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Running head: WEEK 8 ASSIGNMENT 3
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WEEK 8 ASSIGMENT 3
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Week 8 Assignment 3
Sherri Coleman
Strayer University
BUS499 Business Administration Capstone
Dr. Keller
December 3, 2018
Week 8 Assignment 3
Many businesses in the world today have the aim of acquiring
profits, gaining returns for shareholders and remaining relevant
in the market. Apple Inc. is not an exemption in the quest to be
a leader in the business niche where it exists. The company is
facing large competition from some established corporations
like Samsung and others which are growing at a very faster rate.
Failing to have good strategies will make the company obsolete
and will be overtaken in the industry. Fortunately, Apple Inc. is
aware of the challenge and has put forth the best business level
strategy and corporate level strategies which are indicators of
each growth even to new and unexploited markets in the world.
The strategies of Apple Inc. are clearly illustrated and compared
to that of Samsung, its giant competitor and the outcome is that
there is hope for retaining the global leadership in technology
investments (Piao, & Kleiner, 2015).

Business-Level Strategies
The business-level strategy that is more appealing at Apple Inc.
is the product differentiation. Apple through this strategy was
able to produce a wide range of products which are almost
similar but with minor differences to match the customers’
needs and also the financial capabilities. This made the brand to
be very popular because it could serve people of all economic
classes and the market increased from only the high-class
citizens but also to the middle class and even low-class citizens.
Apple has a wider connection and an ear to the customer
meaning that all the concerns which will be raised by the
customer are handled with utmost care. The research and
development team works around the clock to ensure that the
kind of products produced is the replica of what the clients
want. The best example is the improvement and addition of
features to meet clients need (Khan, Alam, & Alam, 2015).
When
the business realized that more people need an app store to
access important services, the business corporation launched an
app store complete with all the packages needed by the clients
all over the globe. The app store was launched in some of the
major products and customers could make choices accordingly.
The product differentiation is strongly boosted by the
innovation which is the language at Apple Inc. the development
of iPad became a huge milestone for the organization.
Thousands of songs existed in the database to meet the needs of
the customers; innovation made it possible to have a shuffling
capability for all the songs present in the system. Through the
incorporation of things like iCloud and other beautiful features,
customers have had a wide range of choice. The product
differentiation is important to the corporation because giving
customers a choice is a good way of retaining them. Once a
client walks into a stall, they expect to get what they want.
Without this strategy, the company would have lost great

markets about the middle class and low-class citizens. In a
nutshell, product differentiation made the products from Apple
Inc. to have a wide range of markets and a continue of the same
will make the corporation gain even more markets.
Corporate-Level Strategies
The most lucrative corporate level strategy used by Apple Inc.
is the diversification of products and technologies to reach
various market niches. All the products at Apple Inc. have
adopted high-level diversification whereby many products are
produced, and they all relate well to give a good output on the
same. The main goal of the strategy is to ensure efficiency in all
the products and make the business relevant for a very long
period. Through the diversification, smart phones, desktop
computers, laptops, TVs and many more electronic devices have
been
produced to meet the various needs of the client and at the same
time open Apple Inc. to exiting opportunities and offers in the
business today.
The Apple ability to diversify the products brought a lot of fame
when the music download feature was incorporated into all the
Apple products like smart phones, TVs and computers boosted
the sales a great deal and made the corporation a global leader
in sales. Initially, Apple Inc. was known only for computers,
but the diversification strategy made the company to include
other digital products, and in the end, the business was able to
acquire great markets. The products produced were diverse but
at the same time was able to meet the various needs of the
customers. Introduction of good smart phones embedded with
software like the Gmail makes it easy and efficient for a person
to prefer walking with a phone where emails can be read easily
compared to the stress of walking with laptops (Khan, Alam, &
Alam, 2015). The diversification, therefore, offers a wide
growth to the company, and at the end of the day, the more

