Strategic Management Assignment: Corporate Level Strategies of Apple Inc

Question

Task: Conduct a critical research and write a report on strategic management assignmentdiscussing the business and corporate level strategies of Apple Inc.

Answer

Business and Corporate level strategies of Apple Inc
This strategic management assignmentwill focus on understanding business and corporate level strategies of Apple Inc. Apple are a multinational technology organization, which specializes in consumer electronics as well as online services. It was founded in1976 and its headquarters is in California, US. This paper will analyze business-level strategy of Apple along with understanding its core competencies. It will also discuss corporate-level strategy of Apple and state its competitive environment. It will engage in evaluating market cycles of Apple in present market.

Business-Level Strategies
It is significant to note that one of the major business level strategies, which Apple incorporates in their business operation, is their Differentiation Strategy. In this context, this strategy is generally incorporated in different firms, which wants a wide form of consumer base, which is based on their potential form of uniqueness (Payne, 2017). It involves general kind of mechanisms related to differentiation in products of the organization, which involves superior form of quality in products and assured consumer service. It involves inimitable form of product design or potential uniqueness of the products of any firm, which helps them to assure core competencies in market. It is adequately a very good choice for Apple to incorporate this strategy, which enhances them a marketing and competitive advantage in technology industry.

Apple operates in multinational technology sector, and specializes in potential form of customer electronics, online services along with computer software. This organization counts among fourth-biggest form of smartphone manufacturer along with being one of the “Big FiveAmerican information technology organizations”. In this context, their total income as of FY2020 has been $57.411 billion and comprises potential assets of $323.88 billion in the same year (Apple Inc, 2021).

In this context, Apple implements product differentiation strategy, through differentiating its various products along with services on basis of simple and attractive form of design as well as advanced functionality. Its major core-competency in market is its concentration on product design along with product functionality. According to Apple reports, it has incorporated advanced form of features along with inimitable design for incorporating its differentiation strategy on its products (Mazzei& Noble, 2017). List of innovations further involve iPad, which has been very first device or equipment of its kind in market and contained simple form of shuffle capacities of storing music and memory. Another example is “Development Macintosh”, which has been very first computer for utilizing graphical technology (Apple Inc, 2021).

Another core-competency of Apple is focusing on consumer experience, which have been pillars of its business-level strategy. For example, Apple’s products are easy to use and the organization concentrates on providing best possible consumer support in more than 25 countries of operation. It helps them to succeed in creation of best possible consumer experience that helps in incorporation of their product-differentiation strategy.

Another effective core-competency of Apple is their distribution of products in its established retail stores in more than 25 countries, which helps them to attract consumers and sell their products efficiently (Apple Inc, 2021). Their huge brand recognition works as a major core-competency of the organization and boasts technical and continuous consumer support, which is very effective for incorporation of their product differentiation strategy in market to gain competitive edge.

Corporate-Level Strategies
The effective corporate-level strategy, which is utilized by Apple, is their Diversification at both regional as well as product standards (Apple Inc, 2021).It is noteworthy that product diversification includes a potential strategic approach, taken by an organization for increasing profitability. It also enhances different ways, in which an organization utilizes its best possible assets for production of profitability along with attaining higher sales volume from new kind of products. It happens generally at corporate level. In this concern, Apple has ensured a blend of personal computing and entertainment, comprising a high standard of product integration (Wadström, 2019). This strategy helps Apple to be more effective in terms of their production as well as product delivery at a relative form of competitive prices while not compromising on their profitability aspects. In this concern, a major advantage, which this strategy provides, is that it helps their consumers to get their preferred items of high design as well as quality with an efficient integrated form of operating system. It is noteworthy that Apple beats competition of other through producing standardized form of products and items in global market as a potential part of their engineering design along with proper manufacturing operation (Apple Inc, 2021). It becomes easier for user to identify Apple’s products and items and enhances suitable form of customization being potential power source due to inimitability of their products and high range of devices. It helps in strengthening Apple’s ecosystem as a proper vertical integration of an organization, which has advanced proper form of expertise in software attributes at same time in market. Therefore, through absolute form of diversification of products, Apple assures creation and strengthening of Apple’s ecosystem.

