Theme Paper Jisha(1)

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THEME PAPER

REPORT

ON

STUDYING ORGANISATIONAL CHANGE IN APPLE INC.

SUBMITTED BY:

K. Jisha Balakrishnan

FPB1113/001

Under the Guidance of

Prof. Sowmya C.S.

Indus Business Academy, Bangalore

On

5th

May, 2012


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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I sincerely acknowledge the help received from various persons and

sources in collecting datas and information in completing this

satisfactory Project.

The paper is entitled STUDYING ORGANISATIONAL CHANGE IN APPLEINC.

I would like to thank Prof. Sowmya C.S., my mentor, for giving me an

opportunity to do this project and for her valuable guidance in

successful completion of project.

I also thank our CEO, Mr. Manish Jain & our Dean, Dr. Subhash

Sharma whose perception & wisdomencouraged me.

Last but not least I would like to thank all the faculties of institute, my

parents and friends for their kind co-operation throughout the project.

All deserve my work and desire appreciation and gratitude.


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STUDENT DECLARATION

I, K. Jisha Balakrishnan,the undersigned, a student of Indus Business

Academy, Bangalore declare that this project report is submitted, in

partial fulfillment of the requirement during the Post Graduate

Diploma in Management (PGDM), at Indus Business Academy,

Bangalore.

This is my original work and has not been previously submitted as apart of another degree or diploma of another Business School or

University.

The findings and the closing remarks of this paper are based on my

personal study and experience.

Ms. K. Jisha Balakrishnan

FPB1113/001

Indus Business AcademyLakshmipura, Thataguni Post,

Kanakapura Main Road,

Bangalore-560062

Tel: +91-80-28435931/2/3/4

Fax: +91-80-28435935

Email:[email protected]

URL:-www.ibainternational.org
http://c/Users/jisha.b/AppData/Roaming/Microsoft/Word/-www.ibainternational.orghttp://c/Users/jisha.b/AppData/Roaming/Microsoft/Word/-www.ibainternational.orghttp://c/Users/jisha.b/AppData/Roaming/Microsoft/Word/-www.ibainternational.org


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TABLE OF CONTENTS

ContentsEXECUTIVE SUMMARY .................................................................................................................................. 5

INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................. 6

TYPES OF CHANGE ........................................................................................................................................ 7

STEPS INVOLVED IN CHANGE ...................................................................................................................... 10

KURT LEWINS THEORY ............................................................................................................................... 19

COMPARING JOHN KOTTERS 8 STEPS WITH KURT LEWINS THEORY ........................................................ 22

APPLE INNOVATION IS THE KEY ............................................................................................................... 23

OVERVIEW ................................................................................................................................................... 25

IMPLEMENTING JOHN KOTTERS 8 STEPS OF CHANGE .............................................................................. 26

REPRESENTATION OF KOTTERS CHANGE MODEL IN APPLE INC................................................................ 36

VISA OF APPLE ............................................................................................................................................. 38

CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................................... 40

BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................................................ 42


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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Change is the only constant."

Heraclitus, Greek philosopher

What was true more than 2,000 years ago is just as true today. We live

in a world where "business as usual" is change. New initiatives, project-

based working, technology improvements, staying ahead of the

competition these things come together to drive ongoing changes to

the way we work.

This theme paper is based on the above thought.

In here I have discussed what is change, how to implement change in a

big organization & be successful. I have taken the example of Apple

Inc. to describe the process of change.

This paper is purely based on secondary data, i.e. data obtained fromvarious sources. Here Im trying to study the organizational change

that took place in Apple Inc. & its indirect linkage to growth of the

company.


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INTRODUCTION

You have to work hard to change an organization successfully. When

you plan carefully and build the proper foundation, implementing

change can be much easier, and you'll improve the chances of success.

If you're too impatient, and if you expect too many results too soon,

your plans for change are more likely to fail.

Whether you're considering a small change to one or two processes, or

a system wide change to an organization, it's common to feel uneasy

and intimidated by the scale of the challenge. But, what is change?

Change is to move from the present state to a future or derived state.

Organizational Change is generally considered to be an organization-

wide change, as opposed to smaller changes such as adding a new

person. It includes the management of changes to the organizational

culture, business processes, physical environment, job design /

responsibilities, staff skills / knowledge and policies / procedures.

