MBA501: Dynamic Strategy of Apple Inc. Case Study Report

This report provides a comprehensive case study analysis of Apple Inc., examining its dynamic strategy and disruptive innovation. It begins with an introduction to Apple, its product lines (iPhone, PC, TVs, and other devices), and key administrative figures. The core of the analysis involves applying business portfolio tools like the BCG matrix, GE McKinsey matrix, and Synergy matrix to assess Apple's product performance and strategic positioning. Based on these analyses, the report offers detailed recommendations for each product line, suggesting investment strategies for high-performing products like the iPhone and cautioning against further investment in underperforming areas such as the iPad and iPod. Furthermore, the report delves into Apple's dynamic capabilities, exploring its ability to identify and assess opportunities, mobilize resources, and transform strategic assets. It highlights the company's innovation, research and development, and competitor analysis. The report concludes with recommendations to enhance Apple's dynamic capabilities, including organizational transformation, maintaining strong human resources, decentralization, and utilizing models like Six Sigma to improve processes. The report is supported by several references related to dynamic capability and business portfolio analysis.

DYNAMIC STRATEGY
AND DISRUPTIVE
INNOVATION
APPLE INC. CASE STUDY

Introduction
 Apple is a multinational technology company founded in 1976 as
apple computers.
 The company is based in California, US. However, it has
diversified into more 500 retail stores to access the market
sufficiently.
 It also produces several products from, iPhone, iPod, MacBook’s
apple TVs and other services like iTunes

Introduction
 The company was founded by Steve Jobs, Steve Woznick and Ronald
Wayne.
 Furthermore, its administrative rank comprises of :
 Tim cook, the CEO,
 Luca Maestri, the chief financial officer and
 Jony Ive, the chief design officer (Schwanen 2016).

Apples products lines
 Apple Inc. has four major products which are designed and
manufactured by the company experts.
 The first product is smartphone business which has since produces
a series if mobile handsets known as iPhones
 The second product line of Apple Inc. is PC manufacturing and
assembling where the company makes various computer models
 Another product line from Apple Inc. is the TVs
 A part from the services offered by the organization, the company
produces IPod, IPad and watches which makes the fourth product
line

APPLE’s BCG MATRIX

Apples product line in relation to the
BCG MATRIX
 Apples has four potential products
 start: iPhone smartphones
 Cash cows: Pc products
 Question mark: TVs
 Dogs: IPad and IPod

GE MCKINSEY MATRIX OF APPLE

Synergy Matrix

Apple’s products sales statistics

Recommendations
 Star; iPhone smartphones, this product line has proved to be useful
and fruitful and the company should invest more on smartphone
innovativeness for increased profitability.
 cash cow; apple Pc or computer products, the company has become
premium producer in this line of production and should keep the
business, however reduce the rate of investment.
 Question mark; TVs, this product line shows a potential growth in the
future and the company should invest more in this line for
innovativeness for it to be a revenue generator for the company
 Dogs; IPad and IPod, the IPod products are going nowhere and has
been passed by the current era, the company should avoid investments in
this line or even sell it to any wiling buyer.

Justifications for the
recommendation
 Based on the on Apple's products sales statistics, Synergy Matrix
analysis, GE MCKINSEY MATRIX and BCG matrix analysis.
 It is evident that there are some products of the company that
shows high revenue generation.
 Other products shows high chances of generating much income in
the future while other has no indication of future profitability thus
remain a burden to the company.
 This is therefore, the rationale for the above recommendations

Justification cont..
 Being that the Apple Inc. has ben able to generate revenue from
smartphone business through iPhones series production.
 To this reason it is advisable for the management invest more in
this product line.
 Secondly, Apple Inc. has been producing PCs which has seen the
company sales rising over the past years.
 This product is a good product line and the management should
in the same manner improve the quality.

Justification cont..
 Another area that shows high chances of future profitability is the TVs
line.
 This shows high potential of future income generation and thus it is
recommended for the management to invest more in the line.
 Lastly, the company has not been doing better when it comes to IPad
and IPod sales and should either side line this line of product

Dynamic capability analysis
 External abilities to address the changing business environment
(Helfat and Peteraf 2015).
 For instance, many companies have different ways of adapting to
the changes.
 For apple Inc. case scenario, the company has put in place several
measures to detect and asses the feasibility of emerging
opportunities from the changing global business environment.

Dynamic capability analysis
 Firstly, through the continual innovation and research by the research
department.
 Besides research enabling better problem-solving capabilities, the company
has also been in a better position of identifying and researching on the
available and emerging business opportunities (Helfat and Martin 2015).
 The company has enough resources with well trained personnel and engineers
working under the RD department.
 This indicates the capability of the company do well in terms of research for
new products designs.

Dynamic capability analysis
 Furthermore, other opportunity identification ways at apple include;
 analysis of complementary goods relating to their main niche of production.
 For instance, the idea to manufacture apple products has led to the company
exploring other complementary goods including software for their products
and other apple related accessories.
 For apple, these extra accessories have not only influenced utmost consumer
experience with products but has also impacted the organization’s growth and
revenue significantly (Teece 2018).

Dynamic capability analysis
 In addition, the ability to evaluate the performance of competitors
and their products has enhanced the efforts to identify and address
gaps in the competitor’s products.
 Furthermore, the assessment helps to enhance product superiority
and customer satisfaction (Teece 2016).
 For instance, addressing competition gaps has led to the superior
product design in comparison to competitors.
 The ability to enhance strong core competencies has led to
production of desirable products by the company.