Competitive Environment
The technology sector in global context is a very competitive marketing environment due to many players operating in the same. Apple also faces stiff form of competition in every level along with all lines of business. However, one major competitor of Apple is Samsung. It is noteworthy that Apple faces huge competition with Samsung in Technology as well as Phone market in global dynamics. Samsung’s business-level strategy comprises of effective cost-leadership (Seifzadeh& Rowe, 2019). While Apple concentrates on its product and items quality, Samsung further attempts towards attaining a potential form of balance between price as well as quality of its products for enhancing better expansion of its market share. Samsung also attempts towards compete on potential grounds of cost-leadership, which helps them to attain lower expenses through proper economies of scale (Samsung, 2021). In this concern, Apple strives for attaining best form of profitability standards and huge brand recognition through their effective product qualities.

However, Samsung on the other hand focuses on striving for huge profitability standards by economies of scale (Volleroet al.2019). Although Samsung enhances a wider target market than Apple, the quality of the products and Apple’s huge brand recognition worldwide helps it to incorporate and operate with its product-differentiation as a business-level strategy and to get competitive advantage on the long run.

Samsung’s corporate-level strategy comprises of unrelated form of diversification, which is not similar to Apple’s related diversification of products. Samsung creates a huge range of different products along with computing items as well as home appliances (Apple Inc, 2021). On the other hand, Apple spreads risk in a wider dimension than Samsung. It is essential to note that Samsung benefits through its strategy by taking potential advantage of corporate-level growth in different emerging economies, where the income scale is not high as developed economies (Samsung, 2021). However, Apple is more likely to succeed in prolonged time, as it remains mostly untapped and inimitable. Apple also displays much better results in short to medium period while Samsung items are imitable more than Apple and faces stiff competition from new and emerging organizations in global dynamics.

Apple also enhances suitable form of developed sustainable core-competencies, through their diversification of products (Apple Inc, 2021). It will help Apple to capture primary market of global context in the prolonged end along with assuring better competitive advantage in the global technology sector.

Market Cycles
Slow-Cycle market is a potential market in which different resources are shielded and protected and an organization maintains proper monopoly over the marker. It assures that competitive form of pressures is unable towards penetrating this market. On the other hand, Fast-cycle market, is a type of market in which organization’s competitive edge are not further shielded from potential imitation, which results in instability, unpredictability along with complex nature of the market.

Apple’s strategy discussed in the competitive environment section of this paper is more suited towards fast-cycle markets, which defines potential characteristics of technology sector, as organization comprises of a short window in terms of exploiting commercial capability of their different products as well as items. Therefore, differentiation and diversification of product standards in apple, helps it to attain best possible profitability margins (Volleroet al. 2019). It is significant to note that that while Samsung’s strategy can be more suited towards slow-cycle market, due to its expansion of scale of operations in medium or short term, which can help in mitigating operational costs along with enhancing a better scope for earning higher form of profitability standards.

However, in the fast-cycle market, Apple will be more suitable with its competitive environment and corporate-level strategy in fast-cycle markets in developed economies in global context. Apple also concentrates on educating their prospective form of consumers towards new kind of product and item offering. It enhances diversification in both aspects of product as well as potential form of regional standards (Seifzadeh& Rowe, 2019). Through its broad diversification strategy, Apple, certainly stands out in fast-cycle market and comprises of a bright and optimal future in the marketing aspect. In this concern, it is noteworthy that Apple’s product diversification can be very optimal for fast-cycle markets and enhance best possible standards of competitive advantage in technology sector in global context.

Sources
Apple Inc, 2021. The story behind Apple’s environmental footprint. Retrieved September 6, 2021, fromhttp://www.apple.com/environment/#manufacturing

Mazzei, M. J., & Noble, D. (2017). Big data dreams: A framework for corporate strategy. Business Horizons, 60(3), 405-414. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0007681317300101

Payne, B. (2017). Brand Positioning and its Usefulness for Brand Management: the Case of Apple Inc. Newcastle business school student journal, 1(1), 51-57. Retrieved from http://novaojs.newcastle.edu.au/uonsbj/index.php/uonsbj/article/view/10

Samsung, 2021, Sustainibility Reports,. Retrieved September 6, 2021, https://www.samsung.com/global/ir/reports-disclosures/sustainability-reports/

Seifzadeh, P., & Rowe, W. G. (2019).The role of corporate controls and business-level strategy in business unit performance. Strategic management assignmentJournal of Strategy and Management. Retrieved from https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/JSMA-10-2018-0114/full/html

Vollero, A., Conte, F., Siano, A., &Covucci, C. (2019).Corporate social responsibility information and involvement strategies in controversial industries. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 26(1), 141-151. Retrieved from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/csr.1666

Wadström, P. (2019). Aligning corporate and business strategy: managing the balance. Journal of Business Strategy. Retrieved from https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/JBS-06-2018-0099/full/html