Human Resources Team in Apple Inc - Case Study Example

HUMAN RESOURCES A report on the HR profile, practices, policies, responsibilities, strategic contribution and challenges of the Apple Inc Student’s name Institution Course Professor Date Summary/Abstract This report discussed human resource profile, practices, policies, responsibilities, strategic contribution and challenges that Apple Incorporated have in the business world. The firm championed to bring the best personal computing experience to people of all works of life and not limited to students, creative professional and consumers via its innovative hardware, software and internet provisions. The developed policies and practices by the HR team encouraged the spirit of teamwork and a build-up of employee commitment that contributed to positive consequences to the organization. The organizational climate and culture has helped the Apple Inc to shape HR policies and practices. The firm did face direct competition for instance a product or brand that competed in the same industry or product category such as Hewlett-Packard, Dell IBM and Microsoft. The Apple Inc did developed and implemented successfully the high performance work practices. Human resources team in the Apple Inc need to monitor both the internal and external environment on an ongoing basis. The impacts of any changes need to be assessed regularly. In order to improve HR function, the team ought to be proactive in implementing policies and programs in order to counteract such challenges. Table of contents Summary/Abstract 1 Table of contents 3 Introduction 3 Body 5 HR techniques 6 The internal (organizational) and the external (environmental) factors that have influenced the organization’s approach to human resource management 8 The extent to which HRM strategies/policies used by Apple firm have contributed to organizational performance 9 The practices and how successful the HR function was integrated into strategy development 10 How HR function might be improved 12 Conclusion 12 Reference list 15 Introduction This report will deal with the human resource profile, practices, policies, responsibilities, strategic contribution and challenges that Apple Incorporated that have made in the business world. In the first part of this report, the purpose of the organization strategy will be identified and the human resource techniques that will the organizational strategies mentioned. The organization strategy guiding the Apple that will be identified will be based on a core of capabilities, the seizing of opportunities and an organization culture that enabled the attainment of the firm’s objective. On the second part of the report, human resources techniques will be identified and related with the organization strategy, among to be addressed will be the ability to employ experienced personnel in the information technology industry, initiating and formulating policies and procedures that are in line with the overall organization objectives. Other techniques will include the integration mechanisms and control systems that can improve intra-functional coordination and communication. The internal (organizational) and the external (environmental) factors will be evaluated to determine if they can influenced the organizational approach to the human resource management. Among these factors will be; organization culture that’s form the basis of sustainable competitive advantage, the economic environment, labour market conditions, trends in technology, employer-employee relationship, competition, the potential FCC internet regulation, the shortening of product lifestyles, the flattening of wages in the face of increased healthcare costs. In addition, the extent to which human resource management strategies used by Apple have contributed to organizational performance will be evaluated. With appropriate range of HR policies and practices developed and implemented efficiently by Apple Inc is deemed to improve the performance. High performance work practices will be looked into since it influences the workforce in the firm. Consequently, the HR function will be evaluated and how they are integrated into strategy development. Proper integration of HR policies and practices with organization strategy is expected to have a growth in employee commitment, improved financial results and able to attract and retain right people in the organization’s business and culture. The provision of incentives is crucial for vital employees in order to maintain a fruitful and competitive relationship and boast creativity. HR function to be addressed will be alignment of hiring policy, creation of a favourable image, implementation of equality of employment and promotional opportunities. The last part of this report will deal with how HR function can be improved. Factors to be looked at include the need to monitor both the internal and external environment on an ongoing basis, the impacts of any changes need to be assessed regularly and Heavy investment of billions of dollars in research and development is needed in order to leverage to position the firm at the head of industry innovation and stay ahead of competitors in lifestyle shifts. Body The intended purpose of the organizational strategy and the HR techniques that followed the strategy With the help of innovation and forging a path significantly different from those of the largest competitors in the industry, it made focus in differentiating its products from those of the competitors by choosing to focus on quality, design elegance and superior customer service (www.apple.com). The firm championed to bring the best personal