The human resource department has a critical role in ensuring that the company retains its talented workforce. Part of this role is the reward management, which is the process of compensating employees to ensure that they get the motivation to stay within the company. Employees' rewards can either be monitory or non-monitory. Still, the goal should remain to be motivation to ensure that there is a motivated team to undertake the work that benefits the organization. The nature of the motivation the company chooses should be in line with the company strategy. The company strategies describe the belief, the values, and the culture that dictates how the company operates ( Coughlin, 2016). The rewards strategy should be in line with the goals to ensure that there are coherency and proper integration of the reward system or plan into the organization's essential functions. Apple Inc. is one of the leading companies in the telecommunication and technology industry. The company stands as a perfect example of an organization whose reward system has worked well. In this discussion, the focus is on the Apple company rewards system and how it integrates its rewards system on business strategy.
Apple Inc., Business Strategy
Apple Inc. currently has more than 140,000 employees. The company has grown by almost 15,000% ( Rothman, Blumenthal&Thibault, 2020). The statistics communicate the success the company enjoys as it stands as the only company to have surpassed the one trillion mark regarding its net worth. Apple Inc. was founded by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak in 1976 ( Coughlin, 2016). The company had years of struggle before its breakthrough. Steve Jobs set the foundation and the philosophy that would see Apple Company become the world's most valued organization. Apple Company did struggle before coming up with the best strategy to do business in a competitive technology and telecommunication environment. However, this has been changing depending on the company's situation to remain relevant ( Rothman, Blumenthal & Thibault, 2020). Currently, under the leadership of Tim Cook, the company has still ranked first in producing the most innovative and customers friendly devices ion the world.
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The company has three key strategies of doing business and outshining its competitors, such as Nokia, Samsung, and the Tecno. The first strategy the company uses is the focus on product design and functionality. In the telecommunication and technology industry, Apple Company leads in the best product design. Apple has adapted advanced features and capabilities of its products and services as bases of its competitive advantage. The company design philosophy rests on its value of innovations. It is one of the industry's companies that boast of a product portfolio with the most valued innovations in the sector ( Coughlin, 2016). The introduction of the iPad changed the world of mobile phones and introduced new devices of its kind. Also, the Macintosh introduction, which was the first computer to use a graphical user interface, was a breakthrough for the company. These innovations and inventions define and underline the unique business strategy the company uses that has its foundation on design and innovations. Therefore, design and individual creativity and innovation give the company a competitive advantage in the market.
The next business strategy is a strategy that strengthens the company’s ecosystem. For Apple Inc., vertical integration is a resourceful business strategy that differentiates the company from its competitors( Coughlin, 2016). The company invested in both software, hardware, and services. The vertical integration means that all the devices from the company should sync and function smoothly for the customers. With such a combination, the customers can benefit from the products’ functionality, and this attracts and retain them more to the products. Therefore, vertical diversity provides the company with a plethora of options in the market, and this is the right way of doing business. The last strategy is to focus on the customers by providing a diverse product portfolio and giving the quality product they meet their needs. For many years, the company has invested heavily and also relied heavily on the sales of the iPhone series. iPhone generates more than 15% of its revenues ( Shaheen et al., 2020). However, the company is working smart to ensure that it does not rely overly on a single product but diversifies its product portfolio. Therefore to give customers more options to select from and, this is good for them. Thus, the company's business strategy could be said to be product-oriented. Apple provides on the quality of its product design to reach the customers' supreme needs.
Reward Strategy and Practice
The reward system is the process or practice through which it rewards or compensates some of its workers for a great job. These are strategies the company uses to pay those who have done well to promote the well-being of the company or negate activities that can harm the company. The purpose of using a reward is to motivate the employees and retain them in the company. However, the decision to offer these rewards should cater for some consideration. Issues such as the external cost and comparisons with other companies should be critical ( Coughlin, 2016). Also, the employees need to understand the need to use these rewards and their utilization. Also, the cost should be a priority. With a good reward system strategy, they tend to be effective in motivating employees and achieving their purpose.
