Apple Case

Tiffin University

MGT 622 – Strategic Management

Apple Inc. in 2010 (Case 14)

Prof – Dr. Wendy Ziems-Mueller

Apple Inc. Case

Introduction

Apple Inc. started off as "Apple Computer" was founded in 1976 by Steven Jobs and Steven Wozniak a pair of college dropouts. "Sometimes when you innovate, you make mistakes. It is best to admit them quickly and get on with improving your other innovations". This is a quote by Steve Jobs. This quote still runs through the bloodline of the company till this day. The company was best known for its Macintosh personal computers in 1980s and 1990s. Despite a strong brand, rapid growth, and high profits in the late 1980s, Apple almost went bankrupt in 1996. With this, Jobs went to work, transforming "Apple Computer" into "Apple Inc.” with innovative non-PC products starting in the early 2000's (Yoffie, 2011).

Apple started in a modest manner with the sale of its Apple I. which was viewed as 'crudely designed' (Thompson, et. el., 2012). Job's mission was to bring an easy-to-use computer to market, which led to the release of the Apple II in 1978. The subsequent Apple II and Macintosh (Mac) computers enjoyed more success with ground breaking features. It drove the PC industry to $1 billion in annual sales in less than three years (Yoffie, 2011). The Apple II had problems competing with rivals in terms of speed and software availability however that did not stop Apple selling more than 100,000 by the end of 1980.

In 2000, Jobs was named permanent CEO and oversaw the launch of the iPod which in later years was responsible for the resurgence of interest in Apple Computers. Jobs and Tim Cook, Apple's Chief Operation Officer was believed to be largely responsible for the turnaround in fortunes of Apple. According Yoffie (2011) Jobs provided the vision while...