hnd level 5

1. From: Malaika Hussain
To:
Unit: 32
Unit Name: Business Strategy
Submission Date:

2. INTRODUCTION
Various aspects of the strategic management are used for the production of the plans. These aspects
can be able to make various strategic priorities and objectives that can assure the betterment of the
organizations like Apple Inc. Here, Apple Inc will need to consider the differentiation strategy to stay in
the market. In the world of modern business, the role of business strategy cannot be ignored. As the
roles of business are very much important to find out, the whole report has been made on the basis of
Apple Inc., which is one of the leading business productions Company available in the system.

3. They will not be influenced and they don’t have interest as well like the young people who doesn’t use
the product of Apple Inc. In the last side, meeting the needs will be high as their influence will be higher
than the interests. They are customers or consumers who can easily switch to the other parties very
easily. There are several theories for internal and external analysis which have been applied. On the
other side, strategic analyses of the product have also be done in this whole report.
LO1: Analysis of the impact and influence which the macro environment has on an organization and
its business strategies
P1: Applying appropriate frameworks, analyzing the impact and influence of the macro environment
on a given organization and its strategies
In the context of Apple Inc, there have been several influences which are getting assured by the macro
environment. With the role of the macro environment, any business organization can understand their
needs and also can assure how these needs can be important. According to the understanding of the
macro environment, a business like Apple Inc can easily establish a very strong system which can help
their continuous development along with the betterment of organizational efficiency. With the proper
understanding of all these theories, Apple Inc can also assure the goal meeting activities to surpass the
market competitors. In this way, Apple Inc can be able to work within the system even perfectly.
Stakeholders’ mapping
As it is known, stakeholders can be consisting of so many parties who can be related with the business
organizations’ activities. So, any party who is going to be influenced by the activities of Apple Inc will be
known as stakeholder. There have been a diagram and with the help of it, analysis and understanding of
the stakeholders can be done.

4. In the analysis, it has been seen that there will be several dimensions which are needed to be arranged
and managed perfectly. Here, the Apple Inc have the people from all the dimension. According to the
analysis of it, four different sides can be found. The most powerful and possessing most interest are the
key players. For Apple Inc, they are government, law enforcing agency and so on. If the influence of the
product is reduced with high interest, it will make the potential buyers of the products of Apple Inc.
If both interest and impact is taken down, these will create the least important dimension where actual
understanding of the product will not be demonstrated in a clear manner. They will not be influenced
and they don’t have interest as well like the young people who doesn’t use the product of Apple Inc. In
the last side, meeting the needs will be high as their influence will be higher than the interests. They are
customers or consumers who can easily switch to the other parties very easily.
PESTLE
PESTLE is a model which can give a very effective idea about the role of external environment within the
context of Apple Inc. There have been several factors which can give and provide the different aspect of
the market and company. This is why the implementation of PESTLE analysis will be really very
important.

5. Political
It has been seen that Apple Inc is sustaining so many political impacts and changes which are happening
in the system. So, governments are now really very connected with the activities that are done by Apple
Inc. Government have been patronizing the activities of Apple Inc very effectively. They also have a very
good relationship with the political parties as well. On the other side, after Brexit, there have been
several changes that have been occurred by the bad political conditions. This is how the political
activities of Apple Inc is getting matched.
Economic
Apple Inc have been connected with several activities that are related to the economic activities. The
role of economic impact is so much enormous that the roles are getting assured. In the last year, Apple
Inc have been able to make a turnover of 35$ Billion which is highest in the market, On the other side,
Apple Inc will need to deal with the other issues as well because they have considered the employee
occupation (Bates et al., 2017). The employees are making the role in the goal meeting activities as well.
In this way, the economic understanding is getting assured and well managed. However, they have
added so many huge amount in the GDP of UK as well.
Social
Apple Inc will need to deal with several social issues as well. They will need to deal with the people of
the society. They were able to maintain a very strong relationship with the social parties within the
system. This is how the role of social parties can be demonstrated perfectly. However, the customer
turnover rate of Apple Inc is really very low and the customer satisfaction level is more than 80%. By
taking part into many corporate social activities, Apple Inc has become able to make the standard on a
perfect line.
Technology
In this case, there will be several needs of the technological understanding as well as a technological
device making company, Apple Inc will need to deal with the technological issues very perfectly. Once
they are able to manage the technological understanding, organizational efficiency can be easily
assured. With the strong technological understanding, Apple Inc is becoming able to reduce their cost
along with increasing the level of customer satisfaction.
Legal
In this case, Apple Inc will need to deal with the legal sides as well. There have been several laws and
techniques which are connected with the legal sides. According to the understanding of all these legal
factors, Apple Inc will need to deal with the system very carefully. On the other side, Apple Inc have a
wing within the organization which is dealing with the legal factors. So, it has been well managed from
the side of Apple Inc.
Ecological

