Apple Incorporated Iniatives

Apple Incorporated Initiatives

Kimberly Belton and Janae Sturgis

FIN/370

May 7, 2014

Arnold Harvey

Apple Incorporated Initiatives

Apple Incorporated demonstrates that effective strategic and financial planning can produce successful business initiatives. Apple is committed to providing its customers with superior hardware, software, and services while also dedicating various resources to research, development, marketing, and advertisement (Apple Inc., 2013). The Mac is one of the popular products that Apple Incorporated provides. The Mac is the company’s version of the desktop and personal portable computers (Apple Inc., 2013). The Mac device has many different versions and is upgraded on a regular basis. Apple’s annual report lists the different versions of Mac devices and the new software that the new Mac’s will support. In October of 2013, Apple Incorporated’s iWork’s productivity suite along with the Mac App store began to provide free downloads for all new Mac’s (Apple Inc., 2013). This business initiative affects costs and sales, and a number of associated risks exist. An analysis of the Mac initiative will assess Apple’s strategic and financial planning and the initiative’s success.

The Mac Initiative

Apple’s strategic planning involves the evolution of the company’s product line. The business does not create a new product regularly because it would be costly and time consuming. Apple is the master of creating hype around upgraded product launches and is infamous for generational product lines. For instance, the company is in its third generation of Mac products (Apple Inc., 2014). The company takes pride in its products and supporting applications. Apple Incorporated makes a point to distinguish itself from its competitors. Apple Incorporated in 2013 upgraded a specific version of the Mac product line. The Mac initiative includes a new version of the Mac Pro device along with a free access to the iWorks applications (Apple Inc., 2013). Apple...