Global Leadership in Apple Inc - Case Study Example

Global Leadership in Apple Inc Name Institution Affiliations Global Leadership in Apple Inc Introduction The struggle to reach the world in the market and sustain demands globally has called for the large companies and organizations to operate globally. Operation globally requires that individuals and leaders understand the diversity management and cultural diversity needs of people to ensure safe operation within the market. Global leadership, therefore, is the interdisciplinary study of the important elements of future leaders in the context of personal experiences to sustain effective familiarization with the psychological, physiological, geographical, sociological effects in the world (Lawrence, 2015). The dynamic nature of the global market calls for the leaders to formulate flexible and evolving techniques to ensure that they remain relevant in working with the environment. This paper will analyze the global leadership issues in the case of Apple Company through exhaustion of different parts of management and operation of the business. Global leadership Issues Organizations must complement their business growth strategies with the sensible leadership development plans to attain a talent pipeline required by the consumers. The life of the modern leaders is more demanding than ever as they face a lot of challenges internally and externally in operating the business activities. Internally, the organizations’ management needs to motivate a diverse group of workers with different cultural beliefs and understanding to ensure efficient operations and growth in the business (Whiteneck, 2015). Externally, the organization faces complex and globalized environment from the government needs, keeping themselves ahead of the competitors and exceeding the expectations of the stakeholders. Apple being an international organization, it draws its employees from all over the world an indication that the organization comprises of the wide cultural backgrounds. The diverse cultures brought by the organization through different employees make it more complex for the leadership to manage as leaders require an understanding of each and every culture as well as the languages to use in order to ensure that they are efficiently and effectively managed (Lawrence, 2015). Apple Company requires a large market with its production being done by different people at various levels of production. The supply and distribution of the products also require a large share of employees who are capable of working as a team to ensure the success of the company. It is also necessary for the organization to determine the best partners who can help it in the growth and distribution of the products (Hoover, 2012). From the understanding of these needs, the leadership issue within the company is the best way teamwork can be foster as well as the best ways through which the organization can find partners to help in the distribution and production. Leaders in the context, therefore, have the challenge to understand their employees, organize effective teamwork among the same employees and ensure that every team operates effectively towards ensuring the growth of the organization. The leaders also have the responsibility to determine the best partners which they can operate with to ensure that their production and distribution is done effectively. Managing partnership and leading teams from different cultural diversity is an issue that Apple as a Company has struggled to deal with and has succeeded in its course due to the acknowledgment of the importance of those cultures (Whiteneck, 2015). Background information about Apple Inc Apple Inc. is a multinational technology Company regarded as an American property, and it has its headquarters in Cupertino, California. The Company was founded in April 1976 by the three individuals who were; Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne whose aims were to sell personal computers. Through the success of their work, they incorporated the Company as Apple Computer Inc. in January 1977 which brought to the renaming of the company like Apple Inc. January 2007 due to the increase in the products on sale. The company operates on both hardware and software distribution all over the world for the Apple products ("Apple | Company Profile," 2016). Among some of the hardware products that the company operates in include; iPhone smartphone, iPad tablet computer, Mac personal computer, iPod portable media player, Apple watch smartwatch and Apple TV digital media player which has taken the market control due to the value that people have regarding their products (Hoover, 2012). Some of the software that they deal with includes; the macOS and iOS operating system, the iTunes media player, the Safari web browser as well as the iLife and iWork creativity and productivity suites ("Apple | Company Profile," 2016). The company does not only operate on the two but also offer online services such as the iTune Store, the iOS App Store and the Mac App Store and iCloud to its customers all over the world (Hoover, 2012). Currently, Apple Inc. is regarded as world’s largest information technology company in relation to the revenue that the company has as well in terms of the total assets of the company. It is also categorized as the second largest mobile phone manufacturing which has been accredited as the largest publicly traded corporation in the world market through capitalization. It became the first United States Company to be valued above US$700 billion with the number of employees being above one hundred and fifteen thousand employed on the permanent full-time basis ("Apple | Company Profile," 2016). The company maintains 475 retail stores over seventeen countries which ensure that the company easily and quickly reaches the consumers with their products. The company was under the chief executive director Steve Jobs until his death in 2011 where the new leadership of Tim Cook took over the company. Despite the changing of the executive director, the company remained focused on the business and cooked further introduced iBooks to the company which was the plan of the late Steve ("Apple | Company Profile," 2016). Leadership in Apple Inc Steve’s leadership can best be described through the use of charismatic, tyrannical and transformational leadership styles. His return to the top leadership ensured that there was a great transformation of the Apple Inc. which ensured that Microsoft Company was overtaken from the market. Job realized that a computer company could only operate well when the workers are put under pressure with no mistakes being allowed in the organization. He could hire the individuals from different organizations train them and put