Management of Strategic Change in the Smartphone Industry: Apple Inc.

This report provides an in-depth analysis of strategic change management within the dynamic smartphone industry, with a specific focus on Apple Inc. The report begins with an executive summary outlining the key objectives, which include analyzing global trends, technological advancements, and shifting consumer expectations within the industry. Section 1 delves into the analysis of the smartphone industry, examining trends, drivers of change (like consumer perception, income, and technology improvement), and key areas affected by these changes, such as consumer behavior and technological advancements. Section 2 explores organizational dynamics, focusing on the impact of different leadership styles, including transformational, transactional, and democratic leadership, on driving and managing change within Apple Inc. The report further analyzes the sustainability of changes and the impact of leadership on organizational changes. The report concludes by summarizing the key findings and highlighting the crucial role of leadership in ensuring the success and sustainability of strategic changes within the organization.

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Executive Summary
The significant objective of the report is to analyze the scope of the smartphone industry as
one of the most booming sectors of communication in the world. The various aspects of this
industry have been discussed with respect to the global trends observed in this industry and
the changes that have taken place in this sector in terms of technology, customer
expectations and consumption patterns. The report further examines the key factors that
drive such changes in the industry and identifies the specific changes that can be observed.
Furthermore, such findings have been analyzed in the context of Apple Inc. along with and
evaluation of the leadership styles that have aided in such changes in the organizational
capacity. In conclusion, it has been mentioned how leadership styles play an important role
in determining the sustainability and success of organizational changes.

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Table of Contents
Introduction............................................................................................................................ 3
Section 1 (1000)..................................................................................................................... 3
Analysis of Smartphone industry........................................................................................3
Trends and Drivers of Change............................................................................................4
Key areas of Change..........................................................................................................6
Section 2................................................................................................................................ 7
Organizational Dynamics....................................................................................................7
Transformational Leadership Style and its Impact on Change............................................8
Transactional Leadership Style and its Impact on Changes...............................................9
Democratic Leadership Style and its Impact on Change....................................................9
Section 3.............................................................................................................................. 10
Sustainability of Changes.................................................................................................10
Impact of Leadership on Organizational Changes............................................................11
Conclusion........................................................................................................................... 12

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Introduction
The concept of strategic change management entails within its purview the ability of
business organizations to responsibly and carefully make certain required changes within
the scope of the organization. This process involves the management of changes in
business activities and procedures through a structured and thoughtful manner for the
purpose of meeting the objectives and goals of the organization. The smartphone industry
has observed a booming growth in the recent age of rapid globalization. This industry is
considered to be one of the fastest growing sectors in global communication. Apple Inc. is
one of the most recognized organizations in the smartphone industry with a vast global
customer base. The company is an American technology company with multinational
dimension. Apple Inc. specializes in the manufacture of computer software, consumer
electronics and other inline services, also involving its developing, designing and selling
(Apple.com 2019). The significant objective of the report is to provide an analysis of the
management of strategic changes in Apple Inc., which is a part of the smartphone industry.
Section 1
Analysis of Smartphone industry
The smartphone industry is one of the fastest developing industries in the
communication sector. This industry is involved in the design, development, manufacture
and selling of mobile phones and handsets. Technological developments and advancements
is a key aspect of this industry as the requirements and needs of the global customers is
changing rapidly (Cecere, Corrocher and Battaglia 2015). The ever-changing innovations
brought about in the smartphone industry is one of the key elements leading to the changes
in organizational activities and processes. Apart from the technological changes observed in
the products of the smartphone industry there have also been developments in the design
and quality of the products and services. The size, shape and bulkiness of the products have
undergone several changes leading to the development of sleek and easy to handle

