Over the recent years, Apple has experienced various issues, which are critical to their operations and profitability. These issues are embedded in the key business processes of the company. Moreover, the rate at which the industry that the company operates is growing is also a critical issue that Apple needs to address. Therefore, this paper discusses the various critical issues that the company faces, and the strategic alternatives that can be used to mitigate them.
First, the company faces technical incompetency that is evident through the dwindling sales and desirability of their products. For example, iPhones and Mac books are getting buggy by the day, and the batteries have many technical issues (Reisinger, 2017). Since the inception of the company, the management has sought to keep such problems at bay, but the situation is becoming worse by the day. Revenues from the products are also dropping in each quarter, creating concerns on the future of the companies’ revenues.
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Additionally, the company has lagged in innovativeness, unlike its competitors. It is prudent to note that the innovativeness behind smartphones, desktop machines and personal computers has remained stagnant over the years. Therefore, the stagnation of the company products is also a likely future concern. As a consequence of other innovative companies cropping up in the future, the welfare of a company could be undermined (Pavie, 2014). The lack of innovativeness is also connected to the lack of refinement of the products that the company has already provided to the market.
Other critical issues include strong competition within the industry. A decade ago, Apple did not have as many competitors as they have currently. Smartphone and PC companies with better efficiency than Apple have emerged, creating a big threat to the cash flow of the company. The organizational culture, which embraces small and concentrated scaling is also a major issue for the company.
Nevertheless, the issues that Apple faces have various causes. For example, the incompetency of Apple is a result of low customer involvement (Reisinger, 2017). Pragmatically, Apple has kept their development and research of products to their esteemed technical teams. The company rarely considers what the consumer wants or what aspects consumers want to be refined. In the long run, the products come as a surprise to consumers, who may not be willing to use the products. Secondly, the cause of low innovativeness can be linked to the company’s culture. Apple prefers to use small teams and unparalleled focus on their products. Therefore, the key elements that determine the innovativeness of the company are the state of the industry (Pavie, 2014). The concentration on industry forces instead of consumer needs leads to low innovativeness.
Despite the nature of issues that Apple faces, the company can opt for several alternatives that can enhance success. First, the company should nurture consumer sovereignty. Consumers are the major sources of revenue, and their specific needs should act as a determinant to developing new products. Moreover, solving the shipping problems that the company faces can also improve competitiveness. Further, the company should embrace the spirit of innovativeness, and enhance their scaling in research and development. In the current age, Apple has diversified its production to improve their market share. Apple produces PCs, smartphones, electronic accessories, and software. Increased divestment is dangerous for innovation and development of desirable products (Pavie, 2014). Thus, the market concentration would eliminate most of the critical issues the company faces. As such, the company should embrace the above-mentioned recommendations to improve their appeal to the target market. It is also essential for the management to instigate the changes over a planned period as an abrupt change of policies and ideologies can lead to internal organizational problems, which hinder effectiveness.
References
Pavie, X. (2014). Responsible innovation: From concept to practice . New Jersey: World
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Reisinger, D. (2017). Apple’s iPhone performance throttling stirs debate in user community.
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