Organizational Culture Analysis, Apple Inc.

HRMN367

Professor:  Heather Yungbluth

University of Maryland University College

Ann-Marie Hensgens

March 28, 2017

 

 

Organizational Culture Analysis, Apple Inc.

Analysis of data collection methods

A variety of surveying methods of data collection can be adopted as to effectively analyze organizational culture for the Apple Inc. these surveying methods would include observations and interviews. The main significant features for the Apple’s organizational culture includes top notch excellence, moderate combativeness, innovation, secrecy as well as high creativity (Krapfl & Kruja, 2015).

Observation method of data collection.

To effectively identify the features for the organization, one needs to spend quite lengthy bouts of time in the organization as to be familiar with how these cultures are integrated into operations taking place in the organization. Additionally, one could purchase and use the products that the organization manufactures. By using such products, one can observe the easiness of using these products (Richards, 2014). As such, one can make deductions over the ability of the organization to adhere to its organizational culture.

For example, for innovativeness, one should compare the preceding gadgets that the organization produced (Richards, 2014). For example, the difference between iPhone 5 and iPhone clearly contributes to an easy observation of the level of innovativeness on how the products work. Therefore, can make their conclusions about the effectiveness of the organization to manufacture products that comply with their culture.

 

Data collection through interviews

Interviews provide an individual with the best opportunity to collect high-quality data in comparison to other methods. Through interviews, it is possible to dig further and beyond what one does not see. Therefore, the management of the organization will be the best for interviewing as they are well aware of the changes that have continuously been conducted when it comes to manufacturing of their products. Through interviews, the management will give facts and figures that depict their excellence in the fields they have invested. It will also be possible for the researcher to seek clarification of issues that they fail to understand (Davies & Hughes, 2014). Additionally, interviews facilitate the ease of seeking to know the combative measures that the apple group has undertaken to overcome the obstacles that they meet in the running of their operations.

Apple organizational culture and values

High excellence is one of the Apple’s team organizational culture. Several benefits are derived from enhancing and maintaining the high excellence for Apple. Through their excellence, the organization has become well known on a global platform. Its pricing strategy has also facilitated its perception as a product of social status. By becoming a reputable organization in the world, Apple has increased its sales as its market is in a global context. A global market facilitates the growth in the number of sales that the organization makes (Krapfl & Kruja, 2015).

Secondly, the organizational culture on innovative promotes the ability of Apple to develop its competitive edge. The acquisition of a competitive advantage makes the organization to be in its best position to fight competitors. Fighting competitions contributes to increased ability to make high sales that directly to high revenue turnovers. High revenue turnover, on the other hand, results in high profits. These profits can then be plowed back into the operations of the organization facilitating a rise in the number of global branches in all the continents (Buchanan, 2015).

Secrecy as an organizational culture improves the ability of the organization to apply their formulas effectively and use appropriate equipment that aid in the manufacturing of products that are of high quality. Capacity to keep production information a secret enables the organization to be unique (Richards, 2014). Uniqueness has facilitated the ability to cut into the market among all nations and various age groups in the society. Therefore, the organization should continue keeping their information a secret that will enhance their ability to remain unique and stay relevant in the industry.

The fourth organizational culture for Apple is their creativity. Through creativity, the organization innovates new products that are well received in the market. Therefore, the high level of creativity enables the organization to appeal to a given segment of the market (Krapfl & Kruja, 2015). Therefore, it’s possible to for the organization to facilitate loyalty among its customers. Commitment helps to promote a guaranteed market in the economy. Through creating loyal repeat customers, the organization has had an experience where they have a ready market that it is reliable.

Lastly, through their culture of combativeness, Apple has overcome some legal suits that are filed against it. The organization is driven by integrity and honesty (Buchanan, 2015). As such, their actions are geared towards conducting activities that are in line with the driving forces. Lastly, the organization has also avoided serious conflicts that have occurred both internally and externally as well as conflicts that have been offset by their competitors such as Microsoft under the leadership of Bill Gates.

