Global Leadership: A Literature Review

This assignment presents a comprehensive literature review on the topic of global leadership. It examines key concepts, theories, and frameworks related to global leadership, drawing upon a selection of academic articles provided. The review explores various dimensions of global leadership, including cultural intelligence, international communication, strategic decision-making, and the influence of institutions on global markets. Students are expected to synthesize the information presented in the articles and provide a critical analysis of the current understanding of global leadership.

Global Marketing
Leadership

Table of Contents
1.0 PURPOSE OF REPORT...........................................................................................................1
2.0 SCOPE OF THE REPORT........................................................................................................1
3.0 LIMITATIONS OF THE REPORT..........................................................................................1
4.0 OVERVIEW OF APPLE INC...................................................................................................1
4.1 Apple’s achievements.......................................................................................................2
4.2 Challenges faced and overcome by Apple Inc.................................................................3
5.0 DELIVERING APPLE’S MISSION AND VISION.................................................................3
5.1 Apple’s vision...................................................................................................................3
5.2 Apple’s mission statements from Steve and Tim.............................................................4
6.0 ACHIEVING SUSTAINABLE ADVANTAGE.......................................................................4
Leadership and innovation role in Apple ..............................................................................7
7.0 ACHIEVING MARKET LEADERSHIP..................................................................................7
8.0 GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS.......................................................................................9
9.0 CONCLUSION........................................................................................................................10
REFERENCE LIST.......................................................................................................................11

1.0 PURPOSE OF REPORT
The current report is aimed at providing an insight into the aspect of global marketing
leadership and is projected to help the readers to understand the variety of factors that come into
play while operating in an international market. The theories, principles as well as practices will
be covered in depth about about Apple Inc. in this current report
2.0 SCOPE OF THE REPORT
Well-known global organisation which is Apple Inc. is selected to understand the
difficulties and obstacles faced by the organisation while operating in the global market while
acknowledging their achievement. The mission and vision, as well as the path, are taken by the
organisation to fulfil these objectives, are discussed. This is to be done in order to develop an
understanding of sustainable advantage and the ways to achieve market leadership. The report
will also provide sustainability-oriented general recommendations for the Apple.
3.0 LIMITATIONS OF THE REPORT
The current report will, however, fail to discuss the various organisational aspects of the
Apple Inc. which would limit the understanding of their global marketing strategies. Since the
report will be furnished without any specific geographic requirement, the readers will be only
made aware of the general dilemmas and factors that influence and impact the concept of global
marketing leadership. The challenges and obstacles will be more general and thus, in overall, the
readers will not be able to get the in-depth knowledge about the functions and operations of the
organisation. There are legal and ethical issues in place along with the limited accessibility to
information and other related resources which definitely can be categorised as a limitation of the
report. Moreover, it doesn't comprise of any primary data, complete report is evaluated on the
basis of secondary data.
4.0 OVERVIEW OF APPLE INC.
The firm that has been chosen as the model for this report is Apple. This is a
multinational tech organization which is expanded in many countries. The company is involved
in mass producing and selling electronics and other related paraphernalia to the consumer (Liang,
2015, p.141). The company also provides software support and services which have grown in
demand due to the rapid pace of global technological advancement.
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Steve Jobs was the founder of Apple and was ousted from the company due to a run of
bad spell wherein the products were unable to garner customer’s attention. This allowed Jobs to
contemplate the future of his own existence and was smart enough to identify the potential of
developing organisations and heavily invested in them.
4.1 Apple’s achievements
Apple’s achievement has been mostly IT and computer oriented as Apple had a huge
impact on the computer industry which was previously dominated by companies such as IBM.
The first generation of iPod allowed the consumers to digitally carry all their music anywhere
they wanted and this changed the game entirely. In words of Chan et al. (2013, p.105), over the
time the quality and reliability of the of the products the company sells have greatly improved.
