Apple Inc as a Learning Organization with Sustainable Development - Assignment Example

Managing organizations Name Professor Institution Course Date Managing organizations Questions 1: Apple Inc as a learning organization with sustainable development In the current world, corporations are grappling with change blowing in this postindustrial era. The change is taking place in terms of innovation and product development (O’Keeffe 2002, p.139). Therefore companies must be update to date with the change because change creates new opportunities to the company. O’Keeffe (2002, p.132) postulates that managers are forced to change business strategy every time so as to gain competitive advantage. The current concern also is to instill a strategic plan to sustainable development all through the organization. One of ways to improve their thinking, strategy and performance to bring sustainable development is though learning. Apple Inc is one such case for learning organizations. The company recruits and train young computer science students every year (Thomas 2012). Basically, Apple Inc. consists of young eager university students who are intrigued by advanced technology, so that they can continue to teaching each other new product innovation, ways of applying it in business, how to market it and harvest its returns. Thomas (2012) affirms that the company is conscious they cannot attain their objectives with traditional techniques of training therefore they invest heavily on contemporary training inline with core values of Apple. Apple's aim is to establish better methods to offer the knowledge, skills and opportunity for young people. By offering training themselves, the trainees get a chance to learn what the company culture and vision is. Similar the company also creates vision to these trainees. O’Keeffe (2002, p.135) contends that an idea of a learning organization is to create vision. He continued to say that nothing encourages change more strongly than a vision. The late Steve jobs had the same sentiment when interviewed. During his interview he said “We’re making a bet on our vision, and we would relatively do that as opposed to making ‘me-too’ products” (Thomas 2012). During his tenure as a CEO, Jobs created a clear vision of changing the world and ensured that Apple innovates continuously. He stated that that “company hire individuals who have the vision to make the best things in this world” (Young & 2005). He started an Apple’s learning organization by motivating employees to use their imagination and intelligence. A learning organization needs an effective knowledge management to encourage the knowledge distribution and to support learning. In 2009 Apple was chosen as The Global Most Admired Knowledge Enterprises award winner (Thomas 2012) report. This award is normally selected by a panel of leading knowledge management experts in the field of organizational learning. Thomas (2012) states that this award was actually based on its work of developing knowledge workers by means of creating knowledge-based products and services, management leadership, increasing business intellectual capital, and changing business knowledge to a shareholder value. Organizational learning is regarded as the core of innovative actions (Austin & Hopkins 2004). Apple Inc. bears the most attributes of an innovative company. This corporation has manufactured numerous innovative products for longer time by forecasting and producing products which customer long for. The Apple translated individual's thought of what a computer ought to be. The aim of Apple is to manufacture the best personal computer and music experience of various kinds of users through its innovative software, hardware, internet and service (Young & 2005). This company constantly has designed its operating system and numerous software applications to fulfill its customer’s demands. In order for a company to be called a learning organization it has to have a competitive advantage. In other words a company must have strong brand that their competitors cannot game, and they ought to attract and retain their best talent. Today Apple’s product remains the best in terms of quality and innovation in technology industry (Thomas 2012). As started before, Apple attracts talents, train them and employ them. The service and knowledge approach of learning at Apple also empowers the organization and enhances their effectiveness. Thomas (2012) claims that Eve though it is highly rated, Apple Inc. undergoes several past failures and mistakes in various product lines and his learning from those failures and of other competitors. At one point its former CEO Steve Jobs said that "There is no advantage that is invariant” (Young & 2005). Upon his return to Apple several years, Steve Jobs and the organization understood that they have to establish what took place wrongly with Apple Inc in order to move ahead. In his tenure, though learning the company produced several product lines which completely changed the face of the technology industry. Peter Senge’s concept of learning organization (system thinking, personal mastery, mental models, shared vision and team learning) can be used to analyze Apple success now and in the past. Loof (2004) defines system thinking as a method of understanding the entire systems or its problems as opposed to just viewing just part of it so as to understand the connection between activities and impacts. The Steve Jobs came back to Apple, his first duty he carried out was to form single sales, marketing, manufacturing, and finance teams as a solution for the disagreeing teams and rectify communication channels that had been lacking at Apple (Young & Simon, 2005). These