convenient technology will be employed. Customers need
nothing but efficiency and reliability. The corporate strategy of
diversification is more appropriate in the dynamic market
structure where new entries are still in the rise. Diversification
hits the nails on the head in assuring quality to customers at all
times and the market base for Apple Inc., and it will always be a
leader in the market.
Competitive Environment
The technology-based products face large competition from the
equal corporation and even businesses that are making entry
into the market. In the production of computers, there are
competitive corporations like the hp and the Dell corporation
who at all times striving to produce machines which are very
fast, current research being done to have a product more
superior than the coi7 which are underway. In the smart phones
and TVs, there are also large corporations like Huawei who are
producing the same services. The largest competitor of Apple is
the Samsung corporation which is the giant corporations in
Korea, and the Asian countries view it as the mother of the
struggle to outshine the market dominance of the USA giant
Apple. When Samsung Launched the Samsung Galaxy S4, it was
a big blow to the giant Apple because the product attracted so
many customers and Apple lost a great deal. With a revenue of
over $150 billion annually, it remains to be the largest threat in
the market niche for Apple, and therefore the strategies have to
be unique and sure to make the Apple Inc. survive the huge
competition and remain dominant in the market. Few
developments, however, made the Apple Inc. more competitive
after it won court cases that Samsung had imitated its product
and produced products with features imitated from Apple. The
winning of the court case gave confidence to the customers that
with Apple being the original owner of the ideas, it could be
more trusted than Samsung. Samsung also started employing
business level and corporate level strategies which made it
remain competitive in the market. Apple Inc. has the main

competitor as Samsung and care should be taken lest they are
overtaken.
Comparison of the business level strategy
The main business-level strategy focus in the Samsung is the
product differentiation, even though it sounds the same as the
one in the Apple Inc. it is different in that they concentrate
more on what the competitors are producing to maintain
leadership in the technology niche. The concentrate on a
particular niche and ensure that the particular niche is serviced
in the most appropriate way possible and that the product
matches the benchmark at the time. The strategy means that if
the competitor has produced a particular technology to meet a
given need in the market, Samsung will do research and either
improve or imitate the product features so that it can also gain
momentum in the market. The approach of Samsung in
conquering the market niche is however disadvantaged because
it meets a very narrow target concerning the individual product.
Apple Inc. is likely to be more successful in the long term, and
this is because the approach it takes is customer oriented and
the customers will be pleased more because their specifications
in the design are met (Piao, & Kleiner, 2015). The challenge
Samsung has is concentrating more on the features and the
technological advancements which make them relevant rather
than concentrating on what the customer needs. Imitating can
miss the context in which a particular app was developed hence
losing big in the competitive struggle.
Comparison of the business level strategy
Samsung has a corporate team with also very strong ideas and
tactics and the ideas developed brings about a very good
corporate level strategy and has the potential of propelling the
company to greater heights. The main strategy of Samsung at
the corporate level is coming up latest features which will meet

the demands of the customer at all times. The strategy is evident
by the evolution of Samsung Galaxy phones which keeps on
changing at all times. The strategy ensures that the products are
always up to date and matches all the needs of the customer.
The strategy won a big deal in the market when the Samsung
Galaxy S4 was launched. However, the strategy is more likely
to fail the company in the long run. Too much innovation and
updating are good, but it tends to lead the business into losses.
For example, when Samsung galaxy J6 was introduced, it
rocked the market and was the talk of the town, however, even
before the first stock was completely sold, a newer and much-
advanced version were launched. The sales of Samsung Galaxy
J6 reduced a great deal. The strategy of Apple Inc. is more
likely to win and gain more market because it is mainly
concerned with efficiency and reliable services to the customer
and with that, customer confidence is guaranteed in the long
run. Apple Inc. also involves more options for the customer and
also increase its chances of being competitive in the market. For
example, if the smart phone market is flooded, apple will be
able to gain more from the other sales like laptops which will be
more diversified to meet the needs. With fast growing
technologies like Techno and Infinix, the Samsung smart phone
market may collapse, it could have diversified its operations if
it needed to be more relevant in the market in the long run.
Market Cycles
Slow cycle markets are markets which are greatly characterized
by low trading volumes and has very few initial public offering
in its initial stages. Fast cycle market on the other hands are
very complex markets that grow rapidly, and very aggressive
strategic decisions need to be made for the business to remain
competitive in the market.
Apple Inc. has a competitive advantage in the slow cycle market
because its brand name shields it in the competitive advantage

