Learning Outcomes

Innovation and creativity are getting more importance day by day within all organisations for gaining excellence and growth aiming to survive in the competitive business globe. Each and every organization uses numerous techniques and innovative methods to confirm competitive advantage in their business market as well as their consumer’s needs (Umoh, 2017). This report will explore methods and approaches adopted by a leading organization and also to critique a global brand name. Thus, focus of this report is to recognize the success of Apple as well as attributes of places, people, approaches and products which have evolved Apple as the most respected company in the world regarding its marketplace capitalisation. At Apple, innovation, execution and product growth have been intensely interweaved with the company’s history and co-founder Steve jobs’ essential influence over it (Safian, 2018).

Apple was always having focus on its strategy and operations which is a clear approach behind turning into presentation magic and high opportunities among followers. But Apple’s approach to implement innovation has been multifaceted than just planning and designing and evaluating exciting products. Apple has a strong platform strategy that gives huge benefits to a firm, its suppliers, and most importantly its consumers. For companies like Apple, who place a premium on resources, design, and time devoted to the original product is leveraged through derived products; as they can be established more swiftly as they form on and utilize surviving design basics available in the platform. Thus, this strategy gives much steady and trustworthy design products those require less reparation, service and maintenance, in general as well as specifically for first-time consumers (Thomke & Feinberg, 2012).

Apple maintained integrating consumer’s experience into all of its product design and development procedures. This strategy of Apple depicts that each and every innovative design must be driven first by user requirements and desires, which exactly was reinforced by Cordell Ratzlaff, the developer of Apple’s operating system OS X (Thomke & Feinberg, 2012). Thinking behind the said strategy is that an innovation must really be suitable for the users. For an example, people use a computer because they want to generate some required results. Additionally, the computer is a tool for helping it’s users for what they want to do with it. Therefore, company need to know exactly who those publics are as well as what they are demanding to accomplish.

Apple’s driving strength behind colours as well as new materials suggests that design is carrying huge importance as a drive for sustained innovation, quite than having a static methodology with single conclusion. It also proposes that a passion and close thoughtfulness towards innovative materials and innovative engineering processes offer new market prospects for its product innovation (Thomke & Feinberg, 2012).

The challenge for Apple during its struggling period was that whether to permit the Mac operating system and initiate to participate in the “emulating space,” as well as creating the importance in business market. Market was having almost zero permeation for Apple. As the Apple was having about fifty per cent of the education market and ruled artistic enterprises, such as in advertising, graphics, movies, music, and animation (Jun & Sung Park, 2013). Moreover, the whole business market was entirely a mixture of the Intel processors and Windows operating system, known as Wintel. Hence, products at Apple flourished in value of various strategies and failings. Where, the PowerBook (1990) laptop, were huge success, yet creating TVs set-top boxes, was a flop idea (Gambino, 2011). Moreover, Apple’s personal digital assistant (referred as PDA) became unsuccessful for the hand-writing analysis error. These above mentioned innovation and failures are showing that innovation doesn’t mean always success but it is a sequence of unconditional attempts in the direction of bringing positive change in the market. Apple Company has not achieved success in just 2 or 3 innovative strategically attempts but it is implementing innovative strategies continuously since more than forty years. Apple implemented three assessments at the launch of a product notion:

• A marketing, advertising and promotion requisite document
• A production requirement document
• An user-experience document containing feedbacks (Thomke & Feinberg, 2012)

‘Innovation and Strategy’ Implementation at Apple

When these all are approved, then only the design system of the company would develop a budget, as well as a team leader. The assigned team would effort on escalating the documents, introducing plans for the marketing and manufacturing engineering, and user-experience wants in figures, ads cycle, and the pricing particulars (Pontiskoski & Asakawa, 2009).

Apple’s innovation approach regarding identifying Customer-experience can be explained as below. By getting customer’s right experience about whether he is satisfied post purchasing the product or not customer’s needs can be identified. There can be three more feedbacks in this context from the consumer’s end, such as completely dissatisfied, need not fulfilled and need well fulfilled. After getting correct feedback regarding his or her experience, appropriate solution can be created and delivered to address the problems.

