakeholders Influence The discussed stakeholders of Apple Inc and Range Rover have diverse aims and objectives that are common and crucial for the business organization. The major interest of benefiting also works mutually towards the benefit of the organization. The stakeholders in their plight to gain from the company ensure that the company realises positive achievements. Apple Inc and Range Rover are evidently interested in ensuring that their products meet the customer needs. Their strategic planning incorporates the coming up with aims and objectives, values and missions that culminate to great achievements. Differences Resolution To resolve the arising differences, the companies ensure that they learn from their weaknesses and utilise their strongholds to enhance their market base. In context, appropriateness and realistic practices falls within the utilisation of time limits and chances to enhance and expound achievements. This is through their continual and strategic outlining of aims and objectives coupled with shot and long-term goals and expectation to ensure set targets are met. CONCLUSION On clear evaluation of the stakeholders’ plight in the company’s growth and development, it is clear that they have a direct and critical influence in the business operations. First, their interests in the business activities are evident with their ideological and human capital inputs resulting to crucial and effective undertakings. Any business organization ought to critically take account of the interests of the entire body of stakeholders as their discounted efforts and collective influences match appropriately towards realizing greater insights of the businesses. BIBLIOGRAPHY http://appleanalyses.wordpress.com/3-stakeholders/ http://drdianehamilton.wordpress.com/2011/01/13/top-10-company-mission-statements-in-2011/ http://retailindustry.about.com/od/retailbestpractices/ig/Company-Mission-Statements/Apple-Inc--Mission-Statement.htm http://www.brandchannel.com/features_effect.asp?pf_id=31 Muro, F.D., Murray, K. And Goode, M. 2010. Strategic planning at Apple Inc. Richard Ivey School of Business Foundation. http://www.landroverwaterford.co.za/THEDEALERSHIP/MissionStatement.aspx Hoover’s Inc. 2012. Combining company and Industry research to streamlining sales process and strengthen client relationships. http://www.hoovers.com/lc/industry- information/combine-industry-company-data-to-increase-sales.html#.UKIQBWeTO9s Irwin, R. 2012. Ford bags a Landy. http://www.brandchannel.com/features_effect.asp?pf_id=31 Land Rover News, 2012. http://www.landrover.com/gl/en/lr/about-land-rover/news-overview/ Range Rover, 2010. http://www.landroverwaterford.co.za/THEDEALERSHIP/MissionStatement.aspx Read More