Career Research Report on Grant Thornton and Ernst & Young Prepared for Instructor Linguistics and Language Development Department University Prepared by Student Name University March 7, 2014 Table of Contents INTRODUCTION 3 MY CRITERIA 3 Company I: GRant Thornton, LLP 4 Background, Product and Service, Company relationships, and culture 4 SWOT Analysis 4 MY OPINION 5 Company II: Ernst & young (EY), LLP 6 Background, Product and Service, Company relationships, and culture 6 SWOT Analysis 6 MY OPINION 7 CONCLUSION 8 RECOMMENDATIONS 8 REFERENCES 9 INTRODUCTION As a Junior at San Jose State University, graduation is quickly approaching within the next coming year. At this point in time, every student begins to question what he or she is going to do when that date finally arrives. Being a business major with an emphasis on accounting, my career opportunities are endless. Accountants are needed in all facets of business whether I would be working for the public or private sector. Through this report, I have selected to compare two multinational private accounting firms; Grant Thornton and Ernst & Young. To complete these comparisons, I have collected information from various online sources such as company websites, SJSU databases, as well as databases from the University Library. Material gathered from these sources covered a wide range of topics including background, culture, services available, and each firm’s relationship among all business aspects concerning customer and competitor relations. Based on the data compiled and my personal criteria, I assembled advantages and disadvantages of each firm. After an assessment of these findings and reports like SWOT analysis I have decided that both, Grant Thornton and Ernst & Young, are the ideal companies for my future career. MY CRITERIA When deciding on major career decisions, such as choosing an employer, it is imperative for that employer to embody several features that meet your professional and personal preferences. One preference included in my criteria for an ideal company, is growth. Company growth and individual growth are two very important characteristics a company should encourage. Rather than simply growing in size, a company should also promote growth through product expansion and philosophy. As the company adapts to market and consumer needs, it avoids becoming obsolete and therefore gains an edge on its competitors. From a personal perspective, it is essential for the company to have an opportunity for the employee to grow with them as well. This creates a trusting relationship between employer and employee because it supports a commitment to encourage an individual’s need for change. Secondly, a company should demonstrate a functional and positive working relationship with clients, suppliers, and employees. Establishing and maintaining a positive environment for everyone involved is key to the company’s success. Satisfied clients are more likely to ret ...

1. Career Research Report on
Grant Thornton and Ernst & Young
Prepared for
Instructor
Linguistics and Language Development Department
University
Prepared by
Student Name
University
March 7, 2014
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION 3
MY CRITERIA 3
Company I: GRant Thornton, LLP 4
Background, Product and Service, Company relationships, and
culture 4
SWOT Analysis 4

2. MY OPINION 5
Company II: Ernst & young (EY), LLP 6
Background, Product and Service, Company relationships, and
culture 6
SWOT Analysis 6
MY OPINION 7
CONCLUSION 8
RECOMMENDATIONS 8
REFERENCES 9
INTRODUCTION
As a Junior at San Jose State University, graduation is quickly
approaching within the next coming year. At this point in time,
every student begins to question what he or she is going to do
when that date finally arrives. Being a business major with an
emphasis on accounting, my career opportunities are endless.
Accountants are needed in all facets of business whether I
would be working for the public or private sector.
Through this report, I have selected to compare two
multinational private accounting firms; Grant Thornton and
Ernst & Young. To complete these comparisons, I have
collected information from various online sources such as
company websites, SJSU databases, as well as databases from
the University Library. Material gathered from these sources
covered a wide range of topics including background, culture,
services available, and each firm’s relationship among all
business aspects concerning customer and competitor relations.
Based on the data compiled and my personal criteria, I
assembled advantages and disadvantages of each firm. After an
assessment of these findings and reports like SWOT analysis I
have decided that both, Grant Thornton and Ernst & Young, are
the ideal companies for my future career.
MY CRITERIA
When deciding on major career decisions, such as choosing an