6. In reality, the activities of Apple Inc are not harming any side of the environmental system. Back in 2015,
Apple Inc has been announced as the Green Company for working in the most effective manner toward
the environment. They are also following several important issues in this matter which can be very
important. But Apple Inc is also following all of these things very effectively. So, in this way, PESTLE
analysis can be done.
M1: Critically analyzing the macro environment to determine and inform strategic management
decisions.
As the result of PESTLE analysis, strategic management decision will surely get accelerated at atop level.
Various strengths and weaknesses of the PESTLE analysis can be used for better making of strategic
management decisions. PESTLE is a model which can give a very effective idea about the role of external
environment within the context of Apple Inc. There have been several factors which can give and
provide the different aspect of the market and company. PESTLE analysis provides with the information
about several bigger aspects of the external environment which can help to understand the business
situation.
On the other side, it doesn’t consider the international market environment where all the factors of
PESTLE can change very quickly. The changes in the factors of PESTLE cannot be determined easily which
is the biggest disadvantages of it. However, five forces model is used to understand all the aspects of
competitors view. There are various blind spots available in the five forces model such as
inconsideration of technological and other globalization trends. These are the basic disadvantages of
five forces model in this place. In this way, the strategic decision making of an organization can be
demonstrated.
LO2: Assessing an organization’s internal environment and capabilities
P2: Analysis of the internal environment and capabilities of a given organization using appropriate
frameworks
In order to understanding the internal capabilities, the internal analysis will be important. An internal
analysis is an exploration of the organization's competency, cost position and competitive viability in the
marketplace. Conducting an internal analysis often incorporates measures that provide useful
information about the organization's strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats. With the
understanding of all these, it can be said that the role of internal environment is really very important.
SWOT analysis
Strength
In this case, Apple Inc will have several strengths which are needed to be well taken care. This will give a
very strong and clear idea about the strong zone of Apple Inc. They have a very strong operational
structure. With the help of that operational structure, they can easily produce quality and effective
product (Oliver et al., 2018). They have been able to reduce the cost of production as well as the
production cost will be lowered down, it will be able to increase the profit at a very drastic level.

7. Weakness
Here, Apple Inc will also need to deal with the weakness issues as well. There can be so issues which are
related to the weakness. The employee turnover rate in Apple Inc is very much high. The high employee
turnover is happening because of the less satisfaction level. On the other side, the skill of employees
have not been oriented and the Apple Inc haven’t introduced any new technology for more than 6 years.
Opportunity
Apple Inc will also possess so many opportunities within the system and the role of these will be very
much important. In this case, Apple Inc is required to hold several opportunities like the working
efficiency. They were able to maintain a very strong relationship with the social parties within the
system. This is how the role of social parties can be demonstrated perfectly. For the Apple Inc, it is one
of the most important opportunity.
Threats
In the analysis of Apple Inc¸ there have been several threats appearing in the system. In the recent days,
the costs of raw materials have been increased at a very high level. This is why it can be a very strong
point of threat. Brexit is another important threat that has been appearing in the system. It is a very
serious political risk which can hinder the way of development of Apple Inc. after Brexit, there have
been several changes that have been occurred by the bad political conditions.
VRIO/VRIN framework
In case of the understanding of the internal resources, VRIO and VRIN framework can be one of the
most effective form of analysis tools. VRIO falls into the internal analysis step of these procedures, but is
used as a framework in evaluating just about all resources and capabilities of a firm, regardless of what
phase of the strategic model it falls under.
The question of value can be like “Is this resource or capability valuable to the firm?”
The question of rarity can be like “Is the resource of company rare?”
The question of imitability can be like “Do firms without a resource or capability face a cost
disadvantage in obtaining or developing it compared to firms that already possess it?”
The question of organization can be like “ Is the company capable of arranging competitive advantage?”
So, this is the most important framework available in case of the VRIO/VRIN and so on. With the help of
this analysis, it can be found that
Apple Inc’s resources are valuable and rare which is creating issues of competitive advantage. But Apple
Inc will face the disadvantage whenever they will not possess a single resource. If all of these are well
understood, Apple Inc can be able to hold the competitive advantage for so long.

