Apple's Human Resource Management: Strategies, Impact, and Delivery

This report provides an analysis of Apple's human resource management strategies, focusing on factors affecting HR delivery, the impact of HR implementation on the organization, and recommendations for improvement. It examines Apple's unique approach to recruitment, talent management, and employee retention, highlighting the company's emphasis on hard work, innovation, and organizational agility. The report also discusses the importance of teamwork and free thinking within Apple's work culture. It concludes with recommendations for Apple to prioritize employee wellbeing alongside profitability to ensure long-term sustainability and a positive working environment. Desklib offers a platform for students to access similar solved assignments and study resources.

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ANALYSIS OF HUMAN RESOURCES OF APPLE
Executive Summary
This report is based on the analysis of the human resource delivery based activities that are
implemented by the modern business organizations. The company which has been analysed
in the report is Apple and the unique human resource strategies that has been implemented in
the company. The unique strategies of the company have helped Apple in creating its position
in the market and further maintain the proper functions in the industry. The innovation in the
company has also been increased with the help of the human resource functions of Apple.
The recommendations have been provided for the improvement of the human resources of
Apple.

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Table of Contents
Introduction....................................................................................................................3
Factors affecting the HR delivery structure...................................................................4
Impact of the HR implementation on the organization..................................................5
Recommendations for the role of HR and structure of service delivery........................6
Conclusion......................................................................................................................7
References......................................................................................................................8

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ANALYSIS OF HUMAN RESOURCES OF APPLE
Introduction
The term human resource management is used for the purpose of describing the
formal systems that are devised for managing the people in the organizations. The major
responsibilities that are fulfilled by the human resource department of the organizations
include, employee compensation, staffing and other benefits. The human resource based
concept can be used to describe the people or the employees who are a part of the company or
the department of human resources that is present in the company. This is further considered
to be an umbrella which is used for the purpose of describing the development and the
management of the employees in the companies. This process can also be termed as the talent
management or personnel management (Albrecht et al. 2015).
The human resource management department of the company thereby involves the
process of overseeing all the processes that are taking place within the company. The various
areas which are under the focus of the human resource department are, staffing and
recruitment, benefits and compensation, learning and training, employee relations and labour
and the development of the organizations. The process of human resource management is
based on many different areas. This thereby requires the professionals to gain specific
knowledge that is based on the different parts of the human resource based program
(Amarakoon, Weerawardena and Verreynne 2016).
The report will be based on the detailed analysis of the human resource management
functions that are performed by Apple. The ways by which the company has been able to
manage the employees and increase their innovation based capabilities will be analysed in the
report.
Apple is a multinational technology based organization that has its origins in the
United States of America. The various products that are offered by the company include,
iPhone smartphone, iPad tablet, Mac personal computer and the Apple Watch. The software
based products that are offered by the company include, iOS, macOS and many more. The
company was founded in the year 1976 by Steve Wozniak, Steve Jobs and Ronald Wayne.
The company has been able to grow with the huge pace after its establishment. Apple has
always been highly secretive about its operations and the products and services that are to be
launched by the company. The secrecy in the company has also been maintained with the
employees and the human resource based functions (Apple. 2018).

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ANALYSIS OF HUMAN RESOURCES OF APPLE
Factors affecting the HR delivery structure
The effective strategy based on the human resources of the organizations are capable
of aligning the functions with the goals and the mission of the company. The HR delivery
activities are different for the small and the large organizations. The HR activities are further
related to the different factors like the retention of employees, recruitment of the employees
and the minimization of the issues that are faced by the employees (Brewster, Chung and
Sparrow 2016). The external and internal factors that affect the human resource activities are
as follows,
The competition that is faced by the organizations in the industry mainly
affects the ability of the company to recruit the high quality and skilled
employees. The huge organizations or brands in the industry are easily able to
source the types of candidates that they are looking for in the market. The
costs related to the advertisements based on recruitment are low in this case
(Lester, Virick and Clapp-Smith 2016). The small organizations however have
to face an adverse situation related to the ways by which they can recruit the
employees who are appropriate for the different job positions. The human
resource development in this case also aims at developing programs that are
related to the retention of the suitable employees (Brewster et al. 2016).
The supply of labour is the most important driver based on the compensation
that is provided to the employees. The type of market in which the companies
operate can affect the type of labour who are a part of the organizational
operations. The markets which are highly saturated in nature have more
number of labour available as compared to the job opportunities (Newman et
al. 2016). The compensation that is provided to the employees is less if there is
a shortage of suitable candidates. The structure of compensation thereby needs
to be developed on a continuous basis with respect to the demands in the
industry or sector to which the company belongs (Jackson, Schuler and Jiang
2014).
The human resource based activities of the company are also affected by the
legislations based on the different areas. The ways of maintaining the records
of employees and other data based on the employees are also related to the
human resource activities of the company.

