Analysis of Martin Luther King Jr's Speech and Apple's CEO Tim Cook's Report

This article provides an analysis of Martin Luther King Jr's famous speech 'I have a Dream' and Apple's CEO Tim Cook's report. It compares their vision, spheres, actions, supportive materials, leadership qualities and theoretical considerations.

MPM732: Critical Thinking for Managers
Assignment 1: Written Report
(Critical Analysis)
Name: Sakchhyam Gauchan
Student ID: 218584031
Word count:

Analysis of Martin Luther King Jr famous speach “I have a Dream” 1963
Martin Luther King was a Baptist minister, social right activist and leader of the American civil
right movement who gave the most memorable and iconic speech of all time in US history; “I
have a Dream”. It was delivered at Abraham Lincoln’s Memorial in Washington D.C., on 1963.
He spoke to end the racism in United States, for the freedom of negros, that all men should be
treated equally. His speech “I have a Dream” got so famous, it started a movement.
In his speech one of the most powerful lines where read, “I have a dream that my four little
children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but
by the content of their character”(The Martin Luther King, Jr., Research and Education Institute,
n.d.). The key message in his speech was that all people are created equal, no matter what skin
color you have got or which religion you follow. As the people were treated unequally, mainly
negros, they had to struggle a lot in order to adjust in a society as they were in a deep poverty
line.
Martin Luther King Jr, in his speech he used great strategy to convince his audience to stand
together for the rights afforded to all under the Constitution. He used figurative language such as
metaphors and repetition in order to convey his purpose. His speech made a greatest
demonstration for freedom in the history for the black community. Martin Luther King Jr.
highlighted his dream for the black people to help them realize that they all share the same
dream. He represented the concept of justice for the nation that all black people and white people
should be given equal justice.
Martin Luther King Jr. was the leader taking the stand for the negros. He wanted the black
people to be equally treated as the white people. He was taking a stand for all the black people so
they can have the same right as the white people. Because of his speech many were motivated
to stand up and fight for their rights. Martin Luther King Jr. made many people realize
how bad the discrimination in the U.S. was. His speech proved the nation that people
would no longer tolerate senseless, racial injustice. Due to his speech the outcome for
the black people came to be successful and peace came in the history of the US. His
speech will be forever be remembered due to its powerful impact and its everlasting
message for the freedom of the black people. At last Martin Luther King Jr’s dream
came true, “where little black boys and girls will be able to join hands with little white
boys and white girls and walk together as sisters and brothers.”

Analysis of Apple’s CEO Tim Cook
Apple’s CEO Tim Cook revised their guidance or expectation in Apple’s fiscal 2019 (first
quarter) to Apple’s investor through a letter to the investors. Tim Cook gave a glance of the
company’s expectation in this letter as he has clearly estimated the value of revenue to be $84
billion, gross margin to be 38% and so on. According to his estimation, Tim Cook ascertains that
the company’s revenue would be lower than original guidance for the present quarter. He had
also clearly mentioned to the investors that the first quarter would be impacted by both
macroeconomic and Apple-specific factors (Apple Newsroom, 2019).
Tim Cook has been able to discuss the four factors for the growth of the revenue over a year for
the quarter. At first, Cook gave the analysis of their new product iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max,
which was sent in Q4’18. He mentioned that the new models placing the channel fill and early
sales in that quarter, whereas a year ago iPhone X dispatched in Q1’18, placing the channel fill
and early sales in December quarter. According to their expectation from this, they knew it
would create a troublesome analyze for Q1’19. Then he mentioned that the because of the strong
US dollar, it would create foreign exchange headwinds and forecasted thus would reduce their
revenue growth by about 200 basis points comparing to last year. They also realized that they
had an uncommon number of new products to slope during the quarter and anticipated that
supply imperatives would entryway their offers of specific products during Q1. Once more, this
additionally played out comprehensively in accordance with our desires. Offers of Apple Watch
Series 4 and iPad Pro were obliged much or most of the quarter. Tim also mentioned that Air
pods and MacBook Air were also additionally compelled, and they anticipated financial
shortcoming in some developing markets. This ended up having an essentially more prominent
effect than they had anticipated (Apple Newsroom, 2019).
But as he had assessed, he was right about the company’s quarterly revenue of $84.3 billion yet
there was a slight decrease of 5 percent from the year prior quarter, and quarterly profit per
diluted share of $4.18, up 7.5 percent. He has likewise referenced in his report that the revenue
from iPhone has declined 15 percent from the earlier year, while total revenue from every single
other products and services grew 19 percent. Furthermore, revenue from Mac and other different
accessories have also grown to 9 percent and 33 percent respectively (Apple Newsroom, 2019).
As Tim Cook was a bit disappointed to miss the revenue guidance, that they manage Apple for
long term, and for the present quarter’s outcomes which show that the hidden quality of Apple’s
business runs profound and wide.” He had also mentioned, that the Company’s dynamic
introduced base of gadgets achieved an untouched high of 1.4 billion in the principal quarter,
developing in every one of their geographic section. That is an incredible demonstration of the
fulfillment and reliability of their clients, and it’s also driving their Services business to new
records because of their expansion and quickly developing environment.” (Tim Cook, 2019).
As for Apple Inc. Board of directors has declared cash dividend of $0.73 per share of the
company’s stock. The profit is payable on February 14, 2019 to investors of record as of the end
of business on February 11, 2019. Tim has given the message to the investors that “Apple Inc is

