“Case 14: Apple Computer, Inc.: Maintaining the Music Business while introducing iPhone and Apple TV”
Assignment 2; “Case 14: Apple Computer, Inc.: Maintaining the Music Business while introducing iPhone and Apple TV”
Anthony Green
Professor Milan Havel
BUS499
July 24, 2011

“Case 14: Apple Computer, Inc.: Maintaining the Music Business while introducing iPhone and Apple TV” * Describe the key strategic challenges facing Apple Computer. * Describe the dimensions along which company success can be measured. * Describe the critical external and internal environmental factors that have strategic implications for Apple's future. * Describe how Apple's strategy stands up against industry rivalry. * Describe the recommendations you would make to enhance the effectiveness of the company's strategy or to change its strategic approach for better results.

“Case 14: Apple Computer, Inc.: Maintaining the Music Business while introducing iPhone and Apple TV”

Describe the key strategic challenges facing Apple Computer

Apple's is currently a very innovative company. It has gone through many ups and downs over the past 30 + years. From a successful company that brought in millions thanks to 2 guys a garage and a dream, to Steven Jobs, one of the founders, walking away from the company and in the process causing competitors to acquire ideas due to legal mistakes. Apple computer has faced many challenges throughout its 24 year history. Steven Jobs left Apple over disagreements with John Scully, whom Jobs recruited as Apples president and CEO and started next. During Jobs absence from Apple, Apple partnered with IBM and Motorola to produce the Power PC Chip. One of the key strategic challenges that Apple Computers faced was the loss of the exclusive rights to interface design, due to a poorly negotiated contract. With this loss Apple was now in a position in which it needed to gather d its resources and fight a battle toward standardized software as consumers wanted compatible operating systems and the Macintosh ran exclusively on Mac OS, a system not available to other computers. Apple went through several CEO’s over the next five years. Jobs returned to Apple a decade later after Apple acquired NeXT with the intent of using its technology for a new operating system. Apple and Microsoft were...

Training is a key part of business growth and change. To help ensure that dollars are well spent, a company must choose their training programs wisely. When managing any training process, company leaders must work closely with functional department heads and Human Resources personnel in following a systematic approach to training. A good system will help attack training problems. The following are five steps of the Training Process Model (TPM). These steps will ensure an effective training program.
Analysis Phase - The analysis phase begins with the identification of the organizational performance gap. This analysis compares the current data collected, to the outcome that is expected for performance. Employees can contribute, by giving ideas of the type of training that is needed to better their knowledge, skills and attitudes. Non training needs may also be identified in this phase, these issues needs to be handled different from training needs. This phase is where training program objectives begin to take shape.
Design Phase - The training needs identified in the analysis phase, in addition to areas of constraint and support, are the inputs to the design phase. An important process in the design phase is the creation of training objectives. The objectives are created according to the training needs identified in the analysis phase. Specifications are given the employees that are affected.
Development Phase - This phase is used to develop the training that is going to be implemented. Organizing the information that has been gathered can develop an influential program. Materials are gathered, the type of media and equipment that is going to be used, training manuals need to be updated.
Implementation - This is when the training actually takes place, where practice, feedback, observations/interactions, and expectations are crucial.
Evaluate - If the outputs of the program are less than desired, then changes to the program may be necessary. A systematic evaluation process should be developed to enhance the effectiveness of the training. The evaluation should be performed immediately after the program and serves to correct urgent training issues such as incorrect data. This is also the time to concentrate on instructor techniques. The later evaluation determines whether the training enhanced employee and/or company performance.

1. Identify three factors that might inhibit HRD Managers from developing a strategic planning approach to training. Recommend how these factors might be overcome.
Simply put, strategic planning determines where an organization is going over the next year or more, how it's going to get there and how it'll know if it got there or not. The focus of a strategic plan is usually on the entire organization. There are all sorts of reasons which may inhibit HRD managers from developing a strategic planning approach to training: the following three reasons are what I would consider the main ones.
Situation analysis - This is basic strategic planning, assessing the market and industry and settle on the practices that are the most used or most reliable. HRD Managers then need to evaluate the company and what, in terms of personnel ability, it is lacking, work out the strengths, weaknesses and opportunities for improved training.
Change - change itself can be a problem though. If the organization has already subscribed to a training system, or heavily invested in one, then of course there will be natural resistance to any critique suggesting change. Ideally the HRD team would be objective with regards all processes and be able to make use of good criticism and responsible advice when given, but this is something that has to happen from the beginning.
Cost - There is no doubt that many organizations cannot afford to hire an external consultant to help them develop their strategy and implementing this strategy when not specifically trained in predicting future direction of the business, can be very risky.

2. Compare and contrast the behaviorist and the cognitive approaches to learning. Explain which is more relevant to training.
Cognitive theories look beyond behavior to explain brain-based learning. The memory system is an active organized processor of information and prior knowledge plays an important role in learning. Cognitive learning looks beyond behavior to explain brain-based learning and how memory works to promote learning.
Behaviorism focuses only on the objectively observable aspects of learning. Learning is manifested by a change in behavior that is shaped by our environment. Behaviorism, learning is the acquisition of new behavior through conditioning.
In spite of differences, behavioral and cognitive approaches to learning are blended together to provide positive outcomes to learning. Both involve analysis, decomposition, and simplification of tasks to make instruction easier and more efficient. Both use devices to arouse, attract, and focus attention. Both force learner engagement through interactive decision-making process. Importance is given to intrinsic feedback, and value meaningful learning. 3. Explain the purpose of a Training Needs Analysis (TNA). Argue the conditions under which a TNA is always necessary, and offer two examples when a TNA might not be required.

The purpose of a Training Needs Analysis is to identify where there is a performance gap, who needs to learn what and how in an organization. A Training Needs analysis also helps to develop a training plan. TNA is always necessary when problems are affecting performance levels, employees need to learn new techniques to become more efficient in their jobs or where management requires employees to improve skills across all levels of the entire organization.
If the gap is not due to a lack of skills and knowledge, don't train! Moreover, even when you determine that training is necessary, is it sufficient? A one-shot training injection rarely works if it is not part of a total performance system.