...Micro-environment: • Customer demand and behaviour According to surveys done both online and offline, the demand of Apple products has increased especially for the iPad 2, the iPhone 5 and the Apple Nano. The research showed that there is a 50:50 ratio split of males and females who are Apple buyers. It also showed that amongst potential buyers, only about half don’t own an iPod. Research has also shown that the increasing demand for Apple products has allowed Apple to sell close to 1 million iPad 2. They have recorded to have sold 47.8 million iPhones and 22 million iPads, compared to the previous year where only 37 million and 15.4 million were sold. • Competitor activity Apple faces competition from both the mobile as well as PC industries due to its diverse product line. It therefore has different competitors for different products. Products like Macintosh and iMac has competitors like IBM, Dell, Lenovo, Acer and HP. The iPhone series has competitors like RIM’s Blackberry, Nokia, Google and Motorola. iPod series has competitors like Samsung, SanDisk, Napster Amazon.com, Microsoft’s Zune, Napster, internet radio and Spotify. The iPad has competitors like Amazon’s kindle, Dell, HP and Samsung. Operating systems has competitors like Google’s Android OS. • Marketplace structure The marketplace structure for Apple is Oligopoly. An Oligopoly is a market structure in which only a few sellers offer similar or identical products and dominate the market. They have strong...
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...Apple: An Environment Analysis Environment has a huge impact on all organisations. It is a huge challenge to manage the environment in an organisation favour. However, some organisations were able to make use of this vital element. Apple Inc. is one of these successful companies who were and still until now managing it environment efficiently. Apple is a company that started in 1976 by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak as a computer company. Its market value has fluctuated over the years. In 1996, it was almost be out of business. However, in year 2000 the company value started to rise to the extent that it considered today as one of the most valued organisations in the world. This essay will provide an analysis of Apple’s environment explaining how Apple’s management is able to manage its environment. The organisational environment is divided into two sections. These sections are internal environment and external environment. The internal environment consists of all the fundamental aspects that are changed and controlled by the organisation (Porter, 1979). For example, the owners of the organisation, the employees, board of directors and culture are considered parts of the internal environment. The external environment, on the other hand, includes of all the elements that form a complicated structure around the organisation. These component are beyond the organisation control. The external environment is divided into two sections, microenvironment and macro environment (Balaure...
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...Economic Environment Apple’s domestic environment is the United States of America. While Rostow’s five stages of development can be somewhat helpful, some argue that Rostow’s model was developed with western cultures in mind and is not applicable to least developed countries (Ford, 2004). Because Apple was developed in a westernized culture, the model is slightly more helpful. However, several economists believe the model, as a predictive one is not very helpful, that instead its main use it to highlight the need for investment. Rostow’s five stages of development is essentially a growth model (Ford, 2004). Because of the model being created in the 1960s, some of the stages do not exactly match up to today’s businesses. For example, stage one is labeled as the traditional society. In this stage, the producers consume their own goods. It goes on to explain that when goods were traded, they were traded for other goods, rather than someone paying money for them. At this time, agriculture was the most important industry. Today, Apple definitely does not trade goods directly for other goods. Apple sells directly to consumers in exchange for money. This goes for both domestic and global environments. Stage two becomes slightly more similar to today’s economy. Specialization increases and transportation is accessible and used to support trade. Apple has corned the market with their technological devices and offers store around the country. Also, because of mass transportation...
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...Business Environment – Apple Inc. Erin Kelly Management/MGT 521 April 29, 2012 Walter Goodwyn Business Environment – Apple Inc. Researching a company’s business environment will provide large amounts of data that could be used by investors, consumers, and even competitors. A company’s business environment consists of many things; this essay will review the three most important business environment factors; income statement, balance sheets, and cash flow. This essay will also compare Apple’s (#36) financial health to two of its Fortune 500, Top 50 competitors in the Information Technology (IT) industry; Hewlett Packard (HP) (#11) and Microsoft (#38) (CNN Money.com, 2011). These factors are important and provide valuable information about a company concerning its general financial health. Although financial statements are important, a company’s technological advantages, globalization, and benchmarking are also important. These topics also will be discussed in more detail throughout this essay. First, the Income statement of Apple Inc., HP, and Microsoft. Income Statement “An income statement, otherwise known as a profit and loss statement, is a summary of a company’s profit or...