When the change is fundamental and radical, one might call it

organizational transformation.


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TYPES OF CHANGE

Organization-wide Change:

Examples of organization-wide change might be a major restructuring,

collaboration or rightsizing.

Usually, organizations must undertake organization-wide change to

evolve to a different level in their life cycle, for example, going from a

highly reactive, entrepreneurial organization to one that has a morestable and planned development. Experts assert that successful

organizational change requires a change in culture cultural change is

another example of organization-wide change.

Subsystem Change:

Examples of a change in a subsystem might include addition or

removal of a product or service, reorganization of a certain department

or implementation of a new process to deliver products or services.

Transformational Change:

An example of transformational (or radical, fundamental) changemight be changing an organizations structure and culture from the

traditional top-down, hierarchical structure to a large amount of self-

directing teams. Another example might be Business Process Re-

engineering, which tries to take apart the major parts and processes of


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the organization and then put them back together in a more optimal

fashion. Transformational change is sometimes referred to as quantum

change.

Incremental Change:

Examples of incremental change might include continuous

improvement as a quality management process or implementation of

new computer system to increase efficiencies.

Remedial Change:

Change can be likely to remedy current situations, for example, to

improve the poor performance of a product or the entire organization,

or reduce burnout in the workplace, or help the organization to

become much more proactive and less reactive, or address large

budget deficits.

Remedial projects often seem more focused and urgent because they

are addressing a current, major problem. It is often easier to determine

the success of these projects because the problem is solved or not.

Developmental Change:

Change can also be developmental to make a successful situation

even more successful. For example, expand the amount of customers

served, or duplicate successful products or services.

Developmental projects can seem more general and vague.


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Unplanned Change:

Unplanned change usually occurs because of a major, sudden surprise

to the organization, which causes its members to respond in a highly

reactive and disorganized fashion. Example, when the Chief Executive

Officer suddenly leaves the organization, significant public relations

problems occur, poor product performance quickly results in loss of

customers, or other disruptive situations arise.

Planned Change:

Planned change occurs when leaders in the organization recognize the

need for a major change and proactively organize a plan to accomplish

the change. Planned change occurs with successful implementation of

a Strategic Plan, plan for reorganization, or other implementation of a

change of that extent.


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STEPS INVOLVED IN CHANGE

We know that the change needs to happen, but one doesn't really

know how to go about doing delivering it. Where do you start? Whom

do you involve? How do you see it through to the end?

There are many theories about how to "do" change. Many originate

with leadership and change management guru, John Kotter. A

professor at Harvard Business School and world-renowned change

expert, Kotter introduced his eight-step change process in his 1995book, "Leading Change."

We look at his eight steps for leading change below.

Step 1: Create Urgency

For change to happen, it helps if the whole company really wants it.

Develop a sense of urgency around the need for change. This may help

you spark the initial motivation to get things moving.

This isn't simply a matter of showing people poor sales statistics or

talking about increased competition. Open an honest and convincing

dialogue about what's happening in the marketplace and with yourcompetition. If many people start talking about the change you

propose, the urgency can build and feed on itself.

What you can do:


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Identify potential threats, and develop scenarios showing whatcould happen in the future.

Examine opportunities that should be, or could be, exploited. Start honest discussions, and give dynamic and convincing

reasons to get people talking and thinking.

Request support from customers, outside stakeholders and industry

people to strengthen your argument.

Example The Tata Group is one of India's most successful and

prestigious business groups. Tata Steel is one of the keycomponents of the group and one of the most important

companies in India.

From its founding until the early 1990s Tata Steel was a classic

paternalistic employer. This was facilitated by economic conditions

that made India a producer's or seller's market. There was an

environment of scarcity, and people would be forced to wait until

something was produced. This was not an environment conduciveto competition or efficiency. It allowed Tata to take care of its

employees, but not to be a highly efficient competitive

organization.

During the 1990s the winds of change swept into India. Tata Steel

was forced to change its way of doing business in order to adapt to

the new era of competition. By the early 1990s Tata's technology

had become so outdated that the then Managing Director, Dr. Irani(MD), would joke that if they did not change their technology they

may as well convert Tata Steel to a museum of steel-making

history. This created a need for change & its urgency was easily

sensed by Jamshedji Tata.


