Apple Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Apple - Assignment Example is the story of the late Steve Jobs life and history, and he is in many ways linked to the success of the company. In the 1990’s Apple’s market share and fortunes suffered a dip and spiraled down. Steve Jobs, who had left the company in 1985, made a comeback in 1996, became the CEO and embarked on changing the company’s fortunes. His return heralded the beginning of a new way of doing things. He introduced products that were easier to use and more responsive to consumer needs (Elliot, 2012). The first of these was the iMac introduced in 1998, followed by the iPod music player in 2001 and the iTunes music store in 2003. These products under the leadership of Jobs significantly turned around the company’s fortunes and changed its philosophy, from a computer company to a consumer electronics and media sales one. More eye-catching products including Smartphones and tablets were introduced and by 2012 it was the largest global public trading corporation with a US $626 billion value higher than that of established names like Microsoft or Google. Its revenue in 2012 totaled US $ 65 billion dollars and rose to US$ 156 in 2012 which was a major turnaround (Dubrin, 2015). This turn around teaches us several lessons in Management starting with the inspirational leadership of Steve Jobs. He relied on a group of engineers and designers to innovate Apple’s products. This group was highly motivated and inspired. They would often go for retreats to brainstorm and come up with suggestions. The core team would be comprised of the best brains, and the retreats would serve as means of creating a work-life balance. This team would be well compensated in line with Maslow’s motivation theory and ERG expectancy theory. The core team was close-knit, loyal and stuck together. It was tasked with the creation of Apple’s unique products; a challenging, intrinsic as well as extrinsically rewarding job. Steve Jobs set them clear and inspiring objectives and pushed them