Using MACS Matrix to Analyze Apple's Market Position and Challenges

This report analyzes the market-activated corporate strategy of Apple using the MACS matrix. It examines the company's performance, challenges, and potential for growth. The report also discusses the challenges faced by the company related to competition, pricing, demand, and technology. The MACS matrix is used to explain how Apple can extract value and invest in high-performing business units. Overall, the report provides insights into Apple's market position and strategic decisions for future growth.

STRATEGIC CONTEXT

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
The market-activated corporate strategy......................................................................................3
Analysis and measurement of the performance of products and challenges faced by the Apple
company.......................................................................................................................................6
Findings—using the MACS matrix to explain increasing or extracting value............................9
Recommendation.......................................................................................................................10
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................11
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................12

INTRODUCTION
Strategic management refers to the process of managing all function of the organization in order
to accomplish aims and objectives of the company. It gives assistance in leading the marketplace
and build unique different image in front of people. Along with this the organization determine
the market value of the product produce by the organization(Sundiman 2018). The present report
will examine a framework which is named as market activated corporate strategy in context of
Apple company. The apple is the multinational company which is leading the market since many
years. The organization is founded by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak And Ronald Wayne(Alamri,
2019). It is the most leading company in the international market which is having Headquarter
In Cupertino, California and United State. The report will analysis the sales and revenue data of
business unit in order to measure the performance and business challenges.
MAIN BODY
The market-activated corporate strategy
It refers to the framework which the organization utilized to identify the position in the
marketplace. This plan of action is established in the 1980s and the several predecessors included
in it. Nowadays the market is changing rapidly with the help of immense amount of technology
available in the marketplace. In context to that is very important to analysis the performance of
the company as well as monitor in right direction for the future growth(Guo, et.al, 2020). With
the assistance of this framework the organization make sure that the investing in the same
industry is good for the business. Basically, the MACS matrix is consisted of nine-box
framework for analysing the industry attractiveness and competitive strength of business unit.
Along with this it insures the most possible output to the manager of reorganizationist in order to
manage each and every function in adequate and perfect manner. This plan of action is utilized in
brand marketing and product market(Karczmarczyk, et.al, 2018). The framework consist of two
Axes which involve different level such as high, medium and low. The investors of the Apple
company utilized this model in the process of decision-making in order to acquire the better
result in the marketplace. This matrix applied only those companies who deliver product and
services directly to the consumers. This model focuses on the finance area of the company for

the forthcoming challenges. In general, it is an analytical tool which is developed for the
companies to enhance the business. This model provides idea to the investor that the investment
should be held in the company or extract from the organization for the betterment of individual
and fulfilling the profit motives. Further it gives power to decide the business unit supposed to
expend or not in the marketplace. Sometime the investor sells the business unit on the basis of
utilization of the analytical tool or the framework. The dimension of the framework play vital
role in decision-making as they represent the attractiveness of the industry and potential of the
company. The dimension of the framework is bifurcated into two part such as horizontal and
vertical which is mention below:
Horizontal dimension: this dimension provide dimension to the business unit which have
capability or potential to handle or manage the business. This examines the optimum standards
of business unit which give qualitative values. The fund values of the employees working within
the firm, sales and value added is also compared by the investors from one business to another.
Vertical dimension: with the assistance of this axis the holding company have capability to
extract the value from the business enterprises(Rainieri, et.al, 2020). The investor have ability to
create the value from the resources of business and keep investing money in the business. This
strategy is utilized to prioritize the investment in productive firm.
When the ability of the business is low and the market attractiveness is high then the investor are
not supposed to invest in that business unit. Beside this when the vertical and horizontal axis
show the low unit then it will not be so productive for the investors who aim to acquire high
amount of the profit from the business. It will be beneficial for the person those willing to invest
the capital in their capital when the market capital is high the business unit have high or the
medium capability to generate surpluses in the marketplace. It delivers the chances to grow
rapidly. For examples the apple organization have the high capability to deliver the vast amount
of services to the consumer along with high market attractiveness(Tardieu, et.al, 2020).
Therefore, most of the investor willing to buy the shares of the company and ready to invest in
the firm. It took place in effective way because the company is generating high surplus and
increasing the scale of growth rate as the apple product are the most preferable product by the
consumer in domestic as well as international marketplace. The strength of the market activated
cooperated strategy is that framework delivers support for the long period. It is the most useful