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...Learning Team Weekly Reflection : Week Two Learning Team B Learning as a team we all had to answer questions about real world examples of ethical and unethical practices we either read about or encountered in our place of employment. As team members generally most spoke about how their employer was trying to seek new guidelines to provide a more ethical environment. Many spoke of online training, having to take tests, or even go away to learn the rules of the company. Some spoke of how they had weekly meetings with both the staff and surveys from both staff and patients to get feedback on the way things were being handled to make changes based off of these results. It seems we were all exposed to both ethical and unethical business practices today whether reading about it in the news or seeing it first hand on the job. In reflecting on this week our team seemed to really take an interest in collaboration. Some shared about how important it is just to have ongoing teamwork just to produce innovative, cost effective, and targeted products and services. As being part of Team B I can see how important this is going to be toward our success. People need to be respectful and let everyone know their ideas without feeling that everyone knows as much as they do. Some team members when asking them a question answer the question with a tone that sounded as if I should have already known that answer. Why would I ask it? This does not set up proper ways of treating one another...
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...ARTICLE 1 The exact name of the corporation is : BAGBLOCKERS,INC. ARTICLE 11 Unless the articles of organization other provide, all corporations formed pursuant to G.L. C156D have The purpose of engaging in any lawful business. Please specify if you want a more Limited purpose: THE CORPORATION MAY ENGAGE IN PRODUCTION, GENERAL MERCHANDISE SALE AS WELL AS ANY LAWFUL BUSINESS AND SHALL HAVE ALL THE GENERAL POWERS SET FORTH IN CHAPTER 156D, OF THE GENERAL LAWS OF DELAWARE, WHICH GENERAL POWERS ARE INCORPORATED HEREIN BY REFERENCE. ARTICLE III State the total number of shares and par value, if any, of each class of stock that the corporation is authorized to issue. All corporations must authorize stock. If only one class or series is authorized, it is not necessary to specify any particular designation. Par Value share Total Authorized by Articles Total Issued Enter 0 if no Par of Organization or Amendment and outstanding Class of Stock Num of shares Total Par Value Num of Share CNP $0.00000 ...
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...1) A Public limited company is runned by a board of directors who are appointed by the shareholders of the company. This is done during the general meeting through voting by each shareholder. The average members of board of directors are 9 in most of the companies. They are legally responsible for company’s record accounts and performance. They also can hire other people to manage the day-to-day activities of the company. They can however be disqualified from being accompany director if they don’t meet the legal responsibilities such as keeping proper company accounting records. 2) Management is the coordination of the business activities in order to meet the objectives set by the shareholders of the company. The public limited companies are managed in two ways: I. The traditional management system with the board of directors. The board of directors is the executive organ carrying out the management and administrative duties of the company. II. The dual management system. It is divided into two that is: * The management board which is in charge of managing the company. * The supervisory board that is permanently monitoring e management of the company work. Board of Directors Public limited company has a minimum of three directors. The board of directors are appointed in the general meeting by the shareholders for a maximum term of 6 years as stated in the articles of association. A director can resign on his or her own free will but will be required...
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...1 The volatility and evolution of computer industry Starting from 1976, Apple computer created the personal computer (PC). After IBM transformed the PC from proprietary systems into open structure, PC has been dominated by Wintel (Windows + Intel) structure. Apple insists in adopting proprietary and niche market strategies made them keep losing market share till less than 3% in 2001. However, its strategy with ignoring the market trends makes it lose the market after years. 1.1 Industrial changes: Apple lost PC market because of ignoring industrial changes The PC industry has evolved in the past decades. There are 3 phases. Let’s take a look at these phases and Apple’s position in each phase. Before 1981: Proprietary Systems. Every PC producer had to develop self own hardware and software. It was proprietary. Most buyers were technical people. There were 2 main streams in the market: Apple style machine and IBM style machine. During this period, Apple was the leader. Its strong developing ability made the Apple II became a family commodity. However, Apple didn’t use patent or trade secret to protect its products. Many computer companies re-engineered Apple II and made cheaper similar products to compete in the market. For example, Acer copied Apple II and developed the Little Professor Series. 1981- 1997: Open structure. IBM turned the PC into open structure. Compaq, HP and many other producers started to show in the market to produce IBM compatible PC...