3. employer, it is imperative for that employer to embody several
features that meet your professional and personal preferences.
One preference included in my criteria for an ideal company, is
growth. Company growth and individual growth are two very
important characteristics a company should encourage. Rather
than simply growing in size, a company should also promote
growth through product expansion and philosophy. As the
company adapts to market and consumer needs, it avoids
becoming obsolete and therefore gains an edge on its
competitors. From a personal perspective, it is essential for the
company to have an opportunity for the employee to grow with
them as well. This creates a trusting relationship between
employer and employee because it supports a commitment to
encourage an individual’s need for change.
Secondly, a company should demonstrate a functional and
positive working relationship with clients, suppliers, and
employees. Establishing and maintaining a positive
environment for everyone involved is key to the company’s
success. Satisfied clients are more likely to return for more
business and will often help the company gain new clients by
giving good reviews. Maintaining good relationships with
suppliers is also important because it will allow internal and
external operations to flow more smoothly. Moreover,
employers should focus on sustaining relationships with their
employees. After all, a company’s success lies within the
dedication and hard work of its employees. To show their
appreciation, companies should offer benefits like health and
dental insurance on top of employees’ salaries and bonuses.
The last important characteristic is a company’s location. I
would prefer to work in a location within or close to a large
city, rather than in a rural area. Additionally, a company that
has multiple locations gives an employee the chance to travel
and experience different aspects within the organization around
the world. More locations can also offer extra job security by
giving employees the option of relocating.
Company I: Grant Thornton, LLP

4. Background, Product and Service, Company Relationships, and
Culture
In 1986, Alexander Grant & Co. and Thornton Baker initiated a
merger known currently as Grant Thornton (Grant Thornton,
n.d.). Today, Grant Thornton has become one of the leading
second-tier accounting firms in the United States. As a global
organization positioned in seven states and nearly 35 nations,
Grant Thornton employs over 35,000 people who provide
service to clients in over 100 countries. Much of Grant
Thornton’s reported revenue growth is due do to international
businesses, yet it strives to find larger clients like the Fortune
500 (Grant Thornton LLP, 2014). To maintain growing success
and distinguishing itself from competitors, Grant Thornton
exemplifies global values in “collaboration, leadership,
excellence, agility, respect, and responsibility” (Grant
Thornton, n.d.). These values guide the firm in offering
insightful, forward thinking advice to dynamic organizations
(EMPLOYER PROFILE: Grant Thornton, n.d.). Through
accounting, tax preparation, independent audit, and consulting
services Grant Thornton’s clients will be able to make effective
business decisions and realize their potential growth.
Grant Thornton prides itself in providing a friendly and
supportive culture for its personnel. As such, there are endless
opportunities for career advancement and professional growth.
The workforce is diverse, intelligent, and well compensated
through participation in 401(k) and a flexible work environment
that offers individual enrichment in a team setting. In addition,
it is not uncommon for personnel to work directly with clients
and senior management very early in their careers. Grant
Thornton is committed in offering ongoing opportunities for
professional and personal growth, but places emphasis on
creating a healthy balance between the two (EMPLOYER
PROFILE: Grant Thornton, n.d.).
SWOT Analysis
Grant Thornton’s strengths lie within its diversified
geographical presence, wide selection of services, and a strong

5. presence in Asia Pacific. The company reports stable profits
across 100 countries with networks of 121 interdependent firms
and 30 international business centers (COMPANY PROFILE:
Grant Thornton, 2013, p.5). Global presence combined with
steady profits allow the organization to attract a broader scope
of clients and reduce risks due to its strong global image. Grant
Thornton’s variety of services also attracts numerous clients
through assurance, advisory, tax, audit, financial management,
IT, and performance management services. A large range of
services allows the firm to provide cross selling opportunities in
new and present-day markets. Moreover, Grant Thornton’s
recent growth in Asia Pacific has generated an increase in
revenue of $399 million in FY 2010 to $579 million in FY 2012.
This caused an increase in the company’s overall revenue by
10.4% in FY 2012 compared to the previous year (COMPANY
PROFILE: Grant Thornton, 2013, p.5).
The organization’s largest and most apparent weakness is its
size compared to competitors. As a result, it is nearly
impossible for Grant Thornton to compete with larger
accounting and advisory firms like the Big Four. For instance,
in FY 2012 Grant Thornton generated $4,182 million with an
estimated 35,000 employees compared to Deloitte Touche
Tohmatsu, one of the Big Four firms, who reported $31,300
million with over 193,000 employees (COMPANY PROFILE:
Grant Thornton, 2013, p.5). This places the firm at risk of
potential acquisition by larger firms carrying more financial
muscle.
Along with Grant Thornton’s strengths and weaknesses, the firm
also has opportunities for expanding into new and existing
markets and rapidly growing in these emerging markets. In
recent years, Grant Thornton has placed its focus on industry
target markets. In July 2012 Grant Thornton appointed new
members in Hati and acquired FPA Group, a Poland provider of
outsourcing services. In October 2012, new member firms were
appointed in Africa and Dominican Republic. The company also
formed new member firms from existing firms in Armenia,

6. Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan (COMPANY PROFILE: Grant
Thornton, 2013, p.6). Development in these new markets will
provide an opportunity for additional customer base and a future
increase in revenues.
Intense competition, increasing regulation in government
contracting, and a weak global economic outlook threaten Grant
Thornton’s success. Grant Thornton operates in a highly
competitive environment that is growing rapidly in additional
competitors. This intense competition could wear down the
firm’s market share and reduce profitability. The company is
also exposed to risks regarding government contracting entities.
Changes in government and political developments such as
budget deficits and uncertainties, can cause price reductions in
the firm’s services or termination all together. Another threat
to Grant Thornton is the recent turmoil of the global economy.
Global growth dropped to 3% in 2012 and dropped even further
to 1.2% in 2013. Weak global economic growth coupled with
economic and political uncertainties could potentially reduce
the demand for services offered at Grant Thornton (COMPANY
PROFILE: Grant Thornton, 2013, p.7).
MY OPINION
I like how Grant Thornton places importance on creating a great
working environment for their employees. The firm offers an
environment for employees to grow and develop their careers,
while encouraging the importance of balancing your
professional and personal life. Grant Thornton appears to truly
care for their personnel’s wellbeing and strives to create
meaningful bonds with each individual on a comforting and
appreciative basis. I also like the abundance of locations Grant
Thornton occupies. Having the opportunity to travel the world
and experience different cultures through my career would be a
dream come true. Although it appears to be one of Grant
Thornton’s biggest weaknesses, I appreciate that the company is
relatively smaller than its competitors because I feel it gives
them more flexibility. Larger companies take much more time to
incorporate major changes to the organization, whereas with a

7. smaller company this process can happen much more quickly.
One disadvantage of being significantly smaller than your
competitors is the stability of the company. Job stability is very
important to me and Grant Thornton’s significantly smaller size
could result in a possible merger initiated by one of the larger,
Big Four advisory firms.
Company II: Ernst & Young (EY), LLP
Background, Product and Service, Company Relationships, &
Culture
Formed in 1989, Ernst & Young quickly became one of the
leading organizations in rapid globalization, continuous change,
and innovative business technologies (Ernst & Young, n.d.).
Ernst & Young is a professional consulting firm presenting a
diverse collection of services to public and private
organizations from locations around the world. Reported as the
world’s second largest accounting firm, Ernst & Young employs
144,000 people in 140 countries offering assurance, tax,
transactions, and advisory services (Ernst & Young, 2014). The
firm stresses the importance of “building a better world”
through the success of employees and clients. This philosophy
has accompanied the firm through its accomplishments,
eventually landing an elite position as one of the Big Four
accounting firms rivaling KPMG, PwC, and Deloitte Touche
Tohmatsu. Ernst & Young values “people with integrity,
respect, and teaming; people with energy, enthusiasm, and
courage to lead; and people who build relationships based on
doing the right thing” (Ernst & Young, n.d.). These are the
values that guide the company in assisting clients with
important business decisions.
Continuously recognized in Fortune magazine’s list of “100
Best Companies to Work For”, Ernst & Young has developed a
topnotch working environment that encourages employees to
achieve both personal and professional success (EMPLOYER
PROFILE: Ernst & Young, n.d.). The globally diverse culture
is rich in experience, skills, and leadership. Ernst & Young

