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Week 4: Management Organizing

Management: Theory, Practice, and Application
Robert Manning
Week 4/Organizing as a function of Management
Frederick R. Paige III












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Todays companies should challenge themselves to have all four functions of
management to have successful profits and overall success. The four functions of management
include planning, organizing, leading, and controlling and should be understood in order to
achieve successes, big and small. The function of organizing is simply getting people together
from diverse backgrounds, different educational qualifications and varied interests that come
together and work towards a common goal. Managers are directly responsible for this function
of management, and it is usually delegated formally or informally depending on the business. In
this paper we will discuss how Apple Inc. has used the organization function in reference to
physical assets, knowledge, and technology ascend in the business technology world.
In order to afford the first pieces of the Apple I in 1976, Steve Jobs: Co-founder of
Apple, invested in his company by selling his VW bus for $1500 to obtain computer parts and a
plan of action. The plan of action was presented to Ronald Gerald Wayne, the third founder of
Apple who also set up the financial aspect of apple and got the initial loan for the business in
1976. According to Forbes, Apple Inc. net worth is estimated at about $161.42 billion dollars.
This is a major increase in profit from 1976 until 2012. By organizing its people, assets,
knowledge and technology, Apple Inc. has given businesses an example of how organizing can
work. Bateman & Snell state. Certain strategies, and the structures, processes, and relationships
that accompany them, seem particularly well suited to improving an organizations ability to
respond quickly and effectively to the challenges it faces. They reflect its managers
determination to fully leverage its people and assets to make the firm more agile and
competitive.
Apple Inc. has had the reputation for hiring employees that are well suited for the job at
hand and employees that want to work for Apple. They do not necessarily recruit the smartest
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student out of college or the prospect with the best resume. Apple has hired innovators without
college degrees and also employees that have had no formal training in computers but are
innovative and creative. Apple states When you imagine the creative process at Apple, at first
you may not picture someone in HR. Or operations. Or finance. But we expect creative thinking
and solutions from everyone here, no matter what their responsibilities are. Innovation takes
many forms, and our people seem to find new ones everyday. This concept is key to success and
is applied by all forms of hiring management within the corporation.
Imagination, inspiration, and opportunity are around every corner and throughout every
employee at Apple Inc. If you have an idea at Apple Inc. it is not only encouraged youre your
present that idea, but almost mandatory. Apple Inc. does not limit an employees ability to
contribute to the organization just by the job title that that employee holds. Human Resources
assistants, Janitors, Legal staff and Operations staff have come up with designs, innovative
functions and contributions outside of their job title that contribute to Apples success. The
innovative ideas, creativity and design functions are not just produced by the engineers at Apple,
but by the employees who have shared thoughts of creativity. Bateman & Snell state. These
strategies and structures are based on the firms core competencies, its strategic alliances, its
ability to learn, and its ability to engage all the people in the organization in achieving its
objectives. Apples objective is simply creativity and innovation for the future and this is what
they have achieved. They feel that when you bring passion and dedication to your job, theres no
telling what can be accomplished.
Knowledge is something that is not only gained through formal education, but through
experience as well. Knowledge and management go hand in hand, as knowledge consists of
practices used to identify, create, distribute and enable insights and ideas. The first generation
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IPod, released for production and sale in 2001 could only store music files in a certain format.
Because there are many computer types and file types, Apple had to come up with new and
innovative ways to share these music files. Today, the IPod can hold numerous music files in
any file type yet also play music, games, video-to-video chat and numerous other ideas.
Knowledge through experience at Apple Inc. has allowed certain ideas to blossom into multi-
million dollar ideas. Bateman & Snell (2009) state. The task of organizing, then, is a matter of
designing not just the appropriate formal structure for the organization but also the appropriate
processes, information flows, and technology that make the organization effective.
Through organization and structuring, Apple Inc. has figured out how to sell products
effectively to its customers. Apple figured out that technology moves at such a fast rate that if
they were not innovative without forethought that they would not prosper and be effective as a
business. Instead of just providing computers and accessories for users, Apple provides
complete hardware, operating systems and development tools that work together. Hardware
includes the IMac, IPod, MacBook, and IPad. Software for these items are endless through user
applications and ever changing and growing operating systems. Apple has also come up with
developer tools for an everyday user to incorporate their ideas into what Apple has already
developed. Steve Jobs: The Man who Saved Apple (2011) Its worth noting that some of
Apples biggest product releases during Jobs tenure the iPod and the IPad, most notably
were developed during recessions, when consumers theoretically were less inclined to spend
money on pricey electronics. This goes to show the innovation and technological advancement
that Apples reputation has caused.
In conclusion, I have shown you the ways Apple Inc. has used one of the four main
functions of management; organizing, throughout its daily operations and long term goals.
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Apple Inc. has proven itself to be one of the fastest growing technology companies worldwide.
Through innovative thinking, using its resources wisely and leading, Apple has accomplished
its goals and objectives and is above Microsoft, Dell, and other computer companies in terms of
stocks and profits. Organizing its people, planning accordingly and using its resources wisely,
Apple has show the technology world what can be done when organization is used.















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References
http://www.mac-history.net/apple-people/2011-01-30/how-the-founders-of-apple-got-rich
Bateman, T. S., & Snell, S. A. (2009). Management: Leading & Collaborating in a Competitive
World (8th ed.). Retrieved from https://ecampus.phoenix.edu/content/eBookLibrary2
http://www.apple.com/jobs/us/
Steve Jobs: The Man who Saved Apple. (2011, November). Macworld, 28(11), 14-18.
Retrieved from https://ehis.ebscohost.com/eds/detail