Comprehensive Environmental Analysis of Apple Computer Company Report

This report provides a comprehensive environmental scan of Apple Computer Company, evaluating its internal and external environments. It begins with an executive summary and table of contents, followed by an in-depth analysis of Apple's strengths and weaknesses, as well as external factors through PESTEL analysis. The report identifies Apple's competitive advantages, including brand equity, premium pricing, and leadership. It also evaluates Apple's differentiation and market penetration strategies. Furthermore, it examines the measurement guidelines Apple uses to verify strategic effectiveness and assesses their effectiveness. The report concludes with a summary of the key findings and references supporting the analysis. This analysis helps to understand Apple's position in the market and its strategic approach to maintain and improve its competitive advantage.

Running head: ENVIRONMENTAL SCANNING OF APPLE
Environmental Scanning of Apple
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author note

1ENVIRONMENTAL SCANNING OF APPLE
Executive Summary
The report throws light on understanding and evaluating the internal and external
environment analysis of Apple Computer Company. With help of SWOT and PESTEL
analysis, the different kinds of analysis have been done which have been effective in
improving their position in the market. The strategic evaluation has been done as it helped in
understanding the growth of the company effectively.

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Evaluation of Internal and External Environment of Apple Computer.....................................3
Internal Environment Analysis of Apple...............................................................................3
External Environment Analysis of Apple..............................................................................4
Analysis of Competitive Advantage of Apple...........................................................................5
Evaluation of Different Strategies Used by Apple for Creating Value and Gain
Competitiveness.........................................................................................................................5
Examination of Measurement Guidelines Used by Apple for Verifying Strategic
Effectiveness..............................................................................................................................6
Evaluation of Effectiveness of Measurement Guidelines Used by Apple.................................6
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................7
References..................................................................................................................................8

3ENVIRONMENTAL SCANNING OF APPLE
Introduction
The report throws light on analysis of the external and internal environment analysis
of Apple Computer Company. In addition, the competitive advantage aspects of Apple are
required to be identified along with evaluating the different strategies for creating the value
along with gaining competitive advantage. Lastly, the measurement guidelines which are
being used by Apple in analysing strategies for creating strategic effectiveness of Apple.
Evaluation of Internal and External Environment of Apple Computer
Internal Environment Analysis of Apple
Strengths
The innovative product line up of Apple
has been strength of Apple and they have
been capable of covering almost
everything which the individual desires
(Teece, Peteraf & Leih, 2016)
The other major strength of Apple is the
margins which have command over the
products. Apple is considered to be the
technological leader and, in such scenarios,
Apple keeps hefty margins
Weaknesses
Apple has seven to eight products in their
portfolio in comparison to other products
which the closest competitors have such as
Google and Microsoft
The key issue which is faced by Apple is
that many of the products are
incompatible with third party software
(Noe et al., 2017)
Opportunities
Development of the different product lines
Threats
Aggressive level of competition can affect

4ENVIRONMENTAL SCANNING OF APPLE
is one of the main aspects which is termed
as the opportunity for Apple
The two products such as IWatch and
Apple Tv can be helpful in increasing
presence which will improve market
share of Apple
growth of Apple in comparison to other
competitors
Rising cost of labour is the other issue
which affects the growth of firm
External Environment Analysis of Apple
PESTEL Analysis
Political Factors- There are different problems which cannot be controlled by Apple
such as the geopolitical uncertainties along with work issues which affects the sale of
computers. Apple outsources different parts outside US such as in China, Ireland and Korea
and the political relations have bad outcomes for organization (Koshesh & Jafari, 2019).
Economic Factors- The value of US dollar keeps on fluctuating and it is affecting the
growth of the company. As the products of Apple are viewed as luxury products, therefore, in
such scenarios, people have started spending less on them.
Social Factors- The Apple products have been successful in marking their presence in
international market as the world is not complete without gadgets. The growth of industry has
risen and it is biggest social influence on Apple as the MacBook and other items are being
purchased by customers has increased (Helfat & Peteraf, 2015).
Technological Factors- Apple has been successful in gaining competitiveness in
technological front due to highly innovative technology. There is large amount which has
been invested in R&D by Apple which has been the key factor for being at top.

