Apple Computer
Competitive Advantage
Apple Computer, Inc. designs, manufactures and markets personal computers PCs and related software, peripherals and personal computing and communicating solutions. It also designs, develops and markets a line of portable digital music players along with related accessories and services including the online distribution of third-party music and audio books. Part of its competitive advantage is that it owns and controls the primary technology in everything it does because it is good at hardware and software. So, instead of just being satisfied with the iPod device, it developed iTunes, music jukebox software that later morphed into the iTunes Music Store.
The other part of its competitive advantage is its tremendous brand that promotes instant market recognition as well as customer loyalty.
McKinsey's 7-S Model Analysis
In the middle and late 1980s Apple Computer's strategy was focused on developing desktop publishing as a competitive advantage. However, this got the company into trouble because Apple's installed base of Macintosh users was too small. Now, the company is focused on building products for the digital home such as iPod, iTunes and iPhoto and becoming more of a service and software digital home application company. Thus, the strategy going forward is going to resemble that of a consumer electronics company, making hardware and software, rather than being a computer company. The Macintosh will be the cash cow and Apple will build digital home businesses for the future.
With regards to skill, Apple fosters innovation by hiring people who want to make the best things in the world. According to CEO Steve Jobs, "You'd be surprised how hard people work around here. They work nights and weekends, sometimes not seeing their families for a while. Sometimes people work through Christmas to make sure the tooling is just right at some factory in some corner of the world so our product comes out the best it can be." Apple backs these highly skilled employees up with substantial R& D. budgets while others have cut back to adapt to a slower-growing market. Further, the system at Apple is that there is not system; employees communicate informally and stay focused on concentrating on the company's key goals.
Five Forces
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