8. defines its culture in three words: Inclusiveness, Development,
and Engagement. The firm gives employees the opportunity to
learn, contribute in a strong team environment, demonstrate
leadership, and participate on projects that are of global scale
(Ernst & Young, n.d). Thus, the company strives to create
strong bonds with clients by creating lasting connections with
employees.
SWOT Analysis
Ernst & Young benefits from strengths in integrated global
business and advisory services. Ernst & Young’s global
positioning has allowed the company to strengthen its ability to
serve clients throughout the world. The firm’s ability to avoid
the effects of globalization has allowed it to help clients in
emerging markets expand in existing markets and help them
understand the challenges of operating in those markets. For
example, Ernst & Young finalized a China-Africa tax desk
specifically for Chinese clients wanting to expand to Africa.
Ernst & Young also holds the title as one of the Big Four global
companies offering a variety of services. As such, the
company’s revenues are distinguished between business lines
and geographies. Due to this diverse structure, the company has
the ability to cater to large audiences and increase revenues by
cross selling its services to clients. This in turn reduces Ernst
& Young’s vulnerability to specific market related risks and
establishes a competitive advantage over smaller competitors in
the industry (Ernst & Young Global Limited SWOT Analysis,
2013, pp.4-5).
Ernst & Young’s only real weakness is disguised in one of its
largest strengths. The organization’s large scale holds
numerous benefits, but also creates risks through its
susceptibility to public scrutiny. Due to its powerful position in
markets, Ernst & Young has a long list of lawsuits tarnishing its
reputation and causing the firm large cash outflows. The
company’s past lawsuits have exposed the firm to large
contingent liabilities. These lawsuits also brought forth the fact
that Ernst & Young has little control over its many auditing

9. firms and members. The organization runs a high risk with its
affiliation to numerous entities. The actions of those firms can
ultimately ruin Ernst & Young’s reputation as an honest and
trustworthy company. If an abundance of legal issues persist,
clients’ confidence in the company will decrease causing a
potential drop in cash flows (Ernst & Young Global Limited
SWOT Analysis, 2013, pp.5-6).
Ernst & Young empowers its opportunities through complex tax
laws that enhance the demand for tax professionals. As tax
laws continue to grow more complex with each coming year, the
amount of people needing tax consulting services will increase.
According to industry estimates, the complexity of tax laws are
causing businesses and individuals to spend over six billion
hours a year complying with new requirements. Consequently,
this estimated that 90% of filers will feel obligated to pay for
tax related services within years to come. As these trends
continue to become ever more promising, Ernst & Young can
almost guarantee an increase to their topline (Ernst & Young
Global Limited SWOT Analysis, 2013, pp.6-7).
Paralleling Ernst & Young’s weakness, the size of the
organization also proposes potential threats. Due its expansive
public positioning, the firm faces pressure from public and
regulatory scrutiny. For example, the UK Competition
Commission, UKCC, accused the Big Four audit firms of
tampering with the alignment of shareholders interest. As a
result, the UKCC is expected to take legal action and break the
dominance of the Big Four accounting firms through new
market reforms. Similar courses of action may take place in the
United States as well. Ernst & Young’s dominance within
markets is at risk if these reforms pass. This would appear as
though the company can expect big changes to their share of
market (Ernst & Young Global Limited SWOT Analysis, 2013,
p.7).
MY OPINION
I like the idea that Ernst & Young can offer employees job
stability due to its dominance in the market. The firm’s size

10. and success promise future growth and an abundance of job
openings. I would enjoy working for a company that allows
their employees to grow both professionally and personally.
Ernst & Young achieves this by giving their employees ample
opportunities to move up within different levels of the
organization. Similarly to Grant Thornton, Ernst & Young also
offers the opportunity to travel owning multiple locations
around the world. I also appreciate that the firm strives to
better the world through its services. Working for a company
that makes you feel as though you are doing something
important, is essential to many individuals want to feel needed.
I believe Ernst & Young values their staff and strives to make
each employee feel as though they are irreplaceable. One
aspect I do not like is Ernst & Young’s questionable reputation
with lawsuits. It is very important to me to work for a company
that I can feel proud of. If Ernst & Young continues on its path
towards more lawsuits, I would rather work for a company that
is less successful, but holds a higher level of reputability with
its clients.
CONCLUSION
Grant Thornton and Ernst & Young possess many of the same
characteristics. Both companies are nationally and
internationally based, offering an opportunity to travel to
different places around the world. These firms also appear to
value their employees in high respects through efforts to expand
their personnel’s professional careers while encouraging the
importance of their personal lives. Grant Thornton and Ernst &
Young offer their employees remarkable benefits on top of fair
salaries. Either company I chose to work for, would
compensate their employees well. However, Ernst & Young has
a bit more versatility due to its larger global position and
expansion rate. Due to this, they may be able to give their
employees better salaries, opportunities for career advancement,
and higher organizational stability.
Perhaps the only real difference between Grant Thornton