Apple organizational culture artifacts

The Apple Inc. has a variety of visible cultural components. These artifacts include rituals and ceremonies. There are some ceremonies that the organization conducts for some reasons (Büschgens et al, 2013). An example of such rituals includes new hire training where the newly employed staff are oriented into the organization to get acquainted with the processes and procedures the organization follows in executing their tasks. Other ceremonies include corporate conferences that are held annually, awards, training activities, conducting meetings among others. The ceremonies are aimed at enhancing the integration within the organization.

A second artifact is the symbols and slogans that the Apple team has adopted (Büschgens et al, 2013). Through their apple fruit logo, the organization is easily identifiable making their products very conspicuous. There are additional symbols that include the employee of the month. Through the symbol, the organization appreciates the efforts that employees put in ensuring the achievement of the set goals and objectives.

Lastly, the story artifact of the organization deals with the narration that is founded on real events. These events could either be positive or negative. Either way, they are useful in driving meaning and articulating reasons to the employees (Buchanan, 2015). By articulating meaning, it becomes easy to deter or encourage the employees to either conduct or not conduct themselves in a given manner. Such type of behavior facilitates an increase in the performance level of a positive image for the organization in the market.

 

Apple organizational culture assumptions

Assumptions are the resulting factor that comes after the combination of values and artifacts. It’s the assumptions that will determine how an employee will carry out the various tasks that are designated to them (Krapfl & Kruja, 2015). These assumptions could be fear to fail which shows the effectiveness of artifacts in passing the organizational culture to new employees that have been engaged in the organization. The management of the organization can use these assumptions to empower the employees the more making them fear to fail in their roles and duties. It, therefore, can effectively be used enhance positive characteristics in the organization.

 

Appendices

Interview with Tim Cook by Adam Lashinsky

Photograph by Joe Pugliese for Fortune

FEBRUARY 22, 2016, 6:30 AM EDT

In an interview on Feb. 12 at Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino, Calif., CEO Tim Cook spoke expansively about the state of Apple  AAPL 2.07% , Fortune’s most admired company for nine consecutive years. He talked about how Apple behaves in a down cycle, how the company’s once-sacrosanct only-in-Cupertino mind-set is evolving, and the importance of services to Apple’s product mix. Without acknowledging its existence, Cook also shed possibly contradictory light on Apple’s widely rumored efforts to build an iCar: He suggested that Apple ultimately may decide not to make a car at all, yet he implied that if it did, it could utilize contract manufacturers to do so, just as it does with computers and phones.

Fortune: Critics slammed Apple for its flat fiscal-first-quarter performance, despite selling 74 million iPhones and making $18 billion in profit. What is your reaction?

Tim Cook: I’m good at blocking out the noise. I come back to, Are we doing the right things? Are we remembering our North Star? Are we focused on making the best products that really help people enrich their lives in some way? And we’re doing all those things. People really love our products. Customers are happy. And that’s what drives us. Over time I’m sure that everything else will catch up.

Do you communicate that Apple has been through this before, or do you avoid the topic altogether?

It helps internally to remind people that Apple has been through cycles: “This too shall pass.” And I think, in sort of a bizarre way, cycles can be really great. They have been for Apple because we tend to steadfastly continue to invest in innovation. And what other companies tend to do is retreat. Some of our greatest innovations and products were born in a period of challenge. Also, assets get cheaper, so you can double down on innovation through the downturn.

You mention cheaper assets, but Apple has not historically been a big acquirer.

Well, assets come in different forms. You can build more stores for the same amount of money. You can go into geographies like India in a big way and things are cheaper. And we’ve been acquiring companies every three to four weeks, on average, for a while. So yes, it’s also true that companies get cheaper in both the private markets and the public markets. And your own stock gets cheaper too. So it’s a glass half full for me, not empty.

For more on Apple, watch this Fortune video:

Apple’s mentality has been that everything important from the perspective of intellectual property happens in Cupertino. Is that changing?