a company which innovates like no other company on earth, and they are not taking their foot off
the gas. (Apple, 2019)
Comparison of speech and CEO’s report
Vision
Martin Luther King Jr and the CEO of Apple both had a dream. Similarity lies in envisioning the
achievement of success. Only difference lies in the perspective towards achieving success. In
case of Martin Luther King Jr, dream is presented in the form of a speech at Abraham Lincoln’s
memorial in Washington DC on 1963. The major drive behind the speech was to reduce racism
in the threshold of United States (The Martin Luther King, Jr., Research and Education Institute,
n.d.). On the contrary, in case of Apple’s CEO, the dream was to stabilize the revenue through
prospective investments.
Spheres
Martin Luther King Jr proposed the speech, “I had a dream” with the intention to end racism.
This reflects the socio-cultural parameter with the motive to enhance the equality among the
social hierarchies. On the other hand, CEO of Apple represents the economic parameter.
Countering these aspects, it can be said that the parameters of social, cultural and economic are
crucial in terms of assessing the impact of the external challenges on the public domain. In view
of this aspect, both Martin Luther King Jr and CEO of Apple can be placed in the same category
for sharing a mutual interest regarding enhancing the corporate social responsibilities (Apple
Newsroom 2019).
Actions
The speech proposed by Martin Luther King Jr reflects a longing and desire for being judged
according to the character. This lamentation adds to their suffering and ailments in terms of the
racial discrimination of which they are the targets. The convincing tone of Martin Luther King Jr
resulted in the collaborative attempt towards preserving the fundamental rights, proposed in the
Constitution. Metaphorical elements in the speech helped Martin Luther King Jr to gain loyalty,
trust and dependence from the public domain (The Martin Luther King, Jr., Research and
Education Institute n.d). On the other hand, mention can be made of revising the targets of the
fiscal policies in the first quarter, which assisted Apple’s CEO to estimate and expect the revenue
to be $84 million. Along with this, he also presented an analysis of the new products in the
category of iPhone.
Supportive materials
Martin Luther King Jr highlighted the alarming cases of the racial discriminations, which
broadened the gap between the black and the whites. He projected the judgment of the character
on the basis of skin colour instead of character. On the contrary, Tim used statistical data related
to sales revenue, dividends and others for discussing the situation with the investors (Apple
Newsroom 2019). Making judicious use of the materials and evidences enables Martin Luther
King Jr and Tim to attach proper direction to judgmental capabilities.