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...Economic Environments on Business Activities Task 4 Your local magazine plans to publish a follow-up article to the first one, which was well accepted. In this article, you will need to choose one of the two organisations from your initial article and compare it with an organisation from another industry. This requires you to research a different economic environment and to look at one business from that industry. This business with then be compared with your local business. * Draw up a table of economic data for your local organisations and one other contrasting economic environment. * Choose at least two economic topics and collect relevant data from two different industries example GDP, retail sales, inflation and interest rates. * Using the data collected in your table, describe the influence of two contrasting economic environments (i.e. the economic data collected) on business activities within your selected organisations. Economic Environment An economic environment is the factors that have effects on the working of the business. This will include the system, policies and the nature of the economy, economic resources, level of income, distribution of income, trade cycles and wealth. GDP The gross domestic product or the gross domestic income (GDI) is one of the measures of national income and output. It is defined in 3 ways which gives identical results. 1. It is equal to the total expenditures for all final goods and services produced within the country throughout...
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...Scanning of APPLE Adalei Padilla* MG485-44* 5/20/2012 ------------------------------------------------- Environmental Scanning of APPLE Adalei Padilla* MG485-44* 5/20/2012 External External Introduction The Apple Company was founded by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak in 1976 and incorporated in 1977 introducing the Apple Computer as their first product, ever since they have grown to become one of the largest growing technological organizations worldwide (History of Apple). The financial result for Apple’s 2012 second quarter ended on March 31, 2012 and was reported on April 24th 2012. The company posted quarterly revenue of 39.2 billion and quarterly net profit of 11.6 billion (Apple and the Environment ). Apples’ achievements do not go unnoticed, but we must also credit those individuals who work tirelessly to keep Apple on top. Individuals dedicated to constantly strategizing to ensure the continued success of Apple. Strategies like environmental scanning, that consists of a scan and evaluation of the external environmental to recognize potential threats or opportunities of the organization. The environmental scanning of an organization as large and as successful as Apple must be thoroughly performed and must incorporate the natural physical environment, the societal environment and the task environment. (Thomas L. Wheelen, 2012) Natural Physical Environment: Apple has been trying to diligently go greener to reduce their impact on the environment by improving...
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...Apple Intro Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company. It creates products that are safe in their intended use, conserve energy, and prevent pollution throughout the product life cycle including design, manufacture, use, and end-of-life management. Manufacturing Do they use recycled materials? • Apple is designing products that use fewer materials than ever before. They have come up with innovative ways to minimize the environmental impact by using more recycled, recyclable and sustainable materials. Apple uses 68% of recycled content. They are also finding ways to create products that use fewer materials and last longer. Have they reduced the amount of pollution generated during manufacturing? • Apple is also working on reducing the amount of pollution generated during manufacturing. Last October, 2015 Apple announced two new programs aimed at reducing the carbon footprint of its manufacturing materials. The programs will avoid over 20 million metric tons of greenhouse gas pollution in the country between now and 2020. Do they use renewal energy sources? • Apple also uses resources that are naturally renewable and capable of providing energy and materials for a long time. They are also making real progress toward running all facilities on 100 percent clean and renewable energy. Have they reduced their use of energy during manufacturing? • Apple is also working to develop cleaner manufacturing processes that help them create not only great products...