They also have a very adept understanding of the needs and wants of the consumer. Steve Jobs
has been a guide and mentor to the organisation even till his last breath and all of the
achievements that Apple has accomplished is due to the mastermind work of Mr Jobs. they have
been able to take down competition, establish brand image and loyalty throughout the various
age groups of the targeted market. As per the Forbes report, in terms of world's biggest public
firm it comes on the 9th place, 7th in sales, 1st in profit making and market value. It is the worlds'
most precious brands and comes on the first place according to Forbes report for consecutive 7
years (Forbes, 2017). In 2017, its brand value has raised to $170 billion with market cap of $712
billion and sales of more than $217.48 B. The iPod launched by the Apple is considered to their
best innovative creation during that period. Further, they have invented iTunes, I phone, Mac,
iWatch and many more electronic products which are highly preferred by the consumers as it
enhance their lifestyle.
From the beginning the firm is famous for its personal computer, keyboards and monitor.
In year 2002, it was awarded as Technical Grammy Award which was first awarded to any PC
organization. From past 20 years, company is recognized for its advance technology, marvellous
design and creative innovation. The latest product launched by it was the Apple watch which was
huge market success. It took less than 10 years to Steve Jobs to take the company to height.
Currently the CEO of the company is Tim Cook from year 2011. The main profit is earned by
the company due to their iPhone and other electronic gadgets.
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4.2 Challenges faced and overcome by Apple Inc.
The major challenges faced by the company are the technical, leadership, competition
and economy. The presence of competitors is one of the major barriers that Apple faces on a
daily basis and has been able to come out as victorious in terms of customer response and
revenue. Currently, Apple is facing the challenges from Microsoft, Samsung and Chinese
companies. The low pricing strategy and high features are supporting these companies at very
large level. Apple’s successful run has not been so smooth over the years and they have faced
serious hardships and barriers which they needed to overcome in order to become something
large. The Apple has been revolutionising the technological field and their radical innovation
comes at certain costs such as increasing cost of the product (Clarke and Boersma, 2015, p.20).
However, their focus is to bring about radical development in the already existing products and
improve their physical and technological attributes. Further, leadership of Steve Jobs has affected
the company. Due to their knowledge about the market and technology as well as art and mission
they were able to raise the level of the firm. The company can overcome this issues by being
more innovative and using technological advancement in their product.
5.0 DELIVERING APPLE’S MISSION AND VISION
In order to maintain the competitive advantage, Apple needs to see that its mission and vision
statement are followed to the tee. While the vision statement emphasises on the growth and
development of the company, the mission statement is indicative of the actions and objectives
that the organisation needs to follow in order to tread the path of success.
5.1 Apple’s vision
Tim Cook has delivered Apple’s vision to be more focused on the innovation part in very
simple ways. They want to make the significant changes in the market through developing their
primary technologies. The products that they want to develop or launch must create impact on
the customer’s. Furthermore, they are involved in collaboration and cross-pollination so that
development can be made in sustainable ways. Excellence, self-honesty and courage are their
primary centers. Along with this they want to focus on their culture, values and belief to make
great products. The Belief is a true indication of the company’s growth and success. The
company’s CEO knows that they are a huge brand and that their product is in great demand.
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They have taken up the mantle of continuously innovating and modifying the products in order
to simplify the things rather than complicate them. They have acknowledged the fact that the
need to own primary technologies is as important as the product itself and this enables them to
participate as well as contribute to the market. The vision statement also states that it is
unnecessary to clutter the workflow by accepting thousands of projects and understand that
giving full dedication to a single product is much more meaningful. The vision statement also
reflects the notion that the company strives for excellence and self-honesty which have been
embedded in the organisation which allows them to perform extremely well (Steenkamp, 2014,
p.27). The comprehensive vision statement provides a detailed account of the approach that is
taken by Apple. The rapid and radical innovation strategy with a focus on simplicity
communicates to the consumer the reason why the company has become so huge. The statements
in the vision show the direction in which the company is moving to and the decisions makers, as
well as employees, know what they working to achieve.
