Apple Inc. globalization initiatives and their contributions

¶ … Apple Inc.

Globalization initiatives have contributed to the need for many companies across the globe to expand their businesses beyond the local or domestic markets. The focus of this article is to analyze Apple, Inc., an American multinational that operates in several countries in the world. It begins with an analysis of the strategies for competing in international markets and how the firm is organized to gain regional or global advantage while remaining responsive to local conditions. This is followed by a summary of how the firm is organized internationally, its structure, and modus operandi, and whether it has resources to compete globally. The final part of the paper provides specific recommendations for Apple Inc. To become a market leader in the next five years throughout its operations.

The Case of Apple Inc.:

As globalization and rapid technological advancements have become common characteristics in the modern business world, organizations and companies are expanding into international markets. A company considers expanding its business beyond the domestic market and into foreign markets because of various factors or reasons. The most common reasons for such strategies include gaining access to new customers, to capitalize on its major competencies, to extend its business risks throughout a wider market base, and to enhance the firm's competitiveness. The company's strategic options in the international markets are shaped by various factors like cross-cultural differences, the need to obtain a local-based competitive advantage, and the threat of adverse exchange rate shifts. Since these factors also include political risks, the choices are shaped by the effect of the host government policies on the local business culture. There are several strategies for entering and competing in international markets including maintaining a national production base and exporting products to global markets and licensing foreign companies to use the firm's technology or distribute the firm's products (Hunger & Wheelen, 2006, p. 391). The other strategies include the use of a franchising strategy, a multi-country strategy, a global strategy, and strategic alliances or joint ventures.

Apple Inc. is an American multinational company that operates and competes in various markets across the globe. As a company's business strategy tends to be a reflection of its leaders, Apple Inc. has differentiated itself through the adoption of an elegantly simple design. Throughout the years, Apple has been able to amass huge success and profitability, which is attributed to it's the relentless hard work of the people associated with the firm and their ability to forecast and react to the ever-changing market trends (Gholap, 2012). Despite of this, the single most important factor that the company can attribute to its success is simplicity. This factor has enabled the company to develop a strong relationship with customers throughout the years and increase its market share considerably in the mobile industry. The company has adopted an efficient marketing strategy for its products based on presentations, brand loyalty, and effective advertisement. The success of Apple Inc. is also attributed to the way its organized globally in order to exploit regional and global advantages while remaining responsive to local conditions. Actually, the company's business strategy revolves around three major elements i.e. leveraging momentum with scale, extending the wall garden geography and IOS foundation, and investments in new directions through innovation of new product platform.

The recent profitability of the American multinational corporation can also be attributed to way it has been organized in the past five years to promote the development and introduction of new stores that help the firm in enhancing its global business initiatives. Throughout its international operations, Apple Inc. is organized around functions instead of divisions. As a result, the company's business operations revolve around a command-and-control structure in which ideas are shared at the top. The ability of the firm to develop innovative products is associated to being organized as functions in which its workers are not exposed to responsibilities that are beyond their area of expertise (Baxter, 2011). This kind of organization doesn't mean that most suitable person handles a specific task but it implies that the firm is interwoven and enables employees to work together. Therefore, the company integrates the process of designing, engineering, and marketing from the onset of product development.

In the past few years, understanding the structure and modus operandi of Apple Inc. In relation to its objectives in exploiting regional or global advantages while remaining responsive to local conditions has been a relatively difficult task. This is despite of the numerous attempts that have been made to scrutinize the company and its senior executives such as the late Steve Jobs. In addition to obsession with privacy, Apple Inc. has continued to achieve its business objectives through stealth product developments even as it strives for global markets. Secrecy or privacy in this corporation is both internal and external with which the firm uses to keep its products and practices hidden from competitors and the rest of the world. The internal secrecy has been maintained by the mysterious walls and off-limits areas that the firm has built. Generally, Apple Inc. is a cooperative and collaborative environment that is devoid of obvious politicking because of the use of command-and-control structure. The structure and modus operandi not only helps in enforcing secrecy but has also acted as the major factor in the seamless integration between various parts in the company. Moreover, the firm has been able to establish a culture of competitiveness and excellence for all its employees and business operations (Lashinsky, 2012).

In the past few years, Apple Inc. has adopted new measures as it strives for global markets by rolling out new products in order to grow its business. The shift towards international markets has indicated how significant foreign sales and markets have become to the company. However, the most important question that needs to be addressed is whether Apple Inc. has the resources to compete internationally. There are several factors that point to the availability of resources for the firm to compete in international markets. First, Apple, Inc. has continued to invest in the opening of new retail stores across the globe to an extent that it has more than 350 stores in thirteen countries across the globe. Secondly, the new products that the firm has introduced act as necessary resources for its competition in global markets. Before the development and introduction of iPhone to the market, Apple, Inc. was struggling to become a global player (Kane & Rohwedder, 2010). However, such products together with other factors have acted as resources for the company to compete internationally.

As the firm continues to strive for and thrive in global markets, Apple Inc. can become a market leader in this industry through various recommendations. According to Mui (2012), one of the major ways for companies to become market leaders in their respective industries and markets is through pursuing aggressive innovations. As a large corporation, Apple Inc. can become a market leader in the next five years through aggressively pursuing breakthrough invention and commitment to reap the benefits of those efforts. The pursuit of breakthrough invention will enable the company to not only predict the future but to invent it also. As today's strategic challenges require instant responses, invention is usually the first step in the huge process of commercialization. In the modern business world, market leaders are companies that do not embrace a wait-and-see mode and obtain the results of the efforts of other companies. Therefore, Apple Inc. cannot afford to embrace a wait-and-see strategy but should rather pursue breakthrough invention aggressively in order to become a market leader.