The vast majority of the IP is created here and continues to be created here. We have a presence in Israel, and so we also have IP being created there. And generally speaking, what’s happened is that we’ve acquired some companies that are located somewhere else. And as we’ve done that, once we’ve gotten familiar with the location, we’ve hired more people in those areas.

I’m sure there was a time when Macs were 75% of revenue, as iPhones are today. Do you think about an ideal approach to product revenue mix?

Well, Macs at one time were 100%. And then iPod came along, and that mix changed. So now the way I look at it is that our focus is on making the best products. And that produces a mix of whatever it is. The result of doing that is that we now have a billion active devices out there. We’ve been increasingly adding services that our customers want, and the true size of the services business was almost $9 billion last quarter.

To ask it a slightly different way, the conventional wisdom for a long time was that Apple offered services primarily as a means to the end of selling devices.

That was never the way we looked at it. The way we look at it goes back to the building of great products. And services—we think of services as a product as well. And so, whether it’s offering Apple Pay or Apple Music or a huge number of apps in the App Store, these are all things that are driven by the installed base [of devices] itself. And so financially it provides a great potential opportunity.

I love Apple Pay, but I wish it were available more places.

You can bet we’re working on that. In the last couple of quarters, we’ve seen a dramatic uptick as more merchants accept it. But over the next few months you’ll see it going into places that people use daily.

I want to turn to the subject of innovation.

The most important thing for last.
Indeed. You’ve talked generally about autos, but you haven’t commented on Apple’s widely reported car project. Wikipedia has a long list of prominent auto industry people who have joined Apple. Why not take this opportunity to say, “You know what? It’s basically all there, and this is why we’re doing it”?

Yeah, I’m probably not going to do that. The great thing about being here is we’re curious people. We explore technologies, and we explore products. And we’re always thinking about ways that Apple can make great products that people love, that help them in some way. And we don’t go into very many categories, as you know. We edit very much. We talk about a lot of things and do fewer. We debate many things and do a lot fewer.

Can you afford to spend relatively large amounts of money on things you don’t end up commercializing?

Well, could we? Yes. But would we? We don’t have to spend large amounts to explore. So, I can’t talk about this certain area that you’re talking about. But when we start spending large amounts of money, we’re committed at that point. But we explore things with teams of people. And that’s a part of being curious. Part of exploring technologies and picking the right one is becoming so familiar with it you can see ways that it can be used. And for us, we’ve never been about being first. We’ve been about being best. So we explore many different things, many different technologies. And at first, we might not know what product it might wind up in. And then later we’ll see that that really cool technology enables maybe things that we’re doing today to take on something bigger, maybe something new. But once we start spending gobs of money—like when we start spending on tooling and things like that—we’re committed.

Apple’s new headquarters under construction in Cupertino, Calif., in September 2015.Photo: Steve Proehl—Proehl Studios/Corbis

So, you differentiate between spending gobs of money on tooling and having groups that may number in the hundreds of people? The latter would not necessarily constitute gobs of money?

No. I wouldn’t call it gobs of money.

Do you foresee a day when a manufacturer would make an automobile on a contract basis for someone else?

I think it does exist today, but I don’t think it’s the model for the [auto] industry. It’s not how it was born. That industry was born much like the industry that we’re in, the electronics industry: People began doing their own manufacturing, and then over time it became clear that specializing would probably be a better way to go from the supply-chain point of view. And so most companies begin to go in that way, at different levels and maybe in different ways.

And so can you envision it for automobiles?

Yeah, I could. Sure. I don’t think that there’s a fundamental reason why that couldn’t be done.

Okay, one more thing: Is there a date for the new headquarters to open?

We haven’t set a date. But I’d like to be moving in in about a year, to start the moving process. Think of it as early ’17. There’s lots of excitement about it. It gets a lot of people back together again, which is, I think, really important. We’re in so many buildings right now. It would be nice to get everybody back.

Have you made a decision on the naming of the campus? Have you settled on the way that you’ll pay homage to Steve Jobs?