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...Apple’s External Environment External environment is the environment or surroundings outside of the company such as economic component, demographic component, technological component, sociocultural component, political/legal component, and global component (Chapter 2, Management Environment, slide 5). As for Apple, they have their own factors which is P.E.S.T. (Political, Economic, Social, and Technological) factors that affect them to make a decision-making process. These are the explanation about PEST : 1. Political Factor Political factor is a factor by looking at federal, state, and local laws, as well as other countries’ laws and global laws, include a country’s political conditions and stability (Chp. 2 Management Environment, slide 5). Since 2007 until 2009 it is accounted for that more than a 50% of offers of their items originates from nations other than America. To decrease their working expense Apple likewise spread their item assembling to diverse organizations outside America. Cork, Ireland, Korea, China and Czech Republic are a percentage of alternate states where Apple put their organization. Awful universal relations, wars, terrorism, and general wellbeing issues between U.S. also, these states may give a negative effect that may harm the Apple Inc. notoriety and additionally their business process. Just like when there is political precariousness between to states where Apple works their business, a business postponement could be happen and subsequently...
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...describe this information the author provides two companies used as examples to review the internal and external environment effects. The paper will also determine what competitive advantages each company has and what strategies each company is using. Before an organization can begin strategy formulation, it must scan the external environment to identify possible opportunities and threats and its internal environment for strengths and weaknesses. Environmental scanning is the monitoring, evaluation, and dissemination of information from the external and internal environments to key people within the corporation. A corporation uses this tool to avoid strategic surprise and to ensure its long-term health. Research has found a positive relationship between environmental scanning and profits (Wheelen & Hunger, 2010). Apple is the first company that serves as an example of a company committed to the protection of the environment. Their total footprint is created by 61% manufacturing, 5% transportation, 30% product use, 2% recycling, and 2% facilities. Apple reports environmental impact comprehensively. They do it by focusing on their products: what happens when they design them, what happens when they make them, and what happens when the customers take them home and use them. They know that the most significant thing they can do to decrease their impact on the environment is to improve their products’ environmental performance. That is why they design the products to utilize a smaller...
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...Apple Inc. has become one of the most valuable company in the world. Steve Jobs creates Apple on January 3, 1977. It was able to change the way people were able to listen to music. It became the No. 2 company in May 2010. Apple Inc. has grossed over $337 billion. It suffered from financial losses and the changing of numerous chief executive officers. According to Akkad (2011), In October of 2001, when Steve Jobs revealed the iPod, the company made a huge turnaround and went from just a computer-making company to the leader of the consumer mobile revolution (Akkad, 2011). When the iTunes store and iPhone came on the scene, consumers were able to use these two products to purchase apps and music instead of buying software to be put on computers. Apple takes pride in their ethical and social responsibility and the environment. Social responsibility is an act in doing something good for the society. Apple not only tries to keep their social responsibility at good standing, but it also tries to keep the environment in good health. The social responsibility violations that were made by suppliers may or may not have damaged its reputation. There are ways that can be utilize to make sure that Apple’s suppliers agree to wage and benefits standards. Apple is always coming up with new ways to make future products better than the last product. Because of the better technology, customers are always trying to keep up with the latest technology. With that being said, customers...
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...External and Internal Environmental Analysis Apple Inc. is a computer product company that was launched into the market through the collaborative efforts of Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak in the year of 1976 and is aimed at reaching the diverse global community. The changes in the external environment of the company determine the decisions that the corporation will make. Apple Inc. has reputable frameworks that have been developed to assess the external environments of the company. The company has identifies the specific domains that affect the operations of the company from the outside. These forces on the organization enable the operations of the company to be influenced. In a broader sense, the entities that fall outside the operations of the Apple Inc and relate to the company are the external environment. These are the elements that exist outside the company confines and still affect the organization and its operations. The fast expansion of e-commerce in the business realm is one of the major external factors that affect the operations of Apple Inc. The company will hence have internal adjustments of its systems so as to keep up with the changing e-commerce. Apple Inc interacts with its external environment to accomplish it set goals. Apple Inc is aimed at creating value and competition that is sustainable for the company to attain great profit maximization levels. Through the following internal competitive environments, Apple Inc can remain top in the computer market. The...
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