11. and Ernst &Young is the gap between company size and
financial muscle. Ernst &Young is obviously much larger and
more successful than Grant Thornton on almost all business
aspects, but sheer size isn’t enough to sway an advantage. Both
companies continue to propose satisfying job stability,
professional and personal growth, and encourage healthy
relationships with their employees. Due to the fact that the
differences between both organizations is irrelevant in terms of
my personal criteria, I would not be able to place one above the
other. For this reason, I would enjoy working for both Grant
Thornton and Ernst & Young.
RECOMMENDATIONS
To widen my opportunity of landing a job at Grant Thornton or
Ernst & Young, I will continue to succeed in school.
Maintaining a high GPA will make me more attractive to
recruiting managers. In addition, once I graduate I can further
my attractiveness to these firms by completing my CPA and
CMA. Networking is also a great way to gain competitive
advantages over other applicants. Often times getting a job
does not matter on what you know, but rather who you know.
Networking is an important tool, especially for business
students. A few ways to create networks is through clubs and
other students. Another way is by asking around and telling
people your objectives. You never know who may be tied to
someone who works for your desired employer. Lastly, I will
continue to research and apply for any and all internship
postings by Grant Thornton and Ernst & Young. Gaining
experience is a great way to stand out over your competitors. In
addition, these firms will occasionally host workshops for
students in accounting majors to attend and better acquaint
themselves with the firm. This would also assist me in gaining
experience, especially within the firms themselves. I look
forward to finding out what the future holds for me and will try
my hardest to meet these recommendations to ensure it is a
future with either Grant Thornton or Ernst & Young.

12. REFERENCES
COMPANY PROFILE: Grant Thornton International Ltd. SWOT
ANALYSIS. (2013). Grant Thornton International SWOT
Analysis, 1-7. Retrieved on February 28, 2014, from Business
Source Complete database.
EMPLOYER PROFILE: SpartaJobs. (n.d.). Grant Thornton,
LLP. Retrieved on March 7, 2014 from Career Center San Jose
State University database.
EMPLOYER PROFILE: SpartaJobs. (n.d). Ernst & Young, LLP.
Retrieved on March 7, 2014 from Career Center San Jose State
University database.
Ernst & Young Global Limited SWOT Analysis. (2013). Ernst &
Young International SWOT Analysis, 1-8. Retrieved on
February 28, 2014, from Business Source Complete database.
Ernst & Young LLP. (2014). Austin: Dun and Bradstreet, Inc.
Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com.libaccess.sjlibrary.org/docview/2306
07632?accountid=10361
Ernst & Young LLP. (n.d.). Ernst & Young LLP. Retrieved from
http://www.ey.com/US/en/About-us
Grant Thornton LLP. (2014). Austin: Dun and Bradstreet, Inc.
Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com.libaccess.sjlibrary.org/docview/2305
77743?accountid=10361
Grant Thornton LLP. (n.d.). Grant Thornton LLP. Retrieved
from http://www.grantthornton.com/about-us

13. 2
Career Research Report on
Apple Inc. and Google Inc.
Prepared for
Instructor
Linguistics and Language Development Department
San Jose State University
Prepared by
Student name
University

14. October 21, 2015
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………
……………… 3 MY
CRITERIA……………………………………………………………
………
COMPANY 1: APPLE
INC.………………………………………………………
BACKGROUND, PRODUCT AND SERVICE, COMPANY
RELATIONSHIPS, AND CULTURE…………
SWOT
ANALYSIS……………………………………………………………
………
MY
OPINION……………………………………………………………
…………..
COMPANY 2: GOOGLE
INC……………………………………………………
BACKGROUND, PRODUCT AND SERVICE, COMPANY
RELATIONSHIPS, AND CULTURE…………
SWOT
ANALYSIS……………………………………………………………
…………
MY
OPINION……………………………………………………………
……………..