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handsets and mobile products. This has in turn led to the increase in the overall customer
satisfaction over the world. It is also believed that the future developments in the smartphone
industry would lead to methods and features of syncing with biological reflexes and other
processes like thought processes, eye movements as well as cultural preferences of the
customers.
The emerging needs observed the global market of the smartphone industry has
been able to change the patterns and behaviors of not only customers but also business
organizations. The changes observed in the smartphone industry has generated rapid
upgradations in the consumption patterns of the global customers. However, with the
technological advancements, the prices of the products and services has increased leading
to the lowering of replacement rates of older models of mobile phones with new ones among
the customers (Woyke 2014). However, the innovative features available with the help of
technological advancements have catered to the needs of the customers who have a
fascination to own and utilize the recent trends in technology. The consumption of the global
customers of the smartphone industry heavily depends upon the brand image of the
organizations as well as the brand loyalty of the customers (Ganesan and Sridhar 2014). In
this aspect, Apple Inc. being one of the most recognized organizations in the smartphone
industry has a loyal customer base who tend to purchase the newly upgraded products
manufactured by the company (Chen and Ann 2016).
Trends and Drivers of Change
There are several trends that can be observed in the development of the smartphone
industry. These trends pertain to the increasing application of the concept of artificial
intelligence. The mobile phone devices manufactured in the smartphone industry are
increasingly morphing to utilize the benefits of artificial intelligence in the form of operatives
like Alexa, Cortana, Siri and the Google assistant. Apart from such installations of Artificial
Intelligence, the applications available in the smartphone devices also make use of
technologies like voice recognition thereby utilizing biological reflexes of the customers and

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enhancing their experience with the products (Buganza et al. 2015). The Artificial
Intelligence software are designed in a manner to learn about the lifestyles of the customers,
thereby possessing the capability to cater to their every requirement like making
appointments, orders or even navigation.
This innovational trend has further had influences on the development of location
based technology (Kim, Park, Kim and Lee 2014). The products manufactured by the
smartphone industry provides access to methods of tracking locations with the permission of
the customer. The provision of the location facility further enables the business organizations
to provide target based advertisements according to the location of the customers. This
feature further enhances the satisfaction of the customers and also improves the profitability
of the organizations. The use of augmented reality is another trend that is observed in the
smartphone industry (Kim and Kim 2014). This involves providing an interactive interface to
the customers thereby enhancing their sense of perception and knowledge about the
product and its features.
The key drivers of the change in the smartphone industry are as follows:
1. Changes in Consumers Perception: The perception of the people are very complex
and dynamic in nature. Therefore, to target and sell products to the consumer,
companies must provide the best products, which can attract the customers (Appiah
and Ozuem 2019).
2. Increasing income of the People: With the emergence of Globalization and global
transfer of technology, distribution of wealth have become uniform over most of the
countries. This has also helped smartphone companies to expand their business in
the developing countries of the world.
3. Improvement in Technology: Due to improvement in technology the cost of
manufacturing have decreased. This has helped the companies to reduce the price
and affordability for the customers.

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Key areas of Change
The changes and advancement in technology have changes not only the mobile industry but
also the related industry globally. With the advent of social media, the whole broadcast
media has taken a setback and resulted in the boom in the market for smartphones.
Therefore, the key areas effected are:
1. Due to the changes in the perception of the people are shifting away from
inconvenient mediums of entertainment and communication to more mobile and
easier modes of communication. Therefore, the advent of iOS and Android have
helped the consumers making their lives easier (Tseng, Liu and Wu 2014). If we
concentrate on Apple, then its powerful yet easy Operating System helps the users to
communicate through pictures, images and videos, this has increased the market
share of the mobile market.
2. Increased income of the people globally has helped the companies to manufacture
smartphones with the best specifications adjusting to the per capita income of the
consumers (Shin, Lee and Odom 2014). Apple has positioned itself as an
aspirational product, so the increased income of the people have contributed hugely
to increase sales revenue of the company.
3. Improvement in Technology: Due to the improvement in technology, the cost of
component parts and software have become economical (Coccia 2018). Therefore,
this has helped to Apple to reduce the manufacturing cost of the mobile phones
generic parts and have invested in the improvement in the camera lens, light and
aperture. So, Apple still has the reputation of producing the smartphones with the
best camera and picture quality.

