ASSIGNMENT-I

HRM-IR

TOPIC: Apple

Submitted By,

Bhavika Monga

BBALLB B

3 Semester

Submitted To,

Asst. Prof. Shivani Sah

C.A.I.L.
About the Company

Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino,

California, that designs, develops and sells consumer electronics, computer software, and online
services. It is considered one of the Big Five companies in the U.S. information technology industry,
along with Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and Facebook.[8][9][10]

The company's hardware products include the iPhone smartphone, the iPad tablet computer,

the Mac personal computer, the iPod portable media player, the Apple Watch smartwatch, the Apple
TV digital media player, the AirPods wireless earbuds and the HomePod smart speaker. Apple's
software includes macOS, iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, and tvOS operating systems, the iTunes media
player, the Safari web browser, the Shazam music identifier and the iLife and iWork creativity and
productivity suites, as well as professional applications like Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, and Xcode. Its
online services include the iTunes Store, the iOS App Store, Mac App Store, Apple Arcade, Apple
Music, Apple TV+, iMessage, and iCloud. Other services include Apple Store, Genius
Bar, AppleCare, Apple Pay, Apple Pay Cash, and Apple Card.

Apple was founded by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne in April 1976 to develop and
sell Wozniak's Apple I personal computer, though Wayne sold his share back within 12 days. It was
incorporated as Apple Computer, Inc., in January 1977, and sales of its computers, including
the Apple II, grew quickly. Within a few years, Jobs and Wozniak had hired a staff of computer
designers and had a production line. Apple went public in 1980 to instant financial success. Over the
next few years, Apple shipped new computers featuring innovative graphical user interfaces, such as
the original Macintosh in 1984, and Apple's marketing advertisements for its products received
widespread critical acclaim. However, the high price of its products and limited application library
caused problems, as did power struggles between executives. In 1985, Wozniak departed Apple
amicably and remained an honorary employee,[11] while Jobs and others resigned to found NeXT.

The Mission : The Company is committed to bringing the best user experience to its customers
through its innovative hardware, software and services.

The Vision : We believe that we are on the face of the earth to make great products and that’s not
changing. We are constantly focusing on innovating. We believe in the simple not the complex. We
believe that we need to own and control the primary technologies behind the products that we make,
and participate only in markets where we can make a significant contribution. We believe in saying
no to thousands of projects, so that we can really focus on the few that are truly important and
meaningful to us. We believe in deep collaboration and cross-pollination of our groups, which allow
us to innovate in a way that others cannot. And frankly, we don’t settle for anything less than
excellence in every group in the company, and we have the self-honesty to admit when we’re wrong
and the courage to change. And I think regardless of who is in what job those values are so
embedded in this company that Apple will do extremely well.

Organisational Leadership

Tim Cook is the CEO of Apple and serves on its board of directors.

Before being named CEO in August 2011, Tim was Apple’s chief operating officer and was responsible
for all of the company’s worldwide sales and operations, including end-to-end management of Apple’s
supply chain, sales activities, and service and support in all markets and countries. He also headed Apple’s
Macintosh division and played a key role in the continued development of strategic reseller and supplier
relationships, ensuring flexibility in response to an increasingly demanding marketplace.

Prior to joining Apple, Tim was vice president of Corporate Materials for Compaq and was responsible for
procuring and managing all of Compaq’s product inventory.

Previous to his work at Compaq, Tim was the chief operating officer of the Reseller Division at Intelligent
Electronics.

Tim also spent 12 years with IBM, most recently as director of North American Fulfillment where he led
manufacturing and distribution functions for IBM’s Personal Computer Company in North and Latin
America.

Tim earned an MBA from Duke University, where he was a Fuqua Scholar, and a Bachelor of Science
degree in Industrial Engineering from Auburn University.