them into work under supervision. It was a daring and a risk-taking initiative as this motivated the employees to work best to secure their places within the organization. He made authoritative decisions within the company with several workers not being consulted on the decisions and his main aim was to ensure that the company developed (Summerfield, 2014). The Company embraced the charismatic style of leaders as depicted by Job where he could be involved in different work within the organization despite being the leader (Summerfield, 2014). The organization wanted a situation where every individual within the organization is involved in working with the organization. Job understood that his drive to work in the organization was a motivational feature for other workers as they could work irrespective of their position within the company. The company kind of leadership is one that ensures that every employee is motivated by the top management through the infliction of the passion for working with the company. This idea of leadership ensures that people are possessed with the passion to work without supervision from the leaders. The passion for work created by the leadership at Apple Inc. ensures that individuals work even overtime without questioning for the time and payment increment due to passion development (Kriger & Zhovtobryukh, 2013). The organization is also known for the transformational type of leadership where every activity is changed with the concern realizes a competitive advantage in the market (Kriger & Zhovtobryukh, 2013). The transformational kind of leadership express in the organization ensures that the leadership understands the customers need through feedback and work to fulfill their needs within the shortest time possible. The company also ensures that any activity that does not work well for the success of the company is readily changed and transformed to ensure that the company remains in the growth direction. The leadership of the company under the current executive director Tim is one that allows the members to take part in the decision and provides their understandings on dealing with different issues within the organization without him as a leader taking part or involving in the work within the organization (Kriger & Zhovtobryukh, 2013). The leadership skills of the two directors only differ on the idea that Job took part in the business work while Tim does not take part but gives an opportunity for workers to make decisions (Apple, 2016). Leadership theories applied in Apple Inc First, the great man theory has been shown through the way in which the company is being managed (McCleskey, 2014). The theory believes that leadership is intrinsic and great leaders are born. It argues that great leaders are never made by are inborn behavior or characteristic that an individual possesses. From this theory, Job actions critically show the reality of it as when he was relieved of the duties as the executive officer of the Company; the company went through hard times and the growth of the company was greatly affected. On his return as the leader, the organization picked up and started to have a positive growth despite the difficulties that the organization was going through. This is a clear indication that despite having leaders who can resume the responsibilities of the others, leaders are born leaders, and their actions are like intrinsic within their genes (McCleskey, 2014). Also from Job’s involvement in the actions and works of the company, it brings into the sense the behavioral theories that explain leadership (Morgan et. all, 2013). The manager could be involved in every action of the organization which motivated the workers also to work hard in the business for its success. Through his behaviors as a leader, he inflicted passion for working with the members ensuring that everybody was willing and ready to work. The same behavioral theory is shown by Tim when he preferred not to work but to include members of the organization in the decisions making process. Finally, the theory of contingency has been brought forward which argues that there is no single way of leading and that every leadership style is based on the situation at hand (Morgan et. all, 2013). The theory establishes that the same leadership style that works for an organization at a given stage in development does not mean it will be applicable for the next organization or similar organization in the next level of development. This theory has been shown by the way in which Job was changing his leadership styles. He realized that the organization was facing too many difficulties and he needed to work with little tolerable mistakes where he introduced a dictatorial mode of leadership where he could hire and fire employees at wish or at any mistake made. He involved himself in the operations after realizing that the organization required workers to develop a passion for their work which he achieved. Tim also identified that the employees would be happy if they are involved in the decision-making process of the company and changed his leadership skills to fit their needs by involving them (Morgan et. all, 2013). Impacts of Leadership on Employees motivation The leadership styles used in Apple Inc. motivated the employees to work hard in order to achieve the objectives of the company. Job recommended that every individual within the company irrespective of the position held was to be involved in the action of the organization. This idea motivated the employees as the leaders were leading with the example and acting as the role models towards the success of the organization. The recommendation ensured that passion for work was developed by the workers which motivated them to work further (Apple, 2016). The recommendations made by Tim that encouraged for the introduction of the all-inclusive decision-making process within Apple Inc. motivated the employees. The motivation was realized as most of the workers believed that their positions and ideas were accepted within the company which motivated them to work further. The process ensured that individuals developed habits of innovation and creativity within the organization as they knew that their ideas were respected and were easily implemented in the organization. The all-inclusive decision-making process motivated the employees as they were subjected to the operations of the organization which were proposed and brought forward by themselves creating the idea of willingness (Hoover, 2012). The design of the reward packages in relation to individuals’ effort towards the success of the organization was a motivating idea. This idea required that each individual only receive the reward as per his or her hard work within the organization rather than having