Apple’s people are the base behind Apple’s products has been so constantly outstanding and whenever you walk into any Apple retail store across the world will have an actual identical experience (Panmore Institute, 2018). As they have been capable to recognize basic requirements those are expected by the customers and hence innovated those areas which are lagging in fulfilling needs of the customers. Finally, because of rightly understanding the needs of consumers, Apple’s people created excited features which keep their company in a unique group. They do so through a blend of distinguished abilities, like innovative industrial design and user-interface design thinking.

From planning, designing, sales, marketing associates to top level executives or officers, Apple is unified by a common corporate culture. Moreover, that culture ensures that Apple’s customers must enjoy the valued experience that they are expecting while they interact with the Apple Company. The experience may be related to buying and using iPhone, go to see an Apple store, or communicating with Apple technical support cell (Fast Comany, 2011). Apple is legendarily secretive and innovative; hence employees are also expected to give the perfect work through their lives. Apple’s people are very effective and good at protecting secrets. Thus, work culture at Apple company teach their employees about how to keep a secret from everyone and how to think differently, and it improves their lifestyle as well as professional life in every aspects.

Mr Jobs is undoubtedly one of the greatest iconic innovators of our lifetime. The credit of success of the Apple Company goes to Steve Jobs as he has brought innovation through mixing business knowledge and product design sensibility, by making his own unique technology (Amit & Zott, 2012). Apple’s technological innovation in its products is really cool and seen very appealing with so many new different products timely released. Steve Job’s opinion for the company’s production area was that our devices will not be the cheapest but they will be technically the best in the world. His philosophy declared that when Apple is achieving the upper extreme limits of the quality and reliability of its products then the Company cannot achieve other extreme limit of lowest price (Wall, 2011). Job’s technology and innovation inspired eyes raised the company to the top in terms of desirability, among global people. With the contribution of Steve Jobs Apple has developed the premier technology company across the world through constantly sticking with the aim of making things attractive to customers as well as very easy to use (Fast Comany, 2011).

Conclusion

Apple is the most innovative company of the globe. Because of the blend of innovation and it unique strategies Apple’s computers succeeded to keep a significant amount of their design integrity, and fanatical that is fan base during the riotous period. When Jobs port the firm, and when he reverted back to become its chief executive officer again, Apple survived because of its constant learning, adaptation, wisdom, business experimentation, and innovation oriented design thinking throughout whole period and so after that period. These user-centric attributes and strategies of the company, implemented design thinking time-to-time in order to serve its users according to their modified demands according to the advanced technological world. Thus, innovation and strategy worked together at Apple in the guidance of Steve Jobs, which are still maintained.

References

Amit, R., & Zott, C. (2012). Creating value through business model innovation. MIT Sloan Management Review, 53(3), 41-49.

Fast Comany. (2011, 02 11). Steve Jobs, Apple, and the importance of company culture. Retrieved from Fast Comany: https://www.fastcompany.com/1792485/steve-jobs-apple-and-importance-company-culture

Gambino, M. (2011, 10 06). The Many Contributions of Steve Jobs (1955-2011). Retrieved from Smithsonian: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/the-many-contributions-of-steve-jobs-1955-2011-99643361/

Jun, S., & Sung Park, S. (2013). Examining technological innovation of Apple using patent analysis. Industrial Managment & Data Systems, 113(6), 890-907.

Panmore Institute. (2018, 09 11). Apple Inc.’s Organizational Culture & Its Characteristics (An Analysis). Retrieved from Panmore Institute: https://panmore.com/apple-inc-organizational-culture-features-implications

Pontiskoski, E., & Asakawa, K. (2009). Overcoming barriers to open innovation at Apple, Nintendo and Nokia. World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology, 53, 372-377.

Safian, R. (2018, 02 21). Why Apple is the World’s most innovative Comany. Retrieved from Fast Company: https://www.fastcompany.com/40525409/why-apple-is-the-worlds-most-innovative-company

Thomke, S., & Feinberg, B. (2012). Design thinking and innovation at Apple. Cambridge: Prseident and Fellows of Harvard College.

Umoh, R. (2017, 09 13). How Apple’s success can be traced to Steve Jobs. Retrieved from CNBC: https://www.cnbc.com/2017/09/13/how-apples-success-can-be-traced-to-steve-jobs.html

Wall, M. (2011, 10 07). Steve Jobs’ greatest technology contributions. Retrieved from NBC News: https://www.nbcnews.com/id/44817208/ns/technology_and_science-tech_and_gadgets/t/steve-jobs-greatest-technology-contributions/#.W7hldmgzbIU