External and Internal Factors on Apple Inc.
October 27, 2008
External and Internal Factors on Apple Inc.
As with any company, a solid foundation is essential for success. Companies need to have a system in place to help management plan ahead should there be a "bump" in the road. A good example of a company that is built on a solid foundation is Apple. Companies have developed and implemented their own management concepts to keep them one step ahead of the competition. There are basically four management functions used to handle any situation: planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. Yet unforeseen issues either within the company or outside affect these implemented concepts.
Planning is the base upon which all the areas of management should be built. There is a constant, never-ending change in the business climate and a plan must be in place to handle all of them. An internal factor that could affect a plan from being used is personal conflict. You don't like the person that has a plan. You have more authority than them, so you squash the idea before it can happen. Maybe it was a good idea, maybe not. You don't care. An external factor that can change the plan is the customer. What do the Apple customers want? When you leaked the information about a new phone about to come out (marketing), are customers camping out at your store for the phone or do they even care? Knowing the customer will help you make better decisions about what is the best plan to use.
Organizing is the second function of management. Management must organize all its resources in order to implement the course of action it determined in the planning process. What could be an internal issue that could affect the bringing together of said resources? The d ...