5ENVIRONMENTAL SCANNING OF APPLE
Legal Factors- There are different legal proceedings which have been faced by Apple
since the time of operations. Apple has been in different kinds of patent cases with different
players such as HTC as well as Samsung.
Environmental Factors- Apple has been successful in taking proper steps in reducing
footprint and they have responsibly recycled computers as well as displays that has been
successful for growth.
Analysis of Competitive Advantage of Apple
Brand Equity- It is the major source of competitive advantage wherein the company
has been able to build high level of trust and it is best suitable for great quality products
(Braganza et al., 2017).
Premium pricing- It is the other source of competitive advantage wherein Apple has
maintained image of premium brand as it will not comprise on quality as well as technology.
Leadership- It is the other major source of competitive advantage wherein Apple has
been capable of international expansion and due to strategic changes, the company has been
capable of gaining competitiveness (Apple.com, 2019).
Evaluation of Different Strategies Used by Apple for Creating Value and Gain
Competitiveness
Differentiation is the main strategy which is being used by Apple which helps them
to stand out in the market. For instance- The elegant design as well as user friendliness of the
different products which are designed by Apple has been successful for Apple in
differentiating the technology business (Barkauskas, Barkauskienė & Jasinskas, 2015). The
generic strategy of differentiation which is used by Apple has been helpful for them in being
different from the various competitors. The MacBook which is offered by Apple can be

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helpful for them in maintaining the competitive advantage and improve their efficiency in
comparison to other competitors.
Market Penetration is the other intensive strategy which is used by Apple in order to
understand the market and gain the large number of market share. Apple applies the growth
strategy through selling of computers or MacBook for boosting the competitive advantage
and it has been helpful foe them in achieving significant position in market (Barkauskas,
Barkauskienė & Jasinskas, 2015).
Examination of Measurement Guidelines Used by Apple for Verifying Strategic
Effectiveness
The major measurement guidelines which have been used by Apple includes the
launching of the new products in the market which has been capable of attracting large
number of customers. Through launching of new products, the different shoppers sleep
outside the stores for becoming the first one to purchase. Apple delivers strong type of
products that create culture of Apple which helps them in achieving the tremendous loyalty
among the customers.
Evaluation of Effectiveness of Measurement Guidelines Used by Apple
The effectiveness of the measurement guidelines which are being used by Apple is
high as it helps them in expanding their market share. Apple should expand the market share
through expanding their business operations in Asian market (Apple.com, 2019). However,
there can be introduction of competitive mergers which will be helpful in establishing
business in Asian market through the usage of the horizontal integration strategy.

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Conclusion
Therefore, from the overall analysis of the internal and external environment analysis,
it can be concluded that Apple is one of the main competitors in the competitive business
environment which has been suitable for them in gaining strong market share and improve
their presence in Asian markets. Proper analysis of the different strategic aspects has been
done and it has been evaluated that the company has been capable of gaining the strong
market share in comparison to other competitors such as Dell. With the help of the different
kinds of strengths and opportunities, the company can be capable of improving their
weakness and gain more competitiveness in the market which is efficient in nature for
performing their business.

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References
Apple.com (2019) Apple (Online) Retrieved from https://www.apple.com [Accessed on 26th
September 2019]
Barkauskas, V., Barkauskienė, K., & Jasinskas, E. (2015). Analysis of macro environmental
factors influencing the development of rural tourism: Lithuanian case. Procedia-
Social and Behavioral Sciences, 213, 167-172.
Braganza, A., Brooks, L., Nepelski, D., Ali, M., & Moro, R. (2017). Resource management
in big data initiatives: Processes and dynamic capabilities. Journal of Business
Research, 70, 328-337.
Helfat, C. E., & Peteraf, M. A. (2015). Managerial cognitive capabilities and the
microfoundations of dynamic capabilities. Strategic Management Journal, 36(6), 831-
850.
Koshesh, O.S. & Jafari, H.R., (2019). The Environmental Strategic Analysis of Oil & Gas
Industries in the Kurdistan Region Using PESTLE, SWOT and
FDEMATEL. Pollution, 5(3), pp.537-554.
Learmonth, M., & Morrell, K. (2017). Is critical leadership studies ‘critical’?. Leadership,
13(3), 257-271.
Noe, R. A., Hollenbeck, J. R., Gerhart, B., & Wright, P. M. (2017). Human resource
management: Gaining a competitive advantage. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill
Education.

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Teece, D., Peteraf, M., & Leih, S. (2016). Dynamic capabilities and organizational agility:
Risk, uncertainty, and strategy in the innovation economy. California Management
Review, 58(4), 13-35.