Innovation and System Thinking in Apple: A Case Study

The report analyzes the ways by which strategy and innovation work together in Apple, the innovative approach used by Apple to identify needs of consumers, the role played by the people in Apple in developing innovative products, and the impact of Steve Jobs on Apple.

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INNOVATION AND SYSTEM THINKING
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Executive Summary
The report is based on the analysis of the ways by which strategy and innovation are able to
work in a collaborative manner in Apple. The innovation based approach which has been
implemented by Apple in fulfilling customer needs has also been analysed in the report. The
role played by the people or the employees of Apple in the success of the company has been
discussed in detail. The ways by which CEO of the company Steve Jobs and his vision is also
considered to be an important part of the discussion which has been made based on the case
study.

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Table of Contents
Introduction....................................................................................................................3
About the company........................................................................................................3
Ways by which innovation and strategy work together in Apple..................................4
Innovative approach used by Apple to identify needs of consumers.............................4
Role played by the people in Apple in developing innovative products........................5
Impact of Steve Jobs on Apple.......................................................................................5
Conclusion......................................................................................................................6
References......................................................................................................................7

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Introduction
The case study is based on the operating processes of Apple and the ways by which
the organization has been able to maintain its growth in an effective manner. The
organization was founded in the year 1976 and was thereby considered to be the largest
integrator and designer of the computer software and hardware based products. The
continuous changes which have been made in the products and services offered by the
company over the years of its operations have been discussed in the case study (Brown &
Wyatt, 2010). The understanding which the organization and the management was able to
show based on the usage of computing devices by people has been analysed in the case study
in detail.
The report will be based on the analysis of the usage of innovative processes by Apple
to manage the customers. The role which has been played by the people of Apple in ensuring
the success of the company will be discussed in the report. The contribution provided by the
CEO of Apple in its success in the market can also be considered to be an important part of
the analysis.
About the company
Apple is a multinational technology based organization which has its origin in the
United States. The headquarter of Apple is located in Cupertino, California. The organization
mainly offers products based on consumer electronics, online services and computer
software. The hardware based products of the company include, iPhone, iPad, Mac and iPod.
The founders of Apple are Steve Wozniak, Ronald Wayne and Steve Wozniak. The
organization has its operations all over the world and has a huge customer and employee base
(Apple.com, 2018).

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Ways by which innovation and strategy work together in Apple
As discussed by Liedtka (2015), the most important parts of the unique strategy
implemented by Apple are based on some important factors which include, design thinking,
CEO as the chief innovator, rational courage of conducting the business experiments and the
development of strategies and its execution. The innovation process of the company was
thereby based on the strategies which have been developed by Apple. The development of
iPod was based on the love for music within the firm. The product had been successful in
catering to the needs of a large group of customers.
The design team which had been operating in the development of Mac computers
were also highly passionate about the innovation levels of the product. The organization and
the management thereby aimed at developing emotional connection with the customers with
the help of their products. The strategy based on developing connection with the customers
was thereby based on the innovation levels of the products. The fashion levels of the products
were also able to affect the levels of interaction which the consumers had with the
organization that was further helpful for the customer development based strategy of Apple
(Brown & Wyatt, 2010).
Innovative approach used by Apple to identify needs of consumers
According to Brown and Wyatt (2010), Apple has provided high levels of importance
to the experience which is provided to the customers. Customer experience has thereby been
made an important part of the development and design based process of the company. Apple
also focussed on the proper development of user interface which was helpful for the company
in order to interact with the customers.
The interactive levels of the software of Apple was an innovative approach which was
implemented by Apple in order to enhance the customer satisfaction levels. The development