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Step 2: Form a Powerful Coalition

Convince people that change is necessary. This often takes strong

leadership and visible support from key people within your

organization. Managing change isn't enough you have to lead it.

You can find effective change leaders throughout your organization

they don't necessarily follow the traditional company hierarchy. To

lead change, you need to bring together a coalition, or team, of

influential people whose power comes from a variety of sources,

including job title, status, expertise, and political importance.

Once formed, your "change coalition" needs to work as a team,

continuing to build urgency and momentum around the need for

change.

What you can do:

Identify the true leaders in your organization.

Ask for an emotional commitment from these key people. Work on team building within your change coalition. Check your team for weak areas, and ensure that you have a

good mix of people from different departments and different

levels within your company.


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Step 3: Create a Vision for Change

When you first start thinking about change, there will probably be

many great ideas and solutions floating around. Link these concepts to

an overall vision that people can grasp easily and remember.

A clear vision can help everyone understand why you're asking them to

do something. When people see for themselves what you're trying to

achieve, then the directives they're given tend to make more sense.

What you can do:

Determine the values that are central to the change. Develop a short summary that captures what you "see" as the

future of your organization.

Create a strategy to execute that vision. Ensure that your change coalition can describe the vision in five

minutes or less.

Practice your "vision speech" often.


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Step 4: Communicate the Vision

What you do with your vision after you create it will determine your

success. Your message will probably have strong competition from

other day-to-day communications within the company, so you need to

communicate it frequently and powerfully, and embed it within

everything that you do.

Don't just call special meetings to communicate your vision. Instead,

talk about it every chance you get. Use the vision daily to make

decisions and solve problems. When you keep it fresh on everyone's

minds, they'll remember it and respond to it.

It's also important to "walk the talk." What you do is far more

important and believable than what you say. Demonstrate the kind

of behavior that you want from others.

What you can do:

Talk often about your change vision. Openly and honestly address peoples' concerns and anxieties. Apply your vision to all aspects of operations from training to

performance reviews. Tie everything back to the vision.

Lead by example.


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Step 5: Empowering Others to Act

If you follow these steps and reach this point in the change process,

you've been talking about your vision and building buy-in from all

levels of the organization. Hopefully, your staff wants to get busy and

achieve the benefits that you've been promoting.

But is anyone resisting the change? And are there processes or

structures that are getting in its way?

Put in place the structure for change, and continually check for barriers

to it. Removing obstacles can empower the people you need to

execute your vision, and it can help the change move forward.

What you can do:

Identify, or hire, change leaders whose main roles are to deliverthe change.

Look at your organizational structure, job descriptions, andperformance and compensation systems to ensure they're in linewith your vision.

Recognize and reward people for making change happen. Identify people who are resisting the change, and help them see

what's needed.

Take action to quickly remove barriers (human or otherwise).


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Step 6: Create Short-term Wins

Nothing motivates more than success. Give your company a taste of

victory early in the change process. Within a short time frame (this

could be a month or a year, depending on the type of change), you'll

want to have results that your staff can see. Without this, critics and

negative thinkers might hurt your progress.

Create short-term targets not just one long-term goal. You want

each smaller target to be achievable, with little room for failure. Your

change team may have to work very hard to come up with these

targets, but each "win" that you produce can further motivate theentire staff.

What you can do:

Look for sure-fire projects that you can implement without helpfrom any strong critics of the change.

Don't choose early targets that are expensive. You want to beable to justify the investment in each project.

Thoroughly analyze the potential pros and cons of your targets. Ifyou don't succeed with an early goal, it can hurt your entire

change initiative.

Reward the people who help you meet the targets.


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Step 7: Consolidating Gains & Producing More Change

Kotter argues that many change projects fail because victory is

declared too early. Real change runs deep. Quick wins are only the

beginning of what needs to be done to achieve long-term change.

Launching one new product using a new system is great. But if you can

launch 10 products, that means the new system is working. To reach

that 10th success, you need to keep looking for improvements.

Each success provides an opportunity to build on what went right and

identify what you can improve.

What you can do:

After every win, analyze what went right and what needsimproving.

Set goals to continue building on the momentum you'veachieved.

Learn about kaizen, the idea of continuous improvement. Keep ideas fresh by bringing in new change agents and leaders

for your change coalition.