and makes it very difficult to imitate. With difficulty in
imitation, the company enjoys customer confidence and the
market for it will greatly increase without being negatively
influenced at all. The features which were incorporated first in
the manufacture of Apple phones made it remain competitive in
the market (Evans, 2017). When Samsung tried to imitate the
same features in its products, it strongly backfired and made the
company lose court cases giving Apple much advantage over it.
The quality of products produced by Apple maintained their
name and protected the company image from imitation.
In the fast cycle market, Samsung can have a bit of advantage
compared to Apple Inc. this is because, in the process of
producing quality technology to solve a particular product,
customers in the very volatile market segment can shift their
loyalty to the company that gives them what they need at that
particular time. In the short term, Samsung can benefit from the
volatile market environment but in the long run, it will be
overpowered by Apple Inc. the fast cycle markets deal with
unprotected technology, and because Samsung is more
aggressive in the technology updates, it will do very in the short
term for fast cycle markets (Miranda, & Rey, 2015). The idea of
imitating and coming up with a technology to best suit the days
need, Samsung will benefit more in the competition.
References
Evans, D. S. (2017) why the Dynamics of Competition for
Online Platforms Leads to Sleepless Nights but Not Sleepy
Monopolies.
Khan, U. A., Alam, M. N., & Alam, S. (2015). A critical
analysis of the internal and external environment of Apple Inc.
International Journal of Economics, Commerce and
Management, 3(6), 955-961.

Miranda-Agrippina, S., & Rey, H. (2015). World asset markets
and the global financial cycle (No. w21722). National Bureau of
Economic Research.
Piao, M., & Kleiner, B. (2015). Excellence in the Electronics
Industry: The Comparison of the Organizational Culture among
Apple Inc., Samsung Electronics and Google Inc. Conflict
Resolution & Negotiation Journal, 2015(1).
References
Hitt, M. A., Ireland, R. D., & Hoskisson, R. E. (2013). Strategic
management: Concepts and cases: Competiveness and
globalization (10th ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage
Learning.
Use at least three (3) quality references, one of which should be
the course textbook.
Note: Wikipedia and other Websites do not quality as academic
resources.
Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:
List your reference here in APA format. The reference page
must include all of the references you used, listed in proper
APA format. All references listed here must be used (cited) in
your paper. After deleting the blue fonts in this template, make
sure your original writing is turned to a black font.
APA formatting:
http://www.easybib.com/guides/students/writing-guide/iv-
write/a-formatting/apa-paper-formatting/
Note: You will be graded on the quality of your answers, the
logic/organization of the report, your language skills, and your
writing skills.

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this
assignment are:
Identify how the six segments of the general environment affect
an industry and its firms.
Identify the five forces of competition.
Analyze the external environment for opportunities and threats
that impact the firm.
Analyze the internal environment of a company for strengths
and weaknesses that impact the firm's competitiveness.
Use technology and information resources to research issues in
business administration.
Write clearly and concisely about business administration using
proper writing mechanics.
NOTE: Strayer uses SafeAssign – an automated plagiarism
checker. It is advised that you do your own writing and use
external resources (other websites) to support what you have
written in your own words.
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WEEK 6 ASSIGMENT 2
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Week 6 Assignment 2
Sherri Coleman

