Apple in Any Company, Planning

Apple

In any company, planning and decision making play important roles in shaping competitive advantage. Planning entails decisions regarding what to do and how to do it (Chandra, 2011). The first step is to formulate an idea, which requires considerable creativity and innovative skills. This is particularly important in the PC market, where competitive advantage is not only gained by means of effective business strategy, but also in terms of product differentiation and innovation. This is also the case at Apple, where the company's focus on the excellence of its hardware products, along with marketing, creates competitive advantage in a market where innovation is essential for company survival.

According to Enderle (2004), Apple has an excellent eye for hardware design. Enderle uses Apple's hard-drive-based MP3 player as an example of this. Compared to all other products of the same nature, Apple's product is by far the best designed form an aesthetics point-of-view. This is indicative of Apple's trend in terms of creating excellent and well-designed products by the first version rather than only the third, as many companies in the market tend to do. This places Apple in the top tier of competitive advantage.

Design items like laptop hinges, for example, has created for Apple a competitive advantage in terms of timing. The robust, practical design of the hinges has created for Apple a product that competes well against others in the market. The same focus on ergonomic design is part of the company's desktop design as well. The power button for iMac, for example, is placed into the screen for easy access. The keyboard hubs are also designed for easier cable management. The company's G5 tower computer also features a trendy form, which other companies in the market have failed to mimic in terms of a form, which Enderle (2004) refers to as "increasingly boring."

In terms of planning and decision making, it appears that the Apple Company's management team is focused specifically upon differentiating their products in terms of form and ergonomic as well as practical usability.

Combined with this is also Apple's ability to set the trend with its marketing campaigns. According to Enderle, this component is focused upon an understanding of how viewers would respond to marketing efforts. As such, the company focuses largely on how its products will make the user's life better, rather than focusing its efforts on features and technology. The company's iPod advertisement, for example, won an award from AdWeek and ended in the top ten overall best ad list for 2003.

Another component of Apple's marketing decisions is the calculated risk it takes with its advertisment content. It has, for example, not been afraid to directly compete against others by showing ads that destroy Intel-based laptops by fire or steamrollers. Companies like IBM, however, has not dared to do anything approaching this, even with Dell's "Dude," which has been abandoned. Apple, in contrast, has little fear of offending its opposition and is focused only upon positioning itself as the best provider in its market.

Apple also understands the importance of a prominently displayed logo, specifically on its laptops. On many models, the logo lights up, while it is also displayed right side up when the screen is open. This shows an understanding that the logo is an important advertising tool, rather than simply a design element that needs almost no attention. In this way, Apple understands the power of this type of advertising to those who are in the market for the products it provides.

Another part of logo advertising is Apple's placement in television shows. The laptops and computers in these shows broadcast their usability to a very wide base of viewers. The decision of which shows to use for such placement is also well made, maximizing the exposure of the company and its logo to potential customers.

According to Enderle (2004), Apple's use of human resources is one thing that excellently reflects its ability to make good marketing decisions. The late Steve Jobs, for example, was an excellent asset to the company's marketing department. By using his talents as a general marketer and speaker, Apple has been able to create a strong brand that stands out among its competitors. Now, after Jobs' death, the company's managers will have to make serious human resources decisions in order to remain competitive.

The planning and decision-making trends at Apple therefore seem focused upon two main factors: design and marketing. By focusing their products and marketing on an understanding of what would excite people and what they want, Apple has created a winning combination of positioning its products prominently and effectively in a market that is increasingly saturated with similar products.