a team incentive provision. The idea encouraged hard work in the organization and motivated the workers as they were competing to carry home the largest share of the incentives. The competition was a fair one with record tracking which ensured that there were no biases on the reward for innovations and hard work of the employees. The leadership recommendation also ensured that there was additional payment for overtime work and early work starting (Hoover, 2012). Promotions within the company were based on the hard work and innovation of the employees through the use of transformational leadership skills applied by Job. Employees were motivated to work as they knew that their promotions were based on their success in practicing the company’s ideologies. The promotion was done through the check of the records, and most of the employees were determined to establish a good record through working and innovations which were a motivating factor towards the company’s productions (Hoover, 2012). Leadership and Team Management Apple Inc. realizes its success through encouraging employees to put forward their individual effort on the success of the organization. Despite the individual encouragement, an all-inclusive practice is encouraged by the members to facilitate the unity of the company. The leadership encourages individual innovations and ideas which are then collected and presented to the general decision-making process to ensure a common decision is developed in the business. The management encourages the individual thinking as they believe that they are the situations on which different innovation ideas can be brought together, and when consolidated in a single meeting, several conclusions and recommendations can be made for the business. The organization ensures that work is done individually at different functional levels which make the individuals perfect their part in the production as a failure at a specific part in the development of a product will mean a failure to the entire team. The functional operation ensures that employees help and consult each other in the business operation resulting in the production of a collectively owned product. Consultation is encouraged among the team members, and the collective responsibility is given first priority despite the organization having individual record tracking (Kriger & Zhovtobryukh, 2013). A participatory approach to leadership employs in Apple Inc. ensures that there is teamwork developed in the operations of the business. It is a tradition of Apple Inc. that everybody is involved in the activities of the organization and communication is allowed at every level of management without any barrier to communication. The involvement of the parties, as well as the individuals, has ensured that teamwork is encouraged from the top managing to the bottom employee within the organization. Development and success of Apple Inc. have been based on the innovation and ideas decided from the teamwork meetings and consultations which show how important the leadership encourages teamwork among the employees (Morgan et. all, 2013). Impact of macroeconomic theories The decision-making processes of Apple Inc. are determined by the external environment that surrounds the business. The demand decisions of the organization were made on the basis of the feedback that was received from the market. When demand grew to be big, the organization was ensuring that they come together as a team and form smaller working teams which could increase the production to meet the demand on the market. Through the application of the behavioral theory of leadership, the leaders of the teams were advised to formulate the best examples to motivate their juniors to work hard for the success of the organization (Fred, 2014). The pricing theory entails that teamwork ensured their production is done within the manageable prices within the market. The decision ensured that none of the team’s production was done outside the market pricing in order to facilitate effective competition within the business set up and global economy. The use of the great man theory was utilized by the management to determine the workability of the teams as well as to realize the success that the team recommendations could be used to facilitate the growth of the organization. Through the theory, management could plan its team well to ensure that production cost is low to give space and opportunity for the profit maximization with consideration to the market price (Fred, 2014). The challenges that the organization experienced throughout its business were taken into control through the teamwork and the individual understanding of the situations. Through the application of the contingency theory of leadership, the management recommendations for the team operations were changing in relation to time. Through analysis of the market, the organization was adjusting to the trends and needs of the market in relation to the competitors’ strategies and means of market conquering through Apple Inc. application of team recommendations (Fred, 2014). Conclusion The paper has provided different aspects of Apple Inc. through analysis and evaluation of different theories. It has evaluated the company through understanding global leadership issues and ways through which diversity management is taking place. Global leadership is an important factor in ensuring that the organizations remain relevant in growth and in cultural accommodation. Leadership is important in ensuring that success is achieved in organizations and despite leadership theories explaining that leadership is intrinsic, we should not ignore the other theories which explain leadership in different aspects to ensure that we are strengthened and work closely with the employees. Apple Inc. has remained relevant in the market through good leadership, and its acknowledgment of the global leadership has shaped it as the world largest technology business. Teamwork and motivations within the organization are important to facilitate the collective success of the entire organization. Current leadership and management should borrow from the principles of operation of the late CEO Job to ensure that they take the global leadership industry with a surprise and work effectively with the diversity in the cultures. References Hoover, D. B. (2012). Apple Inc. Profile. A D& T Company information, 1-10 retrieved on 27th Sept from http://blogs.darden.virginia.edu/cts/files/2012/05/Apple-Company-Overview.pdf Apple | Company Profile. (2016). Innovationleaders.org. Retrieved 27 September 2016, from http://innovationleaders.org/apple_company_profile.html Lawrence, T. (2015). Global leadership communication: A strategic proposal. 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