Organizational Structure Essay

Organizational structure is very important to any company, it guarantees longevity and efficiency. Apple Inc. was incorporated in California on January 3, 1977 (Apple, 2013) and first came on the scene with the release of Apple I. Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak were the creators of this cutting edge technology and both men were seemingly college dropouts (No Stop Technology – The Apple Fan Site, n. d). The company is a publically traded company listed on the NASDAQ and in 2013 they are number 6 on the list for Fortune 500 companies. Apple Inc. s mission statement is â€Å"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 has recently introduced iPad 2 which is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices. † (About. com, n. d. ). Their mission statement implies that they have a flexible structure that allows for unlimited growth within the technology industry. Structure Apple Inc. ’s organizational structure has enabled the company to keep a barrier free structure and remain competitive. Apple realizes that their expertise is in the innovation of new technology and in order to gain access to many industries they partner with other organizations with different specialties. An example of this is Apple and Nike. Apple took the initiative to create a product for Nike to put into their shoes which allows the consumers to calculate their running distance, keep track of the steps they take, and overall work out progress (Apple, 2013). This is helping them become very diverse and has a constant interest and loyalty among consumers. Other companies like Hewitt-Packard have the same organizational structure as Apple Inc. , by wanting to give the best products to their consumers. In Hewlett-Packards press release in October, 2011, â€Å"Launched in the United States in April 2000, the HP Digital Village program aims to bring the tools for learning and competing in the digital economy to communities that need them most† (Hewlett-Packard, 2011). Being prepared for today’s digital marketplace has given HP an advantage over other corporations that are not prepared to take on the more digital and global economic environment. Another company that has similar structure to Apple is Samsung. They state â€Å"At Samsung Group and Samsung Electronics, we uphold a belief in shared responsibility – to our people, our planet and our society. Across the company, we hold ourselves to the highest standards so that we can more effectively contribute to a better world† (Samsung, 2013). They are also dedicated to developing innovative technologies and being efficient, which allows them to be a digital leader as well. Functions Organizational functions have a role in the development of the company as well as the growth. The different departments that are within Apple Inc. carry a heavy weight of responsibility to ensure that they are consistently driving the company forward. Whether speaking in terms of the retail department, the marketing department, or the human resources department, all have to strive and work to accomplish the goals of gaining profit for the company. Being a leader in new technology has given the company the upper hand on allowing them to have the products free, to use within the business before they are produced at the mass level for consumers. Each product that is produced from Apple has its own team that inspects and maintains the product, which allows Apple to hold accountability for each department and does not allow too many individuals to be involved in the process. This is an example of how divisional structure is involved in an open barrier organizational style. Apple also makes a point to focus on staff engagement level, by having their employees be actively engaged and connected to their work. Employees are given the opportunities to advance in their field and the opportunity to continue to learn new skills within the company. The human resource department is in charge of hiring new employees as well as maintaining the structure of the entire company which is vital to the profitability and the internal organization of the Company. Design Geographical location of the company has been a strong suit for Apple. Apple has over 300 retail stores located all over the world and is continuing to grow based on consumer demand. Apple, Inc. ’s main headquarters are in Cupertino, California, but they also have headquarters in Africa, the Middle East, and Europe. By having various headquarters throughout the world, Apple is able to oversee the quality of their products and productivity of retail stores. The number of Apple jobs based in the U. S. has more than quadrupled over the past decade, from less than 10,000 employees in 2002 to more than 50,250 today. They offer their part-time employees the same benefits as full-time employees, including health insurance and the employee stock purchase plan (Apple, 2013). The organizational design of Apple Inc. has been quite challenging to obtain because Apple has very high security when it comes to the internal structure of their company. Apple has to maintain the integrity of their business plan because other organizations would take their ideas and structure and use it to their gain. Apple does everything to prevent this from happening because the technological field is a very competitive market and they do not want to give competitors any insight, which would then result in decreased profits for Apple. Apple’s current CEO is Tim Cook who is in charge of the company’s worldwide sales and operations. Mr. Cook has not always been the CEO of Apple. He was previously employed with Compaq and was the Vice President of Corporate Materials, where he was responsible for procuring and managing Apple’s inventory. This prior experience has given him the knowledge necessary to run such a successful company and the ability to encourage and oversee innovation within the company. Conclusion Apple is a successful company in the innovation of new technology. Apple has the leading edge with technology and has loyal consumers all over the world. It is a company that is primarily known for its products such as the iPhone, iPod, iPad and the MacBook. The company also offers consumers the ability to have Apple create software and hardware specific for a Corporation’s needs. The organizational structure of this organization has allowed for the innovation of products that have changed the world. With these continued business practices, Apple has created an environment with unlimited growth potential and amazing customer loyalty. By being so flexible and diverse in so many different ways, this has allowed Apple to become so successful in such a short time and they will continue to grow into the future. This ability to be a leader in such a competitive market has paved the way for Apple to reap continued profits for many years to come.