Apple Computers the Company I

Apple Computers

The company I have chosen to examine is Apple Computers. Apple characterizes its organizational culture as "fun, yet demanding." Apple was one of the pioneers of the "work hard, play hard" ethic now commonplace in the computer industry today. This ethic appeals to me because it fits with how I approach work life. I, too, take a results-driven approach that devalues formality in place of superior performance. Too many industries still rely on formality and hierarchy. While that may suit other people, I view Apple's less-formal, more results-driven approach as in line with the approach I feel works best for me.

In addition to Apple's results-driven approach, I also feel that I share with that company's culture a forward-thinking, "outside the box" approach. Apple has never been afraid to carve their own path, and take on the industry giants in order to become one themselves. I approach problems in much the same way that Apple does - I understand the status quo approach but remain skeptical that a better way cannot be found. So I seek that better way. This is what has driven Apple to develop products so widely loved by consumers that are yet uniquely different from competing products. I am also driven by the need to be slightly differentiated, and always perform just a little bit better, than those around me.

The seven primary characteristics of organizational culture, as identified by Chatman and Jehn, are innovation, stability, outcome orientation, people orientation, team orientation, detail orientation and easygoingness. Apple embodies several of these. They are an innovative company, focused on the development of unique hardware and software solutions. They are an outcome-oriented company, in that they are driven by financial and market share measures of success - to perform well but not meet your objectives is, simply, to not perform well. They are a highly detail-oriented company. This industry demands attention to minute detail, as the slightest error will lead to a defect. Moreover, the intensity of competition and size of the market drives the company to strict attention to detail as every error presents an opportunity for a competitor.

Apple's culture is very strong. They have since the beginning cultivated a unique internal and external identity, and have seldom wavered from this. The leadership style of Steve Jobs promotes a strong corporate identity, with which each employee is infused. Employees do not view themselves as technology workers so much as they view themselves as Apple employees. Indoctrination into the culture is a prerequisite for advancement at Apple. Moreover, Apple projects this culture externally as well, a tactic that has become more common in the past decade. Customers are meant to identify with Apple's core values and approach to business. This is part of Apple's plan to attract a certain demographic, but it also reinforces the corporate culture that has been carefully crafted over the past three decades.

Apple's culture is spiritual. Apple's culture is not driven by ethics, nor by customer responsiveness (they do a good job of dictating to their customers what the customers want). Management views Apple as less a company than the embodiment of a certain way of doing things. There is a strong corporate philosophy, embodied in the hard work and innovative approach to doing business. This philosophy and outlook drives Apple's approach to product development and marketing.

2) in recent years, Apple has moved its customer base into the mainstream. After initially focusing on developing products to meet the needs of a subset of sophisticated customers, Apple has approached the mass market, using the iPod as a spearhead. This has broadened their customer base dramatically.

The needs of this customer base are computers are an extension of their own identity. This reflects the greater degree to which electronic products have been integrated into our lives in the past decade. Many of the core features of today's Apple product lineup - music, photos, artwork - represent the core needs that modern consumers have for their computers.

The values of the customer base are also reflected. Apple has tended to take a top-down approach to this, developing their marketing around an exposition of the values that its customers should have. These are based on Apple's key cultural values, such as creativity, innovation and hard work. Consumers in turn typically identify with these values and see them as desirable. So Apple typically uses a pull strategy to align its values with those of its consumers.

3) in order to make Apple more customer-centric, I would implement the following customer service standards. First, I would implement a process for gathering stronger feedback from the customers. Before we can help the customer, we must know what they want. Typically, feedback is only given when something goes wrong - I feel that Apple needs to take a proactive approach and gather information even from satisfied customers. I would also seek out information from former customers, to find out why they no longer purchase Apple products. This would give them a better sense of their strengths and weaknesses in the marketplace.

The second standard I would give is to build the information gathered into the product development stage. Product durability, for example, is a common complaint amongst Apple consumers. By taking into account the needs and wants of customers both existing and former, Apple can get a better sense of what they need to do in order to be more responsive to the needs of customers.