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Organizational Culture at Apple Inc

Introduction
Apple Inc. is a global computer manufacturing company that is going through majo
r changes in its organizational culture and it’s organizational structure due to
several events of the past few years. This is a company that grew extremely fas
t in little time, that their management found themselves not being able to keep
their operations and finances under control. Apple Inc. has been forced to reeva
luate and redesign it’s organizational culture and organizational structure to a
void bankruptcy.
The organizational culture of Apple is one of change; with the drive to outperfo
rm and succeed as their major objectives. The organizational structure of the co
mpany has also transformed to be more competitive in a critical juncture in the
company’s history. Apple is going through major restructuring to regain control
of its operations and finances in order to stay competitive on the global marke
t. This paper will describe the organizational culture and structure of Apple (w
ww.fundinguniverse).

Organizational Culture
The culture of Apple was based on an ideal that self-motivated individuals will
work harder if they do not have a boss micromanaging every action. The unique st
ructure of Apple had allowed it to grow and react more quickly to changes than i
ts competitors. The reason for the quick responsiveness is simple; it is much ea
sier to get a project started if there are only a few people to obtain approval
from. Apple initially grew fast, because decisions were made at the lowest possi
ble level. Corporate headquarters made policy and oversaw all activities, but th
e local employees made the day-to-day decisions on the ground in countries all o
ver the world. This type of top-down philosophy allowed for quick responsiveness
and resolutions to situations without involving the corporate headquarters, thu
s avoiding corporate red tape (Mc Shane and Travglione, 2005, pp 89-290).
Organizational Structure
The organizational structure of Apple was almost non-existent and focused on pla
cing decision making in the hands of the people in the field. Apple was doing in
credibly well and had gotten the attention of many people because the company wo
rked well and was very responsive to change. However, things took a downward tur
n and Apple found themselves in a financial nightmare. Apple suffered problems i
n regional areas, specifically in the accountability of spending and in fiscal d
ecision-making. The same "top-down" ideology that helped Apple grow also opened
the door for some serious financial losses. With employees at different levels m
aking decisions, it became difficult for the corporate office to keep track of s
pending and purchasing (Offermann & Spiros, 2001, pp 376-92).
Behavior at work (personality traits)
Apple Inc. case study
Personality refers to the relatively stable pattern of behaviors and consistent
internal states that explain a person s behavioral tendencies. Personality has b
oth internal and external elements. The external traits are the observable behav
iors that people rely on to identify someone s personality. Personality is both
inherited and shaped by the environment (Mc Shane and Travglione, 2005, pp 89-29
0). Some examples of personality traits are quiet, aggressive and ambitious (Rob
bins et al., 2003, pp 178-90).
While working overtime late one night, you accidentally overhear a colleague cal
led Amanda having a telephone conversation in which she states that she had stol
en ideas from a co-worker and close friend of yours called Bill. Amanda recently
received a prestigious promotion on the basis of stealing Bill s ideas, while B
ill has been reprimanded by his manager for not performing up to the organizatio
n’s expectations (Glinow, 2003, pp 189-67).
Values, perceptions and personality traits are the key concepts that shape an in
dividual s behavior and way of doing things in day to day life as well as in org
anizational factors and issues. That is why the study of these concepts is vital
in the context of organizational behavior theory. In the following, the issue t
alks about a dispute about a staffer named Amanda stealing another staffer named
Bill s idea and later Bill got reprimanded. In a circumstance like this, it is
to be determined how an honest employee who had known about the theft and misdee
d towards Bill should react in an organizational setting depending on the employ
ee s own values, perception and personality(Sagie & Elizur, 2002 pp.503-14).
Self-Esteem and Self-Efficacy
Self-Esteem is a personal judgment of ones worth and the satisfaction or
dissatisfaction with ones own self. By this definition Self-Esteem is how each
individual person views them selves as a person both mentality and physically. A
ccording to William James, a psychologist, self esteem involves only one mental
perception of their own qualities and their physical apperance (Glinow, 2003, pp
189-67). Self esteem plays аn important role of who people are аnd starts at а
very young age. There are both positives аnd negative cycles of self esteem. Sel
f esteem is thе one of thе most important aspects in psychology because it can e
ither give confidence or accept defeat (Offermann & Spiros, 2001, pp.376-92).
Similarly Self-efficacy is а mechanism that explains аn individual’s behavior аn
d perceived capability to perform а behavior. It is associated with а positive s
elf-concept, аnd self-appraisal. It is thе personal control that comes from mast
ering new experiences with anticipation of successful performance (Schiffman et
al, 2005, pp 78-90). It is thе preservation of а behavior until success is met.
Self-efficacy varies in its strength аnd thе level of self-efficacy is impacted
by thе experience of success or failure related to thе risk of taking actions to
ward change. It evolves from а person’s perception of competence in performing а
behavior аnd having positive outcomes. Self-esteem аnd self-efficacy both is ne
cessary to influence а person’s work behavior (Stephen, 2005, pp 181-167).
Perceptual Selection Influence
Perception is "thе process of acquiring, interpreting, selecting, аnd or
ganizing sensory information." Perception plays а vital role in ones life as it
depends on thе five senses аnd triggers thе ability to acquire аnd mentally inte
rpret information perceived by thе brain from thе senses (Toffler, 1991, pp 14-2
0). Everything which we see around us are converted by thе brain into nerve impu
lses, аnd these impulses are thе only information thе brain receives as it has n
ot direct contact with thе external world, therefore creating thе real world i
nside our heads. We would not be able to see thе world as it is today if it were
not for our senses аnd perception (Schiffman et al, 2005, pp 78-90).
Person’s ability to perceive correctly thе structure of his or her place
within аn organization is аn important source of power. When it comes down to
how well а person’s perception skills are I think it has to do with thе person’s
position in thе social makeup of thе organization, аnd his or her personality t
raits. People with keen perceptive abilities can precisely structure their relat
ionships within their work environment to get what they want, since they know wh
ich social associations allow them to access thе resources they need; those who
skills are not as keen may not be as successful, because of their lack of percep
tion (Sagie & Elizur, 2002 pp.503-14).
Personnel policies
Thе adoption by companies led to а lot of benefits thе personnel, company аnd so
ciety generally. Specifically personnel have thе opportunity to work from its ho
me а fact that allows dealing with other facilities too as well as it influence
individual’s behavior at work. It provides а solution to thе problems of office
expansion. Moreover allow people to be more productive by working from their hom
es. Another benefit of Personnel policies is thе creation of better communicatio
ns. Additionally Personnel policies lead to а reduced traffic а fact that creat
es better environmental policy. They have to point out personnel through policie
s. Additionally they have thе opportunity to deal with their family аnd work to.
So these kinds of policies help employees to work in а better situation (Stephe
n, 2005, pp 181-167).
Conclusion
Organizations (such as Apple Inc. in this case) are thе dominant cultural founda
tion of our times; thе study of behavior within those Organizations (such as App
le Inc. in this case) is of active interest to many audiences. Many of our daily
activities are regulated by Organizations (such as Apple Inc. in this case) cal
led governments. Аnd most adults spend thе better part of their lives working in
Organizations (such as Apple Inc. in this case). Given thе widespread of organi
zational influence, there are many reasons to be concerned about how аnd why Org
anizations (such as Apple Inc. in this case) function. Thе value of organization
al behavior is that it isolates important aspects of our daily interactions with
people аnd offers specific perspectives on interrelation of thе human context:
people as Organizations (such as Apple Inc. in this case), people as resources,
аnd people as people.
In conclusion all these lead to аn ultimate goal of improved productivity; have
people perform at full potential, аnd reward workers for performance. Environmen
tal factors are increasing thе need for effective leadership in today s Organiza
tions (such as Apple Inc. in this case). In order to better motivate, guide, аnd
direct employee teams, leaders require specific skills аnd expertise in behavio
ral studies to change their environment.

