Organizational Culture at Apple: A Case Study

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Business Management
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Executive summary
The success of any organization is associated with various internal and external factors in
an organization. Organization structure is a critical aspect that facilitates the promotion of culture
within an organization to promote profitability. Organization culture refers to the ways of
running business operation within a given organization. Most of the multinational corporations
use organization culture in their business operations. Apple Inc. is a multinational organization
that uses creative innovation culture. Its culture was developed by former CEO, Steve Jobs and
aims to bring the management and workers together in the formulation of ideas that enables the
company to come up with quality products. Apple invests heavily in product research and design,
and the management pushes the workforce to be innovative and come up with ideas for a
profitable product. Internal communication is a key facilitator of innovation within Apple. The
workers are involved in critical decision making to deliberate on the way forward in terms of
new products. Additionally, Apple uses a closed integrated ecosystem that is guided by top
secrecy to protect its product against infringement and also in the protection of the intellectual
property of the company. Apple motivates its workforce through rewards and recognition for
exemplary performance. Lastly, the innovation culture of Apple can enable the company comes
up with better designs and sustainable product that will cement the position of Apple as a global
technology giant company.

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Table of Contents
Executive summary.........................................................................................................................2
Introduction......................................................................................................................................4
Organizational culture at Apple.......................................................................................................4
Culture and communication at Apple..............................................................................................6
Culture and employee motivation at Apple.....................................................................................7
The future of the organization culture at Apple...............................................................................7
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................8
Bibliography..................................................................................................................................10

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Introduction
Organizational culture is the values, beliefs, assumptions and the ways of interaction
within the environment of an organization that results in the uniqueness of the psychological and
social environment within a given organization. It is based on written or unwritten rules that have
been developed through time and have been incorporated into the organization. Apple Inc. is the
most recognized brand in the world having its headquarters in Cupertino California in the United
States of America. The corporate culture of the organization has undergone various change due
to the change in leadership. For example the former CEO, Steve Jobs was considered a great
marketer but his leadership style was authoritative. One of the most pinnacle element in the
culture of Apple is the secrecy of its strategic operations. Apple uses motivational theories of
rewards to value and appreciate its workers. The structure of culture within Apple is complex
due to the vertical integration of the company. This report will focus on theories of culture while
explaining the type of culture evident in Apple. Additionally, it will look into how culture
facilitates communication within the organization and the role it plays in motivating the
workforce and future success of the company.
Organizational culture at Apple
Innovation culture is an organizational culture that cultivates creativity unorthodox
thinking to achieve a competitive advantage. Organizations that employ this type of culture
generally subscribe to creativity and beliefs that innovation does not only stem from top
leadership within the organization, but it can come from anyone in the workforce. This type of
culture is employed by an organization that operates in a highly competitive environment
characterized by rapid changes. This type of culture evaluates the employee based on metrics
such as value creation, product differentiation, and innovative thinking. It diverts away from the
traditional models of revenue generation and on-time delivery. Companies that use this type of