Strategic History

The story of Apple Inc. goes back to 1976. The founders, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, saw the vision of personal computer (PC) and built the commercially successful “Apple II” to rival with IBM and Hewlett-Packard (HP) in the computer industry. The strategy of the Apple at founding was to make personal computing available to general public while its competitors mainly were focusing on business computing and targeting corporations. Computer industry has gone though dramatic change since the introduction of Apple II and Apple has also experienced the change of management and strategy.
It is now a corporation with $320 billion market capitalization and second only to ExxonMobil.   At the top of the organizational structure, it sits Steve Jobs as CEO and Tim Cook as Operating Officer along with eight other SVPs in charge of operation, design, retail, software, marketing, finance, hardware engineering and general counsel. Apple has famously dropped the word “Computer” from its name since the 2007 introduction of iPhone which competes in the mobile phone industry.   Apple has transformed itself to focus mainly to provide a solution for personal information ecosystem.   Its main products now compete in segments ranging from digital music player, desktop computer, laptop computer, gaming, mobile phone, and mobile computing (tablet).
Apple’s strategy at the beginning was bringing the information age to the home of the users. At the founding of Apple, it raised an excitement of personal computer revolution. People didn’t have an idea of what computer could do for them in the their personal life. Computers were mainly used in large businesses, military and high-tech industry when complex information processing and calculation were needed. Apple introduced the first personal computer and then the first color personal computer in the market. Apple had created value that was not available to consumers before its incorporation. In that era, Apple served to educate the general... [continues]

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