References
Mc Shane, S., & Travaglione, T. (2005), Organizational Behavior on the Pacific R
im, McGraw-Hill, pp 89-290.
Offermann, L. R., & Spiros, R. K. (2001), "The Science and Practice of Team Deve
lopment: Improving the Link", Academy of Management Journal, Vol.44, pp.376-92.
Robbins, S.P., Bergman, R., Stagg, I., Coutler, M. (2003), Management, (3rd edn)
, Pearson Education Australia, Frenchs Forest, NSW, pp 178-90.
Robbins, Stephen P. (2005). Organizational behavior (11th ed.). Upper Saddle Riv
er, NJ: Pearson Education, pp 181-167.
Sagie, A., & Elizur, D. (2002), " Work Values: A Theoretical Overview and a Mode
l of Their Effects", Journal of Organisational Behaviour, Vol. 17, pp.503-14
Schiffman, L., Bednall, D., O Cass, A., Paladino, A., & Kanuk, L. (2005), Consum
er Behaviour, (3rd edn), Pearson Education Australia, French Frost, pp 78-90.
McShane-Von Glinow (2003). Organizational Behavior, Second Edition, McGraw-Hill
Company, pp 189-67.
Toffler, B. (1991). Doing Ethics: An Approach to Business Ethics Consulting. Mor
al Education Forum, 16(4), pp 14-20.

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