Apple’s SWOT Analysis Points of Strength: · Globally Recognized Brand: Since its establishment, Apple has built an astounding reputation of being one of the most reliable companies providing technological services and solutions. It has one of the largest customer bases to ever exist, making it the first company ever with a stock price of one trillion dollar. · Demanded Brand: Apple is a highly demanded brand all over the globe, it is the number one choice in America for smart phones, accessories and corporate office supplies. It has a technology that is suitable for every age and domain. · Focus on Research & Development: Apple as a company puts a lot of its efforts and money into product design, manufacturing, quality, and marketing. A lot of studies and researches are conducted before product release that are based on customer needs and demands. · Innovation: Apple changed the way people interact and communicate back in June 2007 when they introduced the IPhone, and that trend continued on when they introduced the IPad in April 2010. Apple shed a new light on the way people use their smartphones and tablets. Nowadays these products are an essential part of work and everyday life. Points of Weakness: · High Prices: Apple products are generally considered in the market as a luxurious items due to their premium prices. These products are more oriented towards middle to high income customers than low income. · Incompatibility: Apple is considered a unique product when it comes to software and cross platforming. Items purchased from Apple whether they are computers, phones, tablets, or accessories will only function on a particular software produced by the company which leaves small space for sharing and cross platform. · Competitive Market & Penetration: Although Apple has a solid place in market, it does not lower the chances of growth of competitive brands such as Sony, Samsung, Google, and Microsoft. In 2018 a research was conducted stating that while IOS software (Software used by Apple) is dominant nationally, 72.23 of the global market uses Android (Software produced by Google). · Underwhelming Marketing & Promoting Efforts: Due to its solid reputation in market place, Apple has a bad reputation for promoting or marketing their products. They have poor marketing strategies the barely promotes the products and depend solely on their name to attract customers towards their products. Opportunities: · Focus on Services: While the main source of profit is from smartphones and tablets, Apple gets a decent amount of revenue from the services that they offer. Apple gains revenue from selling products like IPhone or IPad to every customer once every year, while they can gain profit from their services on a daily basis. These services include Apple Pay, Apple Care, Apple Music…etc. It is estimated that if Apple can put these services into good use, the company can gain up to 10 million dollar in a quarter of a year. · Partner.

1. Apple’s SWOT Analysis
Points of Strength:
· Globally Recognized Brand: Since its establishment, Apple
has built an astounding reputation of being one of the most
reliable companies providing technological services and
solutions. It has one of the largest customer bases to ever exist,
making it the first company ever with a stock price of one
trillion dollar.
· Demanded Brand: Apple is a highly demanded brand all over
the globe, it is the number one choice in America for smart
phones, accessories and corporate office supplies. It has a
technology that is suitable for every age and domain.
· Focus on Research & Development: Apple as a company puts
a lot of its efforts and money into product design,
manufacturing, quality, and marketing. A lot of studies and
researches are conducted before product release that are based
on customer needs and demands.
· Innovation: Apple changed the way people interact and
communicate back in June 2007 when they introduced the
IPhone, and that trend continued on when they introduced the
IPad in April 2010. Apple shed a new light on the way people
use their smartphones and tablets. Nowadays these products are
an essential part of work and everyday life.
Points of Weakness:
· High Prices: Apple products are generally considered in the

2. market as a luxurious items due to their premium prices. These
products are more oriented towards middle to high income
customers than low income.
· Incompatibility: Apple is considered a unique product when it
comes to software and cross platforming. Items purchased from
Apple whether they are computers, phones, tablets, or
accessories will only function on a particular software produced
by the company which leaves small space for sharing and cross
platform.
· Competitive Market & Penetration: Although Apple has a
solid place in market, it does not lower the chances of growth of
competitive brands such as Sony, Samsung, Google, and
Microsoft. In 2018 a research was conducted stating that while
IOS software (Software used by Apple) is dominant nationally,
72.23 of the global market uses Android (Software produced by
Google).
· Underwhelming Marketing & Promoting Efforts: Due to its
solid reputation in market place, Apple has a bad reputation for
promoting or marketing their products. They have poor
marketing strategies the barely promotes the products and
depend solely on their name to attract customers towards their
products.
Opportunities:
· Focus on Services: While the main source of profit is from
smartphones and tablets, Apple gets a decent amount of revenue
from the services that they offer. Apple gains revenue from
selling products like IPhone or IPad to every customer once
every year, while they can gain profit from their services on a
daily basis. These services include Apple Pay, Apple Care,
Apple Music…etc. It is estimated that if Apple can put these

