I have been an Apple fan boy for long time. It’s because of the charismatic character of Steve Jobs I have put him as one of my inspiration from my very childhood. Many have found his character or leadership role as very arrogant and egoistic, when I found that he was a go-getter type of person. It was a very sad moment when he passed away after stepping down from Apple. It’s been told in many articles and news that his leadership model is something that many cannot follow and may who will follow, has higher chances of failing. I have wanted to do a research on his leadership method for a long time and when I was writing this paper I decided to take that opportunity.
Apple’s History:
Apple was formed on April 1, 1976, by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne in the garage of Steve Jobs’ parents home. Their first product was called Apple I kits. It was sold as a motherboard (with CPU RAM and basic textual-video chips) which is not a complete computer in today’s standard. This model was single handedly designed and hand-built by Wozniak.
Today, Apple Inc. is one of the largest technology companies that design, develop and sells consumer electronics such as computer, phone, tablet, online services and software. It is best known for its Mac line of computers, iPod (revolutionary personal music player) and iPhone.
According to Apple’s 2014 annual report[update], Apple employs 72,800 permanent full-time employees, maintains 437 retail stores in fifteen countries, and operates the online Apple Store and iTunes Store, the latter of which is the world's largest music retailer.
Board Members:
Apple’s time line can be shown as:
1976–80: Founding and incorporation
Apple was incorporated January 3, 1977 without Wayne, who sold his share of the company back to Jobs and Wozniak for $800
1981–89: Success with Macintosh
Steve Jobs was known for his arrogance, as a result there was always conflict. For this reason he was taken out of Apple Lisa project. So he started a less expensive project called The Macintosh. Apparently Jobs lost the race between Lisa and Macintosh in 1983. But he was successful to release a better machine with less cost a year later in 1984. Lisa was a commercial failure due to high price and less software support. During 1985 as a power struggle developed between Steve Jobs and CEO John Scully, Jobs resigned and founded NeXT Inc.
1990–99: Decline, restructuring, acquisitions
In 1996, CEO Gil Amelio made many changes at Apple including extensive layoffs. After numerous failed attempt to fix Mac OS, he chose to purchase NeXT and its operating system by bringing back Steve Jobs as an adviser.
2000–06: Return to profitability
2007–10: Success with mobile devices
2011–12: Steve Jobs's death
2013–present: Acquisitions and expansion
Apple Products Timeline:
Apple’s Corporate Culture:
Apple is one of the world's coolest companies. But there is one cool-company trend it has rejected [...] Few companies, indeed, are more secretive than Apple, or as punitive to those who dare violate the company's rules on keeping tight control over information [...] Secrecy at Apple is not just the prevailing communications strategy; it is baked into the corporate culture."
- New York Times, June 22, 2009
"No one denied that Apple's rise was aided immeasurably by his [Steve Jobs'] astonishing energy and persuasiveness and charisma and chutzpah (a word that he loved). And it was his personality that created the company's culture and mystique,"
- Alan Deutschman, in The Second Coming of Steve Jobs.
"Apple is not Apple because of its technology. Apple is Apple because of the fervor with which its employees believe in the corporate mission... Apple's campus is a fortress. The people within believe that they are doing The Right Thing, and that they will win... passion for one's company is arguably a prerequisite for any company that wants to dominate