tool as compare to other tools like PEST analysis scenario, directional policy matrix, five force
model, analysis of competitors, Pestle analysis, SWOT etc.
The biggest strength of market activated corporate strategy it gives analysation of the market to
The investor in order to invest in the market carefully. It delivered relevant data which is
beneficial for the growth of the company as well as worthy for investors too. For the investor it
will make easy to compare one company to another along with it also give assistance in
identifying the profit and loss of the organization and determine the area for the innovation and
improvement. With the research and development, the investor invest huge amount as their main
aim is to gain the profit(Al-Rabaiah,et.al,2019). It is Because of this framework the investors of
the company identify the factor which affect the investment of the company. For example, the
Apple company perform very well in the marketplace as the organization has the variety of
business unit to lead the market. Business unit include the product like desktop, laptop,
MacBook, iPhone, music device, I watch etc. the market research identify the size of their
market and growth rate of market along with barrier in order to enter in variety of market with
amazing technological features. In the industry the apple organization is growing rapidly due to
extensive features of the product delivered by the company. The weakness of the framework it
will divert the mind of the investor who took the decision on the bases of this matrix to invest.
Beside this it is the most time-consuming process as it required lots of equipment for the
analysation of the single company.

Analysis and measurement of the performance of products and challenges faced by the Apple
company
The total sales of the Apple company for the year 2012 was $156.5 billion and is the first quarter
the company had a profit of $46.33 billion. The company had a profit of $41.66 billion in the
whole fiscal year. In the year 2012, 58.31 million IPads were sold and the company revealed in
one of its event that the company sold about 100 million IPads at the end of 2012. On the other
hand the company sold 125 million Iphones in the year 2012. The company sold 37.04 million in
its first quarter and 25.06 in the second quarter. The company sold the remaining 26.03 million
units in third quarter and 26.91 million units in the fourth quarter. Apple company sold 18.15
million MacBooks and sold more than units of MacBook in the first quarter. The company sold
around 17 million MacBook till the end of the year.
Apple company generated around $170 billion revenue and $37 billion profits in the 2013. The
company sold around 150.2 million Iphones in the year 2013 as compared to the previous year
which was 123 million. The sales of Ipads was 71.1 million which is comparatively higher than
the previous year 2012 that was 58.31 million. On the other hand the sales of the MacBook is

lower in the year 2013 as compared to the previous year. The company sold more units of
Iphones, and fewer numbers of MacBooks in the year 2013. The company gained profits due to
increase in the sales of the Iphone and increase in the profit in the fiscal year.
The company sold 78.8 million units of Iphone in the first quarter. In march 2014,the company
faced a drop in its revenue. Furthermore, the company continued to struggle and faced loss as the
sales of the Ipad dropped 25% as compared to the sales of the previous year that is 2013 and the
sales of the MacBook also dropped 3.8 % as compared to the previous year sales of the
company. It was observed that Apple company has faced increase in the revenue of Iphones and
faced decline in its revenues related to Ipads and MacBooks.
For many years Apple has been a well-known company among the consumers as well as the
investors. The company is popular for its latest technology, additional features and software up
gradations which makes it different form the brands. The company faced various challenges
despite its success but the major challenge the company has faced is the competitive market,
innovation, demand, technology and pricing: Competition:The major challenge the company is facing is the competitive market and
the company wants to expand its business in the international countries like India but the
major problem faced is the upcoming brands such as Oppo and Vivo which has wide
smartphone base in the India. The company also faces serious challenges related to their
new products iPhone and iPads. There are other companies which is delivering products
at low price which can reduce the value of the products of the Apple company and also
the success strategy of the company. Innovation:The company has always focuses on innovation for the further growth of the
company's products in the market. The company also introduced anew software in their
gadgets and also included various additional features to their iPhones home screens. In
the year 2007. It also added new and innovative features in their Apple watches and
Airpods such as improved sound, supporting more health workouts and various different
features(Möller, and Haas, 2019). The company is planning to release new application
that could support 5g wireless speed. Apple company has focused on improving and
innovating their software to maintain its position among the customers in the market. Demand: The other challenges faced by the company is the demand of its products in the
market as the tastes and preferences of the customers keep on changing and hope for new

