Corporate Level Strategy
APPLE COMPUTER INC.: - CORPORATE-LEVEL STRATEGY REVIEW - A review on the strategy adopted by Apple Inc. at corporate level to ensure that the company remains at the forefront of the electronic media industry either in terms of innovation and range of products
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
An analysis was done on Corporate-Level Strategies adopted by Apple Computer Inc. (“Apple Computer”) that has brought tremendous success to the firm since it started.
Apple Computer started off in 1976 by Steve Jobs and Stephen Wozniak producing the original Apple computer to hobbyist. This single product line later diversified to multi products to what Apple is known today i.e. iPhone, iPod, iPad, iTunes, iMac, iBook and Mac Computer.
This report analyzes the corporate level strategy adopted by Apple Computer and proposes the alternative/enhanced corporate level strategy options to optimize the already excellent performance further.
EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT ANALYSIS – PORTER’S 5 FORCES
An analysis of the external environment of the Apple Computer business was done using the Porter’s 5 Forces Analysis. The result is shown in the table below: - FORCES | ANALYSIS | Rivalry Among Competing Firm | Rivalry is HIGH due to numerous competitors e.g. in PC (HP, Dell, Acer), in smartphone (RIM, Samsung, Nokia), in on-line music (Napster) | Threat of New Entrant | Threat is LOW to MODERATE due to high barriers to entry e.g. high capital requirement and high R&D capabilities requirement | Threat of Substitute Products | Threat is HIGH due to high availability of similar function products e.g. Napster & RealNetworks for iTunes, Blackberry & Samsung for iPhone, Dell & HP for iMac | Bargaining Power of Supplier | Bargaining power is LOW due to many alternative suppliers except for CPU where there are only 2 suppliers (Intel & AMD) but due to contractual leverage the bargaining power of these 2 suppliers are also limited | Bargaining Power of Customer |
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
An analysis was done on Corporate-Level Strategies adopted by Apple Computer Inc. (“Apple Computer”) that has brought tremendous success to the firm since it started.
Apple Computer started off in 1976 by Steve Jobs and Stephen Wozniak producing the original Apple computer to hobbyist. This single product line later diversified to multi products to what Apple is known today i.e. iPhone, iPod, iPad, iTunes, iMac, iBook and Mac Computer.
This report analyzes the corporate level strategy adopted by Apple Computer and proposes the alternative/enhanced corporate level strategy options to optimize the already excellent performance further.
EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT ANALYSIS – PORTER’S 5 FORCES
An analysis of the external environment of the Apple Computer business was done using the Porter’s 5 Forces Analysis. The result is shown in the table below: - FORCES | ANALYSIS | Rivalry Among Competing Firm | Rivalry is HIGH due to numerous competitors e.g. in PC (HP, Dell, Acer), in smartphone (RIM, Samsung, Nokia), in on-line music (Napster) | Threat of New Entrant | Threat is LOW to MODERATE due to high barriers to entry e.g. high capital requirement and high R&D capabilities requirement | Threat of Substitute Products | Threat is HIGH due to high availability of similar function products e.g. Napster & RealNetworks for iTunes, Blackberry & Samsung for iPhone, Dell & HP for iMac | Bargaining Power of Supplier | Bargaining power is LOW due to many alternative suppliers except for CPU where there are only 2 suppliers (Intel & AMD) but due to contractual leverage the bargaining power of these 2 suppliers are also limited | Bargaining Power of Customer |