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Step 8: Institutionalizing New Approaches

Finally, to make any change stick, it should become part of the core of

your organization. Your corporate culture often determines what gets

done, so the values behind your vision must show in day-to-day work.

Make continuous efforts to ensure that the change is seen in every

aspect of your organization. This will help give that change a solid

place in your organization's culture.

It's also important that your company's leaders continue to support the

change. This includes existing staff and new leaders who are brought

in. If you lose the support of these people, you might end up back

where you started.

What you can do:

Talk about progress every chance you get. Tell success storiesabout the change process, and repeat other stories that you hear.

Include the change ideals and values when hiring and trainingnew staff.

Publicly recognize key members of your original change coalition,and make sure the rest of the staff new and old remembers

their contributions.

Create plans to replace key leaders of change as they move on.This will help ensure that their legacy is not lost or forgotten.


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KURT LEWINS THEORY

Kurt Lewin (1890-1947) is considered as the father of social

psychology. He was born in Germany, later immigrated to the US.

He is well known for his writings on group dynamics, group therapy

and social psychology.

Kurt Lewin introduced his field theory concepts, emphasizing that

the group differs from the simple sum of its parts. Lewin coined the

term group dynamics in 1939. His field theory states that "onesbehavior is related both to ones personal characteristics and to the

social situation in which one finds oneself."

LEWINS CHANGE THEORY

His most influential theory was his model of the change process in

human systems. Kurt Lewin theorized a three-stage model of

change that is known as the unfreezing-change-refreeze model that

requires prior learning to be rejected and replaced. Lewin's theory

states behavior as "a dynamic balance of forces working in opposing

directions."


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STAGES

Consists of three distinct and vital stages:

I. UnfreezingUnfreezing is the process which involves finding a method

of making it possible for people to let go of an old pattern that was

counterproductive in some way. Unfreezing is necessary to

overcome the strains of individual resistance and group conformity.

Unfreezing can be achieved by the use of three methods.

First, increase the driving forces that direct behavior away from the

existing situation or status quo. Second, decrease the restraining

forces that negatively affect the movement from the existing

equilibrium. Third, find a combination of the two methods listed

above.

II. Changing or MovementThis stage involves a process of change in thoughts, feeling,

behavior, or all three, that is in some way more liberating or more

productive.


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III. RefreezingRefreezing is establishing the change as a new habit, so that it nowbecomes the standard operating procedure. Without this stage of

refreezing, it is easy to go back to the old ways.


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COMPARING JOHN KOTTERS 8 STEPS

WITH KURT LEWINS THEORY

UNFREEZE

CHANGE

REFREEZE


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APPLE INNOVATION IS THE KEY

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL; formerly Apple Computer,

Inc.) is an American multinational corporation that designs and sells

consumer electronics, computer software, and personal computers.

Established on April 1, 1976 in Cupertino, California by Steve Jobs,

Steve Wozniak, Ronald Wayne and incorporated in January 3, 1977, the

company was named Apple Computer, Inc. for its first 30 years. The

word "Computer" was removed from its name on January 9, 2007as its

traditional focus on personal computers shifted towards consumer

electronics. The company's best-known hardware products are the

Macintosh line of computers, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad. Its

software includes the Mac OS X operating system; the iTunes media

browser; the iLife suite of multimedia and creativity software; the

iWork suite of productivity software; Aperture, a professional

photography package; Final Cut Studio, a suite of professional audio

and film-industry software products; Logic Studio, a suite of music

production tools; the Safari web browser; and iOS, a mobile operating

system.

As of July 2011, Apple has 357 retail stores in ten countries, and an

online store. It is the largest publicly traded company in the world by

market capitalization, overtopping ExxonMobil by some $150 billion,

as well as the largest technology company in the world by revenue and


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profit, more than Google and Microsoft combined. As of September

24, 2011, the company had 60,400 permanent full-time employees and

2,900 temporary full-time employees worldwide; its worldwide annual

revenue in 2010 totaled $65 billion, growing to $108 billion in 2011.

Fortune magazine named Apple the most admired company in the

United States in 2008, and in the world from 2008 to 2012. However,

the company has received widespread criticism for its contractors'

labor, and for its environmental and business practices.