featured products at affordable price. The demand for the Apple tablets was increased in
many parts of the country but it did not continue for much time as smartphone became
more popular among the customers in the market(Kwon,et.al,2019.). It was also seen in
the year 2014, the demand of the Iphone users was increased which reflected their sales
in positive way. The new series of Iphones with additional features and improved
software led to increase in the revenue for the company. On the other hand the demand
for the Ipads and MacBook decreased by the year 2014. The company faced problems
and try to make improvements in the areas where the company can bring new products in
the market and fulfil the changing needs of the customers. Technology:With the technological changes the company also faced changes regarding
the up gradation of its products. For increasing its revenue and deliver quality products in
the market, the company focused on producing new and innovative products with latest
and upgraded softwares in their gadgets(Athey, and Luca, 2019.). There are various other
competitors in the market providing better products so the company has to focus on its
product functions for generating revenue.
 Pricing:The products of the Apple company are higher than the other smartphone brands
and the latest editions of the Iphone is very high which can be out of the reach of the
person who cannot afford to buy expensive products which will result in the decrease in
the demand of the products in that market(Gilreath, et.al,2019). This is one of the major
challenges faced by the company due to its high new edition products which can affect its
profitability in the market and especially in India and other smartphone brands can be a
stiff competition for the Apple company in India.
The Apple company being a popular brand faces success as well as many failures and the
company has introduced new series of Iphones, Ipads but the company faced various challenges
with the rapidly increasing customers preferences and technological challenges. Over the period
Apple Company has made various developments in its smartphones and other products to attract
the customer base. In order to recover the losses the company took various measures regarding
the sustainability and impact on the environment as many customers seek for the products and
services which is environmental friendly. Adapting new and latest technology can impact the
competitors of the company. The company has to focus on the updating its software and provide
considerable to the devices for enhancing the brand image of the company

Findings—using the MACS matrix to explain increasing or extracting value
The matrix is the most essential tool to analysis the outcomes of the company for accomplishing
the goals and beneficial outcomes. The tool is very useful for the apple company as the company
increasing the sales rapidly. The aim of the company is to expend the business all over the world
the that the reason the company utilized the position of the business in the marketplace. The
BCG matrix is represented the capability of the company by which the company do not depend
on the other units. The apple is the product company which deliver wide4 range of the product to
the consumer and buyers available in the marketplace. With the assistance of this tool the
organization lead the market and keep emerging the business in the marketplace.
By using MACS matrix, it has been analysed that the share market of the company is
high such that the horizontal dimension of the company referred that the sales of the business is
high and that is why, manager considered net present value of a business unit and then compare
the same with other. Also, the vertical dimension also reflected that Apple has an ability to
extract the value from its business unit and though the company does not compete with any of
the other firm’s in term of quality and price. That is why, it can be stated that it has a brand
image which in turn assists to extract the value from a business unit and this help to stay ahead in
competition. Further, as per the star, Apple has its own product which in turn cause positive
impact over the business (Yash and Kumar, 2021). These also help to attract the company and
also generate a better outcome which assists to attract the brand image of a company. However,
the company is also looking to add new features within a brand image so that it can meet the
customer’s need easily.
Through the MACS matrix, it can be find out that manager’s objective is to merge the
corporate capabilities and business units so that they provide an effective result that further
create better values in term of sales and profit. Thus, Apple has strong financial performance and
enough expertise that assists to generate the better outcome and reach the wide range of
customers as well (Chen, Liu and Gong, 2021). Also, with the help of this matrix, company can
invest enough amount to the business so that new features can be added which causes positive
impact over the sales of a company. This in turn helps a business to present the reliable
combination of data so that effective decision can be taken accordingly. As per the above

analysis, it can be reflected that from the Apple has increases its revenue of iPhone whereas
decline in its other products i.e. iPads, MacBooks. Thus, there is a need to pay attention of these
areas and improve the same so that effective outcome can be generated and raise the sales too.
Recommendation
 It is recommended to the Apple company to analyse the market changes and the take
appropriate measures such as use smart and promotional strategies and focus on the
product differentiation. The company should introduce new and premium colour range
for its customers to provide customers with different variant of the colours. The company
should consider the prevailing social factors and align the products according to the latest
trends in the market. The economic crisis also influence the product popularity in the
market place. The company should focus on providing free services in order to retain its
customers and build the brand image of the company.
 In order to improve the customer base and build the brand image, the company should
invest their cost in dealing with customers through online platforms as well. They should
focus on diversifying their products in the remote areas in order to increase the
productivity of the company.

CONCLUSION
From the above report, it can be concluded that strategic management plays an important part as
it helps manage the functions of the organization for the achievement of the organizational
objectives. The market activated corporate strategy in the context of Apple company is done
where the organization analyze its position in the marketplace. The market activated corporate
strategy model is considered as the most effective and useful tool to compare the industry
attractiveness and competitive strength of the business unit. The report also analyse the revenue
data of the products(iPhone, iPad and MacBook) of the Apple company for the year
2012,2013,2014 and the performance of the Apple products in the market. Along with this, the
various challenges faced by the company such as technological challenges, innovation
competitive market, demand for the Apple products and prices of the products of the company in
the market for increasing its sales and enhance its brand image from other competitors in the
market.

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