Organisational Structure

Apple Inc. has a hierarchical organizational structure, with notable divisional characteristics and a
weak functional matrix. The hierarchy is a traditional structural feature in business organizations.
The divisional characteristics refer to the product-based grouping within Apple, such as for iOS and
macOS. The weak functional matrix involves inter-divisional collaboration, while the hierarchy is
preserved. The following are the main characteristics of Apple’s corporate structure:
 1. Spoke-and-wheel hierarchy
2. Product-based divisions
3. Weak functional matrix

Spoke-and-Wheel Hierarchy. A bird’s-eye view of Apple’s organizational structure shows

considerable hierarchy. In the past, everything went through Steve Jobs. Jobs made all the major
strategic management decisions. However, under Tim Cook’s leadership, this hierarchy in Apple’s
corporate structure has slightly changed. The company now has more collaboration among different
parts of the organization, such as software teams and hardware teams. Apple’s vice presidents have
more autonomy, which was limited and minimal under Jobs. Thus, the company’s organizational
structure is now less rigid, but still has a spoke-and-wheel hierarchy where Tim Cook is at the center.
The upper tier (innermost tier in the spoke-and-wheel circle) of the corporate structure has function-
based grouping, which is an element derived from the functional type of organizational structure.
Senior vice presidents who report to Tim Cook handle business functions. For example, Apple has a
senior vice president for retail, and a senior vice president for worldwide marketing. In this structural
feature, the company’s top leaders address business needs in terms of business function areas.

Product-based Divisions. The upper and lower tiers of Apple’s corporate structure has product-
based divisions, which is an element derived from the divisional type of organizational structure.
There are senior vice presidents and vice presidents for different outputs or products. For example,
Apple has a Senior Vice President for Software Engineering (iOS and macOS), a Senior Vice
President for Hardware Engineering (Mac, iPhone, iPad and iPod), and a Senior Vice President for
Hardware Technologies (hardware components). Apple Inc.’s marketing mix or 4P is linked to this
structural characteristic. This aspect of the corporate structure is used to manage specific products or
product components that the company delivers to its target customers.

Weak Functional Matrix. Apple Inc.’s weak functional matrix refers to the collaborative
interactions among various components of the business. In a weak functional matrix, top
management determines project direction, while project heads have limited authority and control. For
example, the corporate structure allows hardware teams to collaborate with software teams. In this
way, the company facilitates information dissemination that is necessary for innovation processes.
This structural feature contributes to effective and rapid innovation processes, which are a major
business strength shown in the SWOT analysis of Apple Inc. Through this characteristic of the
organizational structure, the company maintains strong innovation processes that support brand
development and the use of premium-pricing strategies.

Apple Inc.’s Corporate Structure – Advantages, Disadvantages, Recommendations

Strong Corporate Control. The hierarchy in Apple’s organizational structure supports strong
management control in the organization. Theoretically, hierarchy empowers top leaders like Tim
Cook to control everything in the organization. Through the hierarchy, business functions and
product-based groups are effectively controlled through the decisions of the CEO and other top
executives. This advantage of Apple Inc.’s corporate structure facilitates rapid and effective strategic
management implementation, and helps in establishing coherence throughout the entire organization.

Limited Organizational Flexibility. Apple’s corporate structure has the downside of low flexibility.
Hierarchy typically prevents lower levels of the structure to flexibly respond to current business
needs and market demands. For example, the company’s product-based divisions must wait for
directives from the CEO or other top executives to proceed in implementing changes that address
trends in the market for consumer electronics. However, Tim Cook has already made slight
improvements by increasing collaboration among different parts of the firm. Such collaboration
improves organizational flexibility. Still, Apple’s organizational structure does not support rapid
changes because everything must go through Tim Cook and the top management.

Apple Inc. HR process

Job Summary

Aspirants having established credentials and performance history in the field of freighting or
shipping, along with complicated and intricate client related matters
 within limited timeframes and meeting deadlines are favored by Apple. This requires active
involvement and participation on behalf of the project manager in matters such as industry
or company evaluation, operational blueprint reviews and consultations, statistics structuring
meets, experimentation, proof-of-concept, management of dealer relations, etc.

Responsibilities:

• Oversee all aspects of project information for multiple projects including timelines,
resource allocation, scope and definition
• Drive business, functional, financial, and reporting requirements, often writing them
yourself
• Own overall cross-functional project schedules including development on the iTunes Store,
back-end financial systems, and other Apple groups
• Collaborate with IS&T, Treasury, legal, Tax, finance, operations and other
organizations both within and outside of Apple to develop solutions for partnerships
and promotions and other new business.(Apple Inc. 2009)

Qualifications:

• At least 4 years of project management in software development.

