Organizational Change Management in Apple Inc.

This paper discusses the change management, culture, leadership, and structural issues faced by Apple Inc. and their impact on the company's sustainability and profitability. Suggestions are given to address these issues.

Running head: Organizational change management
Organizational change management

Organizational change management
Introduction
The main aim of this task is to explain and outline the various issues such as change
management, structure, leadership and culture issues which have a direct impact on the long term
profitability and sustainability of Apple Inc. Apple Inc. has been taken in the paper to endorsees
the various issues related to the change management. Furthermore, the paper depicts how these
issues could affect the progress and success of the company. Along with this, effective and
dynamic suggestions have been given to address and resolve these change management issues
within the organization. More detail of the task is discussed below.
Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company with its headquarter is located
in California, U.S. The organization produces and designs innovative products such as consumer
electronics, computer software and online services. The hardware products include the iPad
tablet computer, the iPhone Smartphone and the Mac personal computer in the global market. It
shall be found that Apple Inc. is one of the biggest information technology company measured
by revenue and the second largest mobile phone manufacturer after Samsung in the world. The
company was incorporated in 1979 by Ronald Wayne, Steve Jobs, and Steve Wozniak. The main
vision of the company includes the following:
 The firm believes that it is on the face of the earth to make innovative and unique
products in the marketplace and that is not changing.
 The organization is constantly focusing on the innovation and development to maximize
profitability.
 Along with this, the organization entrusted that it needs to control the primary
technologies to produce innovative and attractive products.
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Organizational change management
The mission of the company is to develop and render best quality products to the customers
in the global market. It helps to generate more and more revenue in the marketplace. Apple Inc.
is expanding and exploring its business activities in more than 24 countries. It operates its
business in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, France, Hong Kong, Japan, Italy, Germany,
China, Canada, Netherlands, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, and Switzerland.
There are approx 123,000 employees employed in the organization. Furthermore, intensive
growth and generic strategies are being used by the firm to gain competitive advantages and
make a good financial image globally. Apple Inc analyzes and evaluates strategies, plans and
policies of the competitors to make a good position globally (Cameron and Green, 2015). The
firm also uses advertisement and promotional strategies and policies to attract more and more
clients in the marketplace. Moreover, SWOT analysis, Pestle analysis, and porter five forces
analysis are done to identify and measure the strengths and weaknesses of the competitors. In
today’s modern world, various issues are faced by Apple Inc. while conducting business
activities and operations at international level (Heracleous, 2013). Some of the major issues have
been detailed below.
Change management issues
Change management may be defined by Drucker (2012) where he said that change
management is a collective term that is used by the firm to prepare and support individuals,
organizations and team in making organizational change. Change management plays a vital role
to introduce new and innovative technologies within the organization (Drucker, 2012). Along
with this, change management is an effective and structured approach to transitioning
organizations and individuals from a current state to a future state. Apple has mastered in change
management process whereas other organizations have failed to do (Hayes, 2014). Apple always
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Organizational change management
tries to introduce new and innovative products in the global world. Although, it is beneficial for
the firm to be a player in the world but it has some negative impact also that affect the goodwill
and revenue of the firm adversely. The company allows their own release cycle by introducing
new and innovative technologies within the organization. They do not let go any feature or
function prematurely just to beat and hit the competitors in the marketplace. Hence, apple is not a
perfect company because they do several mistakes in the organization. Furthermore, they wanted
a fully tested environment while releasing it to the general users. Along with this, updates and
changes happen ample of times in Apple Inc. In addition, the company is releasing features
slowly (Drucker, 2012).
According to Epstein and Buhovac (2014) Change management is one of the significant
issues that is faced by the company while introducing new technologies and processes within the
organization. It is ongoing issue in Apple Inc that could affect the sustainability and profitability
of the firm adversely (David, 2011). Due to change management various issues are being dealt
by the firm in today’s competitive world. Drucker (2012) said that communication is one of top
change management issues as it seen in the failure to communicate when a change occurs in the
workplace. The firm is unable to communicate with people while introducing new technologies
at the workplace. It also has a direct impact on the efficiency and effectiveness of the workers.
On the other hand, employees do not understand the technologies and procedures which are
initiating by Apple Inc. Furthermore, no training and development sessions are held to
implement the changes within the organization, as it also affects the productivity and outcomes
of the firm. Due to change management, the employees get frustrated and they feel lonely at the
workplace (Epstein and Buhovac, 2014). As a result, it can influence the growth and progress of
the firm negatively. If the employees do not work then the company is unable to fulfill its long
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term goals and objectives as well. It shall be noted that employees are considered the backbone
of the organization. Absenteeism is increasing due to change management issues. Due to change
management issue, people avoid work and they do not like to perform tasks and duties
effectively and successfully. In this way, change management issue is becoming a major issue
for Apple Inc. that affects the image of the firm adversely.