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Section 2
Organizational Dynamics
Organizational dynamics refers to the process of persistently strengthening the
opportunities and resources of a business organization in order to enhance the performance
of the individuals as well as the organization on the whole. There are certain distinct
elements that pertain to the determination of organizational dynamics. Such elements
include planning and management of the various divisions and structure of the business
organization. Furthermore, in case the organization undergoes changes in terms of its goals
and business activities, the organizational dynamics alter according to the execution and
implementation of such changes. This requires the individuals of the organization to follow
up and meet the expectations of not only the organization itself but also its internal and
external stakeholders. The control and management of resources also plays an important
role in this aspect as the efficient allocation of resources and its management directly
determines the fulfillment of the objectives and goals of the organization. Finally, the most
essential element for the determination and assessment of organizational dynamics is the
manner of leadership present in the business organization. Leadership style observed in an
organization directly drives the various forces of changes pertaining to innovation,
technological advancements and thereby the behavior and performance of the individuals of
the organization.
The organizational dynamics in the chosen organization from the smartphone
industry, Apple Inc. shows a constant progress towards innovation and development in the
field of technology. The leadership style shown by the founder of the organization Steve
Jobs and its current Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook plays an important role in formulating
the organizational dynamics in Apple Inc.

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Transformational Leadership Style and its Impact on Change
The concept of transformational leadership entails within its purview the ability of a
leader to induce changes and transformations within the scope of an organization in order to
positively influence and motivate the employees and workers to innovate and enhance their
productivity and performance (McCleskey 2014). Transformational leadership further
influences the organizational dynamics as it helps in the persistent growth and development
of the Company in the global market. The founder of Apple Inc., Steve Jobs showed a
transformational style of leadership due to his inspirational and charismatic qualities that has
been able to transform the scope of the organization within a short period of time and made
it reach the zenith of success in the smartphone industry. Steve Jobs transformational style
involves the incorporation of changes within the scope of the organization relating to
technological innovations in the already existing products and development of new products
keeping into consideration the recent trends of technological advancements around the
globe (Steinwart and Ziegler 2014). The changes in technological advancements within the
organization has been impacted by his transformational leadership style as the employees
have been motivated and encouraged to improve and enhance their knowledge and
performance in order to ensure the steady growth and development of the Company in the
global market. Furthermore, Steve Jobs in spite of having minimal knowledge about the
technicalities of software used in the products, has laid immense focus on the development
of the features and design of the smartphones thereby attracting a larger customer base
having a sophisticated taste of technological products. This transformational style of
leadership has therefore influenced the preferences of the customers by procuring a larger
customer base and creating a unique brand identity for the organization (Filieri and Lin
2017). This unique brand identity created under the leadership of Steve Jobs has not only
induced a sense of brand loyalty among the customers because of the high quality of the
products but also improved the profitability and productivity of the organization (Appiah,
Ozuem and Howell 2017).

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Transactional Leadership Style and its Impact on Changes
The concept of transactional leadership entails within its purview the ability of the
leaders to promote and influence compliance within the employees, workers and
subordinates by creating a structure of incentives, rewards and punishments according to
their levels of productivity and performance (Breevaart et al. 2014). Through the creation of
such a system, the leaders are able to manage the business activities of the employees and
keep them motivated towards progress and development. Such a transactional style of
leadership was also displayed by Steve Jobs due to his method of providing incentives to the
high performing employees on a stock basis. This in turn influenced the changes
implemented by him in the field of technological innovations as the employees were driven to
research and provide innovative ideas that could improve the features of the products. Such
a drive towards innovations in turn led to a drastic change in the designing and development
of the products, thereby increasing their quality and appeal to the global customer base
(Makridakis 2017). The improvement of quality and innovations in features of the products
further influenced the changing global consumer patterns by allowing improved access of the
recent technological trends to the customers.
Democratic Leadership Style and its Impact on Change
The concept of democratic leadership style entails within its purview the ability of the
leader to remain participative and induce the employees and workers to actively take part in
the decision-making processes of the business organization (Hendriks and Karsten 2014).
The scope of democratic style of leadership involves the opportunities given to the
employees to innovate and ideate freely. Tim Cook, the current Chief Executive Officer of
Apple Inc. displays a democratic style of leadership due to his efforts of managing the
changes brought about in the organization pertaining to the technological innovations. It is so
because Tim Cook focuses on building consensus among the members of the Senior
Management pertaining to the changes and strategic decisions of business (Summerfield
2014). Moreover, another initiative towards democratic leadership style taken by Tim Cook