15. CONCLUSION………………………………………………………
……………
RECOMMENDATIONS……………………………………………
…………….
REFERENCES………………………………………………………
……………
INTRODUCTION

16. As an international student who is going to enter his Optional
Practical Training (OPT) within a year, I would like to choose
the right company to start my career because last minute rush
can be very tiring and time consuming. In order to put my
career on the right path I must research well about companies I
am interested in working with.
This research narrows down to two high tech companies namely
Google and Apple. To complete these comparisons, I have
collected information from various online sources such as
company websites, SJSU and University Library databases, and
major magazines such as Forbes, Journal of accountancy and
Wall Street Journal.
After critically analyzing these two companies I should be able
to choose the appropriate one for me.
MY CRITERIA
Making a decision on the company to work for is influenced by
several factors. But before one can chose which company to
work for, everyone tends to take the opportunity that is readily
available. While still working for a certain company, the search
for an opportunity to work in a company you contemplate as an
ideal company continues.
One factor in my criteria for choosing an ideal company is the
work environment. The working environment that a company
provides to its employees determines to a greater extent the
level of productivity of its employees. A conducive working
environment is one which encourage employees to do quality
work by providing outstanding services and trusting the
employees. Such an environment would encourage employees to
go to work effortlessly while feeling happy.

17. Another factor in my criteria is the stability of the job and the
salary paid. A stable job will eliminate any fears suffered by
employees during work. In such a situation, employees do their
work comfortably and freely while enjoying their job.
Employees develop a positive drive for the company and thus
would be ready and willing to offer their best on behalf of the
company. A good salary encourages employees to do more work
so as to continue earning. This enables employees to grow
financially, physically and also property wise. The relationship
between the company and the employees becomes better and the
overall result is company growth.
The third factor is the reputation of the company business. A
noble reputation develops for a company that maintains its
industrial leadership. A company that has an influence in the
industry has a better reputation than a company that is not
consistent. A good reputation would also be as a result of high
annual sales and profits. A company with high annual turnover
will be able to settle its dues on time and pay its employees a
good salary. Such a company would also be able to provide
incentives to its employees and other stakeholders. The result of
such a company is growth and development of employees and
close relationship with its stakeholders.
CompanyI: Apple Inc.
Background, Product and Service, Company Relationship, &
Culture
The founding of Apple Inc. (Apple or the “company”) Dates
back to the year 1977, by co-founders Steven P. Jobs and Steven
Wozniak. The company brought into existence its first Apple I
computer a year before its incorporation. Like any other
company still in its initial stages, Apple Inc. began to
experience competition from the Personal Computer (PC)
market, and lack of success of its Apple III version computer

18. only added insult to injury. With multiple companies at the time
striving to create a name for them in the computer market, other
companies had manufactured relatively affordable clones of
computers and Microsoft had introduced the Windows 3.0 by
1990. These alone only worsened the competitive situation for
Apple Inc., which meant that change was necessary to evade
this. By the mid-1990s, Apple Inc. had incurred heavy losses
amounting to millions of dollars, prompting one of the co-
founders of the company, Steven P. Jobs, to occupy the position
of interim C.E.O. His efforts were mainly focused on doing
away with the company’s losses, and aiming towards realizing
more and more profits.
The partnership between Apple Inc. and Microsoft, its alliance
with Ericson and Sun Microsystems and the launch of the
iTunes music store are just but a few of the many great leaps
taken by this company that handles its current success
(COMPANY PROFILE: Apple Inc., 2015, p.8). From there, the
rest may be regarded as history as the company boasts of having
its operations in America, Asia Pacific, and Europe. The
company's main competitors are Google Inc., Dell Inc., and
Fujitsu Limited.
Apple Inc. is a designer of mobile communication devices and
operating systems (OS) to go with them. It also designs PCs,
televisions, portable music players and operating systems for
desktops. Upon designing these products, Apple Inc.
Manufactures them and sells them around the world. The
company also offers various services, such as the offering of
solutions to network matters and also offers applications as
well. Its ability to establish its own online and retail stores has
made it easier for Apple Inc.’s products and to be marketable.
The company also boasts of a unique ability to establish its
operating system software and hardware, something that not
many companies today can brag about being able to do
successfully (COMPANY PROFILE: Apple Inc., p.25). Apple