• Outstanding communication and presentation skills, written and verbal, at multiple levels
of the organization.
• Ability to participate in and possibly facilitate requirements brainstorming sessions.
• Strong technical proficiency: server architecture and development, SQL, and bonus for
past programming experience.
• E-Commerce and business experience: orders, billing, tax, payments, invoicing,
royalties, licensing, etc.
• Digital media experience, SAP integration experience. (Apple Inc. 2009)

Job/Person Specification

• Experience: 8 - 10+ years of experience in Operations related project management.

• Proven track record leading large and complex system projects.
• 3 -5 years experience managing Business Process design or Re- engineering
activities, PMI training.
• Consulting experience considered a plus. (Apple Inc. 2009)

Accountability

A manager is answerable for any undertaking that he takes up and must be strictly observed
at all times by the governing bodies within the organization. He must adhere to all the
regulations and guidelines of the organization and must thereby operate within the boundaries
of professional ethics (Dessler 2004). A project manager should act as a guide and share
complete knowledge of the overall activity as a part of his job.
Employment Conditions

The successful candidate has to fulfill certain needs before becoming a part of the
organization officially, which means before finalizing the selection the following
 conditions have to be fulfilled.

General Conditions

Lucrative aspirants must acquire and preserve a suitable safety sanctions and some other
essential conditions (De Cieri & Kramar 2003).
• Proof of identity and legal right to work in the United States as required by and in
accordance with the process and procedures of the U.S. Immigration reform and
Control Act (IRCA).
• Due to US Department of Commerce requirements, if not a U.S. citizen, U.S.
permanent resident, Canadian citizen, political refugee, or political asylum holder, you
will be required to sign an assurance regarding obligations not to export controlled technical
data or software to certain countries.
• Must sign the Intellectual Property Agreement and return the signed agreement.
• Must receive a satisfactory background check in accordance with Apple policy.

Probationary Period

The successful candidates would have to sign a 12 month probationary period agreement
which includes training and performance management to determine the satisfactory work
capabilities (Bartlet 2002.) Apple closely monitors its new project manager`s performance as
a large portion of responsibility is rested on the shoulders of a manager of iTunes, which
also controls a number of other departments in the organization. Apple may terminate a
contract during this probationary period in case of unsatisfactory performance of the
candidate.

Link with Human Resource Management

Job descriptions supply the essential details for internal assessment that include availability
of positions, number of jobs and the strategic importance of the jobs. Human resource
specialists can redesign jobs to eradicate redundant tasks and integrate responsibilities on
the basis of a clear identification of the current functions being performed and the time
spent on performing them. The fundamental aim of human resource management is to
provide for the presence of a compliant and accommodating team in an establishment.
There are four major aspects of the human resource management, namely operational,
organizational, personal and societal (Project Management Institute 2006).

• Societal Objectives: The project manager should be morally and communally

prepared to meet the wants of, and tackle the issues plaguing society, while
simultaneously reducing the negative effects of these charges upon the establishment.
• Organizational Objectives: To acknowledge the function of a project manager, in the field
of human resource management, in generating organizational efficiency. In short, this branch
essentially exists for the sole purpose of benefiting the establishment and
ensuring its progress.
• Functional Objectives: The project manager should supervise and ensure that the
department caters to the needs of the establishment in a stable and steady manner.
Link with Apple`s Goals and Strategies

Apple has predefined certain objectives for its project managers such as portfolio
management, business planning, project planning and execution. A perfect alignment of
these activities leads to the portfolio element being fed by strategy, the project management
element being fed by the portfolio and the team`s execution is fed by the project manager. In
certain cases, establishments handle all enterprises and undertakings in a similar manner,
irrespective of the entrepreneurial tactic or stratagem that the establishment opts for (Pinto
1989 & Covin 1989). Therefore, if the enterprise’s business tactic is converted into project
related objectives, its .Thus, when the organization's business strategy is translated into
project-level goals, its specialized rareness and exclusivity is amplified multifold. (Mathis &
Jackson 2007).

3. Recruitment

Recruitment is the practice of attracting a collection of eligible candidates for an available

post through particular measures like publicity, broadcasts and announcements (Dessler et al
2007, p.168). Apple has its recruitment in accordance to ADA (Americans with Disabilities
Act), along with a strong implementation of Equal Pay Act (1963), Civil Rights Act (1991),
Congressional Accountability Act (1995) and other legislations laid down by the US
government (See Appendix 9). It is rather note-worthy that Apple has shown its capability in
demonstrating such a cohesive branding know-how all through their commodities,
promotion, vending and distributing, assisting clients, and hiring or appointing candidates.