Key people:

Tim Cook (CEO)

Arthur Levinson (Chairman)

Sir Jonathan Ive (SVP, Industrial Design)

Steve Jobs (Chairman, 1976-1985/2011; CEO, 19972011)


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OVERVIEW

Organizations have many distinguishing factors that make them

successful in their field. However one factor that is apparent in a great

organization is its vision. Organizational vision is necessary for an

organization to be successful because creativity begins with its vision.

According to Peter Senge, author of Fifth Discipline, vision is distinct

from purpose. Purpose is abstract, leading towards a general heading

while vision is a specific heading that is contract.Apple is a visionary organization that has a clear vision & purpose that

can be seen through their innovative products over the year. Apples

original vision was to make computers for the rest of us, while their

purpose is to make contribution to the world by making tools that

advance humankind.

Besides having a vision & a purpose, organizations need to take furthersteps to implement their corporate vision & ensure that this plan of

action is known & practiced throughout the organization. Since the

initial start of organization, Apple had both success & failure in the

implementation of their vision while striving to fulfill their purpose

creating tools for the mind to advance humankind.


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IMPLEMENTINGJOHN KOTTERS 8 STEPS

OF CHANGE

Establishing the sense of urgency-

In Kotters model for transforming an organization, the top priority is

given to this step. He says that many organizations start to change

when someone or some group of people in the company sees the

impending fate in market positions or competitive opportunities. Thistype of opportunity was seen by Steve Jobs when Apple was founded

in 1976. The co-founder of Apple, Steve Woznaik said, It never crossed

my mind to sell computers. It wasJobs who said Lets hold them up

in air & sell a few. This insight resulted in the building up of personal

computer industry. The mainframe computer manufacturers then did

not see a need to build a home computer. Prior to Apples home built

kit Apple 1, industry for personal computers did not exist.

Thus we can see that not only due to Steve jobs vision to create a home

computer but also because of the urgency of this need that he could

start an industry of personal computers.

Forming a Powerful Guiding Coalition-

Apples internal coalition of executives & leaders is much harder to

ascertain since the company is known for its secrecy. Certainly, tight


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group of people have formed around with various shared visions of

products. Apple has been one of the first companies to use evangelism

marketing (word of mouth marketing). This ability of the company to

enroll & develop a strong relationship with its customers is anotherform of coalition where it has excelled.

Apples success in creating a coalition of business partners has been a

questioned by many & is seen as short coming by Jobs. Jobs have

recognized that Microsofts success has been partly contributed to the

coalition they were able to foster. Microsoft is Apples longest running

successful partnership.

In the last decade, Apple has worked successfully with the music

industry on iTunes store & digital right management of songs. They

have also established partnership with telecom companies worldwide

to market iPhones in over 90 countries.

Thus Apple has learnt to join & build communities for its products that

foster organizational mission.

Creating a Vision-

Apple was created on a vision that Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak had in

1976 in a garage. Their vision was to create computers that the

average consumer could use without possessing the technical

knowledge or skills.

Computers at the time were only limited to a certain market and the

average homemaker or sales clerk were not a part of this. Apple


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founders saw that their technology could bring enrichment into the

lives of people. These computers would be affordable yet different

enough to stand apart from all the other computers sold on the

market.

The idea was to have an Apple computer on every desk. This idea

became the foundation for which their vision was built upon. Their

vision was extremely radical compared to the other computer

companies at the time. As far-reaching as their ideas may seem, their

vision attracted many other computer enthusiast into their business

and completely set them apart.

Having a vision is extremely important to the success of an

organization because without it, there is nothing pulling the

organization forward. Vision is a specific destination, a picture of a

desired future. The organization was founded on a vision and this

vision propelled the founders to continually innovate computers.

Initially, their vision was quite simple, to make computers that

everyone can use. Their vision has evolved over the years to

communicate an even greater need to change the world through their

innovation. This desire lead to establishing purpose for their existence

and that is to make a contribution to the world by making tools for the

mind that advance humankind. Apple felt that they had more to

contribute to society than just computers. They have expanded their

technology into the music industry and the phone industry. In a special

review by Business Week in 2000, Steve Jobs made a statement saying,

We have just begun as a preface to his plans for the future.


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Communicating the Vision-

Apple started life as a business, not as a company. The gradual change

from a bloated garage operation into something resembling a

corporation was laborious and extended. What was even more difficult

than the transformation was the communication of the founders

vision to the rest of the organization. Originally, the idea of creating

computers that a normal person would be able to use was the driving

force behind the organization. Apple employees had strong feelings

about this because it set Apple apart from the other computer

companies. They were even successful in recruiting employees from

various companies such as Intel, National Semiconductor, and Hewlett

Packard. These employees readily resigned from their current position

at these various organizations for Apple because they saw that Apple

had something different to offer.

