Strategic and Operations Management Report: Analysis of Companies

This report delves into strategic and operations management, starting with an analysis of mission statements. It examines Facebook's mission statement, highlighting its effectiveness in defining the company's scope and objectives. The report then moves on to an in-depth analysis of Apple Inc., evaluating its competitive landscape using Porter's Five Forces framework. The analysis assesses the threat of new entrants, rivalry among existing firms, the threat of substitute products/services, the bargaining power of buyers and suppliers, and the relative power of other stakeholders. The report concludes by providing a comprehensive overview of the strategic challenges and opportunities facing Apple in the technology market. This report is a great example of the type of content available on Desklib, a platform that provides past papers and solved assignments for students.

Running head: STRATEGIC AND OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT
STRATEGIC AND OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT
Name of the Student
Name of Student
Author note:

STRATEGIC AND OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT1
Task 1a
A mission statement characterizes what an organization is by nature, and the reason it
exists. The mission statement ought to characterize who the essential clients are, recognize the
products or services delivered, and depict the area of work.
Facebook- “Give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together1.”
Walmart- “We save people money so they can live better.”
Google- “To organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.”
Among the above three mission statements the statement which I find to be the best and
most effective is the Facebook’s mission statement. This is because the statement not only
includes the scope of work for Facebook but also states the responsibilities it wishes to perform.
The mission statement states that the main objective of the company is to “empower people” of
sharing what they want and building communities, that is the scope and responsibility of the
company. In the next part the mission statement declares its objective of “bringing the world
closer together”. This is the larger objective of the company which also expresses its value and
culture.
Task 1b
The chosen company in this case is Apple Inc. which is one of the leading technology
company of the world.
1 Businessinsider.in, "Facebook Has A New Mission Statement: 'To Bring The World Closer Together'", Business
Insider, 2018, https://www.businessinsider.in/Facebook-has-a-new-mission-statement-to-bring-the-world-closer-
together/articleshow/59274871.cms.

STRATEGIC AND OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT2
• Threat of new entrants- This threat is moderate in the case of Apple Inc. There is less
chance of new players to come in due to high requirement of capital and high brand development
cost.
• Rivalry among existing firms- There are many competitors who are aggressively trying to
capture the market. Samsung, Sony, Motorola and other brands are using every opportunity to
compete.
• Threat of substitute products/services- This threat is not very high because the products
which are available are not qualitatively as superior as Apple. Apple uses very advanced
technology and high quality hardware2.
• Bargaining power of buyers- The bargaining power of the buyers in the case of
technological devices is quite high, because customers have the option to change the brand
whenever they wish to.
• Bargaining power of suppliers- Apple’s suppliers do not have much clout in influencing
the decision making of the organization, as there are plenty of options for Apple. There are
plenty of big suppliers willing to work for Apple.
• Relative power of other stakeholders- The Government of the countries where Apple
operates have significant impact on the company through its law enforcement bodies.
Communities and interest groups also exert influence.
2 Lehman, Glen, and Colin Haslam. "Accounting for the Apple Inc business model: Corporate value capture and
dysfunctional economic and social consequences." In Accounting Forum, vol. 37, no. 4, pp. 245-248. Elsevier, 2013.

STRATEGIC AND OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT3
References:
Businessinsider.in. "Facebook Has A New Mission Statement: 'To Bring The World Closer
Together'". Business Insider, 2018. https://www.businessinsider.in/Facebook-has-a-new-
mission-statement-to-bring-the-world-closer-together/articleshow/59274871.cms.
Lehman, Glen, and Colin Haslam. "Accounting for the Apple Inc business model: Corporate
value capture and dysfunctional economic and social consequences." In Accounting Forum, vol.
37, no. 4, pp. 245-248. Elsevier, 2013.