Importance of Organisational Culture and Its Impact on Competency: A Case Study of Apple Inc.

This report discusses the importance of organisational culture based on various theories and analyses how it can affect the competency of organisations. Real-life examples from Apple Inc. are used to analyse the positive or negative impact of organisational culture on the capabilities of the global organisation. The report concludes with recommendations for improving organisational culture.

Running head: ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE
ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE
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Introduction:
Organisational culture has been defined as the assumptions underline believes, ways of
interaction and values which contribute to a social and psychological environment of any
organisation. The organisational culture also includes the expectations, experiences, values that
guide the members behaviour, experiences and the inner workings or expressions of the
employees associated with that organisation (Terzioglu, Temel and Uslu 2016). This report will
discuss the importance of organisational culture based on various theories and analyse how
organisational culture can affect the competency of the organisations. In order to analyse the
positive or negative impact of organisational culture on the capabilities of the Global
organisation this report will discuss the real-life examples from Apple Inc.
Discussion:
The organisational culture is the backbone of managing employees, empowering them
and gain competitive advantage in the part of the firm. The shared values and beliefs associated
with the organisational culture, have strong impact on the people of the organisation and decides
how they would act or perform their duties. Each of the organisations in this world have and
developed their own unique culture. This provides the guidelines for the behaviour of the
organisation’s employees. The organisational culture as associated with the function and
capabilities of the employees, gives the organisation competitive edge in the Global market.
According to the theory of organisational culture may originate from challenges or
obstacles which the organisation face or it can be a thoughtful creation from the part of the
management (Ramdhani, Ramdhani and Ainissyifa 2017). However, the employees working in
organisations have a strong input in creating a strong culture. There are different theories of
organisational culture present in the business world which include Handy’s four classes of

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culture, Schein’s culture triangle and culture web of Johnson and Scoles (Silva and Gomes
2015). The four classes of culture depend upon power, role, task and person which decide what
type of the culture will prevail in the company. However, the culture of the of the organisation
dictates how the people or groups will communicate or behave in the micro and macro
environment (Laforet 2016).
The organisational culture of Apple is the key success factor for the business. The
organisational culture of Apple establishes as well as maintains the business values believes,
philosophy and the related behaviour of the employees. Apple has a define corporate culture
which enables the human resource for supporting various objectives. The cultural traits of this
company are perfectly aligned with the driver competitiveness as well as innovation. These are
the major factors which determine the business success in the online services, information
technology and electronics industries of the world. Under the leadership of Steve Jobs and now
Thomas Cook the company has shaped its corporate culture and using this as a tool for strategic
success and management (Venu 2019). Moreover, the company has continued to enhance the
capabilities of the employees by enhancing the cultural characteristics for maximising the HR
support for its business relevance in the various markets in the world. Despite of having focused
on the innovation and creativity, there are instances of employee demotivation and other human
resources challenges among the employees in Apple Inc.
The corporate culture of Apple however has been known for high level of pressure as
well as secrecy. However, it is inevitable that the companies which operate in every part of the
world, do not put pressure on their employees. Even Google cannot claim that its organisational
culture is free from pressure (Tekingündüz et al. 2017) . The competition level against Apple has
been increasing day by day because the products they are making particularly focuses on the

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premium customers which creates high pressure in relation to the price. In the recessionary
period, this pressure grows more tremendously which also gets reflected on the work
environment. After Steve Jobs, Tim Cook has brought a lot of changes in the existing norms
which has enhanced the pressure on the employees more.
In addition to this the tradition of technological innovation which Steve Jobs head left the
employees of Apple that they need to put their best in their work. Moreover, in this creativity and
innovative what culture the employees always remain in constant fear whether they can be fired
for a simple reason. The employee friendly structure of growth is not followed by the company
and the Indians pressure for following the strict rules of the organisation has compelled many
employees to leave Apple. However, some changes are brought by Thomas Cook by changing
the HR agenda of Apple through the method of inclusion and diversity in in the work
environment (Venu 2019).
Apple’s corporate culture has brought challenges because the management puts emphasis
on the secrecy as well as the moderate degree of combativeness. This atmosphere of the
organisation is full of secrecy has limit rapport and connectivity among the workers (Anitha
2016). The team members do not believe their team leaders and the vice versa. This has affected
the human resource of Apple in any part of the world. Moreover, the moderate combativeness
has potentially limited the morality of the employees. These cultural issues have an intense
impact on the businesses effectiveness as this has increased employee turnover.
Recommendation:
In order to have a positive and motivated to workplace, the management needs to
implement a deep cultural challenge. The old combative culture needs to be replaced with
collaborative culture full of diversity both cultural as well as social. As the company operates in

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different part of the world the employee training has become essential so that the National
culture can be matched with the organisational culture. By reducing the secrecy among the
employees, the company can enhance possibility of teamwork and engagement. This will
positively enhance the efficiency of this company and help it to overcome competitive pressure.
Conclusion:
Therefore, it can be concluded that in every organisation there is a unique culture which
determines how efficiently the employees will be doing their responsibilities and feel engaged
with their workplace. A demotivated work force cannot operate exclusively nor it helps to get
competitive advantage. In case of Apple, following the traditional style of Management, it has
been ruining the organisational culture. However, there are processes based on which the
organisational culture can be changed in the company.

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References:
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do Carmo Silva, M. and Gomes, C.F.S., 2015. Practices in Project Management According to
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Elsmore, P., 2017. Organisational Culture: Organisational Change?: Organisational Change?.
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Laforet, S., 2016. Effects of organisational culture on organisational innovation performance in
family firms. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, 23(2), pp.379-407.
Ramdhani, A., Ramdhani, M.A. and Ainissyifa, H., 2017. Conceptual Framework of Corporate
Culture Influenced on Employees Commitment to Organization. International Business
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Tekingündüz, S., Top, M., Tengilimoğlu, D. and Karabulut, E., 2017. Effect of organisational
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HROB Case Studies | Case Study|Human Resource|Organization Behavior|Case Study|Case
Studies. [online] Icmrindia.org. Available at:

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%20Behavior/HROB124.htm [Accessed 25 Jan. 2019].