Apple Computer, Inc.: Think Different, Think Online Music SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Sales & Marketing
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Apple Computer, Inc.: Think Different, Think Online Music
Focuses on Apple Computer's launch of iTunes and iPod as a way to give Wintel users a relationship with Apple. Deals with issues of brand equity, corporate and brand goal setting, target selection, and matching product and service characteristics with goals and targets. Also allows for a discussion of channel partners, their interests, and their impact on the likely success or failure of a strategy.
Swot Analysis of "Apple Computer, Inc.: Think Different, Think Online Music" written by Julie Hennessy, Andrei Najjar includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Apple Wintel facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Apple Computer, Inc.: Think Different, Think Online Music case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Design, Product development and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Apple Computer, Inc.: Think Different, Think Online Music casestudy better are - – increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, there is backlash against globalization, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, geopolitical disruptions,
talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Apple Computer, Inc.: Think Different, Think Online Music
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Apple Computer, Inc.: Think Different, Think Online Music case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Apple Wintel, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Apple Wintel operates in.
According to Harvard Business Review, 75% of the managers use SWOT analysis for various purposes such as – evaluating current scenario, strategic planning, new venture feasibility, personal growth goals, new market entry, Go To market strategies, portfolio management and strategic trade-off assessment, organizational restructuring, etc.
SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix
SWOT analysis of Apple Computer, Inc.: Think Different, Think Online Music can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Apple Computer, Inc.: Think Different, Think Online Music case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Apple Wintel
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Sales & Marketing field.
4. Making a Sales & Marketing topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Apple Wintel
Strengths Apple Computer, Inc.: Think Different, Think Online Music | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Apple Wintel in Apple Computer, Inc.: Think Different, Think Online Music Harvard Business Review case study are -
High brand equity
– Apple Wintel has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Apple Wintel to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Diverse revenue streams
– Apple Wintel is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Apple Computer, Inc.: Think Different, Think Online Music case study a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Sales & Marketing industry
– Apple Computer, Inc.: Think Different, Think Online Music firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Apple Wintel to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Apple Wintel to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Apple Wintel has built up over years in its products and services combo offer has resulted in high retention of customers, lower marketing costs, and greater ability of the firm to focus on its customers.
Training and development
– Apple Wintel has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Apple Computer, Inc.: Think Different, Think Online Music Harvard Business Review case study by analyzing – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.
Organizational Resilience of Apple Wintel
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Apple Wintel does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Analytics focus
– Apple Wintel is putting a lot of focus on utilizing the power of analytics in business decision making. This has put it among the leading players in the industry. The technology infrastructure suggested by Julie Hennessy, Andrei Najjar can also help it to harness the power of analytics for – marketing optimization, demand forecasting, customer relationship management, inventory management, information sharing across the value chain etc.
Learning organization
- Apple Wintel is a learning organization. It has inculcated three key characters of learning organization in its processes and operations – exploration, creativity, and expansiveness. The work place at Apple Wintel is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Apple Computer, Inc.: Think Different, Think Online Music Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Apple Wintel has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive segment. Secondly the value chain collaborators of the firm in Apple Computer, Inc.: Think Different, Think Online Music HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Strong track record of project management
– Apple Wintel is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Apple Wintel in the sector have low bargaining power. Apple Computer, Inc.: Think Different, Think Online Music has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Apple Wintel to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Apple Wintel are driving operational speed, building greater agility, and keeping the organization nimble to compete with new competitors. It helps are organization to ideate new ideas, and execute them swiftly in the marketplace.
Weaknesses Apple Computer, Inc.: Think Different, Think Online Music | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Apple Computer, Inc.: Think Different, Think Online Music are -
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Apple Computer, Inc.: Think Different, Think Online Music, it seems that the employees of Apple Wintel don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Apple Wintel, firm in the HBR case study Apple Computer, Inc.: Think Different, Think Online Music needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Apple Computer, Inc.: Think Different, Think Online Music HBR case study still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Apple Wintel has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Apple Computer, Inc.: Think Different, Think Online Music has high operating costs in the. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Apple Wintel 's lucrative customers.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Apple Wintel has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the industry using digital technology.
Need for greater diversity
– Apple Wintel has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Apple Wintel is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Sales & Marketing segment. Apple Wintel needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Apple Wintel to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Apple Computer, Inc.: Think Different, Think Online Music, in the dynamic environment Apple Wintel has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Apple Wintel has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High dependence on existing supply chain
– The disruption in the global supply chains because of the Covid-19 pandemic and blockage of the Suez Canal illustrated the fragile nature of Apple Wintel supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Apple Computer, Inc.: Think Different, Think Online Music, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Apple Wintel vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Apple Computer, Inc.: Think Different, Think Online Music, is just above the industry average. Apple Wintel needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Apple Wintel has some of the most successful products in the industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. firm in the HBR case study - Apple Computer, Inc.: Think Different, Think Online Music should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Opportunities Apple Computer, Inc.: Think Different, Think Online Music | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities highlighted in the Harvard Business Review case study Apple Computer, Inc.: Think Different, Think Online Music are -
Identify volunteer opportunities
– Covid-19 has impacted working population in two ways – it has led to people soul searching about their professional choices, resulting in mass resignation. Secondly it has encouraged people to do things that they are passionate about. This has opened opportunities for businesses to build volunteer oriented socially driven projects. Apple Wintel can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Apple Wintel to increase its market reach. Apple Wintel will be able to reach out to new customers. Secondly 5G will also provide technology framework to build new tools and products that can help more immersive consumer experience and faster consumer journey.