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of the products of Apple were based on the desires and needs of the consumers. The
development of the operating system of Apple named OSX was also based on the changing
needs of consumers. The beauty of products of Apple was also considered by the company in
order to develop the emotional connection (Butler & Roberto, 2018).
Role played by the people in Apple in developing innovative products
According to Brown and Wyatt (2010), the people or employees of Apple have been
able to contribute to the innovativeness of the company. The employees or the developers had
to keep in mind that the major goal was to design the computers in such a manner so that the
products can be loved by the customers. The interactive levels of the products were also
based on the commitment levels of the employees. The employees have provided importance
to the smallest details of the products which are offered to the consumers.
The customers have been provided with the highest level of importance in this case
and the services provided by employees have provided Apple with a unique position in the
technology based industry. The appearance of the products has been designed by Apple in
such a manner which can serve as a fashion accessory for the customers. The look and
appearance of the products of Apple are a result for the attention which is provided by Apple
to details (Kumar, 2017). The developers have also created an interface in order to increase
the levels of interaction with the products of the company. The different factors of the
operations of Apple are related to product development, execution and innovation levels. The
excellence of the execution based of strategies in the company has been made possible by the
innovative employees of Apple (Liedtka, Salzman & Azer, 2017).
Impact of Steve Jobs on Apple
According to Brown and Wyatt (2010), the CEO of Apple Steve Jobs has played a
key role in the development of the company and creation of its position in the industry as

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well. The vision based on innovation and design was developed by Steve Jobs which also led
to the name of the company “Apple”. Apple and its operations have always been related
effectively with the CEO and founder Steve Jobs.
The vision of design sense has been shared by the CEO with all the employees in the
company. The temperament and dictatorial nature of the CEO was related to the vision which
has been developed by Steve Jobs. The CEO had always demanded high levels of excellence
from the employees in order to achieve the objectives. The relationship of Apple with the
customers is also based on the products which have been developed by the company
(Reinecke, 2016).
Innovation has always been an important part of the vision and strategy which has
been developed by Steve Jobs. The management team of Apple is able to maintain the levels
of innovation with the proper implementation of the innovative processes in the operations.
Steve Jobs has tried to maintain high levels of secrecy in different organizational operations
and providing the products to the customers as well (Liedtka, Salzman & Azer, 2017).
The CEO had taken a bold of starting the retail operations of Apple in the year 2001
with the help of the first store of the company. The services which are offered to the
customers in retail stores have been a part of the vision which has been developed by Steve
Jobs. The adaptation and learning based environment in Apple has been developed under the
leadership of Steve Jobs (Butler & Roberto, 2018).
Conclusion
The report can be concluded by stating that the innovation and learning based
activities have been able to play a key role in the operations of Apple. The CEO of the
company has played a key role in the success of Apple in the technology industry. The
success of Apple is further based on the contribution provided by the people or employees.

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References
Apple.com (2018). Apple. [online] Apple. Available at: https://www.apple.com/ [Accessed
25 Oct. 2018].
Brown, T., & Wyatt, J. (2010). Design thinking for social innovation. Development
Outreach, 12(1), 29-43.
Butler, A. G., & Roberto, M. A. (2018). When Cognition Interferes with Innovation:
Overcoming Cognitive Obstacles to Design Thinking: Design thinking can fail when
cognitive obstacles interfere; appropriate cognitive countermeasures can help disarm
the traps. Research-Technology Management, 61(4), 45-51.
Callahan, E. (2018, July). Cross-Cultural Empathy: Learning About Diverse Users in Design
Thinking Process. In International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction (pp.
236-240). Springer, Cham.
Kumar, N. M. (2017). DESIGN THINKING FOR INNOVATION: HOW CREATIVITY
CAN SOLVE OUR BIGGEST PROBLEMS. In Allied Academies International
Conference. Academy of Management Information and Decision Sciences.
Proceedings (Vol. 21, No. 1, p. 21). Jordan Whitney Enterprises, Inc.
Liedtka, J. (2015). Perspective: Linking design thinking with innovation outcomes through
cognitive bias reduction. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 32(6), 925-938.
Liedtka, J. (2018, July). Innovation, Strategy, and Design: Design Thinking as a Dynamic
Capability. In Academy of Management Proceedings (Vol. 2018, No. 1, p. 13004).
Briarcliff Manor, NY 10510: Academy of Management.

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Liedtka, J., Salzman, R., & Azer, D. (2017). Design thinking for the greater good:
Innovation in the social sector. Columbia University Press.
Reinecke, S. (2016). What is it that Design Thinking and Marketing Management can learn
from each other?. In Design Thinking for Innovation (pp. 151-162). Springer, Cham.
Sniukas, M., Lee, P., & Morasky, M. (2016). The Art of Opportunity: How to build growth
and ventures through strategic innovation and visual thinking. John Wiley & Sons.