Like many other companies, Apple Inc. depends on a reward strategy to ensure that it motivates its workers to achieve some of its objectives. The company depends on both intrinsic and extrinsic reward systems. Apple Inc. uses hierarchy theory to ensure that it satisfies some of the basic needs of its employees as a way to motivate them. Part of Apple Inc.’s reward system is the self-determination approach. The company rewards some employees based on the innovation they make and the determination they put forward to make a difference. The combination of these rewards is well integrated into the business model to come up with a perfect environment for doing business.
First, the company offers competitive salaries to its workers in the market. According to Maslow's theory, employees are motivated after meeting some of the needs as they progress through ranks and hierarchy levels. Therefore, the best way to encourage employees is to strive to meet some of these needs. Thus, offering its employees competitive salaries in the industry means that Apple Inc. attempts to meet some of the basic needs in Maslow's theory. Other than that, the company offers intrinsic motivating factors such as a pleasant working environment for the workers. At Apple, Inc., Employees get breaks between working hours for refreshments. The company has CafeMac, which it uses to offer its employees refreshment in between the working hours. These are the intrinsic motivations that are critical according to the Cognitive theory of the motives.
Also, other intrinsic rewards the company offers its employees are job security and healthcare insurance. Apple Inc. is among the few companies in the world that reward their part-time workers with healthcare cover after one year of their life. Apple Inc. stands as one of the few companies that offer their employees pensionable jobs ( Coughlin, 2016). These are intangible but critical cognitive influencers that the company aims to use to lure more talents in the market and also retain the pool of talented employees it has. Currently, the company is working on the relationship between its managers and employees. Tim Cook is demanding that managers use some “Buzz” words to employees to increase their sense of belonging. These are also some of the most renowned cafeteria reward systems that the company uses to ensure that employees feel engaged and cared for within the company.
Also, Apple Company has a performance reward-based system that rewards employees and managers based on its merits and determination. The company has a bonus based on the performance of both managers and the employees. The company believes in the self-determination theory. The theory states that “When rewards are administered in a supportive autonomy climate, they are less likely to undermine intrinsic motivation and, in some cases, can enhance intrinsic motivation.”
Finally, the company offers its employees a chance to balance their work hours with their families at home. Work-life balance is currently an issue in the world. It is a situation where the employees need to understand that they have to have quality time with their families to reduce the level of distress. Therefore, they should push for companies to allow time to have a chance with their families ( Stanton, Zehm & Kreiner, 2020). The work-life balance is beneficial to employees and employees. Therefore a good company should relook the need for the employees to get sometimes off work to be with the families. In this case, the company's strategy is to introduce shifts to employees so that they work for specific hours and get some time off work. These are the company's strategy to ensure that its employees have the motivation and the determination to achieve the best.
As discussed, Apple Company business strategy focus on innovation, uniqueness, and diversity of its product portfolio. The company also portrays a quality brand. The company must work smart so that employees depict the nature of the business they are doing. Therefore, these rewards aim to improve the company's operations strategies by ensuring that employees can match them ( Stanton, Zehm & Kreiner, 2020). At Apple Company, the managers value skills and competency. Therefore, most of the rewards are integrated within the company's internal structure based on competency and expertise. Those who are outstanding innovators tend to get more bonuses as company values innovations.
Evaluation of the Reward Practices
The success the company has is due to its ability to work harmoniously with its employees. The company has managed to provide a pleasant atmosphere for employees to progress, which makes them innovative. Therefore, their rewards strategies are of success.
Internal alignment
The company has achieved an internal organization and employees' success because of its strategies to align its rewards with its internal policy. The company’s commitment reward system tends to offer employees a bonus regarding how they perform. The most reliable alignment that the company use, in this case, is to understand the purpose of internal equity, where it compares employees based on job skills. Apple Inc. values competency and abilities in innovations. Therefore, the company has made a lot of success using these strategies because it is the engine of its most valued innovation.
Also, the company aligns its reward strategies with the job positions within the company. For instance, the company values its managers and employees. However, Apple Inc. tends to reward managers more than employees. While giving out bonuses, the managers tend to get more than the employees. It is a form of motivating the managers to develop the best strategies to get the best out of the employees. For many years, the company has done well because of the market's leaders ( Stanton, Zehm & Kreiner, 2020). Therefore, these strategies are working for the company and keep it relevant and competitive in the market. It is due to these rewards that bring a lot of competition among employees within the company. It is also due to these rewards that make managers create a good relationship with employees and give the platform to be innovative.