Developing new processes and practices
– Apple Wintel can develop new processes and procedures in Sales & Marketing industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Apple Wintel can make experimentation a productive activity and build a culture of innovation using approaches such as – mining transaction data, A/B testing of websites and selling platforms, engaging potential customers over various needs, and building on small ideas in the Sales & Marketing segment.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Apple Wintel in the consumer business. Now Apple Wintel can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Apple Wintel can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Apple Wintel has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in the sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled, as illustrated in the Harvard case study Apple Computer, Inc.: Think Different, Think Online Music - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Apple Wintel to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Loyalty marketing
– Apple Wintel has focused on building a highly responsive customer relationship management platform. This platform is built on in-house data and driven by analytics and artificial intelligence. The customer analytics can help the organization to fine tune its loyalty marketing efforts, increase the wallet share of the organization, reduce wastage on mainstream advertising spending, build better pricing strategies using personalization, etc.
Reconfiguring business model
– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Apple Wintel to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.
Buying journey improvements
– Apple Wintel can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Apple Computer, Inc.: Think Different, Think Online Music suggest that firm can provide automated chats to help consumers solve their own problems, provide online suggestions to get maximum out of the products and services, and help consumers to build a community where they can interact with each other to develop new features and uses.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Apple Wintel is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Apple Computer, Inc.: Think Different, Think Online Music case study suggests that firm can utilize new technology to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Apple Wintel in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Sales & Marketing segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Apple Wintel can still utilize the low interest rates to borrow money for capital investment. Secondly it can also use the increase of government spending in infrastructure projects to get new business.
Threats Apple Computer, Inc.: Think Different, Think Online Music External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Apple Computer, Inc.: Think Different, Think Online Music are -
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Apple Wintel is facing in Sales & Marketing sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Sales & Marketing field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Apple Wintel can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Apple Wintel high dependence on third party suppliers can disrupt its processes and delivery mechanism. For example -the current troubles of car makers because of chip shortage is because the chip companies started producing chips for electronic companies rather than car manufacturers.
Instability in the European markets
– European Union markets are facing three big challenges post Covid – expanded balance sheets, Brexit related business disruption, and aggressive Russia looking to distract the existing security mechanism. Apple Wintel will face different problems in different parts of Europe. For example it will face inflationary pressures in UK, France, and Germany, balance sheet expansion and demand challenges in Southern European countries, and geopolitical instability in the Eastern Europe.
Aging population
– As the populations of most advanced economies are aging, it will lead to high social security costs, higher savings among population, and lower demand for goods and services in the economy. The household savings in US, France, UK, Germany, and Japan are growing faster than predicted because of uncertainty caused by pandemic.
Environmental challenges
– Apple Wintel needs to have a robust strategy against the disruptions arising from climate change and energy requirements. EU has identified it as key priority area and spending 30% of its 880 billion Euros European post Covid-19 recovery funds on green technology. Apple Wintel can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Apple Wintel with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Apple Wintel has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Sales & Marketing industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Apple Wintel needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Sales & Marketing sector. According to Mckinsey study top managers believe that the adoption of technology in operations, communications is 20-25 times faster than what they planned in the beginning of 2019.
Technology disruption because of hacks, piracy etc
– The colonial pipeline illustrated, how vulnerable modern organization are to international hackers, miscreants, and disruptors. The cyber security interruption, data leaks, etc can seriously jeopardize the future growth of the organization.
New competition
– After the dotcom bust of 2001, financial crisis of 2008-09, the business formation in US economy had declined. But in 2020 alone, there are more than 1.5 million new business applications in United States. This can lead to greater competition for Apple Wintel in the Sales & Marketing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Increasing wage structure of Apple Wintel
– Post Covid-19 there is a sharp increase in the wages especially in the jobs that require interaction with people. The increasing wages can put downward pressure on the margins of Apple Wintel.
Capital market disruption
– During the Covid-19, Dow Jones has touched record high. The valuations of a number of companies are way beyond their existing business model potential. This can lead to capital market correction which can put a number of suppliers, collaborators, value chain partners in great financial difficulty. It will directly impact the business of Apple Wintel.
Backlash against dominant players
– US Congress and other legislative arms of the government are getting tough on big business especially technology companies. The digital arm of Apple Wintel business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Apple Computer, Inc.: Think Different, Think Online Music Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers in the HBR case study Apple Computer, Inc.: Think Different, Think Online Music needs to zero down on the relative importance of each factor mentioned in the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants.
We can provide the relative importance to each factor by assigning relative weights. Weighted SWOT analysis process is a three stage process –
First stage for doing weighted SWOT analysis of the case study Apple Computer, Inc.: Think Different, Think Online Music is to rank the strengths and weaknesses of the organization. This will help you to assess the most important strengths and weaknesses of the firm and which one of the strengths and weaknesses mentioned in the initial lists are marginal and can be left out.
Second stage for conducting weighted SWOT analysis of the Harvard case study Apple Computer, Inc.: Think Different, Think Online Music is to give probabilities to the external strategic factors thus better understanding the opportunities and threats arising out of macro environment changes and developments.
Third stage of constructing weighted SWOT analysis of Apple Computer, Inc.: Think Different, Think Online Music is to provide strategic recommendations includes – joining likelihood of external strategic factors such as opportunities and threats to the internal strategic factors – strengths and weaknesses. You should start with external factors as they will provide the direction of the overall industry. Secondly by joining probabilities with internal strategic factors can help the company not only strategic fit but also the most probably strategic trade-off that Apple Wintel needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