Strayer University
Dr. Keller
November 10, 2018
Week 6 Assignment 2
The success Apple has had over the years is primarily based on
the company’s ability to use its strengths to overcome its threats
and weakness. Apple’s strong brand image remains the
organization’s strongest threat that has kept it moving through
the years (Nwogugu, 2015). Secondly, the rapid innovation
process and a consistently high-profit margin are also strengths
of the organization. On the other hand, Apple’s biggest
weaknesses include the high prices of their commodities, small
distribution network and excess dependence on high-end
markets for their goods.
General Environment
One segment of Apple environment that affect the company
most is technology. Technological changes happen on a daily
bases in the industry where Apple operates. With globalization,
technology innovation is even faster due to resource sharing and
product improvement. Apple and other companies in the
industry must adjust effectively by adopting new technology as
it emerges for them to remain relevant (Payne, 2017). Apple can
only remain effective and profitable if it offers unique advanced
technology products in the market.
Another significant element in the Apple environment is politics
and legal sector. With advancement in technology and

increasing threats to the government, there is a rise in the need
for regulation to control the technology industry (Nwogugu,
2015). New laws are made concerning such issues as privacy,
artificial intelligence, and cybercrime. These affect Apple and
other organization in the technology sector making them keep
vigilant of any changes in this segment of the environment.
Five Forces of Competition
Forces of Competition
Item 1
The most important sources of competition for Apple today is
Samsung. The South Korea based company has demonstrated the
capacity to provide Apple with the competition. This company
has given competitive smartphones in the market that are likely
to outdo iPhones. Further, the growth of the company has
denied Apple markets in Africa Asia and South America even
among high-end users of smart gadgets (Payne, 2017).
Secondly, Google is a chief competitor for Apple on multiple
fronts all over the world. One area where Google has seen
Apple’s market shrink was through the unveiling by Motorola,
its subsidiary, of Moto X that has given ample competition to
Apple’s iPhone. At the software front, Google’s Google Drive
cloud service is a significant competitor for iCloud. Google also
unveiled its wearable technology products before Apple (Payne,
2017). Moreover, Google products are affordable and
diversified to target both high and low-end markets.
Item 2
Addressing the Forces
Apple is set to face a great deal of competition from both
Google and Samsung as they encroach its market while still

holding their ground. Differentiation has been Apple primary
method of dealing with competition. Differentiation involves
setting apart the quality of a company from other regardless of
the impact this has on price (D. Banker, Mashruwala &
Tripathy, 2014). By providing quality products, Apple can be
able to maintain its market in the high-end market. The
companies should use it brand quality to create differentiated
models of products acceptable to the existing market.
Differentiation should also be through quality customer service.
Secondly, there is a need for an adjustment of business at Apple
to include a new line of low priced products. This strategy is
meant for the acquisition of new market segments for the
organization that takes into account low-end users of
technology products. This will improve the company’s market
share in the midst of competition.
Evaluation
Future Improvements
The company’s policy of exclusivity creates these three
challenges which turn out to be weaknesses for the company
(Payne, 2017). Also, the strong control of product distribution
contributes to the limited nature of the company’s distribution
network. To overcome the limitation, Apple needs to expand its
distribution network by reducing their control of the
distribution process to allow more distributors to participate.
Also, the company can reduce the focus of the high-end market
which is composed of the minority by developing new product
lines that are affordable to low and middle-end markets. The
multinational will use its strong organization brand to market
their products in among low-end consumers.
External Threats
China is the greatest threat to Apple today and in the near
future. The country presents a challenge to Apple in both the

