Apple is one of the most successful and promising companies in the world. It is a leading corporation in the high-tech, software, and electronic appliances industries. Many people wonder what the key success factors of the company are. There is no doubt that one of the most significant success factors is the leadership of the corporation’s founder and CEO Steve Jobs. Thus, the report investigates the peculiarities of Steve Jobs’ leadership.
First of all, it important to analyze the behavior of Steve Jobs’ with its team members and employees and determine the leadership style applied. From one hand, he was considered to be a “control freak, egomaniac, and fearsome tyrant” (Finkle & Mallin, 2010). It was rather hard for the employees to work under the control of Steve Jobs. He was very concentrated on the final vision of the company and the means of its implementation. What is more, it made his teams driving consistent results. That is why the assumption can be made that Steve Jobs processed the characteristics of the transactional leader. On the other hand, it is also important to emphasize that he managed to reach a considerable cooperation with the team member and partners of the company (Finkle & Mallin, 2010). He was an inspiring person in the company that motivated the employees to work hard for the final vision reach. In addition, he valued the workers of Apple, Inc. Even when the majority of companies fired its workers during the economic crisis of 2008-2009, Steve Jobs managed to save all working places and invest into the professional development of employees (Finkle & Mallin, 2010). Consequently, Steve Jobs also processed the characteristics of the transformative leader (Anthony& Schwartz, 2017). Consequently, the combination of leadership styles gave an opportunity for Steve Jobs to develop the business so effectively.
Use your promo and get a custom paper on
"Apple Computer Leadership Report".
There is no doubt that Steve Jobs has significant challenges starting the Apple Corporation. First of all, Apple was one of the pioneers in the market. That is why the company had to spend considerable resources on the research and development process. In addition, one of the challenges for the leader was choosing the best workforce of the company, especially the top managers. That is why the Board of Directors was chosen by Steve Jobs personally. However, it is also important to emphasize the fact that Steve Jobs applied a unique and, at the same time, brilliant strategies struggling with competitors. The board of directors considered Microsoft office to be the key competitor of the corporation. However, Steve Jobs stated that “If you can’t beat them, join them”. That is why he developed the partnership with the Microsoft Office Corporation and made Microsoft Office and Internet Explorer versions compatible with Apple’s Mac (Finkle & Mallin, 2010). Thus, the Job’s business strategy is very effective.
Developing the business in the personal computer industry, it is critically important to take into consideration the drivers for change. First of all, one of the most significant drivers for change is technological progress. Considering the fact that the industry belongs to the high-tech segment, it is critically important for the companies to update the manufacturing process and technical characteristics of personal computers. In addition, another driving force of the industry is the change in customers’ needs and wants. It is critically important for the companies to develop market research constantly and update the product range according to their needs and wants.
One more important characteristic of the Steve Jobs management skills was the development of effective and financially beneficial types of partnership. He managed to reach an agreement with the business partners on the maximally favorable for his company conditions. For example, he was the first one to get 10% of the revenue from iPhone internet subscriptions in the result of the deal with the AT&T cellular company (Finkle & Mallin, 2010). As a result, his collaborative and negotiating skills benefited considerably to Apple, Inc.
The last but not the least key success factor of Steve Jobs is an intention to continuous process improvement. Steve Jobs constantly invested in the research and development process in order to improve the product quality, its technical characteristics, and the level of customers’ satisfaction. In addition, Steve Jobs spent considerable financial resources to the improvement of professional qualifications of his employees. As a result, it had a positive impact on the business activity of the enterprise.
Thus, taking everything into consideration the conclusion can be made that the leadership of Steve Jobs was rather unique. Nevertheless, it was extremely effective and beneficial for the general success of the Apple Corporation. The Apple Computer Leadership Report covers the key characteristics of the unique leadership style applied by Steve Jobs. All of them are worth studying and implementing by the managers of other companies. Steve Jobs managed to combine two leadership styles successfully. That is why it is beneficial for the manager to apply the characteristics of both the transformative and transactional leadership styles. In addition, the leader had the skills of critical thinking and making innovative decisions which are can become one of the key success factors of any manager nowadays. The last but not the least characteristic of Steve Jobs that should be followed is the intention of constant improvement and development.
- Anthony, S., Schwartz, E. (May 08, 2017). What the Best Transformational Leaders Do. Harvard Business Review
- Finkle, T., Mallin, M. (Number 7, 2010). Steve Jobs and Apple, Inc. Journal of the International Academy for Case Studies, Volume 16.