19. Inc. Server a high-value customer base, and has been successful
in exercising control over the experience of its consumers when
using their products and services. With the help of the
company’s sales force and third-party retailers and wholesalers,
the marketing of their products has been of great impact and has
helped in retaining a loyal customer base. Its consumers are
mainly education institutions, businesses of all sizes (both small
and mid-sized), enterprises and the government. The company
has successfully been recruiting and retaining a loyal, skilled
and competitive workforce, with the employee count being
about a hundred thousand. The management within this
workforce has acquired great experience that it has used when
running Apple Inc.
SWOT Analysis
Just like any other company, Apple Inc. has its strengths,
opportunities, weaknesses and threats. Its strengths lie in its
ability to establish and maintain a competitive advantage via
their successful vertical and horizontal integration and
impressive growth rates and cash flows. Vertical integration has
helped in maintaining a loyal customer base since it has made it
possible for Apple Inc. to have control over its customer’s
experiences with their products (COMPANY PROFILE: Apple
Inc., p.24). Another strength portrayed by this company is that
of maintaining high average selling prices (ASPs) within the
industry. This serves as strength since most of its competitors
have shown a diminishing nature in their pricing strategies for
their products and services. Its sole weakness, however, is its
relatively high dependence on the iPhone and iPad products. For
instance, these products had accounted for about three-quarters
of the company’s total revenue by the end of the 2014 financial
year. This serves as a risk since the failure of either of these
product lines in the market serves as a hindrance to the growth
of this company (COMPANY PROFILE: Apple Inc., p.24).
The company enjoys certain opportunities, especially those of

20. growth in the near future. Such opportunities are brought about
by Apple Pay, the expected growth in the smartphone market as
well as that of tablets and the increased use of the company’s
products in the enterprise markets. The company’s threats
include the possible impact that the reduction of smartphone
subsidies could have on Apple’s shipments, the negative impact
of their high pricing on their growth rate and the highly
challenging and competitive market the company is situated in.
My opinion
There are various facts about Apple Inc. that I find impressive.
One of these is the ability of this company to maintain a
significant growth, despite the fact that its products are highly
priced. Today, many people tend to be price sensitive, an
observation that seems not to have greatly impacted on the
company’s overall sales. It also fascinates me that Apple Inc.
has been able to maintain high average selling prices while most
of its competitors have instead displayed a declining nature in
their product pricing. I, however, feel that the company should
try and come up with an alternative that could eliminate its
weakness by reducing it's relatively high reliance on the iPad
and iPhone product lines.
Company II: Google Inc.
Background, Product and Service, Company Relationship, &
Culture
Sergey Bring and Larry Page founded Google Inc. in the year
1995. They met at Stanford University. By the year 1996, the
two had already built a search engine that was initially called
Backrub. The search engine used links in order to determine the
importance of the individual webpages.

21. In the year 2000, the first ten language versions were released
for Google.com (Google, 2015). They included French, Italian,
German, Swedish, Spanish, Finnish, Portuguese, Dutch,
Norwegian, Danish and Dutch. Today, the Google search is
available in more than a hundred and fifty languages and
Google News including more than five hundred thousand news
sources in seventy regional editions in various languages. The
company has packed great young lives and grown to serve
millions of people all around the globe.
Google Company provides a variety of products and services for
businesses and people (Schmidt & Rosenberg, 2014). With all
employed technologies; Google search, Chrome and Gmail, the
company’s goal is to ensure ease of finding any information
needed and get the required things done.
Google provide various tools to help all kinds of businesses to
succeed off and on the web. The programs form the backbone of
the company’s business. The advertising programs help
businesses to find customers, and also help publishers to make
money from their content. With products like Android and
Chrome, people make faster and simpler work online.
For Google Relationship, & Culture, the company is committed
to the open web, and thus it is involved in various development
projects to ensure that developers contribute to online
ecosystem and thus moving the web forward. The company has
various campuses and offices around the world. The offices are
designed for encouraging interactions between Google’s across
and within teams. Google allows its software engineers
intellectual capital in order to design their workstations or
desks (Google, 2015).
The company hires determined and smart people and usually
favors ability over the experience. Google strive to maintain an
open culture is usually associated with startups and feels
comfortable when sharing opinions and ideas.