Culture issues
Tomalin and Stempleski (2013) said that culture plays a enormous in role in
sustainability of the firm. One of the significant factors that affect the profitability of the firm is
culture. The success and growth of the company is dependent on the culture and working
environment. Apple Inc. deals and manages various types of culture issues which may arise at
the workplace. According to Cornelissen and Cornelissen (2017) culture issues arise due to
miscommunication and misunderstandings because people come from different countries work
together in the organization to attain common goals and objectives as it also influences the
profitability of the organization (Cornelissen and Cornelissen, 2017). Due to culture issues,
employees are failed to run the business successfully and smoothly. Culture emphasizes an open
mindedness and spirit of freedom. Along with this, it plays a vital role to expand and flourish
Apple Inc. business globally. The firm uses different languages to script their sites and conduct
business smoothly. Globalization and climate change issues are also influenced the culture of the
firm. Apart from this, environment issues also have a great crash the productivity and yields of
Apple Inc (Tomalin and Stempleski, 2013).
They have translated their websites in different languages that could influence the
performance and outcomes of the firm as well as employees. Workforce diversity is one of
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Organizational change management
biggest and ongoing challenges that are dealt by the organization at the workplace. Due to
culture and diversity issues, employees are unable to perform tasks and duties that have been
assigned to them (Greenberg and Colquitt, 2013). Language differences also arise in the
workplace due to culture. Due to culture issues, people are not able to understand and translate
the language of different countries as it has a great negative impact on the outcomes of Apple
Inc. Due to culture issues, the company has to provide training and development coaching to the
workers as it increases cost of the firm. They have to invest huge amount in programs, sessions
and lectures to reduce culture issues. Discrimination is one of the significant causes which could
also influence the culture of the company. Discrimination issues also are faced by Apple Inc. due
to culture differences which arise at the workplace (Dipboye and Colella, 2013). In addition,
there is an equality and discrimination on the basis of gender, sex, age and religion. The
employer and manager discriminate people due to religion and gender as it influences the morale
and confidence of the workers negatively. Due to discrimination, people are unable to
concentrate on the results and outcomes. Inequality is also existed at the workplace between men
and women that have direct impact on the productivity and efficiency of the workers (Bochner,
2013). All these things influence the working environment of the organization. Sometimes,
managers and top management give preferences to female workers rather than men as it affects
the working capacity of the male and they are not able to fulfill the demand of the customers in
the competitive market. As a result, culture issues are entertained by Apple Inc. while carrying
the business in the global market (Ashby, 2012). Piecemeal
Leadership issues
Sharma and Grant (2011) said that leadership is an empirical issue which is always
occurred at the workplace. As the same way, the success and growth of the Apple Inc. is also
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Organizational change management
affected by the leadership issues. The company cannot run its business successfully and
effectively without an effective leader. Leader provides guidance to the workers for doing work
efficiently. Northouse (2017) said that constantly changes in technology and policies are done by
Apple Inc. that affects the sustainability of the firm. Leadership is the process of providing
guidance and motivation to the workers for attaining long term goals and objectives (Sharma and
Grant, 2011). The leaders are failed to develop skills and knowledge among the workers due to
various issues. Apart from this, various leadership issues can arise in the firm that can hinder the
organization’s productivity and efficiency. Sometimes, leaders are not able to provide training
and development coaching to the workers due to lack of knowledge and experience. It could
affect the progress of the company. Along with this, effective and skilled person is not appointed
by HRM in Apple Inc. Attitude and outlook a manager brings to the work floor affects team
performance and productivity (Kouzes and Posner, 2017).