3. services into good use, the company can gain up to 10 million
dollar in a quarter of a year.
· Partnership with Tesla: Many analysts noted that a
partnership between two companies like Tesla and Apple could
be the deal of the century. They both strive for top quality
hardware accompanied with flawless software that could one
day be the next big invention in the field of technology and
engineering, and create a big increase of profit for both
companies.
Threats:
· US-China Trade War: Since Apple started working on their
IPhones and IPads, most of the manufacturing process was
produced in China. The decision by the American government to
make the manufacturing process happen internally increased the
expanses of production. In addition, Apple like any other
American company is going through the phase of “Bear
Territory” which is the struggle to increase stocks in December,
one of the usually most profitable months of the year.
Reference List:
· Hallmark, M. (2019, March 19). Apple SWOT 2019 | SWOT
Analysis of Apple. Retrieved from
https://bstrategyhub.com/swot-analysis-of-apple-apple-swot-
2018/
· Apple Stock Forecast For 2019: SWOT Analysis I Know First
Forecast For AAPL. (2019, January 14). Retrieved from
https://iknowfirst.com/aapl-stock-forecast-for-2019-apple-swot-
analysis-i-know-first-forecast
Sony’s SWOT Analysis
Points of Strength:
· Emphasis on Multimedia: In the last decade, Sony made a big
jump in terms of profits due to their decision to shift their focus
from hardware to multimedia such as: games, movies,

4. television, and streaming services. This diversity helps the
company avoiding risks and increase their stability in
marketplace.
· Strong Demand for Brand: Sony has built a very solid
reputation both nationally and internationally. Customers are
more likely to purchase from Sony than other competitors due to
high quality product and a very loyal customer base.
· Legacy in Gaming: Most people nowadays recognize Sony’s
brand from their expenditure in gaming. Their console the Sony
Playstaion is one of the most sought items on the market today.
As of December 31, 2018 Sony has sold 91.6 million unit of
their latest hardware PS4 with approximate profit of 1.6 Billion
dollar.
Points of Weakness:
· Fluctuation in Marketing & Prices: Due to lack of marketing
strategies and overpriced products, Sony had by the end of
March 2018 to lay off a lot of their staff in distribution and
marketing departments, their loss financially was 435 billion
yen which is approximately 390 Billion dollar.
· Too much Focus on Gaming: Over the last decade, a lot of
Sony’s focus went into gaming division driving the company
away from their core products in hardware and electronics.
Opportunities:
· Full Integration: Sony can gain advantage from their strong
foundation in gaming industry to support their underwhelming
products from other divisions such us movies and music. By
integrating these services into one form of product, Sony can
gain a large amount of profits and spend less on marketing and
distributing.
· Smartphone & Tablets: In 2001 Sony entered the
telecommunication market by joining the Swedish company
Ericsson to make Sony Ericsson, this partnership ended in 2012
due to lack of sales and profits. With Sony being a big name in
the market, they can establish their own brand of smartphones
and tablets and become a big competitor in the field of
telecommunication.

5. Threats:
· Competition: Sony has a lot of competition from rival
companies such as LG and Samsung that provide similar
products at lower costs.
· Online Hacking: On November 2014, a group of hackers were
able to leak confidential data from Sony pictures that included
staff salaries, unreleased movies, and other information. That
kind of act can make the company lose their competitive
advantage and make customers exposed to theft and fraud.
Reference List:
· Fatakia, K. (2012, March 02). Sony Corporation: Strengths,
Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats. Retrieved from
https://www.fool.com/investing/general/2012/03/02/sony-
corporation-strengths-weaknesses-opportunitie.aspx
· Greenspan, R. (2017, March 01). Sony Corporation's SWOT
Analysis & Recommendations. Retrieved from
http://panmore.com/sony-corporation-swot-analysis-
recommendations
· Sony SWOT and PESTLE Analysis. (2018, November 05).
Retrieved from https://www.swotandpestle.com/sony/
·
RADS 4633 CQI
Module III
The Management Model
Terminal Performance Objective
Upon completion of this unit, the student should be able to
recognize the importance of identifying customers and

