BM2212

Apple Inc.
When Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak launched Apple in 1976, their primary purpose was to
make great computers that people love to use. Twenty-four years later, Apple was still a
computer company when it launched the iPod, a device that took the company into the music
industry.
But Apple was not the first computer company to make a small, handheld MP3 player with a
mini-hard drive that could store an entire music library. That honor goes to Compaq, which HP
later acquired. Compaq developed an MP3 player before Apple, but the company decided this
was not an industry and product market it wanted to enter. Compaq decided not to pursue the
MP3 business because it saw its mission as being a computer maker, and music players fell
outside of that mission. Instead of refining the design and launching its MP3 player on the
market, Compaq sold the technology to a Korean company.
In contrast, Apple decided that this product market was not outside its mission. Apple’s decision
was influenced by its external analysis. Apple looked at the multibillion-dollar music business
and quickly realized that no company was offering legal digital downloads. The market was wide
open because of the challenges of protecting the files from being easily copied.
Apple’s top executives also considered its internal capabilities. Unlike Compaq—which only
made computer hardware but not software— Apple had vast experience creating software for
Apple computers. It also had far greater design expertise than Compaq. The company had long
been hailed for the cutting- edge designs of the iMac and some of its other computers.
Apple decided to channel its internal capabilities into creating software to navigate an MP3 player.
Apple’s software engineers developed the innovative “flywheel” design for navigating the iPod.
Likewise, it channeled its design capabilities toward designing a product that was elegant and
small enough to fit in your pocket.
As a result of formulating a strategy to enter the MP3 player market—and subsequently, the
iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch— Apple’s mission has broadened. The company no longer
focuses on just being a computer maker. In fact, in 2007, it changed its name from Apple
Computer Inc. to Apple Inc. to reflect this change in its mission.
Answer the following questions: (4 items x 10 points)
1. How did apple achieve a dominant position in the market as a seller of both
songs and music players?
Answer: Apple, unlike Compaq, continued to create MP3 players. Apple rapidly
discovered that no company was providing legal digital downloads when they decided
that the product market was not outside the scope of their objective as a computer
manufacturer. They then turned their attention to the massive music industry. They
improve the product by taking into consideration internal capabilities, enhancing the
design, and choosing to use its internal capabilities to develop software that controls
an MP3 player. Apple's mission has expanded and no longer focuses on only being a
computer manufacturer as a result of developing a plan to join the MP3 player
industry, which led to the creation of the iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch.

2. Which phase in the evolution of strategic management is present in the given case?
Answer: Externally oriented planning is the phase of strategic management that this study
is focusing on. Apple acknowledged this and made the decision to focus on MP3 players.
Additionally, I observed that they exhibited "Rare" characteristics when deciding to keep
producing MP3 devices in light of the fact that no one was providing legal digital downloads.
They find a means to fulfill both their clients' needs and their main objective, which is to
create great computers that people adore using. The top executives at Apple were also
said to have taken into account their own internal capabilities. Apple continually looks for
innovative ways to identify, fulfill, and satisfy customer requirements and wants, making the
 corporation one of the biggest in the world today.

3. Which type of strategy is being employed by Apple in the given case study?
Answer: Apple, in my opinion, employs both corporate- and business-level strategies.
Apple's strategy is to work with a single business to supply the hardware and operating
system for its products. This enables the business to focus on the caliber of the designs.
The close-related diversification of Apple's products at moderate and high levels, including
home computers, personal computers, mobile phones, music shops, and software, is one
of the company's corporate-level strategies. Apple outperforms rivals by creating products
that are standardized for the worldwide market and is tightly centralized in terms of
engineering design and manufacture. Due to a highly differentiating strategy that centers on
the company's capacity to design and build its own software and hardware, ongoing
innovation, and a strong R&D team, Apple has been able to maintain market dominance.

4. What competitive advantages contributed to Apple’s success?

Answer: Benefit and Differentiation Strategy are the competitive advantages that helped
Apple succeed. People are drawn to products that will benefit them. They believe that MP3
players are beneficial from their target market. They also employed the differentiation
strategy, which entails promoting a product's features that make it stand out from
competing goods of a similar nature and using that distinction to influence buyer decision.
In this study, Apple showed that they really make an effort on enhance the MP3 player’s
features. Like for navigating the iPod, revolutionary "flywheel" technology was created by
Apple's software engineers. It also used its design skills to create a product that was both
stylish and portable, fitting inside your pocket.