Moreover, these rewards make employees go beyond their limits to come up with unique products. In the end, Apple. Inc. stands as one of the most unique and most innovative companies in the world.
External competitors
Other than the internal strategies, a company also should align its reward system and strategy with its external environment. In this case, the external environment means forces that influence organizations' operations beyond their management's control. These include competitors, political, economics, and technological influence. Apple Inc. has significant rivals in the technology and telecommunication industry ( Li, Wu & Xiao, 2020). Companies such as Samsung are always ready to capitalize on any mistake Apple Inc. makes to outcompete it and dislodge the company from its top position in the market. Therefore, Apple Company strives to ensure that any organizational operation system, such as the reward system, is either better or is in par with those of its competitors.
Therefore, the company implements an equitable and even better rewards system that most of its employees. For instance, Apple Inc. bonuses on the employees' commitments are the best in the technology industry. First, the company has a rating scale and takes a lot of surveys on the competitors' rewards systems ( Li, Wu & Xiao, 2020). The company uses the competitors' reward rating scales, such as the types of bonuses they offer to help them define their reward systems. In the last few years, Apple Inc. was losing a lot of employees to rivals such as Huawei. However, the company implemented a new system that saw it successfully retaining its employees. For instance, Apple Company sometimes gives up to 20% additional bonuses on the employee's competency, which is fare much above the average in the industry that stands at 8.9% ( Stanton, Zehm & Kreiner, 2020). Therefore, the company strategy of serving other competitors and setting the reward system above its competitors could be cited as one of the reasons why its employees' satisfaction rate and retention ability is above the average in the industry.
Comparing the company with other competitors also reveals that Apple Inc. has one of the best healthcare benefits to its employees than most of its competitors. For instance, the company gives health coverage to most of its part-time employees who have worked with the company for at least one year. Therefore, aligning its reward system with its external environment and strategies has made the company progress positively in its employee retention and motivation.
Employee Contribution and Management
Apple Inc.'s reward system and strategy contribute to a high degree of employee engagement. One of the methods mentioned in the fact that part of the Apple reward system includes creating a suitable environment for the employees ( Stanton, Zehm & Kreiner, 2020). Apple has spaces called pods for each activity an employee engages during the workday - pod for office work, pod for teamwork, and pod for socializing. The seeds have an excellent way to provide flexible space for different types of work. Therefore, employees get time to chat and come up with ideas. These pods are creativity pools where employees can share their thoughts. Also, “ Apple Park at Silicon Valley includes a fitness center, an energy plant, and acres of apricot orchards. Every detail of the plan has been carefully examined to create the ideal environment for innovation and ones that encourage collaboration between workers and between departments” ( Li, Wu & Xiao, 2020). The company integrates reward strategies with its business strategies to engage both employees and the managers, and this is the reason for its success.
Potential Gap and Recommendations
Despite having critical strategies as its reward system, the company needs to relook its managerial position and design the right reward package for them. The company rewards managers based on their commitment, but this may not be effective because measuring the administrative position's performance sometimes is a challenge. A recommendable strategy is to use a competency-based approach that allows the company to reward the managers based on their measurable accomplishments. The package should be on the excellent work the managers have done to bring the best for the organizations.
The company has also done well in aligning its reward strategies with its business strategy. However, the company should do more to align its reward strategy with its culture. The company culture is quality, innovative and premium products. However, the company sometimes gets a poor rating from employees due to stress and overwork ( Coughlin, 2016). They should reduce the work by ensuring that reward strategies are in line with hierarchies, and employees do not have to undergo stress to achieve such rewards. The Firm has done well with its reward system because it has engaged employees and has aligned these strategies with its external and internal business strategies. As a result of such efforts, the company believes that the best way to work with employees is to create a pleasant environment and reward their efforts. Such commitments have made the company one of the best with high retention and employees' satisfaction rating, despite some loopholes that it needs to address, the overall reward strategy and practices at Ample. Inc. is impressive.
References
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Shaheen, S., Cohen, A., Chan, N., & Bansal, A. (2020). Sharing strategies: carsharing, shared micro-mobility (bikesharing and scooter sharing), transportation network companies, microtransit, and other innovative mobility modes. In Transportation, Land Use, and Environmental Planning (pp. 237-262). Elsevier.
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