Job's vision about the company was to improve the quality and standards of the company.
They want to help mankind with their technology and products. In terms of functional
performance he wanted the high quality products and philosophic view encompassing the
complete stage of their product life cycle.
5.2 Apple’s mission statements from Steve and Tim
Job's mission was to deliverer services for the betterment of the mankind by using
advanced tools and technologies. They want to develop the product and services through which
they can serve their customers. Tim Cook's mission is about being the best in the all the services
that they are providing to the customer. They completely want to revolutionize the process and
create new innovate products which can initiate modifications (Rao-Nicholson et al. 2016,
p.2462).
Apple's mission and vision both are achieved by them. In terms of consumer market
technology it is the global leader whose leadership is maintained by Jobs and Cook. Such
organizational culture and corporate ethics help the company to achieve remarkable success.
6.0 ACHIEVING SUSTAINABLE ADVANTAGE
The target market acts differently than the company itself and this means that despite the
best efforts of the company, there are chances that the target market cannot be attracted. No
matter how hard the company tries to gain the insights of the consumer mind, it would be
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impossible to gain the complete understanding of the customer psyche (Kolk, 2014, p.192). The
customer views the company as a competitor and hence, the company needs to devise a strategy
at which sheds light on the brand image of the company and thus, it is required to stay in
proximity to the target segment of the market so as to conduct research regularly and frequently
to understand their psyche. From the starting when the Apple launched their first product which
was iPod made huge success to the company. Moreover, their smartphones which was launched
in the 2007 was the again the grand success. The Company has less fear of the competition and
they do not have to use the bargaining power in order to face the market. The progress continued
and Apple used the consumer technology market to make improved version of it's iPhone.
Different strategies are used by the company so that they can make effective products. Along
with this, plans are made in order to launch the goods in market.
It is very necessary to have a clear understanding of who the boss is and this enables the
employees to take the orders from their hierarchical seniors which diminishes the chances of the
market research to get overshadowed by the internal politics and company protocols. It is of
utmost importance that the employees work with dedication to those who sign their pay checks
as well as the target market. In words of O’Keeffe et al. (2016, p.420), this enables the employed
individual to focus more on the needs of the people who go out every day in the market to buy
the available product and services.
Due to entry of the existing rivalry and entries of new competitors Apple have to face
huge bargaining powers of consumers. There a variety of consumers present in terms of
marketing. The target customers are the one with whom an organisation is involved in
conducting businesses and this highlights the importance of understanding the needs of the
consumers. The main aim of marketing research is to gain consumer insight which means that
the focus is in building relation with people so as to connect them with the brand and this enables
the company to enjoy success (Lester et al. 2016, p.330). This will also lead to differentiation in
the types of services and products that are offered by the company which indirectly helps ins
bolstering the brand image and brand loyalty. The success factors which Apple is using to gain
the competitive advantages is the ability to be creative as well as innovative and develop the
product which are out of reach of rivals. Further, their competitors are unable to harm the image
established by the company and its products. They are using the premium pricing strategy to
launch their new products. Such strategic approach helps to maintain the brand image, status of
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the company, innovativeness and luxury of the product. Moreover, they use the cleaver
marketing and extensive research along with advertising to improve their status, standards and
image.
To sustain the market and be more productive Apple used the product differentiation and
life cycle strategy. For illustration, the new iPhone 8 which is the advanced version of the seven
consist of improved performance and technology. It is necessary to take into account the source
of motivation, their personality, their habits and behaviours as these elements play a vital role in
the purchase making a decision. However, as mentioned by Ozuem and O’Keeffe (2014, p.137),
there are subconscious behaviours and attitudes which the marketers sometimes fail to identify
which significantly increases the value of a good market research of the target market. T
The concept of the target market is present as everyone cannot be a target for marketing.