In Apple Inc. managers are failed to understand and evaluate the personalities of team members,
taking one size fits all approach to managing staff. Furthermore, a poor manager and leader have
little control over the management and they are not able to encourage employees for doing well
within the organization. His ineffective and poor leadership fails to draw commitment towards
work to long hours in the office (Northouse, 2017). This creates an unfavorable and toxic
working environment at the workplace. Ineffective manager also fails to understand and evaluate
the individual capabilities and potential of the group members as it leading unmanageable work
load on the group members in the organization. Lack of morale and motivation also lead
immense and high competition in the global world and it also influences long term targets of
Apple Inc. Hence, poor and ineffective leadership qualities are one of the major causes for
worker attrition. Along with this, poor leader and manager are unable to provide proper feedback
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Organizational change management
in term of employee’s performance and productivity that could have direct impact on the outputs
of Apple Inc. Moreover, there are many leaders in Apple Inc. that afraid of someone taking their
position within the organization. These issues can cause a manager to lose sight of what it’s
important whereas effective leader create more leaders in the firm. Apple Inc. is unable to
promote and enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the managers and employees as well as
it is harming the position of the firm (Van Wart, 2013). On the other hand, delegation is an
important part of an effective leader but the issue occur when a manager are failed to delegate
tasks and duties among the employees for bettering and improving the results and outcomes.
Most of the leaders in Apple Inc. who have poor leadership skills and knowledge can cause a big
gap between the strategy and department of the firm. Low employee engagement is another
cause of poor leadership within the organization (Allio, 2012). Along with this, low morality and
misalignment is other issue in leadership that leads high rivalry in the marketplace. In this way,
it can be said that poor and ineffective leadership is like the shadow that is darkening various
areas of Apple INC. whereas good and effective leadership is like the light, permeating into
every aspect of the trade and business. Apple Inc. needs to focus on these leadership issues and
challenges to overcome the competitors in the global market (Colquitt et al, 2011).
Structural issues
Apart from leadership issues, some of the structural issues are being handled by the firm
in today’s modern world. The firm maintains strong control over the employees and managers.
The hierarchy in Apple Inc. organizational structure provides support to maintain strong control
over the firm. The top leader such as Tim Cook controls everything that goes in the company.
This type of manager behavior influences the motivation and loyalty of the employees adversely.
In addition, limited flexibility is also other issue in structure of Apple Inc. The lower level of the
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Organizational change management
structure also reduces and affects the demands and needs of the marketplace. Along with this,
employees of the firm are unable to keep confidential information in the organization as it may
be a serious issue (Melchers and Beck, 2017). Also, the employees share company’s secret
information and facts with competitors as it also influences the position of the firm negatively.
Moreover, various supply chain management issues also are being faced by the managers and
employees in Apple INC. Macro environment factors such as political, environment, economic,
legal and social issues also affect the outcomes and progress of the company adversely. The
structural issues are very complex in the firm that affects the employee engagement and
communication negatively (Hatch, 2018). Along with this, there is a big gap between the
employee and employer due to the poor communication within the organization. The supervisors
and managers do not provide support to the workforce to accomplish the desired objectives and
goals. This could also affect the morality and honesty of the employees at the workplace and
they lose their efficiency for performing roles and responsibilities (Albrech, 2011). Also, it
increases demonization and becomes a cause of low morality in the organization. All these issues
are not beneficial for the firm because it affects the performance of Apple Inc. in the
international market. Melchers and Beck (2017) said that communication in the company
hampers the image of the firm due to lack of proper coordination. Apple Inc. is unable to
increase the demand and requirements of the customers due to poor and ineffective
communication. Apart from this, the people maintain a top position in the organization; they do
not provide growth opportunities to workers as it also affects the roles and responsibilities
negatively. In addition, the firm is unable to protect the rights and interests of the stakeholders as
it also have a direct impact on the corporate social responsibilities of the firm (Melchers and
Beck, 2017).
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Organizational change management
Concepts and frameworks
There are various concepts and strategies of change management that can facilitate Apple Inc. to
take effective decision regarding change management. It has been found that Lewin’s change
model is effective approach that entails three aspects such as Unfreezing behaviour, changing
behaviour and Re-freezing. It has been argued by Lewin that organization exist in a quasi-
stationary equilibrium which defines that they are efficiently detained by number of opposing
forces, wither acting to amend the status quo or to underline it. Due to competitive pressure the
competitors of Apple Company have the ability to attain the competitive advantages. It is
required for the company to keep focus on models of organization change.
Figure 1: Lewin’s Change model
Source: (Manchester, et. al., 2014).
Apple Inc. should implement this concept in its operation as it aids to understand the issues
within the organization. Company has various issues regarding leadership, structure and culture.
Initially, company need to unfreeze the structure to analyze the required change in the specific
area and after that implement the change with defining why it is conducting and what advantages
they will get in future due to changes. It would help the employees of the Apple to understand
the value of the change. At last, change management should freeze the situation after analyzing
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Organizational change management
the positive influence of the change over the operation of the company. It is necessary for the
company to adopt change model or concept within the organization as it can reduce the change
of losing productivity.