8. M2: Critically evaluating the internal environment to assess strengths and weaknesses of an
organization’s internal capabilities, structure and skill set.
McKinsey 7S Framework
It is a very strong framework which can be used within the system of organization to find out the level,
forces and sources of internal powers. These can be used with the help of many other impacts as well.
This was a strategic vision for groups, to include businesses, business units, and teams. The 7 Ss are
structure, strategy, systems, skills, style, staff and shared values. But now, it is getting used to find out
the level of internal analysis.
McKinsey 7S Framework
Structure of Apple Inc has been very much important to follow as they are working with three layer
system. On the other side, they have the strategy to work with the ultimate efficiency and soon. They
have share visions which have been carried on to the other parties within the systems. Their working
system is very much efficient where the working style is really very flexible. They have very skilled
employees with great understanding on several technical sides. This is how they are becoming able to
arrange of these issues within the system of Apple Inc.

9. LO3: Evaluating and applying the outcomes of an analysis using Porter’s Five Forces model to a given
market sector
P3: Applying Porter’s Five Forces model evaluate the competitive forces of a given market sector for
an organization.
Balance scorecard
In this analysis, the management performance tool will be well interpreted. Here, four perspectives will
be stated with the understanding of the vision and strategy analysis. According to the strategy and
vision, Apple Inc’s internal process, organizational policy, financial and customers are perfectly and
totally aligned. With the alignment, there will be several activities of the goal meeting statement.

10. Five forces analysis
For the five forces analysis, Apple Inc will need to arrange several understanding in this field. Porter's
Five Forces Framework is a tool for analyzing competition of a business. It draws from industrial
organization economics to derive five forces that determine the competitive intensity and, therefore,
the attractiveness of an industry in terms of its profitability. Apple Inc can also be able to use several
things like this.

11. Buyer’s power
In this analysis, the powers of buyers for Apple Inc was really very high. The influences of buyers have
been very much influential in this system as the industry has the vision to work according to the
customers.
Suppliers’ power
However, Apple Inc arranges all the raw materials by themselves and it has helped them to deal with the
suppliers’ very effectively. So, the powers of suppliers have been really very less effective and efficient.
Threats of new entry
In this matter, Apple Inc has a very low level of threats for the new entry. There have been several new
entry issues in the system but the industry takes very heavy investment which may not be possible for
regular companies.
Threats of substitution
For Apple Inc¸ there have been several threats of the substitutions as well. The product that is provided
by them can be easily replaced. There have been several features in it which cannot be replaceable but
the service can be.
Competitions

12. In case of Apple Inc.¸ the levels of competition have been really very high. On the basis of the
competition, the general issues can be managed and played. There have been several market leaders
like Google, Sony or so on.
Key determinants
For the context of Apple Inc, there have been two main keys which are assuring the top issues of
profitability. One main issue is technological advancement and another one is raw materials. Apple Inc is
very much successful in terms of the profitability which is getting assured by the technology and low
cost raw materials.
M3: Devising appropriate strategies to improve competitive edge and market position based on the
outcomes.

13. Ansoff’s growth vector matrix
The Ansoff Matrix is a strategic planning tool that provides a framework to help executives, senior
managers, and marketers devise strategies for future growth. For the betterment and market expansion,
Apple Inc has been using several growth techniques. These techniques can be used for the betterment
of the organizational development.

14. Ansoff’s growth vector matrix
Market development is very strong techniques which are usually used by many big companies. It is
about creating a new market for an existing need. It can be really very tough to accomplish these types
of techniques for any company. But in case of Apple Inc, diversification techniques can be really very
important for the development. The competitors of Apple Inc have a very strong relationship with the
diversification. This is why Apple Inc has produced more than 8 types of product. Apple Inc is also using
the market penetration technique which is very much important in this matter. Apple Inc is dealing
within the system where the market already exists where product development will be required for the
arrangement in the product development system. This is how the analysis of growth vector can be really
very influential.
LO4: Applying models, theories and concepts to assist with the understanding and interpretation of
strategic directions available to an organization
P4: Applying a range of theories, concepts and models, interpret and devise strategic planning for a
given organization

15. In case of Apple Inc¸ there have been several theories and concepts which can help to make a strategic
planning for Apple Inc.
The plan
Porters’ generic strategy
There have been several issues which are related to the strategy to enter into market. In this matter,
Apple Inc can apply all these strategies which will help them arrange all the issues very perfectly and
understandably.
 Cost and price leadership strategy will be providing idea about the pricing method. In this
system, price is set to do the competition but obviously after assuring a strong level of profit
structure. Here, competition and profit can be well balanced according to the system.
 Differentiation strategy is another strategy where products will be launched in a market with a
number of variation. With the help of the variation, differentiation strategy can be well
implemented.
 Focus strategy will help to look into a specific market type. In the competitive market strategy, it
will not be that much effective and efficient. The focus strategy is not suitable for Apple Inc
here.