This is done by Apple in order to prevent the alienation of there potential buyers. This strategy
can be fruitful in stopping the pitting of individual customers against the marketed product and
services. However, this is not such a good strategy when it comes to implementing brand
connectivity as people are not able to emotionally connect with the brand (Challagalla et al.
2014, p.7). These emotional connections arise from a complete understanding of each other and
though targeting everyone inhibits alienation, it deters anyone from connecting with the brand.
It is important to understand that emotional relationships that are built on trust and faith
last longer than the functional relationships and this means that most of the marketing strategies
should be focussed on developing an emotional connection. The attention span of customer is
very fluke and while functional relationships can be very beneficial, they are not able to grab the
eyeballs, a metaphor for attention, of the customers (Tuleja, 2014, p.311). Emotional connections
lead to development of brand and ensures brand loyalty which ensures longevity and helps in
attaining the elusive sustainable competitive advantage. To gain more support from the
customers Apple uses the product development and market penetration strategy. Such methods
are used in launching their new iWatch which was grand success. They are using different
methods to reach vast amount of customers. To increase the market shares Apple have expended
its shop at various location, used websites and other areas. In the year 2014, the company was
ranked as the best supply chain at international level. The methods adopted are cost effective and
helps to maintain the status of Apple in the competitive world.
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Leadership and innovation role in Apple
Complete success of the company is contribution of their leaders. Steve and Tim have
effectively managed the company and represented it to the global level (Rao-Nicholson et al.
2016, p.2462).. The company which was at the verge to bankruptcy was led by Steve Jobs to to
greatest corporate comeback. Moreover, they have created the corporate culture and structure
where most of the employees wants to join. Moreover, the motivation factor provided by the
Steve Jobs in the year 1997 lead the company to great success. As Jobs was able to convince the
Gates to provide the loan of $150m to sustain in the market. Not only in terms of the phones and
laptops, the company has also changed the way people listen to the music. One of their greatest
invention iPods and iTunes which completely changed the music market. In order to provide the
high quality service and innovate product Job's have to be realistic and persistent. While Tim
took the company to global level and maintained it their as the rising star. In the year 2015, he
was voted as the World best leaders. Such consistence of being the most valuable brand can only
be kept by leader like Tim Cook.
Technological advancement and being innovative such as the development of iPod,
iPhones, iWatch and Mac has helped Apple to gain the market effectively. Their realistic
approach of being creativeness can be seen in their product. Every year company is launching
their new product which are advanced version of their previous product in terms of technology
and appearance. Such are the sustainable achievement of the company.
7.0 ACHIEVING MARKET LEADERSHIP
Apple has been able to cover the local as well as the global market and has become the
market leaders. Their products are known all over the world and recognition is widespread. The
key to becoming market leader is to analyse and identify what makes each of the market tick and
accordingly devising strategies which can be effective during expansion. However, according to
Beal and Pinson (2014, p.22), expanding for the sake of growth is counterproductive and hence it
is necessary to keep a peeled eye on the cash influx since this is the most vital part of sustenance
any organisation. Hence expanding smartly and keeping the costs in check helps in increasing
the revenue. To achieve the market leadership Apple is spending millions in their research and
development department. To the increase the productivity level, better environment and facilities
are provided to the staff. Building the trust and respect in the staff helped Steve and Tim to make
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the firm to global level. They have considered many factors which helped them to contribute and
drive the company to market growth.
Apart from these strategies, it also very necessary to have a fully chalked out and well-
established marketing plan and tactics which can be used to project the unique position of the
company and its products as well as services to the consumers (Maass et al. 2015, p.299). The
above mentioned strategies of Apple are used by the company to launch and promote their
product. Proper implementation of the plan is necessary so as to bring in more customers over
the time and keep a peeled eye on customer activity as well. The innovate culture developed by
the leaders of Apple helped their staff to be more productive, innovate and creative. The majority
of the good and qualified talent is necessary for service sector so as to sustain the company in the
future. There are certain factors which are considered by company in their marketing style are
mentioned below:
1. The company was being critics by many people but then also they continued to created
the success in the market (Rao-Nicholson et al. 2016, p.2462)..