Market and the capacity to produce. While China is the
production center for Apple products, Android use in
Smartphones still dominates the country with more than 1.4
billion people. Moreover, the government has even pledged to
create its own processor for smartphones to eliminate Apple and
Android (Grimes & Sun, 2016). For this reason, Apple CEO has
paid a number of unsuccessful visit to China in a bid to promote
products. Also, Apple’s engagement with Chinese
manufacturers who exploit workers by giving poor working
conditions has tainted the Tech giant’s name. With
documentaries showing how Apple makers suffer through harsh
conditions to make products, many consumers all over the world
feel a tinge of betrayal and loss of ethics in using Apple
products (Grimes & Sun, 2016). Unless Apple can show efforts
to improve the problems of Chinese workers in manufacturing
the high-end products, there will never be a good reception of
these gadgets among highly ethical society. If more
documentaries are produced showing the harsh realities of
making Apple products, the company is bound to lose big in
terms of market share, revenue, and possible legal suits.
Threats and Opportunities
Strengths and Weaknesses
Strategy
The success Apple has had over the years is primarily based on
the company’s ability to use its strengths to overcome its threats
and weakness. Apple’s strong brand image remains the
organization’s strongest threat that has kept it moving through
the years (Nwogugu, 2015). Secondly, the rapid innovation
process and a consistently high-profit margin are also strengths
of the organization. On the other hand, Apple’s biggest
weaknesses include the high prices of their commodities, small
distribution network and excess dependence on high-end

markets for their goods.
The company’s policy of exclusivity creates these three
challenges which turn out to be weaknesses for the company
(Payne, 2017). Also, the strong control of product distribution
contributes to the limited nature of the company’s distribution
network. To overcome the limitation, Apple needs to expand its
distribution network by reducing their control of the
distribution process to allow more distributors to participate.
Also, the company can reduce the focus of the high-end market
which is composed of the minority by developing new product
lines that are affordable to low and middle-end markets. The
multinational will use its strong organization brand to market
their products in among low-end consumers.
Resources, Capabilities, and Core Competencies
The most important tangible resources at Apple have been the
organization’s workforce starting from the CEO to other
members of the Apple working community (Payne, 2017). These
resources have ensured the continuity of a culture of innovation
at the company. The organization’s financial resources which
are more than a trillion dollar is also a valuable tangible
resource for Apple. For this, Apple is the most valuable
publicly traded company in the world. Finally, physical
resources including more than 350 retail stores stationed all
across the world are important tangible resources for Apple
(Nwogugu, 2015).
The most important intangible resource at Apple is the influence
the company received from one of its founder, Steve Jobs. The
innovative, managerial and other capabilities of Jobs have
steered the company to great lengths. The experience at the
retail stores at Apple is also an intangible resource that has
customers line for Apple products (Rubenstein & Schubert,

2017). Apple’s brand and quality reputation also stand out as a
critical resource.
The ability of the company to develop products needed by the
customer is a critical capability of Apple. Apple integrates all
the companies’ aspects including research, marketing,
advertising, and development is a way no other company does.
This unique features such as App store acting as a revenue-
generating product and marketing tool is a capability for Apple.
There are three notable core competencies at Apple (Rubenstein
& Schubert, 2017). These include quality customer service at
Apple stores and online, quality of product design and the
effective hardware/software integration.
Value Chain
Greatest Opportunity
Technology innovation remains Apple most important threat
which promises to drive the company through the next phase of
growth. As an organization with a strong base for the
development of new technology, Apple could use the future
predicted growth in technology for its advantage. (Amankwah-
Amoah & Durugbo, 2016)predicts that technology use is bound
to grow in both a number of users and number of products.
First, Apple could move into media and computer spaces that it
has not served adequately. The most successful company is one
that will provide a multitude of services under one roof or brand
in the near future (Bernal‐Conesa, de Nieves Nieto &
Briones‐Peñalver, 2017). The new version of Apple TV and
other measures will allow Apple to take advantage of the high
development in the Web.
References
Amankwah-Amoah, J., & Durugbo, C. (2016). The rise and fall