Commence Recruitment

The Director of Human Resources at Apple Headquarters in Cupertino completes the

following documents before there is an announcement for a position:
• Recruitment request form
• Job description
• Job classification and suggested salary range
• Interview questions
• Test/Skill evaluation tools
• Criteria for evaluating candidates

Announcement of Positions

The Human resource department announces the open position and draft advertisements. The
job descriptions are circulated to about 340 agencies, universities and organizations. The
Hiring Unit has to bear the cost of all other advertising expenses.

Advertisements
 Advertising is a prominent source to build a pool of Candidates:
Print media – Newspapers: State, national or local; Other: specialist
magazines/journals
 • Other media – radio, television
• Decisions must be made as to which media to use and how the advertisement should be
designed to target suitable applicants

Receiving complete Application/Resume and begin the Review Process Applicants

are accepted or rejected on the basis of their qualifications and experience
in the field of engineering management. The criterion for selection is determined before the
actual screening takes place. Once the screening is complete using the criteria of
performance and experience, the Hiring Unit interviews at least three applicants.

Committee/Face to Face Interviews

The interview includes questions that are relevant to the job under focus. The
interviewing panel members have to fill the interview evaluation form for each applicant
interviewed which is submitted to the Human Resource department. The COO reviews
the search committee for all new hires for Project manager level.
Sample Questions:
• What is most important to you in a job?
• Why should we hire you?
• What are your strengths and weaknesses?
Technical Interview:
• Are you familiar with OS 9?
• If a customer asks you to sync music from their iPod to computer, what do you say?
• How do you answer a customer who wants to share music with his friend via
iTunes?

Reference Check

Before an offer can be made to the selected candidates a reference check has to be done by
the Hiring Manager. This manager would personally contact all the references to complete
the Candidate Reference Check.
• Academic references
• Prior work references
• Financial references
• Law enforcement records
• Personal references

Compliance Review

Once the desired aspirant has been chosen by the department manager, certain
documents to be assessed must be handed over to the human resources director,
namely:
• Request to recruit form – offer section completed
• Affirmative action compliance report
• The rationale behind selecting the final aspirant
Medical Examinations

The applicant must endure a fitness assessment test. Often, the job is offered to an
 applicant only once it has been confirmed that he is physically stable and enjoys good
health after having taken the test. The physical examination/test is done for following
purposes:
• To detect if individual is carrying any infectious disease.
• Determines whether the applicant is fit to perform work.
• Determines if there are certain physical capabilities, which differentiate successful and
less successful employees.
• Medical check-up protects the applicant from undertaking work that would be
hazardous to his health (Stone 2005).

Appointment of Candidate

The Hiring Department forwards the Non-Academic Appointment Form to the Human
Resources Department. The newly hired project manager has to complete all the forms and
return them to the Human Resource Department before joining. The induction program
cannot commence till all these formalities have been completed (San Jose State University
Research Foundation 2004).

Induction Program

The induction program provides a planned introduction of the job, organization and the
environment. It is a quintessential part of recruitment as it provides familiarity with the
roles and responsibilities within the rules and norms of the organization`s culture (Stone
2005). Induction programs have been found to contribute to improved socialization and
to increase organizational commitment. Helps to reduce new
employees’ stress levels and assist them to settle into their new role more quickly. Apple uses
the buddy system – a method of linking every new employee with an existing employee who
then assists them to settle into the workplace (San Jose State University Research Foundation
2004).

Conclusion
In conclusion, the human resource management within Apple is also a major contributorto the
organizations accomplishments. Though Apple is not widely-known for their
HumanResources strategies, they invest in critical resources to ensure that they are only
hiring the bestemployees that are going to effectively commit to the companies mission and
vision statements.Apple does believe that a great deal of their overall success is in effective
and smart recruiting.Apple uses their belief in innovation to organize their staff in ways that
enhance their skills andabilities. Their commitment to providing their staff with proper and
efficient training allows themto enhance their overall management program
References

1. https://www.academia.edu/36007825/apple_human_resource_management_policies
2. https://www.ukessays.com/essays/business/organizational-theories
3. https://www.apple.com/in/leadership/tim-cook/
4. https://www.researchgate.net/