Figure 2: Kotter and Schlesinger’s Change management strategies
Source: (Farkas, 2016).
Kotter and Schlesinger’s change management model facilitates to increase the better
understanding about the various tactics utilized in defining the change. They suggest that six
basic styles of this model are varied from the more supportive to the more manipulative. In the
context of Apple Company, this model is facilitated to find out the area which requires change.
However, company has many issues such as leadership issue, culture issues and structure issues
and Apple Inc. is unable to increase the demand and requirements of the customers due to poor
and ineffective communication. In such condition, the approach of education and communication
can be implemented to reduce the gap of communication.
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Organizational change management
Apple Inc. is initiated to involve in the car technology and self-driving cars to make its company
more innovative (Daniel Lock, 2017). This change within the organization can hamper the
environment of the company of it does not focus on training and development program.
Company has attained competitive advantages due to its effective strategy but the above
mentioned issues can disappoint its customers which may affect its revenue disapprovingly.
Recommendations
There are various recommendations have been given to improve and eliminate the change
management issue, structural issue, culture issues and leadership issue that are discussed below.
 Apple Inc. should provide training and development coaching to enhance and improve
the performance and productivity of the workers as it helps in maximizing the confidence
and loyalty among the employees. Training and development sessions and seminars help
to reduce change management issues at the workplace. In addition, effective and dynamic
strategies, policies and plans shall be implemented by the company to cope up the issues
and challenges related to employees.
 Rewards and awards should be provided to workers to avert and improve the change
management issues in the organization. These rewards, incentives and recognization help
to motivate the workers for doing work in a hassle free manner as it reduces negative
impact of change management. By using motivation theories and techniques, Apple Inc.
has been able to minimize the change management risks and challenges within the
organization.
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Organizational change management
 Apart from this, Apple Inc. should set appropriate goals and discuss with employees to
introduce new organizational changes in the workplace. In this way, they are able to
develop interest among the workers for new changes and technologies at the workplace.
It also reduces resistance to change in Apple Inc. Moreover, the organization should
manage formally resistance to change in the organization.
 Furthermore, the top management and managers must maintain proper communication
and collaboration with employees at the workplace to make organization change easy and
simple. By using the collaboration and cooperation, leaders can maintain favorable
working environment within the organization that encourage to deal with issues and
barriers related to the change management. It will help to overcome the change
management issues at the workplace. In addition, it increases satisfaction level of workers
and encourages for attaining the objectives and goals.
 Additionally, Apple Inc. should make effective and unique strategies and policies to
handle the cross cultural issues at the workplace. Also, HRM should find and analyze the
causes of culture issues which have a direct impact on the outputs of the firm.
 Cross cultural dimension model shall be initiated by the company to know and measure
the culture differences in the different countries. Along with this, top management should
identify and evaluate the root through which resistance to change and absenteeism can be
reduced effectively and smoothly.
 To handle leadership issues, Apple Inc. must appoint skilled, potential and experienced
people to handle the team in the organization.
 The company should focus on implementing organization change management model
within the organization while implementing the change. It would be facilitated to
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Organizational change management
understand the areas that require change. The change management model define the
procedure of the change step by step which help to not develop any confusion.
 Leaders are the major part of any organization as they guide the entire staff of the
company and Apple is multinational company that full of diversity. The employees of the
company are belonging different states and cultures, it can be created issues within the
organization. These issues can be resolved by implementing the strategy of equal
importance which should be valued by leader of the company.
 Effective delegation of authorities and responsibilities shall be done by the top
management maintain equality at the workplace. It will help to reduce and avert
leadership issues in the firm.
 Moreover, the firm should provide equal rights and opportunities to conduct business
activities and operations smoothly and effectively as it also help in overcoming the
structural issues in Apple Inc.
 Open communication must be maintained in the firm to resolve the grievances, issues and
conflicts of the workers. In this way, the firm can achieve its desired mission and vision
in the market (Certo, 2018).
Conclusion
On the above mentioned study, it has been measured that change management is one of
the growing and biggest issues in Apple Inc. that should be dealt by the company smoothly. It
will help to grow the business activities and operations in the global market. Apple Inc. is one of
the leading players in the mobile technology industries who is offering innovative and attractive
products for the customers globally. Various issues such as leadership issue, structural issue,
culture issue and change management issue are faced by the organization while carrying the
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activities and actions at international level. On the other hand, the firm should also focuses on the
growth strategies to stay in the competitive market and maximize the production capacity of the
firm. In this way, the firm can achieve its highest level in the global marketplace.
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