of technology companies: The evolutional phase model of ST-
Ericsson's dissolution. Technological Forecasting and Social
Change, 102, 21-33.
Bernal‐Conesa, J. A., de Nieves Nieto, C., & Briones‐Peñalver,
A. J. (2017). CSR strategy in technology companies: its
influence on performance, competitiveness and
sustainability. Corporate Social Responsibility and
Environmental Management, 24(2), 96-107.
D. Banker, R., Mashruwala, R., & Tripathy, A. (2014). Does a
differentiation strategy lead to more sustainable financial
performance than a cost leadership strategy?. Management
Decision, 52(5), 872-896.
Grimes, S., & Sun, Y. (2016). China’s evolving role in Apple’s
global value chain. Area Development and Policy, 1(1), 94-112.
Nwogugu, M. C. (2015). The Case of Apple, Inc., and Fintech:
Managerial Psychology, Corporate Governance, and Business
Processes.
Payne, B. (2017). Brand Positioning and its Usefulness for
Brand Management: the Case of Apple Inc. Newcastle Business
School Student Journal, 1(1), 51-57.
Rubenstein, C. D., & Schubert, C. F. (2017). Student and
faculty perceptions of iPad integration in a prelicensure
program. Nurse Educator, 42(2), 85-90.
1
WEEK 3 ASSIGMENT 1
4

Week 3 Assignment 1
Sherri Coleman
Strayer University
Dr. Keller
October 24, 2018
Week 3 Assignment 1
Apple, a technology-based corporation, is America’s largest
publicly traded company with a net worth of more than a trillion
US dollar. Headquartered in Cupertino, California, has
diversified its line of products and operation to include the
design, development, and marketing of online services,
computer software, and consumer based electronics. The
company is known for its quality brands such as the iPhone,
iPod, and iPad that has attracted millions of loyal customers
who are willing to use the extra money for them. However,
despite being a leader in the technology industry, Apple has
been affected severally by globalization and technology
advancement.
Globalization
One of the most important effects of globalization is increased
market for large organizations. Globalization has opened doors
for Apple to trade all over the world. Apple products include
iPhone, IPad and Mac book, are known and bought in Africa,
Europe, South America, China and all over the world. This
increase in the market causes an increase in revenue for Apple
(Rowland 2018). Another important consequence of

globalization is increased competition. Globalization causes
increased competition not only for the market but also the raw
material for the organization’s operations (Intriligator, 2017).
While globalization increases the base of operation and market
for an organization, it also brings multinational organizations
from other countries. With the entry of large technology
organization from Asia and Europe in the American market has
increased the competition for Apple and other American
companies in the industry. Among the organizations that have
given Apple stiff competition include Lenovo, Samsung, Dell
and Sony from Asia and Europe.
Technology
Another important effect and apparently manifestation of
globalization is the exchange of technology. Exchange of
technology goes hand-in-hand with globalization where new
technologies are exploited by firms with an international and
entrepreneurial orientation to seek business opportunities. The
use of technology drives competition where to stay in business,
organizations must stay updated with current technological
innovation. Apple has been on the forefront in the race for
technology in mobile phone and software development
(Rowland, 2018). This is caused by pressure from rival
international organizations such as Microsoft, Samsung,
Google, and Sony. There is also an exchange of knowledge and
technology with the use of technology in the globalized world.
There is a lot of knowledge and information sharing between
Apple and other organizations such as Facebook and that
facilitate operations in the collaborating organizations.
Globalization and technology have also allowed Apple to extend
its operations in a bid to increase net income. Apple outsources
the manufacturing to organizations in China where the cost of
labor is low hence allowing them to reduce the cost of
production. This increases Apple’s revenue and boosts its
profitability.

Industrial-Based Model
The Apple brand is a potentially useful resource for the
organization that differentiates it from other comedogenic
products from such other suppliers as HP, Samsung, and Dell.
Unlike other brands in the technology industry, the Apple brand
is known for quality. The Apple brand creates a distinctive
image built in the charisma of its founder and has been key to
the survival of the brand. To nature the Apple brand, there is a
need to market its products to all market segments. While Apple
products are known and embraced in developed countries, their
usage is low in developing nations (Raphaël & Pak, 2018).
Marketing is needed for these low-end users to get hooked into
the Apple touch. The culture of innovation and embracing
change is unique with Apple as seen is the ability of the
company to bring into the market a new phone each year. The
innovation culture has been developed and is entrenched in
every activity carried by the company. Nurturing and
developing this culture requires the adoption of a technology
philosophy and attracting new talents.
Resource-Based Model
The resource-based model is used by managers to determine the
resources strategic to an organization that could be exploited to
achieve a competitive advantage. To achieve a sustainable
competitive advantage, an organization must exploit its internal
resources relative to external opportunities (Westerlund et al.,
2017). This requires a three-step process that involves first the
identification of the key resources that could potentially uplift
the firm. These resources must be valuable, rare, non-
substitutable and imperfectly imitable (Raphaël & Pak, 2018).
Then, these resources are nurtured and protected. Among
Apple’s most useful potential resources include the company
brand, culture of innovation and embracing change and strong