computing experience to people of all works of life and not limited to students, creative professional and consumers via its innovative hardware, software and internet provisions (http://www.reuters.com/finance). With the strict policy in place, none of its employees were allowed to talk or comment on future products or services of the firm which eventually helped to preserve the value of its yet-to-be unveiled innovations (www.slideshare.net/colbynelson). The organizational strategy was built on a core of capabilities, the seizing of opportunities and an organization culture that enabled the attainment of the firm’s objectives. The company worked on the concept of informal corporate culture within the technology industry that favoured a flat organizational hierarchy (www.apple.com). Respect for people’s identity and the harmonious co-existence of cultural differences that geared the attainment of laid down goals. HR techniques The firm accepted that the workforce was the source of value enhancing activities that were associated with quality, efficiency, innovation and responsiveness. The HRM department has utilized their ability to continue employing experienced personnel in the information technology industry (www.slideshare.net/colbynelson). The developed policies and practices by the HR team encouraged the spirit of teamwork and a build-up of employee commitment that contributed to positive consequences to the organization (www.apple.com). The firm employed integration mechanisms and control systems which aimed at increasing intra-functional coordination and communication (www.slideshare.net/colbynelson). Appropriate design and delivery of effective programs by HRM team such as local partnership agreements and able to adapt to the changing needs of a fast paced business environment contributed to attainment of sustainable competitive advantage. Use of behavioural control by the firm aimed at directing the actions and behaviour of its workforce through specific rules such as the code of business ethics (Bartlett, 2005). The creation of a flatter and more flexible organization by the HR team ensured that it responded more quickly to change (www.slideshare.net/colbynelson). Apple Inc through HR department believed in the importance of protecting its intellectual capital by patent filling for its inventions and innovations (www.apple.com).The firm has had unique strength in the resources and capabilities such as unmatched industrial design teams, talented device engineers and innovation that dealt with user interface and usability. Also it implemented strict information protection policies with a view to preserve the confidentiality of its confidential, proprietary and trade secret information. The award winning design team leveraged its talent in order to create the next-must-have product that was regarded due to its design simplicity and elegance (http://money.cnn.com). The firm had been endowed in the fields of creativity, innovation and technological development and that made it to differentiate itself and gained sustainable competitive advantage over other players in the personal computer industry. The positive incentive systems were effective way of motivating employees to work towards objectives in order to maximize company’s performance (www.apple.com). Apple did establish several employees’ benefits such as employee stock purchase plans, employee stock option grants and an employee savings plan. In order to avoid conflicts of interests, the firm identified the possible sources of such conflicts and recommended avoidance mechanisms (http://www.reuters.com/finance). The internal (organizational) and the external (environmental) factors that have influenced the organization’s approach to human resource management The organizational climate and culture has helped the Apple Inc to shape HR policies and practices which have ultimately had consequence on the quality of people that the organization attracted and retained them (Bartlett, 2005). The economic environment, labour market conditions and unions played a critical role in determining the quality and variety of workforce that were attracted and retained within the firm. The notable external factors affecting the firm included demographic trends and increasing work-force diversity, trends in technology, increasing government involvement in the employer-employee relationship, globalization and changes in the nature of the jobs and work (www.apple.com). The firm did face direct competition for instance a product or brand that competed in the same industry or product category such as Hewlett-Packard, Dell IBM and Microsoft. The indirect competition included products such as Television, Digital Video Disc, and Video Games that provided an alternative activity to choose from over using the Apple (http://www.reuters.com/finance). The potential FCC internet regulation is likely to impact the organization performance. The debate over “net neutrality” suggested that new and innovative technologies be routinely reiterated on by hardware companies who strived to offer the best method of integration in the new products could influence the organization performance. The shortening of product lifecycles could result in missed opportunities because of market entry times and losses on obsolete inventory (www.apple.com). There was flattening of wages in the face of increased costs such as healthcare costs among the Americans middle class in the past few years. Therefore, the high prices at Apple could send potential customers into the hands of competitors especially when they were unable to meet the high price tags (Bartlett, 2005). Due to increase commoditized of the personal computer or notebook market, it has led to intense rivalry among the competitors which drove their prices down and created potentially destructive price wars. (www.slideshare.net/colbynelson).The potential world-wide climate regulation especially Copenhagen talks imposed a significant financial burden on the production of Apple products which drove up costs and shrunken the profit margins (www.apple.com). The extent to which HRM strategies/policies used by Apple firm have contributed to organizational performance The Apple Inc did developed and implemented successfully the high performance work practices. Such practices were concerned with flexible working, job and work design, employee development, resourcing, rewards and giving the workforce a voice (www.apple.com). A clear vision, mission and set of values were formulated and firmly embedded in order to give people in the organization “the big idea”. The firm believed that diversity enriches the performances and the products (www.slideshare.net/colbynelson). Utilization of key resources and capabilities such as industry-leading design teams, talented software and hardware engineers and significant research and development budget for a portfolio of thousands of patents and strategically brilliant stewardship of the Late CEO Steve Jobs made the firm more innovative and attained comfortable market position commanding premium prices (www.scribd.com). Through its diversification efforts, Apple kept its design and innovation focused line by adapting performance and price positions to every change in the external environment (www.apple.com). The firm too offered numerous and attractive employee benefits to complement the direct wages. The HR department was involved in providing persuasive vision and strong leadership and also did a commendable job in managing the growth of employee expenses while at the same time maintaining an aligned and committed workforce (www.scribd.com). The employees had great benefits such as health and life insurance, tuition assistance, product discounts and commuter programs. The use of technology helped the HR team to reduce clerical and transaction expense. The employee help center was able to deal with daily employee concerns and counseling (www.slideshare.net/colbynelson). Regular training of its employees helped the organization to adapt with precipitously changing conditions of the markets. (www.scribd.com). The practices and how successful the HR function was integrated into strategy development Proper integration of HR policies and practices with organization strategy have led to growth in employee commitment, improved financial results and able to attract and retain right people in the organization’s business and culture. Those policies reflected the mission, values and culture of the organization. The existence of harmonic relationship between HRM strategy and corporate strategy in the firm formed the basis of competitive advantage. The HRM team made incentives for vital employees in order to maintain a fruitful and competitive relationship and boast creativity (www.apple.com). The human resource management constantly aligned its hiring policy with the overall corporate strategy and objectives and stressed the need of retaining the position as industry leader that concerned with superior design and innovation (www.scribd.com). An effective job recruitment system combined online application services and recruitment events which exceeded the content wise that were used by other players in the market was employed by Apple. (www.slideshare.net/colbynelson). Creation of a favourable image by Apple reinforced its competitive advantage especially with the implementation of equality of employment and also promotion opportunities via partnership arrangements around the entire globe. In order to get best employees work for Apple, it installed measures such the regional programs with varied organizations such as Skillnet in Ireland that was aimed at facilitating the mutual involvement of management and employees in organizational development (www.apple.com). The staffs were trained since the firm realized that they require skills and knowledge that were beyond those needed to do their duties effectively. Alternatively, the firm had additional evaluation process of the training, whereby the objectives of the training were compared with the learning process that actually took place. Appropriate motivation practices to its employees have improved the performance of the organization (www.slideshare.net/colbynelson). With high performance job practices helped in boasting the firm’s performance. Apple Inc employed creativity, ingenuity and problem solving skills of its workforce in order to survive increased competition thus maintaining high performance. The strategic management of organizational knowledge was a fundamental factor that helped Apple to sustain competitive advantage in very volatile business environments. The firm was able to turn to knowledge management initiatives to leverage its knowledge resources. Through organization learning the company was able to exploit individual competence in new and innovative methods (www.apple.com). Thus, for the Apple Inc to maintain its competitive advantage, its investments decisions that were related to knowledge creation had to be strategic in nature. Indeed, innovative knowledge allowed the company to change the rules of the game through introduction of new business practices. Such practices enabled the firm to expand its market share by acquiring new customers and through