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Final Exam Part 1

Alejandra Melchor

South Texas College

ORGL 4351-VF2- Management Theory II

Dr. Sandra Trevino

March 3, 2023
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Final Exam Part 1

1. What kind of role has specialization/division of labor played in Apple's product

offerings? Please share how having a broad and/or narrow product line has affected

Apple's organizational performance, as shared in the documentary.

Apple company has a tremendous role that specializes in a business specialization such as

selling various products such as iPhones, tablets, cases, personalized devices such as AirPods

pro, AirPods pro max, and many more amazing products. The Apple company also provides

mobile applications as apple accessories with great quality and long-lasting. The company

has a broad product line that has affected the organization’s performance at some point

because there were so many departments, and each of the departments has its own supervisor.

This made it difficult because it had to go through so many management levels just to get a

question answered, or it took quite a while to get a response.

2. Please explain how the temperament of Steve Jobs can be related to the principle of

equity at Apple.

Steve Jobs had a great temperament because he was passionate about what he did which was

mainly his business. He was very charismatic with everyone and with a great personality.

Capable to help others understand a concept and applying his knowledge to others in the

company. He welcomed all his employees/workers and made them feel like they belonged in

the company and treated everyone nicely, he conducted his business where everybody

belongs (Grigoras et al., 2019). This means that the principle of equity in Apple company

was that he was fair with everybody in his company and treated everyone with respect and

made sure everyone working with him was a community helping each other out and growing

up as a person as well. He was very intelligent, by hiring super knowledgeable people that
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will only help his company grow, his knowledge of the employees mattered the most to him.

His personality and temperament spoke a lot about Steve Jobs and the principle of equity by

being charismatic and giving people a chance to work in his company, he was an excellent

leader. He was satisfied and cheery with what he loved doing the most which was changing

the world with his products, and the people working at Apple always felt that they were a

part of that community.

3. What strategic questions would you coach an organization to consider for the prompt

evaluation of the industry and promote the execution of a strategy towards the intended

direction?

I would start with some strategic questions that I think and know will probably make a difference

once those questions are asked that I will know that will make a social change to perhaps the

company and themselves and maybe both. I would start by asking the first question that comes

immediately to my mind such as, “With what company are you looking to have competition?

This will allow the organization to start thinking about its primary competitors, and will

definitely allow for more thinking and more effective decision-making. Another strategic

question will be “What are other ways to help us achieve faster and more efficient results?” This

will allow for the company to think further ahead and think from a different perspective of

having their desired outcome but going above and beyond.

4. 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.

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The Apple company is a centralized organization because it is based on where the decision-

making is made. The Apple company uses centralization because it is easier and more productive

leading to adequate decision-making in the company. The company provides a centralization

structure because the workers/employees follow regulations are orders are kept at a smooth point

with no need to stress over miscommunication in the company (Carpenter et al., n.d.-a).

Everyone including Steve Jobs could communicate clearly with others in the company. The

company provides a centralized structure because if there was no centralization then it could

definitely be difficult such as ruining the employee morale. Centralization is indeed used in this

business because it is very essential especially because Apple is a huge company, and it also

prevents any type of miscommunication. For instance, Steve Jobs is the owner and the upper

management individual who has the power to decide (Carpenter et al., n.d.-a). There is more

control in the company, which is why apple has been a successful organization because there is

indeed authority, and everything is managed very well and kept in place with the order.

5. Describe Apple's internal strengths and weaknesses using the SWOT analysis and

provide two recommendations of focus for organizational performance improvement and

capabilities?

Apple company has indeed many internal strengths as well as weaknesses which in every

company there. Some of the strengths of this company are that the number one brand that most

people use and lead to customer satisfaction with all the functions the brand Apple provides. This

strength enables it to think even further ahead of the company, which makes it succeed even

more by leaving the customers even more satisfied than they already are. Another internal

strength is that Apple company always provides excellent customer quality. This means that the

Apple company always tries to address if there is a conflict with the product. Customers are
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always satisfied when their problem(s) are resolved. The company always tries to address the

problem. A weakness is that even though the products are of very high quality the prices still

seem to be very high. Also, as new iPhones are being introduced year by year, the new phones

somewhat seem to be very similar to the previous ones with the same functions. Using the

SWOT analysis will allow us to minimize risks and strengthen these results. This will allow

more opportunities. Furthermore, two recommendations to focus on for organizational

performance will be the vision and the sales, because the company needs to have a clear vision of

what they truly want in the business because it enables an envisioned future, and for the

company to look for a designated goal to work for. Furthermore, for sales is to have almost every

individual purchase the company’s product which leads to more sales being generated in Apple.

6. 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.

The environmental factor that drove Apple to transform and change as an organization was being

competitive with other businesses, which in this case was that Apple has to step it up because the

company was having competition with other businesses such as Microsoft when Windows was

first introduced. Then Apple was having more competition with other companies such as

Samsung because it has a very great high quality for picture taking. As the years have

progressed, the Apple company has had a competition with other brands as well. But the Apple

company still manages to be competitive with other big companies, to continue being the best

and the most purchased products from them. Furthermore, what I think also drove Apple to

transform and change as an organization is interest rates, there are high-interest rates since the
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product is expensive. It also depends on the product that the individual wants to purchase. Many

people cannot afford Apple products, and that included me because they are too expensive. I

believe that the environmental factors that Steve Jobs saw were recycling their products because

it provided environmental sustainability. Many people liked how he recycled his products and

the innovations that he created.

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

controlling function of management at Apple.

After the passing of Steve Jobs, Tim Cook utilized the controlling function of management is

that he uses a democratic style Instead of an autocratic style like Steve Jobs used to possess

(Grigoras et al., 2019). As soon as Steve Jobs died, Tim Cook was now in charge of the

company, and he specializes in focusing on what other people had to say and sharing their ideas.

It is not only Tim Cook making his decisions for the company, but his employees as well. He

wants to make sure that he also hears from his employees and receives feedback as well and for

workers to give their opinions and help him make decisions not just him making all of the

decision-making himself ( Dorsey, 2022). Tim Cook has made a tremendous change in the

company by involving everyone working in the company and letting everyone share their ideas,

not just him. He has even let his employees make decisions by themselves as a team. His main

goal is to include everyone in the company, where everyone feels that they belong in a

community and feel included in participating in big and effective decision-making.

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References

Carpenter, M., Bauer, T., Erdogan, B. (n-d.-a) Your Principles of Management Survivor’s Guide.

Course Hero. https://www.coursehero.com/study-guides/principlesmanagement/7-2-

organizational-structure/

Dorsey, A. (2022). What’s Your Story? Tim Cook. Industrial Management, 64(1), 30.

Grigoraş, T., Mureşan, D., & Tatu, O. (2019). Steve Jobs and Apple Company’s Narcissistic

Personality Disorder. Acta Medica Marisiensis, 65, 10–11.

Nathans, S. F. (1999). The man who sold the World. EMedia Professional, 12(4), 8.