bargaining power.
Vision
Just like its mission, Apple’s vision statement is quite detailed
and elaborate than other companies. The vision statement states,
‘We believe that we are on the face of the earth to make great
products and that not changing. We are constantly focusing on
innovating. We believe in the simple, not the complex. We
believe that we need to own and control the primary
technologies behind the products that we make, and we
participate only in markets where we can make a significant
contribution. We believe in saying no to thousands of projects
so that we can really focus on the few that are truly important
and meaningful ones to us. We believe in deep collaboration
and cross-pollination of our groups, which allow us to
innovate….’ (Rowland 2018). This statement allows Apple to
focus on the innovation of products and fine-tuning production
to make high-quality products. Apple focuses on collaboration
with like-minded organizations to offer innovative products that
stand out in the market. This has made the company to increase
its grip in the technology industry despite the many
competitors.
Mission
Apple’s mission statement is quite long but it relies on its main
reason for existence. It states, ‘Apple designs Macs, the best
personal computers in the world, along with OSX, iLife, iWork
and other professional software. Apple leads the digital music
revolution with iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has
reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and
App store and is defining the future of mobile media and
computing devices with iPad’ (Rowland, 2018). From this
mission statement, the company sees itself as a tool for human

advancement. This mission comes from the founding father,
Steve Job who looked forward to making tools that would help
the humankind to develop. This has contributed to the high
quality of Apple brand and the consequent attraction of loyal
consumers which has seen the company make progressive
revenue improvements. Attention to making human life better
and the consequent high-quality products it develops has made
apple stand out among other companies, grow its market and
grow its revenue over the years.
Apple owns its success to the many different stakeholders who
have contributed to the business in different ways. One group of
a shareholder to the Apple success is the customers. Apple has a
wide network of loyal customers who are keen to buy their
products. These contribute to the revenues that keep the
organization in business. The next group is the employees who
work on development, management production and other
operations in the company. These produce high-quality products
and service that are competitive in the market. The next
stakeholder group includes suppliers and collaborating
organizations where Apple outsource services. Organizations
from China have been instrumental in Apple’s success as they
provide cheap labor hence allowing apple to maximize its
profits. The last important stakeholder’s to Apple’s success are
investors who provide capital to the company hence allowing its
continued operations. Other important stakeholders include the
government which gives an enabling environment, the
community which overtly supports the organization and the
media that provides a platform for the marketing of Apple
products.
References
Intriligator, M. (2017). Globalisation of the World Economy:
Potential Beneﬁts and Costs and a Net Assessment.
In Economics of Globalisation (pp. 85-94). Routledge.

Raphaël, S. H. L., & Pak, M. (2018). Pro-competitive effects of
globalisation on prices, productivity and markups: Evidence in
the Euro Area.
Rowland C.(2018). Apple Inc.’s Mission Statement and Vission
Statement. Panmore Institute
Westerlund, M., Isabelle, D. A., Rajala, R., & Leminen, S.
(2017). Networks, business models, and competitiveness in
small Finnish firms. International Journal of Business and
Globalisation, 18(1), 9-26.
How to Use This Template
Each slide needed in your submission is provided in this
template.
Do not add slides
Do not delete slides (except the “How to Use This Template”
slide)
Replace the “blue” font on each slide with your presentation
content
Change all font to black
Use bullet points on the slides
Do not type every word you plan to say on the slide
Enter the text/transcript of your talk in the speaker notes section
The speaker notes section is the gray area below each slide
Do not enter your speaker notes in comment boxes
Do not include audio or video clips
Delete this slide before submitting your assignment