6. understand the effect of professional standards on meeting both
customer expectations and operational requirements.
Enabling Objectives
Upon completion of this unit, the student should be able
to:Define specifications for a management model.Explain
customer-driven management.Identify customers and their
expectations.Differentiate between internal and external
customers.Discuss the importance of initiating cyclical steps in
the management model.Summarize the importance of the role of
customer expectations and professional standards in customer
driven management.Explain the use of focus groups and
interviews.Identify professional standards necessary to satisfy
customer needs.Develop a flow chart which identifies the steps
of a process needing improvements.Develop a critical path for
the previous process.
Specifications for a Management Model
A management model is a blueprint of a design for Quality
Improvement processes. The specifications are those items
which specify or identify the process outcome. The model is a
plan for how your services, (the radiology department) will
satisfy the customer (patients for example), and maintain the
high-quality standards you have set.
Most of today's hospitals will be using a customer driven
management model as illustrated below. The plan is developed
institution-wide and then passed from department to department.
If everyone in the institution uses the same model, then the
desired outcomes should be the same. This way, teamwork is
solidified and it becomes easier to accept change as well as
make changes.
Customer Driven ManagementStart-up Steps
As you can see by the illustration of the management model,
there are 8 specific steps. Steps one through four are identified

7. as the start-up steps.
Identifying professional standards will come into play as you
deal with your customers. Additionally, what kinds of working
or operational issues will help you align customer expectations
with what is reasonable and cost effective? How will you
measure whether or not you are actually meeting the needs of
both customers and the organization?
Steps 1- 4 start the process and will be discussed in detail later
in this unit.Identify customers and perceptions.Identify
customer expectations and professional standards.Balance
customer needs, expectations, and standards with operational
requirements.Decide on outcomes/process measures.
The extent to which you define each step will determine the
thoroughness of your management plan. For example, if you
identify the customer as only the patient, then all other
receivers of services will be left out of the model.
Decisions that you make during these start-up steps have to
answer questions concerning the makeup of your customer base,
their expectations, and what professional standards will come
into play as you deal with your customers. Additionally, what
kinds of working or operations issues will help you align
customer expectations with what is reasonable and cost
effective? How will you measure whether or not you are
actually meeting the needs of both customers and the
organization?Cyclical Steps
Steps 5- 8 are concerned with the implementation of decisions
made in steps 1- 4. These steps are the "do" part of the process.
What kinds of things that need to be done to satisfy steps 1-4
will be determined here?Measure performance.Report results.
Provide feedback to key players.Draw conclusions. Identify
improvement opportunities.Pursue improvements: plan-do-
check-act.
Remember that steps 1-4 of the start-up will need to be
reviewed and updated or the process will stagnate or worse,
deteriorate. Steps 5- 8 are cyclical because you will follow
them over and over to ensure your process is working. That

8. will also enable you to review and revise the first four steps.
See why it's called "Continuous Quality Improvement"?Step 1 -
Identifying Customers and their Perceptions
Who matters? An easier question might be, "who doesn't
matter?" Would you be willing to identify anyone that you have
contact with, no matter how minor, as unimportant? Probably
not, but think about all of those individuals with whom you
have contact in a single day. How does your perception of them
as a customer affect their perception of you as a care provider?
As the text points out, your standards of quality may have been
well met, but do those standards meet your customer's
expectations? These questions can be answered through a better
understanding of customer expectations and perceptions.a.
Identify and rank your customers
Customers are people whose satisfaction with your services or
products affects your ability to achieve your organization's
objectives. Customers may differ from each department as will
supplies, but all need to be identified in order to make the
quality process as easy and efficient as possible.b. Identify your
Customers
To identify your customers, look at your main process
or functions and follow the path of the results or outputs of
these processes to those who benefit from them--your
customers. Ask the following questions:What are the major
outputs of the processes?What is each service produced?
Then, for each service, determine who the immediate customers
are and who the customers are down the line who have
expectations about the quality of the services.c. Types of
Customers
There are two basic types of customers: Internal and External.
Internal customers are people employees or departments within
the organization and who depend on your processes and outputs
for their external customers. For internal customers, you are
their supplier.
External customers are people outside of your organization.
They use your services but are not employed by your

9. organization. This category includes patients, their family and
friends, referring physicians, vendors, and others. These people
often have the choice of using your services or seeking business
elsewhere.
Remember that service to the customer may be direct or indirect
depending on the service required and its origin. For example,
the pharmacy may never see your arteriogram patient but
indirectly serve that patient by supplying medication.
Look at the following table. The example for radiology lists
patients as external customers. Remember that the terms
internal or external do not refer to direct or indirect service, but
rather whether or not they are actually organization members.
Table of Internal and External CustomersDepartmentInternal
CustomersExternal CustomersRadiology
Nursing floors
Ordering physicians
Medical records
Patients
In-house physicians
Patient's family
Unit clerks
Outside reviewers
Radiographers
Unit Clerks
Nursing floors
Patients
Pharmacy
Physicians
Housekeeping
Visitors
Radiology, Lab, etc.
Outside reviewersBusiness Office/Billing
Nursing floors

10. Patients
Information systems
Insurance companies
Admissions
Vendors
Administration
Auditors
Medical records
Physicians