Initially, communicating the vision to other Apple employees was not

hard because the organization was founded on a vision. However, as

more people flocked to Apple, the harder it became to communicate

this vision. The glue that once held the organization together began to

fall apart as the company grew at an exponential rate and the vision

was lost amongst the new faces that continually showed up on a daily

basis. Hiring from other organizations also brought discontinuity into

the organization because employees from IBM or Hewlett Packard

would bring culture from these various organizations that were not

compatible with Apple. Eventually, Apples success became their

enemy and Apple found themselves operating similarly to

organizations such as IBM.


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This was something they tried extremely hard to avoid but with so

many people working in the organization, bureaucracy was the only

way to manage everyone. By 1980 the company was too large and

too scattered for any one manager to cover on a daily stroll to take theair and test the waters. So for most of the employees, the corporate

hand was invisible. Apple tried limiting some of these discontinuities

within the organization by establishing a committee whose main

purpose was to reduce the abstract into the concrete and codify all

the conflicting impulses and intentions, the clashes between individual

enterprise and teamwork, between autocracy and democracy that

make up a company. The committee set out to turn the companyaround which included the culture and the working environment. The

idea was to get the organization into an alignment in order to start

working cohesively again. One of the methods used to reach

alignment was to re-establish their cultural values throughout the

organization.

There was no doubt that Apple employees were employed because oftheir passion for computers so Apple founders found that the best way

to communicate this value was thought their products. Apple started a

new policy for their office procedures. No more typewriters were to be

purchased or leased and the existing ones were banished. Apple

believed that before they could communicate their vision to the public,

they should fully believe in their products first by utilizing it in the

workplace. Shortly after Apple did away with typewriters, the termsecretary was also abolished to reflect the varied responsibilities that

could be accomplished by the personal computer. The term area

associate took the place of secretary. Apple also started a program

that gave Apple employees their own personal computer once they


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had demonstrated minimal efficiency. They also offered classes for

family members and large discounts to friends and family members.

Apple founders wanted the work place to be more than just a place to

come to, do what you had to do, then go home. He wanted the workplace to be a place where people could innovate and have the freedom

to do more rewarding and enriching tasks.

Empowering Others to Act on the Vision-

The Macintosh group was formed to examine the feasibility of

developing an extremely low cost computer for the public. Steve Jobs

took over the program and was determined to build a computer that

was in his words, insanely great. Early on, the Macintosh team did not

have an exact idea of what the computer would be like and were not

given a development schedule. An engineer in the project said that,

Steve allowed us to crystallize the problem and solutionsimultaneously. Jobs and his predecessor as group leader set out only

basic principles; it was the personnel of the team who would concretize

these. The Mac team was self-organizing, they were empowered to

innovate.

Another example of empowerment of their employees is the loan to

own program. Apple offered employees voluntary classes on theircomputer applications. When an employee demonstrates proficiency

in at least two applications, they can then participate in a loan to own

program. An Apple personal computer is given to the employee to use

at home after one year, it is given to them free of charge. The


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employee is thus better skilled at work, and it helps to promote the

vision of computer for everybody.

Planning for and Creating Short Term Wins -

One of Apples significant achievements has been the implementation

of the office workplace of tomorrow. Apple inaugurated the

workplace of the future by putting computers on most of its

employees desks. Mike Scott, Apple president at the time said, Appleis an innovative company. We must believe and lead in all areas. If

word processing is so neat then lets all use it. We believe the

typewriter is obsolete. Lets prove it inside before we try and convince

our customers. This internal move increased employees

effectiveness, improved job satisfaction, and led to very little turnover.

It unrestricted managers from doing mundane and time consuming

paperwork tasks. This newly available time allowed them to coachemployees leading to a much improve workplace atmosphere.

In this case, Apple was able to lay the foundation for the realization of

a long term goal and vision of having the general public use their

computers. They were able to start it on a small scale with a short term

goal for their own employees. As a result, some of the lowest level

employees were able to begin contributing on a higher level. SteveJobs stated, Not only do our area associates have the freedom to do

more rewarding, enriching tasks, they have a chance to get involved in

solving problems that ultimately affect the success of the entire

company. Apple created a long term external winning situation for


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itself with consumers by creating a short term internal winning

situation with their employees.