increased service levels to existing clientele (www.slideshare.net/colbynelson). How HR function might be improved Human resources team in the Apple Inc need to monitor both the internal and external environment on an ongoing basis. The impacts of any changes need to be assessed regularly. In order to improve HR function, the team ought to be proactive in implementing policies and programs in order to counteract such challenges (www.scribd.com). Heavy investment of billions of dollars in research and development is needed in order to leverage to position the firm at the head of industry innovation and stay ahead of competitors in lifestyle shifts. Moreover, in order to protect innovation and future value, the firm should advocate for open networks without packet or content discrimination (www.apple.com). Being a leader in the Smartphone market, Apple should shift focus to new, innovative and convergence devices in order to take advantage of Apple’s system of simple, easy to use, integrated devices and applications. There is need to maintain and increase organizational competency through HRM beyond life- long learning and partnership programs. Alternatively, Apple should pursue stronger strategic alliances with software companies and taking Apple into the business world and also have a greater shareholder focus and social media integration (www.slideshare.net/colbynelson). Conclusion The organizational strategy was built on a core of capabilities, the seizing of opportunities and an organization culture that enabled the attainment of the firm’s objectives. The firm accepted that the workforce was the source of value enhancing activities that were associated with quality, efficiency, innovation and responsiveness. The developed policies and practices by the HR team encouraged the spirit of teamwork and a build-up of employee commitment that contributed to positive consequences to the organization. Appropriate design and delivery of effective programs by HRM team such as local partnership agreements and able to adapt to the changing needs of a fast paced business environment contributed to attainment of sustainable competitive advantage. Use of behavioural control by the firm aimed at directing the actions and behaviour of its workforce through specific rules such as the code of business ethics. The creation of a flatter and more flexible organization by the HR team ensured that it responded more quickly to change. The firm did face direct competition for instance a product or brand that competed in the same industry or product category such as Hewlett-Packard, Dell IBM and Microsoft. The indirect competition included products such as Television, Digital Video Disc, and Video Games that provided an alternative activity to choose from over using the Apple. A greater use of HR policies by the firm have been associated with higher levels of employee commitment and viable contribution which in turn linked to higher levels of productivity and quality services. The Apple Inc did developed and implemented successfully the high performance work practices. Such practices were concerned with flexible working, job and work design, employee development, resourcing, rewards and giving the workforce a voice. Through its diversification efforts, Apple kept its design and innovation focused line by adapting performance and price positions to every change in the external environment. The human resource management constantly aligned its hiring policy with the overall corporate strategy and objectives and stressed the need of retaining the position as industry leader that concerned with superior design and innovation. Human resources team in the Apple Inc need to monitor both the internal and external environment on an ongoing basis. The impacts of any changes need to be assessed regularly. In order to improve HR function, the team ought to be proactive in implementing policies and programs in order to counteract such challenges. Reference list Bartlett. 2005. Managing human resources capabilities for sustainable competitive advantage, The Emerald Publishing Library Ltd Jackson.2005.Managing human resources Strategic management presentation of Apple Inc was retrieved on 08th January 2013 at http://www.slideshare.net/colbynelson/strategic-management-presentation-apple-inc Strategic analysis of Apple Inc by Brian Masi was retrieved on 09th January 2013 at http://www.scribd.com/doc/24134877/Strategic-Analysis-of-Apple-Inc-Brian-Masi Human resources objectives and strategies of Apple Inc was retrieved on 10th January 2013 at http://www.scribd.com/doc/57773266/75/Human-resource-objectives-and-strategies Strengths and HR policy of Apple Inc was retrieved on 09th January 2013 at http://www.scribd.com/doc/67899754/22/Apple%E2%80%99s-Strengths-and-HR-Policy Apple computer Inc Human Resources http://www.scribd.com/doc/76949442/Apple-Computer-Inc-HRM-Project-Ppt Fortune.2009.American’s Most admired Company: Steve Jobs Speaks Out.CNNmoney.com was retrieved on 15th January 2013 at http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2008/fortune/0803/gallery.jobsqna.fortune/ Apple Inc Third quarter 2011 Report retrieved on 09th January 2013 at http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/AAPL/1406440069x0S1193125-11- 192493/320193/filing.pdf Apple Inc profile was retrieved on 13th January 2013 at http://www.apple.com/ Apple Inc was retrieved on 12th January 2013 at http://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/companyProfile?symbol=AAPL.O Apple-iPad in business profiles was retrieved on 08th January 2013 at http://www.apple.com/ipad/business/profiles/ Read More