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involves granting greater autonomy to the research and development team for the innovation
of new range of smartphones or development on the previous models. This also involves the
decrease of his direct participation in the development process of the new products. This
style of leadership displayed by Tim Cooks has influenced and effectively impacted the
changes implemented in the organization by giving freedom to the employees and workers
to become an intrinsic part of the organization and collaborate to contribute in the growth
and development of the organization and its business activities. The changes regarding
technological advancements of implementing efficient modes of Artificial Intelligence and its
development requires the research and development team as well as the software
development team to persistently evaluate the trends of consumption and customer
preferences. The changing behaviors and requirements of the customers pertaining to the
latest trends in the global smartphone industry is catered to by Apple Inc. and the leadership
of Tim Cook by providing opportunities to the employees to develop interactive innovations
like the implementation options of augmented reality in the smartphones. These innovations
increase the pricing of the products. However, the brand loyalty of the customers and the
general growing income rate of the global customers enables them to opt for such
technologically advanced products manufactured by the organization (Dastan and Geçti
2014).
Section 3
Sustainability of Changes
The global presence of Apple Inc. in the smartphone industry has made it essential
for the organization to implement changes in the market in a sustainable manner. The
concept of sustainability involves the ability of a business organization to uphold its
operations, services and reimbursements through the length of its existence (Doppelt 2017).
In this aspect the changes brought about by Apple Inc. in the field of technological
advancements and contributions to the changing patterns of consumption has led it to
develop sustainable means to retain such changes. This allows the organization to evaluate

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and track the possibilities of threats and weaknesses in the market so as to develop and
innovate means to counter them. Such methods include the tackling of problems such as
stagnancy in features provided by the smartphones, or tendency of the customers to reuse
older models of the smartphones. For this purpose, Apple Inc. makes changes in their new
products which make them quite different and attractive from the older models, thereby
promoting and appealing the customers to use such features.
In this aspect, it can be said that sustainability of changes is widely dependent on the
skills of the leaders of the organization, as they determine the direction and process in which
such changes will be strategized and implemented. The transformational leadership style of
Steve Jobs has enabled the organization to bring about changes relating to innovations in
products in a sustainable manner by utilizing the resources available in a skilled manner.
Moreover, the democratic leadership style of Tim Cook has further enabled the organization
to build upon the changes and perfect them.
Impact of Leadership on Organizational Changes
Leadership is one of the most important aspects that controls the processes,
activities, planning and functioning of business organizations. Similarly, it is the aspect of
leadership that determines how certain changes will be planned and strategized and
implemented within the scope of the organization in order to ensure the maximization of its
productivity and overall profitability. The organizational changes in Apple Inc., a
technological giant in the smartphone industry, has shown innovative developments in their
products through the use and development of the latest advancements of technologies
available in the world, and also influenced the consumption patterns of the global customers
in the market. The impact of the leadership skills of the managerial staff in the organization
can be evaluated through an analysis of the success and profitability incurred by the
organization after the implementation of these changes. Further, the transformational and
democratic leadership styles observed in the organization also indicate the degree to which
the individuals and employees of the organization are given freedom to develop upon the

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changes implemented through further innovation and ideation. In this aspect, the employees
and workers of the organization are treated as important stakeholders and an integral part of
the Company, their performance directly influencing the global position of the organization in
the market.
The impact of leadership style on organizational changes directly influences not only
the attitudes and behaviors of the employees of the organization but also the patterns of
consumption observed in the global customers. It is so because, the innovational steps
taken by the leaders of the organization raise the expectations of the customers regarding
the features and quality of the products, thereby making them aware about the possible
technological advancements offered by the Company.
Conclusion
From the above analysis, it can be deduced that, organizational changes are an
essential in any global industry. The smartphone industry is one of the largest growing
industries in the world owing to the array of opportunities in the field of technological
advancements. This developing industry has therefore influenced the consumption patterns
of customers across the world. So an organization like Apple Inc., which is one of the most
recognized brands in the smartphone industry, is also expected to be at par with such
technological and innovational advancements. For this purpose, the leaders of the
organization have taken adequate measures to strategize changes within the scope of the
organization in a sustainable manner, so as to ensure the optimum utilization of the
workforce and other available resources. In this aspect, the leadership styles of the leaders
like Steve Jobs and Tim Cook play an important role in determining the direction in which
such changes will be made and the degree to which these changes will lead to the growth
and development of the Company.

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