BUS 640 Week 6 Final Paper
Apple Inc. (AAPL.O)
BUS 640 Managerial Economics
Ashford University
January 2014
Apple Inc. (AAPL.O)
Introduction
Apple Inc. commonly known as Apple has effectively managed to be a successful company in a very competitive consumer electronics industry by been innovative and differentiating the company’s products with similar products in the markets by offering high quality products and good customer service while the actual manufacturing of the products is outsourced to trusted third party suppliers. On a wider perspective, the company has set high standards that even the company itself has to be on its level best to maintain the standards that it has set. Over the last few years, the consumer electronics market has become heavily commoditized which as a result has seen intense completion from competing firms in the industry where price has become the main aspect of the competition. By making use of the talented research and development team, Apple has been able to position its products as the best in terms of innovativeness, performance, and reliability while compared to similar products in the market. This paper will examine the history of Apple Inc., Apple financials, risks or uncertainty, government regulations affecting Apple, pricing strategies, demand elasticity for Apple products, Apple’s profitability, competitive environment, and mistakes in its decisions over time and recommendations for improvement.
History of Apple Inc.
In 1976, 21 year old Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak together, in the garage of Jobs’ Cupertino, CA home, they founded a new company which they christened “Apple”. Their goal - create an inexpensive and simple to use computer. Apple was established in 1976. Apple was incorporated on January 3, 1977 as Apple Computer Inc. Apple is probably the most well-known company when it comes to manufacturing technology that is innovative.
Steve jobs and Steve Wozniak were friends and both interested in electronics.
BUS 640 Managerial Economics
Ashford University
January 2014
Apple Inc. (AAPL.O)
Introduction
Apple Inc. commonly known as Apple has effectively managed to be a successful company in a very competitive consumer electronics industry by been innovative and differentiating the company’s products with similar products in the markets by offering high quality products and good customer service while the actual manufacturing of the products is outsourced to trusted third party suppliers. On a wider perspective, the company has set high standards that even the company itself has to be on its level best to maintain the standards that it has set. Over the last few years, the consumer electronics market has become heavily commoditized which as a result has seen intense completion from competing firms in the industry where price has become the main aspect of the competition. By making use of the talented research and development team, Apple has been able to position its products as the best in terms of innovativeness, performance, and reliability while compared to similar products in the market. This paper will examine the history of Apple Inc., Apple financials, risks or uncertainty, government regulations affecting Apple, pricing strategies, demand elasticity for Apple products, Apple’s profitability, competitive environment, and mistakes in its decisions over time and recommendations for improvement.
History of Apple Inc.
In 1976, 21 year old Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak together, in the garage of Jobs’ Cupertino, CA home, they founded a new company which they christened “Apple”. Their goal - create an inexpensive and simple to use computer. Apple was established in 1976. Apple was incorporated on January 3, 1977 as Apple Computer Inc. Apple is probably the most well-known company when it comes to manufacturing technology that is innovative.
Steve jobs and Steve Wozniak were friends and both interested in electronics.
References: App store sales top $10 billion in 2013. (2013). Retrieved from Apple Inc. website on 1/14/2014 http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2014/01/07App-Store-Sales-Top-10-Billion-in-2013.html Douglas, E Environmental health and safety policy statement. (2013). Retrieved from Apple Inc. 1/14/2014 http://images.apple.com/environment/reports/docs/EHS_policy2013.pdf Forbes (2010) Kulmar, S., Teichman, S. Timpernagel, T. (2012). A green supply chain is a requirement for profitability. International Journal Of Production Research, 50(5), 1278-1296. doi:10.1080/00207543.2011.571924 Ravi, L Sliwinska, D., Ranasinghe, J. & Kardava, I. (2012). Apple’s pricing strategies. Retrieved 1/14/2014 from http://aeunike.lecture.ub.ac.id.files/2012/04/case-kel.13.pdf Wakabayashi, D