We’re talking about it. We will definitely honor him in the right kind of way. We’re working with Laurene [Powell Jobs, Steve’s widow] and the family.

 

 

Appendices

Business Insider Interview with Apple Employees

In the US alone, Apple has 265 retail stores across 44 states. Each of those locations employs over 100 people — totaling about about 30,000 full- or part-time retail workers.

Most of those employees agree that the 39-year-old Cupertino, California-based tech giant is a great place to work.

Of course, every employee's experience is different — but we recently spoke with former Apple "specialist" Albert Adolphus to find out what it was really like for him:

Time at Apple: I worked for Apple in a Connecticut store from October 2010 through May 2012. 

Title(s) held: My official title was "specialist." My job in the Apple retail store was to provide the customer with an informative and memorable purchasing experience. 

Once the product was purchased it was our obligation to the consumer to have an amazing "out of box" grand gesture, offering free personal training, and an immediate hands-on learning experience.

Reason for leaving: I left in the summer of 2012 due to an opportune business internship in California.

Hiring process: Well, I was working at Best Buy but I wanted something more exciting. I have always loved Apple products and when looking for a new job, Apple stood out among the competitors. 

I filled out Apple's online application, which consisted of a series of questions that I suppose helped them determine if I was "Apple material."

After submitting my application, it was a waiting game.

Two weeks passed with no contact, so I decided I would visit the Apple Store in the Westfarms Mall in Connecticut. At the store, I was introduced to a manager who explained that the following Saturday morning they were having a hiring event at 7 a.m., and she invited me to attend.

That following Saturday, bright and early, I headed over to the event, which was incredibly crowded. I saw at least 40 other possible candidates who seemed just as eager as I.

Apple employees welcomed us to the event with videos about Apple's achievements, and concluded with a written quiz on your knowledge of Apple product and its major software, like Pages, KeyNote, Numbers, Aperture, as well as Time Machine and others. We were thanked for coming and then excused once we had completed our quiz. 

It was just a few days later when I received my first follow-up call. I spoke with a manager who asked when I'd be available for an interview, and we picked a time.

Albert Adolphus, a former Apple employee. Facebook

This interview would be the first of six.

Apple's hiring process included a one-on-one interview with each manager from the store, as well as with the district manager. After concluding the final interview, I was informed that I had made the cut, and would be starting with the company the following week. 

Job training: Apple has a specially designed training program for all new employees, referred to as "Core" training. 

Core training took place off-site and included 15 new employees like myself. It lasted 10 days and was always closely monitored by a manager and a store lead employee. 

The next 10 days were essentially "Apple boot camp." We played ice-breaker games and learned everything Apple — history, achievements, programs, the the company's mission statement, benefits and stock options.

It was a month before any of us would be on the sales floor alone.

Once basic core training was completed, we each were assigned a veteran employee to "shadow" — this person is supposed to be your mentor. Once they thought you had what it took, they would play the role of reverse shadow and would monitor your knowledge and professionalism on the job. 

Apple employs about 30,000 full- or part-time retail workers. Robert Galbraith/Reuters

The difference between "Specialist" and "Genius": I was never an Apple Genius because I was a part-time employee, and Apple only offers Genius positions as a full-time job. 

When I worked at Apple, Geniuses were sent on an all-expenses-paid business trip for 14 days to Cupertino, California, for Genius training camp. Geniuses often made $25 to $30 an hour based on their tenure.

From what I knew, many Geniuses who had been there since the store opened its doors were making well over $40 an hour. 

The best part of working for Apple: It had to be launch days! There were crazy long lines, especially for the iPad 2, and the iPhone 5. The energy on these days rocked my world. I will never forget them.

Apple is, of course, concerned with how well taken care of its customers are, but I have to say the company also looks out for their employees. I remember they would often buy the entire store crew a full meal for free on launch days, which was pretty awesome.

Another perk of working there: Customers love Apple, so my days were often pleasant.

