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Final Artifact

Lillian A. Maldonado Tagle

South Texas College, Department of Organizational Leadership
ORGL 4351 – VF1 – Management Theory II
Dr. Dora Vargas-Bustos
October 7, 2022
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Abstract
Being a manager is a multi-faceted role that cannot be easily described in a word or two. Also

being a manager requires the person in that role to be able to manage multiple tasks and

responsibilities at the same time. With the right resources a manager can take any failing

organization and turn it around to be a successful one. There are many examples throughout

history and Steve Jobs of Apple, Inc is just one of the many genius managers whose leadership

style and innovative thinking have helped to turn a failing organization around and make it into

one of the most famous and profitable organizations in history.

Keywords: Apple, manager, leadership, business

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Final Artifact
When we imagine a manager or top leader of an organization there are many qualities

and characteristics that can come to mind. Throughout history there has been great research done

on these exact abilities and how they can contribute to the success of an individual and the

organization they are leading. Some great scholars who developed these concepts include Henry

Fayol and his 14 Principles of Management and Peter Drucker just to name a few (Carpenter et

al., 2012). In more recent year’s history has provided us with a witness to one of the greatest

leaders of our time, Steve Jobs founder and CEO of Apple. Not only has his legacy continued to

bring about major technological advancements his leadership and management style is still

studied by many in universities and organizations around the world. Although there were many

ups and downs to his career, Jobs left behind a unique and unparalleled type of leadership style

that many try to emulate to this day.

Steve Jobs Resignation from Apple

When the board of directors forced Steve Jobs to resign from Apple, what kind of effect

did it have on esprit de corps? Please use examples from the documentary to support your

answer. According to the video by Films Group Media (2019) removing Steve Jobs from Apple

leadership was like “ripping the soul straight out of the company”. After Jobs was pushed out

the morale of the company declined and although they pushed out many products it never

succeeded the way the company leadership, then CEO John Sculley, was intending. According to

the documentary (2019), removing Jobs was like “removing the life force” that drove Apple and

its previous success. The point made in the documentary was that Steve Jobs needed to have

been mentored or lead very differently than what John Sculley was doing at the time. If there had
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been some sort of mentoring taking place perhaps Steve Jobs would have not been kicked out of

Apple. His removal caused negative side effects and caused business to go lower that it had been

before. Because Apple continued to decline after the removal of Steve Jobs by the Board, they

then proceeded to remove CEO John Sculley and replace him not once but twice with two other

CEOs after him. According to Issacson, 2012,

“John Sculley, who ran Apple from 1983 to 1993, was a marketing and sales executive

from Pepsi. He focused more on profit maximization than on product design after Jobs

left, and Apple gradually declined. “I have my own theory about why decline happens at

companies,” Jobs told me: They make some great products, but then the sales and

marketing people take over the company, because they are the ones who can juice up

products. “When the sales guys run the company, the product guys don’t matter so much,

and a lot of them just turn off. It happened at Apple when Sculley came in, which was my

fault, and it happened when Ballmer took over at Microsoft.”

Tim Cook and Management Controls

Following the passing of Steve Jobs, please explain how Tim Cook has utilized the

controlling function of management at Apple. According to Films Media Group, (2019), Tim

Cook was groomed by Steve Jobs because Jobs was aware of the cancer diagnosis that he had, so

when Jobs passed Cook immediately took over. Although Cooks leadership style was not as

passionate as Jobs had been, he knew exactly how lasered focused Jobs had been and how

precise Jobs had been when it came to the details of the design of each Apple product (Issacson,

2012). Because Tim Cook possessed this knowledge, taking over Apple was not as intimidating

for him and he was able to perform the controlling function of management and expand Apple

globally especially in Asian countries. Carpenter et al. (2012)

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With respect to the global operations of Apple, please share how Tim Cook has exercised the
planning function of management in developing markets.

What recommendations would you provide with a focus on establishing differentiating features
to improve the organization's competitive advantage in comparison to its market rivals?
How did Steve Jobs synchronize (merge) Entrepreneurship and Strategy to save Apple when he
returned to Apple in the 1990s?
Describe how Steve Jobs approached decision-making at Apple and whether it was centralized,
decentralized, or a combination of both. Please use examples from the documentary to support
your answer.
Recalling what you learned about the factors driving organizational change in the 21st century
from your readings, what environmental factors do you believe drove Apple to transform and
change as an organization? Include in your answer what environmental factors you believe Steve
Jobs saw.

Resources

Films Media Group. (2019). Apple. Films On Demand. Retrieved October 4, 2022, from

https://fod.infobase.com/PortalPlaylists.aspx?wID=99118&xtid=210566.
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Carpenter, M., Bauer, T., & Erdogan, B. (2012). 6.3 From Management by Objectives to the

Balanced Scorecard in Principles of Management [E-book]. In Management Principals

(1.1 ed.). Unknown. https://2012books.lardbucket.org/pdfs/management-principles-

v1.0.pdf

Carpenter, M., Bauer, T., & Erdogan, B. (2012). 7.4 Organizational Changes in Principles of

Management [E-book]. In Management Principals (1.1 ed.). Unknown.

https://2012books.lardbucket.org/pdfs/management-principles-v1.0.pdf

The Legacy of Steve Jobs: Beyond the Tech World. (2011). Professional Safety, 56(12), 56.

Yu, H. H. (2013). Decoding Leadership: How Steve Jobs Transformed Apple to Spearhead a

Technological Informal Economy. Journal of Business & Management, 19(1), 33–44.

Isaacson, W. (2012). The real leadership lessons of Steve Jobs. Harvard Business Review, 90(4),

92.