Organization of Social Performance

An organization’s social success is an important element in the industry. It is all about ensuring that the organization’s social mission is realized by upholding ideals such as increasing raised income and alleviating poverty, among other things (Rhodes, Lok, Hung & Fang, 2008). As a result, it is critical to understand the modern economy’s uncertainty and interdependence, which has influenced the relationship between society and industry. This partnership is as critical as the organization’s financial success. According to Koh, Qian, and Wang, the organization of a company will decide its success or failure (2014). Apple has for a long time maintained a good social performance which has so far promoted its success.

Nature, Structure, and Types of products and Services of Apple

Without doubt, Apple is one of the largest and most valuable companies in the entire world (Hofer, Griffin, Ladouceur & Wood, 2008). Its market capitalization can speak for itself as well as the value it accords its customers. It was established in 1977 as Apple Computer Inc. and now operates as Apple Inc. with its headquarters in Cupertino, California. The entity is involved in designing, manufacturing and marketing of its products. Its products and services are unique in nature and of the highest quality in the market. Its competitive edge is attributed to the fact that no other company produces products that are similar to it. For instance, the operating system of the devices such as smart phones and computers are unique. Software is specifically designed for its products and cannot be integrated with other devices in the market. In addition to uniqueness, the company has successfully penetrated the market because its products are friendlier to consumers than those of other rival competitors.

The structure of Apple Company is one of the best and marks the major reason for its success. As Daft (2010) points out, it is evident that an organizational structure may attract opportunities that lead to business growth. It is also true that organization’s structure may limit the development of a company. Apple Inc. has a traditional hierarchy structure which was very supportive to the innovation and leadership of Steve Jobs. With Tim Cook, the structure has slightly been altered so as to accommodate the changes in the market and demand in the industry. The most significant characteristics of its organization’s structure are Spoke-and-wheel hierarchy, function based grouping and product based grouping.

With Spoke-and-wheel hierarchy, the company allows for more collaboration among the different portions of the company (Daft, 2010). Tim cook is usually at the center of this hierarchy although the vice president also has autonomy which makes it less stiff. Function Based Groupings allows for senior vice presidents of the company to handle a business function each. Product-Based grouping is consequential from the divisional organizational structure (Daft, 2010). In this case, the various vice presidents who are below the senior vice president, handle different outputs and products. The advantage of this company’s organization structure is that it supports a strong control of all processes by the senior leaders. There is however limited flexibility in terms of response to business needs and the demands of the market by the lower levels.

Apple Inc. has a variety of products which consists of IPhone smart phones, tablets, IPads and TVs (Hofer et. al., 2008). It has also designed products such as digital music players, personal computers and software that are precisely designed for its products. The products are mostly as a result of innovation which makes them very competitive in the market. Industrial design is an important key factor when it comes to the confidence of its consumers. The products are well designed and tested before they get to the market and in most cases satisfy the need of the customers.

Key Factors in the Organization’s External Environment That Can Affect Its Success

Two key aspects that can affect the organization’s success of Apple are the economic as well as the political factors. The economic status of the world at large is widely unstable and it is not obvious that it will get better as pointed out by Rule & Ambady (2008). If the economy gets worse, the success of the company would be greatly affected. There is an increase in the debt crisis and the volatility of the financial market is not improving. The prices of fuel are elevating as does the healthcare cost, not forgetting the increase in unemployment.

All these factors affect everyone including the customers of the Apple products. If the economy worsens, the customers of Apple products will opt for cheaper products which are readily available in the market as they remain with less disposable income to spend. As Daft (2010) points out, this may also disrupt the structure of a company in the market. Therefore, these copycat products which are not explicitly designed lead to the infringement of the intellectual property of the company. These alternate products are sold at a very low price and if the supply chain for Apple is wiped out, the customers will automatically go for them.

Another aspect is the political factor which would in a great way affect its success because most of its products are manufactured outside United States. If there is political unrest in Asia which builds most of its products, then it will not have control over the issues; this leads to a disruption in the manufacturing process. As Rule & Ambady (2008) point out, political instability is not something that can be anticipated by a company and therefore, outsourcing to different countries is done anyway. Factors such as geopolitical instabilities, terrorism attacks and disputes between countries may delay manufacturing process which in turn will reduce the number of products supplied. This can enormously affect the success of the company for a short period or entirely.

Ways in which the Primary Stakeholders Can Influence the Organization’s Financial Performance

The financial performance of Apple can be influenced by its primary stakeholders in various ways. First, social responsibility and governance of the primary stakeholders such as Apple’s directors would greatly influence financial performance as pointed out by Rhodes et. al. (2008). This can be done by balancing the profit-making objectives with the social responsibilities of the organization which would lead to better profits acquired and in addition maintain a good relationship with its consumers. Another way is by fulfilling the need of the customers since they are the most significant people when it comes to financial stability. This can be done by managers, as stakeholders, ensuring that there is a long-term relationship between the organization and its customers, which will lead to an increase demand therefore leading to good financial performance.

The third way is by managers ensuring that the employees are well motivated and work in a suitable environment. As Koh et. al. (2014) points out, motivation of employees makes them last long in their jobs leading to consistency and better production. Another way is by directors bettering the management in an organization by creating goals and ensuring that they are achievable. If realistic goals are set in an organization, individuals will work hard to achieve them and in a way, the financial performance is uplifted. Lastly, business partners are a crucial part when it comes to the financial performance of an organization. It is therefore important for the primary stakeholders to maintain a perfect relationship with the partners, such as key suppliers, for it to be long-lasting.

Controversial Corporate Social Responsibility Concern Associated with Apple

Apple has often been accused of labor and environmental violations especially in its Chinese factories which are its biggest suppliers (Koh et. al., 2014). For instance, the relationship of Apple with Foxconn is a corporate social concern which has affected the company in a great way. Explosions that lead to deaths and hospitalization have been associated with Apple industries. In addition, the firm has been accused of underpaying its personnel who work for overtime hours without compensation. Personnel have also been reported to use hazardous chemicals in the process of manufacturing, exhibiting poor corporate responsibility towards employees. A true reform is needed in order to reduce and mostly eliminate these social responsibility concerns in order to make Apple Inc. better.

References

Daft, R. (2012). Organization theory and design. Nelson Education.

Hofer, J., Griffin, J. T., Ladouceur, N. M., & Wood, T. A. (2008). U.S. Patent No. D570,839. Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Koh, P. S., Qian, C., & Wang, H. (2014). Firm litigation risk and the insurance value of corporate social performance. Strategic Management Journal, 35(10), 1464-1482.

Rhodes, J., Lok, P., Yu-Yuan Hung, R., & Fang, S. C. (2008). An integrative model of organizational learning and social capital on effective knowledge transfer and perceived organizational performance. Journal of workplace learning, 20(4), 245-258.

Rule, N. O., & Ambady, N. (2008). The face of success: Inferences from chief executive officers’ appearance predict company profits. Psychological science, 19(2), 109-111.