Apple Inc., which is also known as Apple, has been executing its strategy by building an organization with the capabilities, people, and structure needed in the execution of its business activities. As one of the most popular and successful brands around the world, Apple’s exemplary financial performance is directly linked to the company’s strategic goal of building elegant designs as well as its investment in the development of new products to meet the changing market needs. According to Gamble et al., (2019), there is a greater need to strengthen an organization’s competitively valuable capabilities and resources during the strategy execution process. As such, Apple has been strengthening its valuable resources and capabilities, which have ensured a successful implementation of the overall corporate strategy. For instance, Apple’s technological capabilities have driven its success in implementing its strategic goal of creating new product designs. The company allocates a substantial amount of resources to new product development. Apple's allocation of resources into new product development is based on a thorough analysis of its internal capabilities as well as an analysis of its competitors. Thus, most products developed, such as the iPhone, are superior to the products developed by competitors. As a result, Apple has acquired a valuable market segment in the industries that it operates.
As explained by Gamble et al. (2019), a firm’s resources and capabilities play critical roles in enhancing its ability to perform value-creating activities and realize its strategic objectives. Apple's success in developing the best designs occurs because of the availability of competent and reputable design teams, adherence to higher standards, and significant investment in research and development. The quality of Apple’s products is unchallenged, which implies that the company strives to build quality-driven innovation.
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I decided to examine how Apple demonstrates one of the eight characteristics of good strategy execution because it has consistently posted positive financial performance and attracted loyal customers despite selling premium-priced products, which implies that its strategy has been effective. Besides, Apple has managed to remain dominant despite operating in a market dominated by strong competitors like Microsoft, Lenovo, Dell, and Samsung.
There is sufficient evidence to show that Apple exhibits good strategy execution. Apple’s successful execution of its strategy is due to the company’s strengthening of multiple capabilities, including a huge investment in Research and Development (R&D), extensive marketing, and building a strong global supply chain. With its strong marketing tactics, Apple has achieved a distinct identity, which gives the brand a huge competitive advantage. Although technological innovation is key to Apple's brand popularity, some scholars attribute its popularity to its excellent marketing strategy, which portrays it as a customer-centric brand. Gamble et al. (2019) acknowledged that the process of developing internal capabilities is complex since a bundle of expertise and skills are required to develop capabilities. Thus, Apple’s large global supply chain has allowed it to outsource critical capabilities abroad ( Lockamy III, 2017). Besides, Apple has effectively managed the supply network, which has allowed the firm to outsource cheap but quality raw materials.
Despite its effective strategy execution, Apple is currently operating in tough COVID-19 times just like any other firm, which calls for adopting resilient business approaches to remain competitive (Reeves et al., 2020). Tasnim (2018) observed that Apple has a command and control organizational structure. Thus, the company should adopt a decentralized organizational structure to facilitate business during post-COVID-19 times. Adopting decentralized decision-making would enable the company to tap into the innovative ideas of its employees and other stakeholders as they chart the way forward during the post-COVID-19 times.
References
Gamble, J., Peteraf, M., & Thompson, A. (2019). Essentials of Strategic Management, 6 th Edition. NY, NY: McGraw-Hill. Chapter 10.
Lockamy III, A. (2017, July). An examination of external risk factors in Apple Inc.’s supply chain. In Supply Chain Forum: An International Journal , 18(3), 177-188. https://doi.org/10.1080/16258312.2017.1328252
Reeves, M., Lang, N., & Carlsson-Szlezak, P. (2020, February 27). “Lead Your Business Through the Coronavirus Crisis.” Harvard Business Review . https://hbr.org/2020/02/lead-your-business-through-the-coronavirus-crisis
Tasnim, M. (2018). An Organizational Analysis on Apple. European Journal of Business and Management , 10 (11).