are the things that had created challenges making Apple to lose its market. Steve Jobs signed a deal worth $250 million with the then Microsoft CEO Bill Gates to solve numerous rows between Microsoft and Apple (Young & 2005). Personal mastery is a concept of personal-development so as to realize set objectives. They consist of personal vision and maintaining creative conflict between vision and existing reality. Steve Jobs has recognized Apple Inc. success. His vision brought Apple not only making computer but also other consumer electronics such as iPhone, iPod and iPad among others. Purpose and vision must be packaged so as to create a visionary company and Apple has it. That vision has continued to work even after Jobs demise. In 1st September 2013, Apple released Iphone 5s which has a fingerprint identity sensor (Apple, Inc. 2013). Mental model is a foundation principle that an organization has so as take action; an organization must be keen to learn and implement a new concept to maintain its place in the market (Wang & Ahmed 2003, p.9). Apple Inc. has transformed its production; instead of just manufacturing computer, currently it manufactures consumer electronics. Apple has changed the music industry by developing iTunes store. Learning organization also involves team learning which in turn incorporates dialogue and discussion. Apple leaders embrace a transformational leadership style that encourages learning through team work. Question two: ‘In the long run, those who do not use power in a way that society considers responsible will tend to lose it’ The link between organization and society has been examined for several years with results being impacted by the current economic dimension (Day, Gronn & Salas 2006, p.214). Human being considered a social animal that is living with others in large groups. This naturally means that a person needs to embrace different responsibilities and achieve them in different groups. So as to classify a society as a structure and help it develop, individuals are naturally categorized as leaders and followers. According to Hatch (2000, p.251) The leaders pave way and moves from to another frontier above any other person, directing them, whilst the followers complete the tasks allocated to them and assist bring the change wanted as a society. Society has a long structure having a countless social forces, factors and elements at play continuously. Hatch (2000, p.258) claims that society is not confined to just a few well defined objectives, and therefore, leadership within a society is a wide, and frequently indefinable, phenomenon. With the society, members have created different organizations to satisfy various needs of the society. To make these organizations run smoothly, leadership and power must be defined while the leader has to use that power to influence and bring change to the society. Day, Gronn & Salas (2006, p.212) defines leadership as the social influence on people in order to common goals. On the other hand, Samson & Daft (2005) define the organization as a social entity having a common goal and is connected to the external environment. The connection between leadership, organization and society is that all push for a common goal. It should be noted that leadership entails influencing people and these people are drawn from society. Good organizational leadership must take into consideration ethics and social responsibility and sustainability in an organization. Leadership consists of change management, visioning, strategy development, culture management, and organization design and community collaboration (Hatch 2000, 249). Societies have changed and leadership therefore has to change too so to address current problems. Daft (2005) claim that the most outstanding leadership is one that is intensely interested in solving societal problems and enhance the lives of the members of the society. a leader’s role is to develop an organizational plan that is in line with the societal expectation while taking into account their culture. Gill (2006) argues that “developing a sense of shared values which support both the organization and society’s vision and mission needs members (employees) integration into each policy, procedure and practices regarding employment and work practices” (p. 152). Creating a culture that does not conform to the society’s expectation may create a rift between society and the organization. Apple Inc. is one organization that nearly everybody is familiar with in terms of leadership authority and performance. The company operates in the technology industry that affects the society in one way or the other. The question therefore is that; does Apple Inc. leadership and management promotes societal cohesion in terms of culture, ethics, social responsibility and sustainability? While still alive, the former Apple Inc. CEO has praised and emulated by many as one of the best CEO who “used his powers well to bring impact in the society through technology” (Young & 2005). When an organization is established the society normally has hopes that it will solve their need for jobs. There is interdependence between the organization and the society in need for a stable atmosphere with educated employees. If the leadership chooses to only employ outsides or employees only their relatives, the society may react negatively causing the performance to decline (Gill 2006). Apple Inc. has been depicted to be having a developer-based business culture. The company uses a lot of money and time every year on hiring young software developers from the university and train them further. Apple makes the young software developers feel special by offering interesting