Dynamic capability analysis
 Moreover, Apple Inc. is among the strongest companies in terms
of product strength.
 This factor is owed to the incorporation of advanced software in
their tech products.
 This uniqueness aspect is prevalent in the strong product
reputation for apple (Braganza, Brooks, Nepelski, Ali and Moro
2017).

Mobilization of resources
 After identification of opportunities, the research development
segment is still tasked with the responsibility of researching on
the possible market response to such opportunities.
 The analysis also entails the feasibility of the idea in terms of
customer satisfaction and impact on revenue.
 The overall flexibility in the organizational structure has played a
key role in enhancing a quicker process in the exploiting ideas.

Mobilization of resources
 Furthermore, the availability of advanced technology incorporated in
the organizational departments of apple is also a boost.
 For instance, the technological strength works as an impetus factor in
both the discovery and developmental process of emerging business
opportunities and ideas in the tech world (Birkinshaw, Zimmermann,
and Raisch 2016).

Mobilization of resources
 The human resource competency and capabilities have also worked
influentially on the success of the process.
 Notably, basing on the importance of competency in the workforce,
apple is among the leading corporations with high regard in training
the workforce.
 This training is not only aimed at competency but preparing the
workforce for the changing global business environment.

Transformation.
 As identified earlier, the organizational strength and flexibility of the
organizational structure is well susceptible to changes.
 Furthermore, changes are first implemented in the product design
segment of the organization to establish the product blueprint and
consequently its outlook (Cheng and Wei 2017).
 The transformation is the included in the new products based on
consumer desires and experience.

Transformation.
 Other supporting factors that enable the successful
transformation at the company have also been discussed.
 For instance, strong merging of technology into business
procedures and a well-trained and aware workforce are critical
for Apple’s feasibility in terms of incorporating changes

Recommendations
 Several ideas can be identified to boost the dynamic capability of
Apple Inc.
 They include; enhancing a continual process of organizational
transformation.
 These transformations will entail continued transformation of
business management systems to maintain adaptability and
efficiency to changing business environments (Lin, Su, and Higgins
2016).

Recommendations
 In addition, maintaining strong human resources values like competency,
business environment awareness, creativity and innovation is an important
first hand step to ensuring the organizational readiness to effective and
rational response to changes.
 Furthermore, decentralization of the company powers and authority to
various locations will also promote the organizational awareness as a critical
function in preparing for changes (Coccia 2018).

Recommendations
 The widespread resources will gather more diverse information in
research from different markets globally.
 Diversified data from a large sample of the market is a strong tool that
enables identification of opportunities and changes (Cohen 2015).
 This will enable company to have information in various steps to be
taken or the proper course of action.

Recommendations
 Lastly, among the available models, the six-sigma model could be
quite impactful to the organization in the quest to enhancing
change identification and transformation.
 The ability of the model to minimize inconsistency in the business
process to maintain the product quality whereas minimizing
wastages can be helpful during transformation (Homisah, Fahmi
and Yusuf 2016).

References
 Helfat, C.E. and Peteraf, M.A., 2015. Managerial cognitive capabilities and the
microfoundations of dynamic capabilities. Strategic Management Journal, 36(6),
pp.831-850.
 Helfat, C.E. and Martin, J.A., 2015. Dynamic managerial capabilities: Review and
assessment of managerial impact on strategic change. Journal of
management, 41(5), pp.1281-1312.
 Teece, D.J., 2016. Dynamic capabilities and entrepreneurial management in large
organizations: Toward a theory of the (entrepreneurial) firm. European Economic
Review, 86, pp.202-216.
 Braganza, A., Brooks, L., Nepelski, D., Ali, M. and Moro, R., 2017. Resource
management in big data initiatives: Processes and dynamic capabilities. Journal
of Business Research, 70, pp.328-337.
 Teece, D.J., 2018. Business models and dynamic capabilities. Long Range
Planning, 51(1), pp.40-49.

References
 Lin, H.F., Su, J.Q. and Higgins, A., 2016. How dynamic capabilities affect
adoption of management innovations. Journal of Business Research, 69(2),
pp.862-876.
 Birkinshaw, J., Zimmermann, A. and Raisch, S., 2016. How do firms adapt to
discontinuous change? Bridging the dynamic capabilities and ambidexterity
perspectives. California Management Review, 58(4), pp.36-58.
 Coccia, M., 2018. Disruptive firms and industrial change. Journal of
Economic and Social Thought, 4(4), pp.437-450.
 Cohen, N., 2015. Management Structure Success in Apple, Inc. TOURO
ACCOUNTING & BUSINESS JOURNAL, p.18.
 Cheng, C.C. and Wei, X., AT&T Mobility II LLC, 2017. Method for location-
based asset management. U.S. Patent 9,536,007.

References
 Homisah, H., Fahmi, I. and Yusuf, A.M., 2016. STRATEGY FOR
BUSINESS PORTFOLIO DEVELOPMENT OF PT SEKAR LAUT,
TBK. Indonesian Journal of Business and Entrepreneurship (IJBE), 2(1),
p.1.
 Schwanen, A., 2016. Brand architecture strategy, does it matter in
business-to-business contexts? A study of the Apple technology
industry (Master's thesis).