Apple Inc.: A Critical Evaluation of Organisational and HR Strategies in Response to National and International Market and Competitive Environments

 Apple Inc.: A Critical Evaluation of Organisational and HR Strategies in Response to National and International Market and Competitive Environments
1.0 Introduction
Any organization’s success heavily relies on aligning its strategies and practices with the external factors affecting its operations (Meinert, 2018). The case of Apple Inc., one of the leading technology companies globally, is no exception. Apple’s market and competitive environments, both national and international, have played a crucial role in shaping its organizational and HR strategies (Yie et al., 2021). This essay will focus on Apple Inc. and how they interact with their HR practitioners to respond to various national and international markets and competitive environments. In particular, it will look closely at how the organization and its HR strategies can respond to environmental and global factors and how its leaders can shape, develop and respond to the organization’s internal and external environmental factors. It will also consider future HRM trends that Apple and other organizations may face.

2.0 Evaluation of Apple Incorporation Current HRM Strategies
Apple Inc. is a technology giant, that has consistently focused on innovative product design, secure systems, and efficient services, allowing them to maintain its position as a global leader. To further strengthen its competitive edge, Apple has adopted Porter’s generic strategies of cost leadership, differentiation, and focus.

According to Ormanidhi and Stringa (2008), the cost leadership strategy is aimed to establish a lower cost base than competitors, allowing Apple to remain competitively priced and target a broader customer base. This is seen by their supply chain management, which ensures that costs are maintained to a minimum by employing low-cost labor and outsourcing manufacturing (Tasnim, 2018). According to Podony and Hansen (2020), Apple’s use of Apple Care has also assisted the corporation in lowering manufacturing costs while providing enhanced support and a sense of security to its customers.

Their differentiation approach seeks to distinguish Apple goods from their competition (Miller, A. and Dess, 1993). This is demonstrated by their latest cutting-edge technology, such as their Face ID function and intuitive machine learning, which provides consumers with a technical advantage (Baeza Argüello et al., 2021). Furthermore, according to Podony and Hansen (2020), Apple goods frequently include novel features and designs throughout their product line, such as the current MacBook Pro, which is meant to give customers the most efficient and powerful laptop experience.

The focus strategy allows Apple to target a certain market niche and hence obtain a better grasp of their consumers’ needs (Miller, A. and Dess, 1993). Apple Inc. has taken advantage of this technique through its flagship shops, which serve as one-stop shopping experiences, holding a wide choice of products ranging from Macs to iPhones, as well as the most recent accessories and software (Masi, 2009). According to Masi (2009), this enables the organization to focus on specialized initiatives such as educational usage, the creation of instructional films for educational consumers, and the development of marketing programs for students who embrace digital innovation.

Apple’s Human Resources Management (HRM) strategy is consistent with its overall business strategy. For example, in terms of cost leadership, the corporation tries to recruit and keep the most qualified and up-to-date personnel at a price that is compatible with their budgeting plans (Olt et al., 2021). Moreover, Olt et al. (2021) state that Apple gives its employees extensive training classes and workshops that allow them to develop skills that will help them remain competitive in the market while also assisting the company to remain inventive and proactive.

The focused approach is also visible in Apple’s HRM strategy, notably through the employer branding technique, which entails marketing the company’s capabilities and accomplishments, as well as team-building exercises to ensure that employees understand the company’s culture (Dixit, n.d). According to Free Essays (2022), its HRM strategy also tries to guarantee that workers feel motivated and engaged by giving rewards like competitive salaries and promotional chances, as well as creating an engaging work environment. Furthermore, Apple frequently preserves an aspect of globalization in their workplace, allowing its employees to benefit from foreign possibilities, allowing them to expand their skill set, and learn more about the company’s operations throughout the world.

Finally, their differentiating strategy pushes the organization to attract and create a staff that is proactive in addressing complicated consumer demands and imaginative in their problem-solving approach. This emphasizes the necessity of having an enabling culture in which people may develop their talents and expand their knowledge, all of which contribute to Apple’s ongoing competitive advantage (Ouyet Tran, 2022). According to Ouyet Tran (2022), to develop a firm foundation of mutual understanding and strive for joint goals, the Human Resource Management strategy must also be in sync with the organization’s larger strategy.

3.0 Analysis of How HRM Practitioners at Apple Incorporation Respond to National and International Factors at Both Operational and Strategic Levels
Apple Inc, a multinational corporation, faces both national and internal challenges. As a result, HRM practitioners inside organizations must adapt to operational and strategic considerations. Before looking into how these practitioners respond to these elements, it is necessary to identify them using a STEEPLE analysis.

3.1 STEEPLE Analysis
Apple is a leading technology brand for consumer electronics and personal computers that has successfully penetrated the global market, with more than half of its sales coming from countries overseas. Hence, for a technology giant such as Apple, it is important to understand the numerous external factors impacting its business. The STEEPLE analysis of Apple Inc. sheds light on its social technological, economical, environmental, political, and legal aspects, to better assess and evaluate its current strategies and policies.

The social aspect of steeple analysis for Apple includes consumer behaviors, their expectations, and the trends associated with them (Team, 2021). According to Team (2021), with the booming market for mobile devices and growing demand for digital systems, there is a great opportunity for Apple to increase its sales. On the other hand, there is increasing opposition against external repair services, and the Anti-Apple sentiment is rising.

The technological factor highlights the advancements in technology and the competition that Apple has been facing, as many of its competitors are providing technology-driven products at cheap costs (Team, 2021). According to Team (2021), in 2020, Apple introduced Apple Pay and entered a highly monitored financial services sector, with a focus on increasing its technology services and cloud framework for the benefit of its business in cloud computing services.

The economic factors in Apple’s steeple analysis are also closely related to the political side, as the US dollar’s strength affects Apple’s operation and exchange rates, as Apple is reliant on effective imports from other countries in the world (Team, 2021). According to Team (2021), there is an opportunity for growth with the increasing disposable incomes of the target market, but its pricing policy of Apple puts forth a challenge for the company to penetrate the emerging Asian markets.

The environmental aspect of the steeple analysis of Apple primarily focuses on the cost of disposing of its electronic equipment that contains lithium batteries, as they cannot be dumped in landfills. Apple reports its total carbon footprint and works towards reducing it, while many of its products are fabricated at low costs in China, a country that is affected by environmental and social issues.

According to Team (2021), political factors determine the risk factors associated with Apple’s business deals and its global sales. The alarming US-China trade war may decrease Apple’s market share in China due to retaliatory tariffs across international borders, while an increase in US tariffs could increase the cost of Apple products in many global markets. Apple is also subject to the election of a new US government and the conditions of Brexit. In 2020, a global pandemic occurred and disrupted the global economy, affecting Apple’s political and economic factors.

According to Team (2021), the legal aspects concerning Apple’s steeple analysis include the agreement to the protection of private data and compliance with privacy regulations. With the introduction of Apple Pay, the monitoring of the business has increased thus a strong oversight by the government is required in this sector. Apple is reliant on a variety of products covered by intellectual property laws, leaving it at risk of a lawsuit.