perks. As such they give a chance to young people (Thomas 2012). However Apple has been having rigid labor policy. Employees have complained of working for long hours making not to have a social life in their homes (Musgrove 2006). Organizational leadership must take ethics into consideration. Ethics forms the foundation rooted in organizational effectiveness (Day, Gronn & Salas 2006, p.215). An organization through its manager has to demonstrate respect, integrity, honesty and equity while serving the society. Proponents of corporate social responsibility also argue that besides making profits, organizations have a social responsibility to contribute to the common good of the society (Sharp & Zaidman 2010, p.1) Even though Apple has time and again won people’s heart as a World’s Most Admired Company; it has faced numerous ethical challenges in the recent years. Privacy has been a major issue for Apple Company. Another point of view of CSR is social reporting. It is observed that organizations hold an ethical responsibility to disclose the impacts their conducts bear on society. And as such, Apple disclosed that particular feature on the phones they produce collect data on the locations of the phone (Apple Inc. 2013). Consumer observed this as a breach of privacy. These challenges could have a deep impact on the corporation’s future success. The company’s excellent reputation could by far be eroded by severe misconduct or the failure to tackle risks properly. It’s actually the role of the managers to ensure this is done. All in all, outstanding leadership and use of power builds a contented society while irresponsible use often it creates resistance. Question 3: All managers are required to developing cultural intelligence Managers are struggling with cultural differences amongst employees in their workplace. To understand cultural difference managers must have a global mindset and develop cultural intelligence so as to deal with cultural challenges at their organization (Earley 2002, p.284). Companies need managers whose capabilities enable them to skillfully work across several cultures to realize organizational objectives. Earley (2002, p.293) states that managers need Cultural Intelligence (CQ) to understand how workforce adjusts to new background inputs with regard experience in unfamiliar social environments. Ang, S. & Inkpen (2008, p.343) argue that when a manager is working with employees in an international environment, they require making an effort to recognize the cultural backgrounds, attitudes and belief of the individual around them. If they do not use their cultural intelligence on how to relate with the employee, the managers themselves will struggle getting things done. Therefore a manager must use his skills to spot cultural differences and help employees from another country settle in their in the organization where employees have different behaviors. To develop cultural intelligence that manager must also be able to adapt in a different cultural setting. Earley & Ang (2003, p.354) suggest that a person‘s ability to adapt to new cultural setting is associated with three dominant factors including cognitive, motivational and behavioral. The cognitive factor is rooted in self-knowledge by a person; though, high self-consciousness is not fully enough. A high cognitive recognition does not ensure a high effective behavior. The manager must learn what is not implemented in their own organization. To adjust organizational capability, managers must constantly learn and work with people across the globe to get a grasp of cultural intelligence (Ang & Van Dyne 2008). Through cultural intelligence will be able to harmonize and flexibly reshape organizational cultural difference to suit new employees through openness to dialogue. A manager who has cultural intelligence helps his staff and even the society to integrate various environmental and social cues and appropriately interpret these cues according to their contextual surroundings. Ang & Van Dyne (2008) claims that a manager having a high cultural intelligence are able to evaluate values, attitudes, beliefs and body language of the staff from different cultural background. They employ this knowledge to interrelate with understanding and empathy. A manager having high cultural intelligence may not be an expert in each culture but rather, they employ observation, intelligence and empathy to read individual and circumstances, and to settle for an informed decision concerning why different employees behave the way they do (Faiazi & Jannesarahmadi 2006). They also employ cultural intelligence to check their other people’s actions. Rather than making fast judgments or depending on stereotypes, these managers examine what is taking place, and they use their own intelligence to make decisions accordingly. Triandis (2006, p.24) argues that a manager with high cultural intelligence tends to create rapport with the new team, and help employees adjust to their new department, or to be effective with the cross-functional team. In the organizations which have a high cultural variety and complexity, cultural intelligence helps the organization managers compromise with the different cultural and value qualities and characteristics of their employees. In active companies in multicultural settings, cultural intelligence alongside operational skills can ensure the organization effectiveness, so selecting, evaluating and educating the managers in such companies should not be limited to scientific and technical capabilities and the capability to communicate effectively but cultural intelligence should also be considered as an efficient decisive factor in hiring managers in such