Analyzing Leadership and Management Approaches at Apple Inc.: Report

This report provides an analysis of leadership and management strategies within Apple Inc., focusing on the leadership qualities and personal characteristics displayed by Steve Jobs, including his strategic thinking and transformational leadership style. The report assesses the strengths and weaknesses of this leadership style and explores the effects of shifting from a centralized to a decentralized organizational structure. It further reflects on personal leadership capabilities, identifying the transformational style as a preferred approach, and discusses the importance of developing the ability to make difficult decisions. The analysis references various sources to support its claims and provides a comprehensive overview of leadership and management practices relevant to Apple Inc.'s success. Desklib offers a platform for students to access this and other solved assignments and past papers for academic support.

LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Task One
About the company
Apple Inc. is a multinational organization which has its origins in the United States.
The company mainly operates in the technology based sector in different countries of the
world. The headquarter of the company is located in Cupertino, California. Different products
that are provided by the organization mainly include, hardware based products like, iPhone
smartphone, iPad tablet, iPod media player and Apple TV. The software related products on
the other hand include, iOS operating systems, macOS, Safari web browser and iTunes media
player. The organization was established in the year 1976 by Steve Wozniak, Ronald Wayne
and Steve Jobs (Apple.com, 2018). The mission statement of Apple is “Man is the creator of
change in this world. As such, he should be above systems and structures, and not
subordinate to them”. I have been appointed as the marketing executive in the New Zealand
operations of the company.
Leadership based qualities and the personal characteristics displayed by the leader
Apple Inc. has been managed in an effective manner by Steve Jobs who is also one of
the major founders of the company. The leadership based qualities which have been attained
by Steve Jobs are based on the development of effective vision for the company,
development of the passion levels and challenging the limits of employees. The employees
are trained in such a manner so that they are able to aim for highest levels of perfection. Risk
taking is also an important capability which has been displayed by Steve Jobs in the
company. Steve Jobs has been able to develop the operations of Apple Inc. in an effective
manner with the help of his unique and effective leadership qualities (Banks, McCauley,
Gardner & Guler, 2016).
Capabilities that are relevant to effective leadership
The effective leadership is mainly based on different qualities that can be acquired by
them in order to operate in the organization. The leaders need to be people-oriented in nature
and the team based dynamics are also important in this case. The capability of leaders so that
they are able to make difficult decisions is also a part of effective leadership qualities. The
levels of confidence which are depicted by the leaders are thereby able to affect their
capability in a huge manner. The leaders can increase the confidence and motivation levels of
employees in an effective manner (Cashman, 2017). The strategic thinking process is

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considered to be another important capability of the leaders who are an important part of the
organizational processes. Modern leadership is based on the strategy and vision which can be
developed for the organization. The leaders of modern companies need to act as role models
or examples for the employees who are thereby considered to be an important part of the
operations. The development of new opportunities is also a major capability that is depicted
by the leaders (Chang, 2016).
Capability displayed by the leader of Apple
Strategic thinking is a major quality which has been depicted effectively by Steve
Jobs in Apple. The leader has been able to analyse the technological factors in order to
develop the most effective types of operations for the company. The levels of innovation in
Apple has been increased effectively with the help of strategic thinking based process. Steve
Jobs had developed an effective vision which was shared with the employees in order to
increase the revenues of the company in the technology industry. Steve Jobs has played the
most important role in the development of the position of Apple Inc. in the industry and in
increasing the value of the company as well (Covin & Slevin, 2017).
Appropriate leadership style for Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs was considered to be an unconventional or transformational leader who
was mainly known in the industry for his unique style of operations. The high expectations
which the leader had from the employees have played a major role in the ways by which
innovation levels of the company have been increased. The levels of expectations of the
leaders had thereby been able to improve the work process of the employees. The leadership
style which has thereby been depicted by Steve Jobs with respect to different qualities is the
transformational style. The transformational leaders are thereby able to share the vision
which has been developed by them with the employees in order to achieve the organizational
goals (Dinh et al., 2014).
Strengths and weaknesses of the leadership style
Strengths - The major advantage which is provided by the transformational style of
leadership us related to the vision which is thereby developed by the leaders based on
organizational goals and operations. The vision is thereby shared with the employees in order

