Social Performance of Organizations
Paige Thomas
Dr. Schulz
Business and Society
April 29, 2016

Apple Inc. is a dominant global software and hardware company known for its innovative technology and marketing strategies. Apple Inc. makes many products and services such as iPod, iPad, iPod touch, iPhone, Mac, iTunes, iCloud and Apple TV. All of their products have done well and are still tremendously in high demand. Apple Inc. was founded by Steven Jobs and Stephen Wozniak and was incorporated on January 3, 1977. The nature of Apple Inc. is to manufacture the best application software, technology and communication devices, and provide great customer service. A strong organizational structure is needed for a company to be successful. Apple incorporates a collaborative structure, which brings parties together to create a good working relationship to accomplish the current goal. A collaborative work environment leads to a variety of innovation and ideas from the efficiently qualified professionals’ working together to achieve goals. This is a new approach for Apple, while Steven Jobs was in charge, he dictated everything. One external factor is politics. Political factors for Apple Inc. provides a massive influence on decision-making, as more companies are being established worldwide. Maintaining good sales from countries other than America is important when expanding all over the world. Terrorism or bad international relations between the U.S. and other countries that consume or help manufacture Apple products would damage Apple Inc. reputation and have a negative impact on their business. The second external factors is new technology and competitors. Technology is advancing heavily on a daily basis, which makes the competition tougher to stay updated. The most resourceful and updated technology sells the fastest, and Apple updates very often to always surpass the competitors.

The success of Apple is due partially to the abilities of satisfying the stakeholders and corporate social responsibilities. A stakeholder is a person or group that has and interest, investment, or share in a industry or business. Stakeholders can have a major impact on the business in terms of sales revenue. Due to the high value of the Apple brand, the company accounts for stakeholders in its policies and strategies. The most significant stakeholders are customers/consumers, employees, investors, employees of suppliers and distributors, and media. Customers/consumers are Apple’s top stakeholders and are composed of organizational and individual buyers of Apple products. Customers/ consumers are looking for an efficient and reasonable price product. Although, Apple products can be high priced it can be accepted because it is a high quality product. If it wasn’t for customer/consumers buying the product, Apple wouldn’t make a profit. The ability to meet the customer needs and understanding the customer wants is the key to success. The employees of Apple are another top priority stakeholder. These stakeholders main interest are career development and proper compensation for consistent service that helps gain and retain customers. “Employees as a stakeholder group are important because they directly determine Apple’s human resource capabilities to innovate and develop profitable products. Thus, Apple’s corporate social responsibility efforts satisfy the concerns and interests of employees as a major stakeholder group” (http://panmore.com/apple-inc-stakeholders-csr-analysis). Investors are major stakeholders of CSR programs in businesses. Investors always are interested in maximizing the returns on their investments. Apple is one of the most profitable companies in the world. If Apple did not perform well or obtained debt the company would lose many investors. Employees of suppliers and distributors are workers in Apple’s supply chain. “These workers are indirect stakeholders in Apple’s business, but determine the firm’s corporate social responsibilities. The main interest of this stakeholder group is similar to the interests of Apple’s own employees, such as proper compensation and job security. Also, this stakeholder group is interested in ethical employment practices. To address these interests, Apple has a Supplier Code of Conduct. The company monitors and imposes requirements on the employment practices of firms in its supply chain. Part of Apple’s policy is to terminate business relations with suppliers that continue to fail or refuse to satisfy this Code of Conduct” (http://panmore.com/apple-inc-stakeholders-csr-analysis). The media is also an influence on Apple’s financial performance. Commercials, Facebook, Instagram, news channels, radio and internet just to name a few are major influences on advertisement, which gets the customer out to the stores to purchase the product. As quick as the news travels about how awesome the product is, it travels the same speed or faster when the critics give their reviews. The media can hurt your business and it can also help your business. Foxconn was a controversial corporate social responsibility concern associated with Apple. Apple had been accused of working with suppliers that violate human rights. Foxconn is a major supplier for Apple. Suppliers often fire and hire many people at little notice in order to meet the production quotas. They would work excessive overtime and in unsafe conditions. In 2010 the electronics industry suffered its own sweatshop scandal when 18 workers at Foxconn facilities in China, where most of the world's gadgets are produced, attempted suicide. Fourteen died. Apple's latest Supplier Responsibility Progress Report details many of the steps it has taken to fix some of these problems, including worker education programs and tighter monitoring of working hours” (http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/apple-act-on-labour-right).

Reference
1. Yarow, J. (2013). Apple's New Organizational Structure Could Help It Move Faster. Retrieved April 29, 2016, from http://www.businessinsider.com/apples-new-organizational-structure-could-help-it-move-faster-2013-5
2. Apple Inc. Stakeholders: A CSR Analysis - Panmore Institute. (2015). Retrieved April 29, 2016, from http://panmore.com/apple-inc-stakeholders-csr-analysis
3. Carlson, N. (2012). Apple Carefully Explains Exactly How It Could Be Destroyed. Retrieved April 29, 2016, from http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-carefully-explains-exactly-how-it-could-be-destroyed-2012-11
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