Notes: This is the speaker notes section of the PowerPoint
presentation.
Do Not type every word you plan to say on the slide.
Everything you would say if you were giving a live presentation
should be provided in text form in the speaker notes section of
each slide.
1
BUS499 Captone
Assignment 4
Insert Student’s Name Here
Insert what you would said to introduce yourself to your
executive audience and tell them what you are going to cover in
your presentation
Do Not type every word you plan to say on the slide. Use bullet
points only.
Everything you would say if you were giving a live presentation
should be provided in text form in the speaker notes section of
each slide.
2

Firm’s Name
Overview
Industry
insert a bullet or two on the firm’s industry
Background
insert a bullet or two on the firm’s background
Competitors
insert a bullet or two on the firm’s competitors
Insert exactly what you would say to your executive audience to
describe each bullet point on this slide
3
SWOT Analysis
Strengths
Insert bullet describing the 1st strength
Insert bullet describing the 2nd strength
Weakness
Insert bullet describing the 1st weakness
Insert bullet describing the 2nd weakness
Opportunity
Insert bullet describing the 1st opportunity
Insert bullet describing the 2nd opportunity
Threat
Insert bullet describing the 1st threat
Insert bullet describing the 2nd threat

You should thoroughly create a SWOT analysis for the company
to determine its major strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and
threats
4
SWOT Analysis Strategy
Strengths and Opportunities
Insert a bullet describing the strategy to capitalize on strengths
and opportunities
Insert another bullet describing the strategy to capitalize on
strengths and opportunities
Weaknesses and Threats
Insert a bullet describing the strategy to minimize weaknesses
and threats
Insert another bullet describing the strategy to minimize
weaknesses and threats

You should thoroughly outline a strategy for the company to
capitalize on its strengths and opportunities, and minimize its
weaknesses and threats.
5
Competitive and Profitable Strategy
Competitiveness
1st bullet point of levels and types of strategies to maximize
competitiveness
2nd bullet point of levels and types of strategies to maximize
competitiveness
Profitability
1st bullet point of levels and types of strategies to maximize
profitability
2nd bullet point of levels and types of strategies to maximize
profitability
Your should thoroughly discuss the various levels and types of
strategies the firm may use to maximize its competitiveness and
profitability.
6
Communications Plan
Competitiveness Strategies
1st bullet point on the plan to communicate the competitiveness

strategies to stakeholders
2nd bullet point on the plan to communicate the competitiveness
Profitability Strategies
1st bullet point on the plan to communicate the profitability
2nd bullet point on the plan to communicate the profitability
You should thoroughly outline a communications plan the
company could use to make the strategies you recommended on
the previous slide known to all stakeholders.
7
Corporate Social Responsibility
Responsible (ethical) corporate citizen
1st bullet point on the assessment of efforts by the corporation
to be a responsible (ethical) corporate citizen – specific
example
2nd bullet point on the assessment of efforts by the corporation
to be a responsible (ethical) corporate citizen – specific
example
Impact of efforts on company’s bottom line
1st bullet point on the impact the efforts have on the company’s
bottom line – specific example
2nd bullet point on the impact the efforts have on the
company’s bottom line – specific example

You should thoroughly assess efforts by this corporation to be a
responsible (ethical) corporate citizen and thoroughly determine
the impact these efforts (or lack thereof) have on the company's
bottom line. Provide specific examples to support your
response.
8
References
Hitt, M. A., Ireland, R. D., & Hoskisson, R. E. (2013). Strategic
management: Concepts and cases: Competiveness and
globalization (10th ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage
Learning.
Insert second source
Insert third source
Insert any additional sources
You should use at least three (3) quality references, one of
which should be the course textbook. Wikipedia and similar

websites do not quality as academic resources.
9

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