Organizational career selection and professional goals

Apple Inc.

The organization that I would like to join is Apple Inc. Apple represents one of the world's preeminent technology designers, manufactures and software developers and the organization is known for producing premium products that are uniquely designed with a quality niche and this strategy has garnered a loyal customer base. The company began to expand quickly after Steve Jobs envisioned a strategy known as the "digital hub." This organizational objective moved Apple's focus away from just the personal computer platform and began to include various peripheral devices as well such as mp3 players, phones, tablets, and even now watches. Personally, I admire Apple's products and their corporate culture and have selected this as an organization that I would like to join.

Company Overview

Apple operates in an industry that can be defined by fierce competition in the consumer electronics products categories in which it markets Apple's product mix. There are a large number of competitors in the different market niches who offer many similar products. Furthermore, Apple is a premium product in this industry so many of these competitors' products are priced much less than an Apple's products. Although Apple is associated with innovation in its product designs, when Apple releases a new product it is almost immediately copied. Each individual market segment also has a range of different competitors. For example, in the personal computer industry, companies such as IBM, Dell, HP, and Toshiba compete with Apple while in the phone market Apple must compete with brands such as Samsung and HTC.

Despite all the challenges that Apple faces in the market it has been able to develop an incredibly loyal customer base. It is typically the first to market with a new innovative design and its consumers often preorder Apple products or wait in long lines to be one of the first to buy and new Apple electronic design. Apple operates on a global scale with international supply chains that produce the electronic goods as well as target markets in nearly almost every country. Although Apple has come under significant amounts of criticism for some of its international production partners such as Foxconn in China, the company is proactively trying to improve working conditions in these factories.

Apple's current mission statement is "Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App store, and is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices with iPad. (Investopedia, 2015)"This statement represents a different course than the original mission Apple operated with under Steve Jobs. Job's mission for Apple was to "To make a contribution to the world by making tools for the mind that advance humankind."

Job's mission was more abstract and include the use of technology to improve the quality of life of people. However, the new mission is more specific in regards to Apple's products and does not include the idea of advancing humanity through Apple products. It has been argued that Jobs was young and idealistic when he crafted this mission and the new mission statement is meant to be more pragmatic. However, at the same time, Steve Jobs legacy is definitely a part of Apple's heritage and its current brand identity. Many consumers have followed Job's career throughout the history of the company.

New York Headquarters

Apple has a headquarters in Chelsea, New York as well as many retail stores in the state. The company is highly rated based on reviews found on glassdoor.com. The company provides a blurb about why people should work for Apple that states:

"Apple is a place where extraordinary people gather to do their best work. Our community is made up of every kind of individual: artists and designers, engineers and scientists, thinkers and doers. Together we create things and experiences people once couldn't have imagined -- and now can't imagine living without. So if you're excited by the idea of making a real impact, a career with Apple might be your dream job. Just be ready to dream big. (Glassdoor, N.d.)"

The company has both office space and retail spaces that have world renowned designs that house Apple's 100,000 employees.