22. SWOT ANALYSIS
A company SWOT analysis is an analysis about its Strengths,
Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. The Google Company
strengths come from its dominance in global search engine and
success in android mobile market (COMPANY
PROFILE,GOOGLE Inc. , 2015, p. 4). It has a leading
technology for its search engine, which greatly contributes to
the market share it has. This is achieved through upgrading its
search algorithms consistently. The development of Google
News on the Google search page back in 2001 was as a result of
the company giving major news outlets. The company search
engine is highly competitive in the market due to its accuracy
and improved features that outdo those of competitors. Google
search engine has the capability of image search, video search,
news stories and other information. One of the most competitive
features about Google search engine is the Google Instant. This
feature provides the user with results immediately they start
typing. Another feature that makes Google search stronger than
competitors is voice and native language search whereby users
can ask questions and listen to answers as they are spoken back.
The company’s strength is also portrayed by its capability to
configure with several devises and Apps for iOS, android,
browsers like Chrome for desktops and laptops. Google Search
engine dominance is measured at 71% of the global website
traffic and 90% of mobile search (COMPANY
PROFILE,GOOGLE Inc. , 2015, p. 5).
The success of Android in the mobile market has enhanced the
growth of Google Company. Android is a feature used on
smartphones whose demand has grown in recent years. The
capability of Android Operating System to be used by many
devices has enabled Google to beat most of its competitors in
the market. Android OS has been made more competitive due to
its partnership ownership by the Open Handset Alliance

23. companies. This makes it the preferred OS on a range of phones
that increases the competitive advantage of Google Company
(COMPANY PROFILE,GOOGLE Inc. , 2015, p. 5).
Google Company weaknesses lie within its excessive
dependence on advertising and limited success of its social
networks. A major part of the company’s revenue is from
advertisements. The cyclical advertising pattern of the
advertisers has some negative impact. Another factor that can
have a material negative effect to the company is the adverse
macroeconomic conditions, which can reduce demand for
advertising. The limited success of the company social networks
like Pyra Labs, Orkut, Google Wave service and Google+ is a
competitive disadvantage compared to its competitors
(COMPANY PROFILE,GOOGLE Inc. , 2015, p. 6).
Google Company Opportunities lie within the positive outlook
for the market of smartphones and tablets, display and mobile
ad spend and growing online video consumption. Smartphones
and tablets market is still growing at a strong pace, which
increases the company’s opportunity for market growth. The
mobile advertising space is also growing at a tremendous pace,
which is a prominent growing opportunity for the company.
Demand for online video viewing is also rising at a forceful
pace. This is through the growth of You Tube demand, which
support video uploading and sharing online.
The company’s threats can be seen from the intense competition
and intellectual property infringement claims. Competition
comes from introduction of new products, shifting user demands
and changing technologies from companies seeking to connect
people with web information and provide relevant advertising
services. Technology has become disruptive while mobile
markets have become more competitive for mobile OS
(COMPANY PROFILE,GOOGLE Inc., 2015, p. 8). The
company faces some infringement claims from other companies

24. owning large numbers patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade
secrets basing their cases on allegations of violations and
property rights (COMPANY PROFILE,GOOGLE Inc., 2015, p.
9).
MY OPINION
I like all the products from Google Company. Their products are
quite affordable in terms of cost and services. The capability to
configure their products with many devices enlarges their
market worldwide. I like the fact that I can access the company
services in places worldwide and on different devices. The
ability of the company to beat its competitors no matter the
threats in the market is quite commendable.
Conclusion
Both Google and Apple are worldwide Companies. They provide
competing products in the market. They face almost similar
threats and weaknesses. They also have some similar
opportunities in terms of opportunities like growth in the future.
On the centrally, Google Company has more strengths than
Apple. The size of market share of Google is larger. The range
of products provided by Google is also huge. My choice would
be to work for Google Company.
Recommendations

25. Reference:
Contributors' names (Last edited date). Title of resource.
Retrieved from http://Web address for OWL resource
COMPANY PROFILE, GOOGLE Inc., (2015, March 5).
COMPANY PROFILE, Google Inc. Retrieved from
COMPANY PROFIE, APPLE Inc., (2015, May
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