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ANALYSIS OF HUMAN RESOURCES OF APPLE
The internal procedures and the policies of the company also affect the human
resource activities. The human resource factors are related to the ways of
monitoring the employees on a regular basis so that the eligible employees for
various recognitions can be identified easily. The political factors, the external
influences and the culture of the organization can also affect the delivery of
the human resource activities (Meijerink, Bondarouk and Lepak 2016).
Impact of the HR implementation on the organization
The company that has been taken into consideration of the human resource delivery
based analysis is Apple. The case study is mainly based on the ways by which the human
resource management system of Apple has been designed. The company has always been
highly secretive about the different process that have been implemented by the management
for the employees. However, some secondary research has been able to provide a clear vision
about the human resource management procedure that has been implemented by Apple. The
recruitment process of the company has been key of the success of Apple in the industry
(Paillé et al. 2014).
The company has always given maximum amount of stress to the hard work of the
candidates and the precise details of the work process have been taken into consideration.
The work culture of the company has not promised high levels of positivity or work life
balance for the employees. The main focus of the management has always been towards the
productivity that is shown by the employees. The organization is known to be different from
its competitors due to many reasons which have been able to provide a unique position in the
technology industry. The levels of hard work were always the only concern for the
management of the company. The talent management process of the company is completely
different from the other major players in the industry (Purce 2014).
The employees in the company have always been encouraged to become self-reliant
so that they are able to be a major part of the innovations that are made by the company in the
market. The development programs have not been used by Apple as a part of their employee
retention related strategy. The economic rewards that are provided to the employees are the
major parts of the employee retention strategy implemented by Apple. The major part of the
human resource strategy that has been used by the company is based on the agility of the
different organizational policies. The company has been changing its business operations
from one industry to another due to the agility based factors of Apple. The employees are

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ANALYSIS OF HUMAN RESOURCES OF APPLE
thereby able to increase their talent in various fields so that they can knowledge in diverse
areas (Sheehan 2014).
This agility in talent has been the most important part of the success that has been
gained by Apple in different industries. The projects that were provided to the employees are
also completely different from each other which has been helpful for them to become highly
knowledgeable. The employees are thereby able to retool and prepare themselves in an
effective manner. This ability of the employees has been the key of the success of Apple. The
way of team work is another major factor which is unique in nature. The company assigns
many teams for working on the projects and create innovative products for the customers.
The teams assigned on the project compete with each other and the best team is thereby
selected (Stone et al. 2015).
The unique work process of the teams has been the major reason behind the success
of Apple in the industry. The management has always given importance to the process of free
thinking so that the employees are able to show their innovative or creative side. The
recruitment in Apple is also done on the basis of the innovative levels of the employees and
the creative minds as well. The Go Crazy meeting is held in the organization along with the
employees which is based on the discussion related to the various processes. The
environment of work may not be positive in nature. However, the high returns that are
provided by the company to the employees who are capable of providing innovative ideas
have proved to be a major reason behind the successful operations of Apple in the industry
(Tarique, Briscoe and Schuler 2015).
The human resource strategy that has been implemented by Apple has proved to be
successful for the employees and the company as well.
The employees are thereby able to learn the various aspects of work without any formal
training or development based program. The challenges that are placed by the management of
Apple towards the employees are thereby related to the development of the skills of the
employees. The learning and development based activities are undertaken directly by the
employees instead of the management designing programs for them and their training (Tian,
Cordery and Gamble 2016).
Recommendations for the role of HR and structure of service delivery
The role that is played by the human resource development of Apple is totally based
on the revenues and the profitability of the company. The organization does not provide

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adequate attention to the wellbeing of the employee and their operations in the company.
Apple thereby needs to formulate the policies in such a manner which will help the company
to take care 0f the needs of the employees along with the profitability of the company in the
market. This will be helpful for the long-term sustainability of Apple in the market. The
company will be successful in creating a positive working environment in the operations.
Apple will thereby be able to come out as a successful and humanitarian organization in the
industry. The satisfaction levels of the employees will be thereby increased in the process
which will support the successful operations of Apple in the technology industry. The
implementation of proper human resource strategies can thereby help Apple to create a
different position in the industry. The organization will be able to maintain its long-term
operations with the implementation of strategies based on satisfaction of the employees. The
human resource based activities play aa major role in the successful operations of the
companies irrespective of the industries to which they belong.
Conclusion
The report can be concluded by stating that the human resource delivery based
functions of the organizations are important for their successful operations in the modern
business environment. The companies are able to operate in a positive manner in the
environment and provide profits. Apple has been able to build the human resources of the
company in a profitable manner which has helped in the fast growth of the company. The
innovation levels of the company have also increased in the process. The employees are
successful in providing the best ideas to the management for the innovations that can be made
in the products and services that are offered to the customers. The company has however paid
less attention to the wellbeing and the working environment of the people. This can lead to
issues for the future functioning of the company in the technology sector. Apple can thereby
implement improved human resource strategies which can help the company to improve its
operations in the future. The revenues and the profitability of the company is also based on
the proper implementation of the human resource strategies in the organization.

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References
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engagement, human resource management practices and competitive advantage: An
integrated approach. Journal of Organizational Effectiveness: People and Performance, 2(1),
pp.7-35.
Amarakoon, U., Weerawardena, J. and Verreynne, M.L., 2016. Learning capabilities, human
resource management innovation and competitive advantage. The International Journal of
Human Resource Management, pp.1-31.
Apple. (2018). Apple. [online] Available at: https://www.apple.com/ [Accessed 28 May
2018].
Brewster, C., 2017. The integration of human resource management and corporate strategy.
In Policy and practice in European human resource management (pp. 22-35). Routledge.
Brewster, C., Chung, C. and Sparrow, P., 2016. Globalizing human resource management.
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Brewster, C., Houldsworth, E., Sparrow, P. and Vernon, G., 2016. International human
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Jackson, S.E., Schuler, R.S. and Jiang, K., 2014. An aspirational framework for strategic
human resource management. The Academy of Management Annals, 8(1), pp.1-56.
Lester, G.V., Virick, M. and Clapp-Smith, R., 2016. Harnessing Global Mindset to Positively
Impact Advances in Global Leadership through International Human Resource Management
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Newman, A., Miao, Q., Hofman, P.S. and Zhu, C.J., 2016. The impact of socially responsible
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Paillé, P., Chen, Y., Boiral, O. and Jin, J., 2014. The impact of human resource management
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