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to achieve the objectives effectively. The ability which is possessed by the leaders to inspire
the employees is also an advantage of the transformation leadership style.
Weaknesses - The transformational leaders however face major challenges in the
detailed orientation based process. The ability or insight which the leaders need to have of the
future is not possessed by the transformational leaders. The reliance of transformational
leaders on the enthusiasm of employees is also an important factor that can act as a
disadvantage (Fairhurst & Connaughton, 2014).
Effects of shift from centralization to decentralization
Centralization and decentralization are mainly two different structures that are found
within the modern organizations. The centralization based activities of the organizations are
thereby based on the process of planning and making decisions which are totally based on the
top management. Decentralization on other hand refers to the ways by which power related to
decision making is provided to the employees in the organizations. The authority of decision
making is thereby provided to the different levels of management which involves the
employees. The shift of an organizational structure from centralised to decentralised style is
based on the ways by which the decisions of the organizational operations can be taken by
different levels of management. The decision making capabilities of the top management of
the organizations (Leroy, Anseel, Gardner & Sels, 2015).
Ways by which the organization can implement the shift
The shift from centralised to decentralised style of organization can be prove to be
effective for the operations of Apple in an effective manner. The leadership style of Steve
Jobs is transformational in nature; however, the employees are not involved effectively
within the decisions. The shift of the operating style towards decentralised type of operations
can affect the ways by which Apple Inc. is able to make the important decisions related to its
successful growth in the technology industry. Apple Inc. will thereby be able to operate in an
effective manner with the help of the innovation based capabilities of the employees
(McCleskey, 2014).
Task two
Reflection based on my leadership capabilities

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The leadership style which I would like to follow in the future is the transformational
style. The transformational leadership style will help to coordinate with the employees in an
effective manner to achieve the organizational goals and objectives. I would thereby like to
take effective decisions based on the ways by which the employees will be able to provide
their opinions and insights in an effective manner. The transformational style of leadership
will also help me to understand the employees effectively so that their needs and demands
can be fulfilled along with those of the customers (Mendenhall et al., 2017).
Strengths - The major strength of transformational leadership style is thereby based
on the ways by which the employees are involved in the decision making based activities.
This plays an important role in increasing the levels of innovation in the modern
organizations. The employees will be able to provide effective ideas in order to improve the
different operations of the company as well. The major weakness which is based on this
leadership style is based on the lack of long term based orientation of decisions which are
taken by the leaders following this style. This can act as a major weakness for the
organizations as the long term decisions ca not be taken in an effective manner with the help
of this leadership style (Nyberg & Sveningsson, 2014).
The short term based issues can thereby be solved easily with the help of
transformational leadership. However, the transformational leaders are not able to take the
long term decisions in coordination with the employees. The strengths of transformational
leader are thereby based on the ways by which the employees are able to get involved in the
entire decision making based process which has been developed by the organizations.
Weaknesses - The weakness of not being able to develop long term decisions is
thereby able to affect the ways by which the leaders can function effectively within the
modern organizations. The leaders are thereby not able to provide effective solutions to the
long term issues which are faced by the companies (Tourish, 2014).
One capability which can be developed to become an effective leader
The capability which I would like to acquire in an effective manner is based on the
capability of making hard decisions. This capability will thereby be able to provide me with
an important position in the company. The decisions which will be taken by me with the help
pf this capability will be effective for the organizational processes. I will thereby be able to

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solve the major issues which are thereby taking place within different processes of the
company.

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References
Apple.com (2018). iPhone. [online] Apple. Available at: https://www.apple.com/iphone/
[Accessed 5 Sep. 2018].
Banks, G. C., McCauley, K. D., Gardner, W. L., & Guler, C. E. (2016). A meta-analytic
review of authentic and transformational leadership: A test for redundancy. The
Leadership Quarterly, 27(4), 634-652.
Cashman, K. (2017). Leadership from the inside out: Becoming a leader for life. Berrett-
Koehler Publishers.
Chang, Y. Y. (2016). Multilevel transformational leadership and management innovation:
Intermediate linkage evidence. Leadership & Organization Development
Journal, 37(2), 265-288.
Covin, J. G., & Slevin, D. P. (2017). The entrepreneurial imperatives of strategic
leadership. Strategic entrepreneurship: Creating a new mindset, 307-327.
Dinh, J. E., Lord, R. G., Gardner, W. L., Meuser, J. D., Liden, R. C., & Hu, J. (2014).
Leadership theory and research in the new millennium: Current theoretical trends and
changing perspectives. The Leadership Quarterly, 25(1), 36-62.
Fairhurst, G. T., & Connaughton, S. L. (2014). Leadership: A communicative
perspective. Leadership, 10(1), 7-35.
Leroy, H., Anseel, F., Gardner, W. L., & Sels, L. (2015). Authentic leadership, authentic
followership, basic need satisfaction, and work role performance: A cross-level
study. Journal of Management, 41(6), 1677-1697.
McCleskey, J. A. (2014). Situational, transformational, and transactional leadership and
leadership development. Journal of Business Studies Quarterly, 5(4), 117.
Mendenhall, M. E., Osland, J., Bird, A., Oddou, G. R., Stevens, M. J., Maznevski, M., &
Stahl, G. K. (Eds.). (2017). Global leadership: Research, practice, and development.
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Nyberg, D., & Sveningsson, S. (2014). Paradoxes of authentic leadership: Leader identity
struggles. Leadership, 10(4), 437-455.

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Tourish, D. (2014). Leadership, more or less? A processual, communication perspective on
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