You sit with your newest device—whether it’s your iPhone, iPad, MacPro or anything else—worth it’s wondering why Apple has made products that look so nice. “There are some excellent visionary leaders such as jobs and Cook,” you think. (They got.) “Well, wonderful people work,” you could think. (Yes, they did.) They did. However, one of the key reasons for Apple’s success throughout the years was…wait…its organisational structure. Which, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, This is right; it has a lot to do with the success of Apple in organising its work, reporting connections and flow of information. So, how does Apple fuck? To organise the firm, a functional structure is adopted. As far as Apple’s leadership (SVP Software Engineering, Head of Design, SVP Hardware Engineering, SVP Hardware Technologies) is concerned, personnel are organised on the basis of their know-how and their skills. You don’t see product managers or areas of responsibility (iPhone VP, Mac Pro VP) (VP North America, VP Europe). When Steve Jobs returned for the second time to run Apple, he quickly transformed the business into a strictly functional organisation. This structure helps Apple to move faster, prioritise cooperation and have “best-in-class” personnel. One benefit of not organising a product is that it is easy to get rid of products if they are useless (iPod, Airport routers, Apple monitors). When a product is phased out, no one is concerned about losing their jobs. So why don’t more companies embrace this strategy? Simply said, it is exceedingly difficult to retain a functioning structure as a firm expands in size. Consequently, many Apple actors and opponents tried to encourage the business to change as it grew, feeling Apple wasted money. “Apple is this unique organisation, this unique culture you can’t imitate,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said. Since I so fully believe in it, I will not watch or allow it to gradually disintegrate.” After five years in the hands of Tim Cook, Apple sales have quadrupled to over 115,000 and its cash reserves have increased to a record $246 billion. “The reason for our existence is the same as ever,” Cook explains. Make the world’s largest products to better people’s lives.” The functional organisation of Apple has helped product development via cooperation to achieve significant success and has surpassed some rivals such as Sony, whose multi-division structures limit the efficient exchange of information, skills and technology. It also poses complications for them. Apple’s desktop users are unhappy with the absence of upgrades (over three years), whilst iPhone/iPad users are annoyed that Apple is waiting for substantial improvements in its software systems before a new device is released. Apple shareholders are concerned that Apple does not make sufficient money from its services (iTunes and other apps). These problems emerge mostly because nobody is “in control of these items or services.” The 15th chapter One reason organisations do not appreciate functional (expert) structures is that it makes it harder to hold managers responsible when they are incorrect. If a product fails, or an area or unit fails to create a profit in a multi-division, someone is to blame. When a problem emerges with Microsoft Cloud, Windows, Office or Microsoft, Microsoft knows where to go and who to take responsibility for the work. Apple’s got a different viewpoint. “It’s not something we run on independently (earnings and losses) because we don’t, we don’t think so,” stated Apple CEO Tim Cook. We are running the firm from the top with one purpose (the profit and loss), while the iCloud and Siri teams do not care to make money. We want a fantastic experience for our customers and we think quantifying all these things at that level will never reach us.”
However, if Apple expands in size, its structure is harder to sustain. In fact, if they adopt a new structure, they may upgrade a broad array of commodities much more regularly, upgrade software and provide far more lucrative services. Their unbelievably centralised approach of decision-making also honoured them with excellent leadership. The question is, where are you going? 15.1 How do you believe the functional organisation of Apple is so vital to its products? 15.2 What external pressures may lead to future changes in Apple’s organisational structure? 15.3 How can Apple reorganise its company to deliver the world’s best?