2. Through the innovation they have created the existing product into new which is extra-
ordinary.
3. The prices of the product are completely depended on the features and benefits which the
customers will be receiving.
4. They have effectively used their brand name in launching the other successful products.
5. The customer’s reviews and their feedback helped the company to make further
strategies.
When a company spends its resources on training its employees, it a sign that these
individuals would not enjoy leaving behind trusted and great employees. There is an intense need
to motivate and generate trust among those who work for the company and instilling within them
the confidence to work together and use their gained experience as well as skills. Apple's
strategies are focussed towards only certain things, which are customers, innovation and
development. The employees working in the company to fulfil the desires of the customers. In
words of Mehta and Anderson (2015, p.367), this can become the biggest rise when a company
is trying to achieve the market leadership.
Apple is focused towards their customers, their needs, wants, behaviours and attitudes
which can be interpreted appropriately to gain that elusive market leader position. Hence, the
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company need to be informed about every development occurring in the market and this is one of
the most basic skill of competition (Herbert et al. 2014, p.281). Understanding the products and
services offered by the competitors enables Apple to raise to antique in order to improvise their
products and services and influence more customers.
The organisational structure is also necessary in order to gain the market leadership and
in the case of Apple there are three organisational structure present namely the spoke and wheel
hierarchy, function-based groups and product based groups (Rao-Nicholson et al. 2016, p.2462).
The spoke and wheel hierarchy gives a bird's eye view of the hierarchical structure present in
Apple which showcases the collaboration of the various segments of the organisation and an
increased autonomy for the senior administrative officer's of the company. Firm has collaborated
their hardware and software team to be more innovative. The upper levels of Apple are a
function based group as they are responsible for carrying out the functionality of the
organisation. All the activities are reported to the Tim Cook which take the further decision.
Such structure help to complete task more effective and productive way. The lower rung is more
products based as the individuals classified under this group are responsible for dealing with the
variety of products. The structure help Apple to be more specific about the products and their
components. Such structure provides the advantage to the company as their the leaders like Cook
can effectively take decision and control over the organisation. But there is disadvantage also as I
affects the flexibility and collaboration in the firm (Chan, Pun, and Selden. 2013, pp.100-115).
Motivation, incentives, welfare, increasing manpower, training and development and
various other techniques are used by the company to increase their productivity. This helps to
reduce the stress level of the Apple's employees. They have created the environment which can
benefits to their stakeholders in all prospective ways.
8.0 GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS
Apple must focus on the production line, their distribution network and rising demand of
the customers. As the company follows the 3 points which are empathy, focus and impute they
can hardly be affected by their competitors. They understand their customer’s, focus on the
opportunities and impute in terms of quality, creativeness and professionalism. They must
continue their services which they are providing to the customers which are premium quality of
product. They must conduct the aggressive promotion to influence their potential customers.
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Further they must concentrate on their all product and must promote them all. Further they can
use the pricing strategies which can help to attract the new customers and dominate the market.
They must also focus on the outlets and location so that customer can gain better services.
Further they must be focused on the profit making and competition which is offered by
Microsoft, Samsung and other Chinese firms. Other areas where they can focus are Augmented
and virtual reality, Holograms. Implementing this opportunities can help to raise the profit level
and standards of the company. They must maintain their friendly behaviour with the customers
and staff members to enhance the sales and productivity.
9.0 CONCLUSION
In the current report, the case study of Apple has been very helpful in understanding the
various aspects of global marketing leadership. The overview of Apple Inc. helped in gaining the
precursor information that is necessary to understand Apple’s current stand. The mission and
vision statement guided the project to identify what the company wants to achieve in the near
future and how it plans to do the same. The strategies of achieving sustainable advantage was
also discussed and this enabled to understand the concept of market leadership. Suggestions and
recommendations were proposed that were oriented towards sustainability.
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