Every day I would interact with people; young and old, rich and poor, and from all walks of life with different needs, wants, and budgets. This type of selling opened my eyes to the importance of treating all my customers equally, all with compassion, no matter what the circumstance.  

Apple has 265 retail stores across 44 states. Grant Robertson/flickr

Worst part of working for Apple: Honestly, looking back, most of my time there was pretty great. I guess the one part of the job I didn't look forward to was closing the store at night. If you have ever entered an Apple store in the morning you will see just how perfect every iPad, iPod, MacBook Pro have been aligned — without fingerprints. I can tell you, this is a task that takes hours to do, often taking the store's closing crew two to three hours to accomplish.

Most surprising thing about working at Apple: I would think readers would be surprised to see the energy behind Apple's walls, to know that management is always working on creating a better customer experience. Customer loyalty and satisfaction is their number one priority.

I also think readers might find the level of diversity among the talent at Apple very inspiring.

Pay and benefits: When I worked at Apple, I was paid $12 an hour as a specialist. They offered benefit options such as health care for all employees full- and/or part-time. Other benefits included stock pay options (up to 10% of your income quarterly at 15% of market value) and discounts, such as 25% off a product once a year, 15% off products for friends and family on three products a year, and an unlimited 10% in-store discount on anything, any time. 

"I would think readers would be surprised to see the energy behind Apple’s walls "Grant Robertson/flickr.

Weirdest thing that happened on the job: Apple is an exciting place, and weird stuff happened every day, as can be expected in retail. However, one memory that sticks out above the rest was when a flash mob broke out in the middle of the store. The mob used the electronics in the store to play music and record their dance routine. That turned my pretty normal day of work into feeling as if I were on a set of a music video shoot.  

Coolest thing that ever happened on the job: The coolest thing was also the most touching thing I experience while working there.

A woman in tears came into the store because she had dropped her phone in the water. At first I didn't understand why she was so upset about an easily replaceable phone. Then she told me how her phone contained a very important message that would break her heart if she were to lose it forever.

She confided in me that she had lost her son in a car accident and on this device was her final communication from her son, a voicemail with his closing words being "I love you Mom." This was right before the iCloud and wireless backup days, and the message was not within the voicemail server — we tried this solution first. 

A Genius in the store took it upon himself to transplant the logic board into another phone, at which time the phone was able to power on and retrieve the voicemail, saving it as an audio file as to avoid losing it in the future. It felt pretty good to be able to help this woman.

What it's REALLY like to work in an Apple store: You get to work with really creative people. I became inspired to spread the creativity bug and often found myself being thanked and praised when customers left the store with exactly what they needed. 

The entries have these elements: author(s); year of publication; title; and source (publisher for books, and title of journal for reports or articles). Book titles are underlined; titles of articles are in quotation marks; journal titles are italicized. The journal title is followed by the volume number, then the number within the volume (or the month or season, depending upon the journal's style) in parentheses, and then the page numbers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

Buchanan, R. (2015). Worlds in the Making: Design, Management, and the Reform of Organizational Culture. She Ji: The Journal of Design, Economics, and Innovation, 1(1), 5-21.

Büschgens, T., Bausch, A., & Balkin, D. B. (2013). Organizational Culture and Innovation: A Meta‐Analytic Review. Journal of product innovation management, 30(4), 763-781.

Davies, M. B., & Hughes, N. (2014). Doing a successful research project: Using qualitative or quantitative methods. Palgrave Macmillan.

Krapfl, J. E., & Kruja, B. (2015). Leadership and culture. Journal of Organizational Behavior Management, 35(1-2), 28-43.

Richards, L. (2014). Handling qualitative data: A practical guide. Sage.

Smith, J. (2015, July 15). Here's what it's REALLY like to work in an Apple store. Retrieved March 26, 2017, from http://www.businessinsider.com/what-its-really-like-to-work-at-an-apple-store-2015-7

Lashinsky, A. (2016, February 22). Exclusive Q&A: Apple CEO Tim Cook. Retrieved March 26, 2017, from http://fortune.com/tim-cook-apple-q-and-a/