Consolidating Improvements and Producing Still More Change-

The computer industry has inherently understood and acted upon this

aspect of Kotters model. Much of the industries success and blinding

pace of improvements are attributable to the ability of a company to

make refinements to their products, building faster, and morepowerful computers. In building these superior computers, the

company may change the nature of its core business. Many companies

of the past have failed to manage the transition from the mainframe

era to the personal computer era (e.g. Burroughs, Control Data, Data

General, Digital Equipment, Sperry-Univac, Wang). The companies

that have excelled at keeping pace with these changes are some of the

fastest growing companies in history (e.g. Apple, Dell, Cisco, Microsoft,Oracle). Many of the companies that have failed did not understand

the shifting dynamics of the industry and clung to outdated patterns.

Paradigms are a source of both strength and weakness- strength in

that they tend to reinforce successful patterns of behavior, and

weakness for the same reason.

Apples ability to change paradigms as an industry leader is obvious inthe history of the short lived personal computer industry. Apple

created the personal computer industry; then they innovated the

graphical user interface (GUI). Adopted by the industry the GUI,

innovated the desktop and file folder metaphor that has predominated


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the industry. Apple is now innovating appliance model in computing

products that integrate vertically from device to network to content.

The iPod and iPhone product lines are examples of Apples ability to

envision a paradigm change, put that vision into action and achievegame changing results. Kotters seventh step is evidenced by using

increased credibility to change systems, structures, and policies that

dont fit the vision. Apple has used its very successful music industry

changing iPod product line with iTunes music store credibility to also

change the smart phone application market, achieving 1.5 billion

downloads in the first year of App Store operation. Apple has used the

core competencies that the company has acquired over its thirty yearhistory, notably in product marketing and innovation to redefine

market segments. On the success of the iPod and iTunes music store,

Apple launched its iPhone, creating the most successful convergence

device. The iPhone has proven that Apple can both consolidate their

core competencies while continuing to innovate.

Institutionalizing New Approaches

In Kotters eight step model, Apples ability to articulate the

connections between the behaviors that have led to corporate success

are apparent in one word, innovation. Kotter is concerned that the

corporate vision be institutionalized as opposed to being carried by a

leader. Apples vision is to create products that enhance peoples lives

and make the use of computers in all their forms easy, intuitive, with a

seamless coherent experience. The recent success of the iPod in the

music player market space is an example of the execution of this vision.


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Apple recognized that the music player market was a disjointed

experience for the consumer. They built a music player device that

used Apples core competencies in computer, networking, product

design and user experience. They partnered with the music industrycreating coalitions that learned a new method for product delivery,

drastically changing the music industry. This is an example of one

product line that fulfills the vision of Apples purpose may appear to be

a fluke. However, each of these Apple products was innovations that

changed the industry: Apple I computer, Apple II computer,

Macintosh, iMac, iPod, and most recently, the iPhone. Apple has

proven that it is capable of changing the institutions that it deals withexternally while adapting to the required business processes and

organizational change that paradigm shifts require.


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REPRESENTATION OF KOTTERS CHANGE

MODEL IN APPLE INC.

ESTABLISHING THE SENSE OF URGENCY

To manufacture home or personal computers instead of Mainframe computers

FORMING A GUIDING COALITION

A coalition of employees who come from different organizations & also between the

employees & customers

CREATING A VISION

To take Apple at every desk by making user friendly personal computers

COMMUNICATING THE VISION

They established a committee to reduce clashes between individual, enterprise &

teamwork

EMPOWERING OTHERS TO ACT

The employees themselves started using personal computers & asking them to frame their

own problems & solutions


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CREATE QUICK WINS

Created short term goals for each employee to help contribute them at higher level

BUILD ON CHANGE

Leader of other innovations like GUI, iPad, iPhone

INSTITUTIONALIZE THE CHANGE

Partnership with other industry like music industry


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VISA OF APPLE

ViSA stands for Vision, Strategy & Action Plan. Its a management

model created by Dr. Subhash Sharma, Dean of Indus Business

Academy. He is well known as Indian Management Thinker,

Institution builder and Innovative experimenter. This model has been

mentioned in his book New Mantras in Corporate Corridors.