16. Extended model of Bowman’s strategy clock
Strategy clock

17. For companies like Apple Inc, diversification strategy will be one of the most important strategy. There
will be differentiation theories where several product range will be established. If Apple Inc doesn’t
become successful in it, they will sustain a very big loss of market share. However, Strategic Alliance can
be made by Apple Inc with other companies. Recently, the price of raw materials has been increasing
and to solve it, Apple Inc can make strategic alliance with several companies. Globalization can be
another way for Apple Inc where several issues will be important to be arranged. The factors of
globalizations like, culture, language, communication, technology and soon can be important Apple Inc
.Benchmarking is comparing ones business processes and performance metrics to industry bests and
best practices from other companies. Apple Inc can apply this system into their raw materials
management system.
M4: Producing a strategic management plan that has tangible and tactical strategic priorities and
objectives.
Priorities and objectives
 Increasing customer satisfaction by 10%
 Increasing amount of sales by 20%
 Attaining 5% more customer share
Various aspects of the strategic management are used for the production of the plans. These aspects
can be able to make various strategic priorities and objectives that can assure the betterment of the
organizations like Apple Inc. Here, Apple Inc will need to consider the differentiation strategy to stay in
the market. With the help of differentiation, products will be launched in a market with a number of
variations. With the help of the variation, differentiation strategy can be well implemented that can
assist to tap various market segments simultaneously.
On the other side, Apple Inc will also need to rely on the focus strategy. Apple Inc have a specific market
to work on and based on this market, they will need to keep their product aligned. Product of Apple Inc
is very much higher in price and this increment in the price is shrinking their market. To handle the
problems of these price increment, focus strategy can be helpful to look into a specific market type. In
the competitive market strategy, it will not be that much effective and efficient. So, the focus strategy is
most suitable for condition of Apple Inc here.
D1: Critique and interpreting information and data applying environmental and competitive analysis
to produce a set of valid strategic directions, objectives and tactical actions.
Strategy: To make a better strategic and tactical action, various kind of information and data can be
applied within environmental and competitive analysis. However, for Apple Inc, the environmental
analysis can be done with the help of PESTLE analysis. In order to gain information about the
competitive analysis, Porters’ five forces analysis can be very much effective for Apple Inc. Government
have been patronizing the activities of Apple Inc very effectively. On the other side, after Brexit, there
have been several changes that have been occurred by the bad political conditions. In the last year,
Apple Inc have been able to make a turnover of 35$ Billion which is highest in the market.

18. Contd: They were able to maintain a very strong relationship with the social parties within the system.
Once they are able to manage the technological understanding, organizational efficiency can be easily
assured. There have been several laws and techniques which are connected with the legal sides. Back in
2015, Apple Inc has been announced as the Green Company for working in the most effective manner
toward the environment. From the Porters’ five forces analysis, it has been seen that the threats of
buyers, threats of competitors and threats of substitution product are relatively high. On the other side,
threats of new market entrants and threats of suppliers are lower than other organizations.
Conclusion
With the role of the macro environment, any business organization can understand their needs and also
can assure how these needs can be important. According to the understanding of the macro
environment, a business like Apple Inc can easily establish a very strong system which can help their
continuous development along with the betterment of organizational efficiency. PESTLE is a model
which can give a very effective idea about the role of external environment within the context of Apple
Inc. There have been several factors which can give and provide the different aspect of the market and
company. For the context of Apple Inc, there have been two main keys which are assuring the top issues
of profitability. One main issue is technological advancement and another one is raw materials. Apple
Inc is very much successful in terms of the profitability which is getting assured by the technology and
low cost raw materials. There have been several factors which can give and provide the different aspect
of the market and company. PESTLE analysis provides with the information about several bigger aspects
of the external environment which can help to understand the business situation.
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