Organizational Planning
Since 1976, Apple, Inc has been a leader and innovator in the computer industry. As a leader in the industry, Apple, Inc has to update their strategic and operational plans every couple of years in order to compete to keep their top spot. The following creates strategic and operational plans for Apple, Inc based on the SWAT analysis completed.
Strategic Plan
Strategic Goals:
• To use innovative products and technologies to offer the best customer experiences
• Increase sales volumes
“Apple is ranked number six among the main computer makers, with a market share of 3.48 percent, and worldwide, it is in ninth place with only 2.4 percent market shares for the first quarter of the year 2012” (Jinjin, 2013, p 94). With their market share dropping each year in the computer market, Apple needs to focus on increasing sales volumes. One way to do that is to increase the amount of retail stores available, as well as provide more innovative products to the customer base. When speaking of Apple Retail stores, the company must be willing to branch out into additional markets, in foreign countries. “For years, Chinese consumers have had limited access to Apple's products, as the company has focused primarily on the developed markets that make up the bulk of its business” (Chao, 2008, p 1). As Apple brings in more retail stores in foreign markets, their market share has gone up and will continually rise. According to Chao (2008), “between the fourth quarters of 2006 and 2007, Apple's personal- computer sales in China more than doubled to 22,000 units from 8,500.” In addition to raising sales volumes, Apple and their employees must start innovating more products to allow market share to rise. “Apple hasn't released another breakthrough product since the iPad came out three years ago, raising concerns the company has lost its touch since the October 2011 death of founder Steve Jobs” (“Earnings stall at Apple, along with innovation: The technology giant hasn't launched a breakthrough product since the iPad.,” 2013, p. 1). Because the products are not innovative, Apple is losing the market share for most of the products they offer.
Operational Plan
Operational Goal:
• To provide high quality technical support and sales through knowledgeable employees.
While Apple works to raise their sales volumes by increasing the number of retail stores, and providing more innovative products, they also need to consider the ramifications of these increases when it comes to customer service. In order to ensure the quality of customer service is acceptable, Apple will need to hire appropriate technical support and sales staff. “At Apple, our goal is to delight customers when they purchase a product and keep them happy throughout its lifespan” ("Customer Service And Support", 2014, para 1). The job requirement for their technical support representative shows that Apple cares about