Leadership qualities
Martin Luther King Jr fought for the preserving the rights of the public domain. Convincing tone
helped him to earn respect, enhancing his personality. Strategic approach in conducting the
activities resulted in the achievement of results according to the estimations. Therefore,
transformative leadership style can be applied to the personality of Martin Luther King Jr. This is
in terms of strategizing the philosophy according to the needs of the public domain. Specific
mention can be made of his contribution towards the upliftment of the Negros. He intended to
bring equality between the black and the white people. The common public got motivated from
the speech of Martin Luther King Jr to stand up for their rights (Goodwin 2018). He acquainted
the common public about the alarming situation created by racial discrimination. Dedication,
commitment and perseverance in the actions upgraded the standards of living for the blacks
within US. Caring and understanding approach towards the needs of the people makes him a
people’s leader (Wolfram et al. 2016).
On the other hand, CEO of Apple revised the targets of the fiscal policies in the first quarter. As
a sequential step, he estimated that the revenue would be lower than the original expectations.
Clear cut communications with the investors reflects the initiative towards stabilizing the
parameter of public relations. Discussing the four factors of revenue growth with the
stakeholders and shareholders reflected his intentions towards establishing fairness and
transparency within the business operations. According to his estimations, the new models of
iPhone possessed flexibility in the increasing the sales revenue in the first quarter (Apple
Newsroom 2019). These estimations relate to the strategic approach towards framing the
business operations. Awareness of the constraints and the means to achieve resolutions helped in
stabilizing the market position in the competitive era. Specific reference can be made of the
awareness about missing the revenue guidance, however, developing long term goals for the
quarter assisted Tim in expanding the scope and arena of the business dynamics. His support and
guidance helped the personnel in altering the workplace scenario. Dynamic introduction of the
gadgets base acted as an agent in terms of the reaching to the targets of 1.4 billion in the
principal quarter.
Theoretical considerations
In case of Martin Luther King Jr, models such as Grice’s conversation maxims can be applied.
This is in terms of gaining an insight into the expression of the audience. Discourse of cultural
studies, especially, racism, helped Martin Luther King Jr in preparing the public for raising their
voice against the malice of racial discriminations. Grice’s maxim can be infused into the speech
of Martin Luther King Jr, as it achieved high ratings from The Washington Post
(Washingtonpost.com 2019). Here, the speech is perceived as “not in the public domain but is
the private property, the ownership of which lies in the King family. On the contrary, analysis of
Tim Cook’s contribution towards increasing the sales revenue of Apple. Along with this, logical
levels of conversation can be applied in case of Tim in terms of the discussions, which he had
with the clients regarding revising the guidance policies and targets. The conversation models
does not fully support the discourses related to the cultural studies and economics. This
incapability attaches negative parameter to the power and authority, which is needed for

disseminating the information to the team members. However, convincing tone enhances the
leadership skills, abilities and competencies of Martin Luther King Jr and Tim (Herbert 2016).

References:
The Martin Luther King, Jr., Research and Education Institute. (n.d.). "I Have a Dream,"
Address Delivered at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. [online]
<https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/king-papers/documents/i-have-dream-address-delivered-
march-washington-jobs-and-freedom> [Accessed 2 Apr. 2019].
Apple Newsroom. 2019. Letter from Tim Cook to Apple investors. [online] Available at:
https://www.apple.com/au/newsroom/2019/01/letter-from-tim-cook-to-apple-investors/
[Accessed 8 Apr. 2019].
Apple Newsroom. 2019. Apple Reports First Quarter Results. [online] Available at:
https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2019/01/apple-reports-first-quarter-results/ [Accessed 8 Apr.
2019].
Apple Newsroom. 2019. Apple Reports First Quarter Results. [online] Available at:
https://www.apple.com/au/newsroom/2019/01/apple-reports-first-quarter-results/ [Accessed 8
Apr. 2019].
Washingtonpost.com 2019. 53 years later, you still have to pay to use Martin Luther King Jr.’s
famous ‘I Have a Dream’ speech. Available at- https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-
sheet/wp/2017/01/15/54-years-later-you-still-have-to-pay-to-use-martin-luther-king-jr-s-famous-
i-have-a-dream-speech/?utm_term=.f796a70035f2
Goodwin, B., 2018. Martin Luther King, Jr., American Social Educator. Journal of the
Interdenominational Theological Center, 4(2), p.7.
Wolfram, W., Myrick, C., Forrest, J. and Fox, M.J., 2016. The Significance of Linguistic
Variation in the Speeches of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. American speech, 91(3), pp.269-
300.
Herbert, A., 2016. Martin Luther King:“Now is the time”-His Dream to Influence Education
Today. Springer.