Apple

Apple Inc.

Steven J. Shambour

Strategic Management MGT411

Edward Miller

November 23, 2011

Apple Inc.

Overview:

Apple Inc. is one of the most successful, if not the most successful computer companies in the technology market today. Steven Wozniak and Steven Jobs founded Apple Computer in 1976. Their first product was called The Apple I. It was one of the first personal computers ever produced. Two years later they introduced The Apple II personal computer which had the first color display for computers. By 1984 the company had introduced the Macintosh which had a user friendly graphical interface. Although the Macintosh was very successful, it cold not compete with the personal computers that IBM had introduced into the market in 1981.

With the Macintosh failing in the market, Steven Jobs became very critical of the then CEO of Apple, John Sculley. Jobs wanted Sculley replaced so he went to the board. The board kept Sculley as CEO, but took away his decision-making power. With these management problems and with the Macintosh failing in the market, Apple was forced to lay off many employees and experienced its first quarterly loss in 1985.

Even though the company was struggling, Apple continued to bring new, innovative products to the market while closely guarding the secrets behind its technology. By 1990 Apple had introduced a computer than ran Windows and Word for Windows. This computer was preferred by businesses and consumers allowing Apple to hold 97+ percent of the market for personal computers.

As Apple’s computer line became more successful, Apple continued to bring new, innovative products to the technology market. Products like the iPod, iMac notebook computers (laptops), iBooks and iPhones were introduced into the market. These products allowed Apple to continue to grow in the market and wowed the public (Thompson, Peteraf, Gamble, & Strickland, 2010).

In this paper I will discuss the company’s mission, internal...