Vision of Apple Inc.

The vision of Apples founder Steve Jobs was "to make a contribution

to the world by making tools for the mind that advance humankind."

Apple is committed to bringing the best personal computing

experience to students, educators, creative professionals and

consumers around the world through its innovative hardware, software

and Internet offerings.

Strategy of Apple Inc.

For several years Apple's product strategy involved creating innovative

products and services aligned with a "digital hub". Apple Inc. uses the

Apple brand to compete across several highly competitive markets.

Apple's core competence is delivering exceptional experience through

superb user interfaces. Apple has a branding strategy that focuses on


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the emotions. The Apple brand personality is also about simplicity and

the removal of complexity from people's lives; people-driven product

design; and about being a really humanistic company with a heartfelt

connection with its customers.

Action Plan of Apple Inc.

Apple seems to approach the people as a more user-friendly person.

Rather than giving people a straight up "Would you like to continue

with this action or deny" Macs seem to be friendlier in some cases. Say,

the startup. Macs give you that nice little tune when starting up. Vista

(as of now) gives you a few messages on what you can do on Vista and

why it's trendy. Also, all/majority of Apple products are from them

usually. Unlike Microsoft who ships their OS to computer makers

(Gateway, HP, and Dell), Apple makes their OS and their own style of

computers. Thus, when buying from Apple, there is really no choice

from one computer with a Mac OS and another, because both were

made from Apple themselves. This type of style means that they sell

them directly so they can answer the many questions people have. In

return, people do not need to worry about which place/company they

are getting their Macs. But, Apple keeps their OS to themselves, and

does not branch out to ship their OS to other computer makers.

The huge promise of the Apple brand, of course presents Apple with an

enormous challenge to live up to. The innovative, beautifully-designed,

highly ergonomic, and technology-leading products which Apple

delivers are not only designed to match the brand promise, but are

fundamental to keeping it.


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CONCLUSION

Over the past thirty years, Apple has met with many successes and

failures. They have proven time after time that they are able to

overcome challenges and rise above any disparities that may come

their way. Apple was built on a vision, yet vision alone is not enough

for organizational growth or success. An organization needs to be able

to communicate their vision throughout the company and they need to

empower their employees to act on this vision in order to make it areality. In order for organizations to achieve their vision, they have to

be receptive to change and provide an environment that promotes

change; only then can an organization grow. John Kotters eight step

model for change outlines the way Apple implements their vision

throughout the organization.

When Apple saw the opportunity in the market place for personal

computers, they established a sense of urgency. Initially, Apple did not

have strong coalition in the organization but soon learned that in order

to survive; they needed toform a coalition and of the biggest step they

took was by partnering with Microsoft. Creating a vision is the third

step in the model but Apple already had a vision. Communicating this

vision was a harder task for the organization because it was growing so

fast, but in the end, they were able to do this by redefining values.

Apple empowered their employees by allowing them to partake in

decisions that could ultimately affect the success of the company.

Apple also empowered their employees to innovate and do more

fulfilling tasks by providing them with their own computers. This was


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also a big step towards creating short term wins. Before Apple could

sell computers that were supposed to improve lifestyles, they had to

believe it themselves so they provided their employees with free

computers and classes. Apple is continually consolidatingimprovements and implementing more change because the market is

always changing. An organization that wants to survive needs to be

able to keep up with these changes and they need to keep making

improvements. Institutionalizing new approaches is the last step in

Kotters model and Apple is continually experimenting with new

approaches. They have mastered the personal computer industry only

to move into the music industry and then to communications. Applesability to implement their vision, innovate, and adapt to change makes

them a true visionary organization.


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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Harvard Business Review

Managing Radical Change by Sumantra Ghoshal & Gita Parimal

Our Iceberg is Melting by John Kotter

www.wikipedia.com

www.apple.com/asia

www.businessweek.com

www.citehr.com
http://www.wikipedia.com/http://www.wikipedia.com/http://www.apple.com/asiahttp://www.apple.com/asiahttp://www.businessweek.com/http://www.businessweek.com/http://www.citehr.com/http://www.citehr.com/http://www.citehr.com/http://www.businessweek.com/http://www.apple.com/asiahttp://www.wikipedia.com/


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