companies (Triandis 2006, p.22). Building cultural intelligence assists manager work efficiently with individuals who are different culturally from them. Whether they are working overseas or managing a culturally diverse group, it may imply the thin line between failure and success and the thin line between providing solutions to problem and creating the problems. High cultural intelligence is an indicator of an effective work performance in a fresh culture setting (Triandis 2006, p.26). The study indicates that professionals having higher cultural intelligence tend to be more effective in global missions. They cooperate more efficiently with diverse groups and adjust easily to working and living in the new experience. Leaders having high CQ effectively adjust their style of leadership to fit the multicultural state of affairs entailing suppliers, customers and links from diverse settings (Faiazi & Jannesarahmadi 2006). They portray strength in four distinctive cultural intelligence abilities consisting of Drive, Knowledge, Strategy and Action. Leaders require all these four abilities, since concentrating on just one without the remaining can in fact bring about high cultural ignorance as opposed to improved cultural intelligence. This is due to the fact that CQ needs a general range of adaptive abilities. Cultural intelligence drive determines a leader’s degree of interest, confidence and motivation to adjust cross culturally. This signifies whether a manager posses the self-assurance and drive to work in conflict and challenges which frequently come with intercultural work (Ang & Inkpen 2008, p.342). Knowledge is a cognitive paradigm of cultural intelligence referring to the degree at which managers understand culture and the role of culture in shaping up the method of doing business in diverse cultures. Strategy is the manager’s degree of consciousness and capability to manage when in diverse cultures (Ang & Van Dyne 2008). Strategy aspect of cultural intelligence helps in planning, checking and awareness. This capability entails reducing the pace enough to cautiously observe what is happening in his mind and that of the employees. Action is the managers’ capability to act properly in a range of cultural settings. It impacts on whether managers can really achieve their performance objectives effectively in view of different cultural settings. A manager with higher cultural intelligence learns which behavior will and will not improve effectiveness and acts on that. References Learning organization Apple, Inc. 2013, Apple Announces iPhone 5s—The Most Forward-Thinking Smartphone in the World, viewed on 16th September 2013 http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2013/09/10Apple-Announces-iPhone-5s-The-Most- Forward-Thinking-Smartphone-in-the-World.html Austin, M & Hopkins, K 2004, Supervision as collaboration in the human services: Building a learning culture, Thousand Oaks, CA, Sage. O’Keeffe, T 2002, Organizational Learning: a new perspective, Journal of European Industrial Training, 26(2), p. 130-141. Loof, A 2004, The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of a Learning Organization, London, Human Resources Management HEC Lausanne. Thomas, J 2012, A look into Apple’s core businesses in Q1 2012, Retrieved from http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/11376389-a-look-into-apples-core- businessesin- q1-2012 Wang, C & Ahmed, P 2003, Organizational learning: a critical review, An International Journal, Vol. 10, No. 1, pp. 8-17. Young, S 2005, Icon Steve Jobs The Greatest Second Act in The History of Business, New Jersey, USA, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Organizational power and the society Apple Inc., 2013, Business Conduct: The way we do business worldwide, viewed on 16th September 2013 http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/AAPL/2631529997x0x443008/5f38b1e6-2f9c- 4518-b691-13a29ac90501/business_conduct_policy.pdf Day, D., Gronn, P & Salas, E 2006, Leadership in team-based organizations: On the threshold of a new era, Leadership Quarterly, 17(3), p. 211-216. Daft, R 2005, The Leadership Experience, Toronto, Southwestern. Gill, R 2006, Theory and practice of leadership, Thousand Oaks, CA, Sage. Hatch, M 2000, The cultural dynamics of organizing and change, In Ashkanasy, N, Wilderom, C & Peterson, M (Eds.), Handbook of organizational culture & change (pp. 245–260), Thousand Oaks, CA, Sage. Musgrove, M 2006, Sweatshop Conditions at IPod Factory Reported, The Washington Post. Sharp, Z & Zaidman, N 2010, Strategization of CSR, Journal of Business Ethics, 93(1). Thomas, J 2012, A look into Apple’s core businesses in Q1 2012, Retrieved from http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/11376389-a-look-into-apples-core- businessesin- q1-2012 Cultural intelligence Earley, P 2002, Redefining interactions across cultures and organizations: Moving forward with cultural intelligence, In B.M. Staw & R.M. Kramer (Eds.), Research In Organizational Behavior Vol. 24 (pp. 271-299), New York: JAI. Earley, P & Ang, S 2003, Cultural Intelligence: Individual interactions across cultures, Palo Alto, CA, Stanford University Press. Ang, S & Van Dyne, Linn 2008, Handbook of Cultural Intelligence, New York, M.E, Sharpe. Ang, S & Inkpen, A 2008, Cultural intelligence and offshore outsourcing success: A framework of firm-level intercultural capability, Decision Sciences, 39(1), p. 337-358. Faiazi, M & Jannesarahmadi, H 2006, Cultural intelligence: manager’s need in diverse century, Tadbir journal, No. 172, p. 34-67. Triandis, HC 2006, Cultural Intelligence in Organizations, Group & Organization Management , Vol. 32, No. 1 , p. 20-26. Read More