Introduction
A rigorous evaluation of the best practices for leadership development is necessary because it is a crucial component of worldwide business. Given how interconnected and dynamic the global business scene has become, company executives and entrepreneurs need to be skilled at spotting opportunities to guide their organizations toward greater success. Business executives today must have the traits and personalities that will set them apart in any sector or environment they choose to work in.
A leader must have the background and personality that motivate others who work for him to have faith in his ability to lead if they want to have an impact both inside and outside of their business. A leader who wants to influence inside and outside the company must have the experience and personality that inspires others who work for him to have faith in their abilities to lead. It is crucial to how new policies will boost a company’s competitiveness and affect its performance. The corporate culture of the company as a whole and the manager’s capacity to persuade staff to embrace his vision have a significant impact on the direction that the company takes. The manager needs to understand his company’s needs, relate them to his staff, and deal with any issues that can impair productivity.
Firms may create various leadership styles, including democratic leadership, in which team members’ participation is considered while making decisions. They must compile and evaluate the members’ inputs even though they will be making the final choice. A democratic leadership style would help build trust and teamwork among the employees and promote the staff’s growth and development for future opportunities. The firm may also consider an affinitive leadership style that puts people first. The leader develops a personal relationship with the followers and pays great attention to their emotional needs. They frequently discover a way to interact with their personnel. This aesthetic promotes harmony and relationship development. The phrase “pacesetting style” or “do as I do” imply this behavior. It depicts a powerful figurehead who sets the standard to be followed. They raise the bar and encourage everyone to work hard and rapidly toward the objective. The leaders’ intense drive to succeed may be at the expense of the team members. The authoritative leadership style, sometimes called the visionary style, is defined by self-assured leaders who set expectations while inspiring and encouraging their followers. It suggests following someone else’s lead. Therefore, this report seeks to develop a leadership development plan for Apple Inc, a multinational corporation.
Apple Inc Background
Apple Inc is a multinational firm that deals with costumer’s electronics, phones, computer software, and media content distribution. The firm mainly deals with producing iPhone, iPad, and iPod portable players. Ronald Wayne and Steve Jobs established the business on April 1 of the same year they also developed the Apple computer. On January 3, 1977, the business was incorporated in Cupertino, California. Wayne soon quit the collaboration, leaving Wozniak and Jobs as the main founders of the business. Apple went public on December 12, 1980, with a share price of $22. The stock has split four times since the IPO. Therefore, the IPO share price was $0.39 on a split-adjusted basis. For the time being, Tim Cook took Steve Jobs’ place as CEO of Apple Inc. (Apple Inc., 2015). Despite the worldwide recession, the company has maintained its competitive advantage as a top provider of technical services. As the recession deepened and worries about the company’s CEO’s health grew, analysts were taken aback when Apple reported a strong first-quarter profit that was well above Wall Street expectations (Stone,2009). On Wednesday, Apple claimed that a substantial portion of its success during the disastrous holiday shopping season, which harmed almost all other technology and consumer electronics industries, was attributable to strong sales of laptops and iPods. During this period, the firm’s profit rose by $1.61 billion at the end of the year’s first quarter. The performance was a result of good leadership development techniques.
As a result of Covid 19 pandemic, the company has been facing various difficulties. In addition to growing employee pay and rising worldwide shipping costs, the company is also concerned that consumers may delay upgrading their iPhones due to their falling purchasing power. Apple is also having supply problems due to this year’s China shutdowns, which might cost the business $8 billion in revenue. To pass on increased expenses to customers, businesses frequently raise prices, especially those with pricing power and in times of high demand. The price of iPhones has not increased in the US, despite Apple constantly changing prices abroad in response to currency rate fluctuations. Apple occasionally changes its price strategy when introducing a new line-up of devices in the fall. Apple might absorb some costs, lowering its profits, to avoid suppressing demand. Prices, however, would not alter. Economists assert that consumers frequently put off purchasing durable goods like electronics during recessions or when their purchasing power is dwindling.
Objectives of leadership development programs
- Boost Staff Engagement –Among American workers, only 33% claim to be actively involved in their jobs (Gallup). If there are no opportunities for advancement and professional growth, your staff members are effectively sitting ducks. An emphasis on leadership development can raise employee engagement by creating better middle managers.
- Cut Back on Turnover Rates- Provide your staff with possibilities for growth to lower employee attrition. Employees who are actively involved are more likely to remain with the company. You can increase productivity and keep your best staff by encouraging employees to pursue lifelong learning.
- Enhance employee satisfaction – I believe that everyone wants to be happy with their jobs. Through leadership development and growth paths, you can, in fact, directly raise employee happiness. Continuous learning and professional growth are desirable for millennial job searchers and keeping contented staff.
- To create confidence within the organization- A 2016 Grovo study found that 87% of managers wished they had more training before taking on management responsibilities. Managers can lead with newfound confidence after attending a leadership development seminar. Highly skilled employees are not usually effective managers. Before appointing someone to the position of “manager,” take the initiative to develop your personnel as leaders.
Apple Inc Leadership Development program
As a worldwide leader, the company must create a leadership program that will enable it to weather the economic downturn and cost increases without losing its competitive edge. Over the past few decades, the corporate environment has changed, affecting the roles and responsibilities of managers within firms. The leadership style chosen can be explained by the management strategies that Apple PLC managers employ. Many different leadership philosophies are used by organizations all over the world to manage worker performance, productivity, and efficiency while balancing short- and long-term goals. According to Cameron and Green, the management of an organization uses a specific leadership style to carry out distinct leadership tasks to boost performance and sustainability (2008). According to Cottrell, different leadership philosophies can affect how well people work, especially in organizations with a formal structure. For instance, due to the incorporation of several cultures within the organizational structure, Apple PLC has a liberal management style.
The core of any good organization is management and leadership mindsets, especially when making decisions. Leading is “the intrinsic ability to absorb a situation to inspire a group or team to contribute proactively and creatively toward problem solutions,” according to (Baxter,2014). Increasing capacity is necessary for comprehending a problem and developing solutions. According to Cowan and Beck, a leader should create plans to manage or control a company’s resources, employees, and various organizational conduct components within specified norms or guidelines. Building capacity is necessary for comprehending a problem and creating solutions. Cowan and Beck assert that a leader should develop plans for controlling or guiding a company’s resources, employees, and various organizational conduct components within predetermined standards or guidelines (2005). It has become necessary to use leadership and management principles, such as goal-setting, resource management, strategic planning, and asset preparedness, to achieve specific targets to affect hierarchical behavior and overall success at Apple PLC. Over a predetermined period, Apple PLC’s annual goals are quantifiable and predictable (Dasgupta et al.,2013). The desire to actively contribute to creating an acceptable work environment shows that successful leadership and management tactics are being employed in the organization. This is done by removing potential or actual obstacles to a solution.
The company should adopt a transformational leadership style linked by management at various levels to inspire the partners’ proactive support through their dedication. For instance, these transformational leaders will welcome the opinion of all stakeholders in an open discussion on the available choices before making a final decision when faced with a choice over the best course of action for increasing profitability (Harrison 2017). Throughout these discussions, employee input is welcomed, encouraged, and considered when making a final consultative decision. This reflects the staff at Apple PLC’s satisfaction with the choices taken. This illustrates how pleased Apple PLC staff members are with the choices made. The core leadership approach links the inspiring and persuading management style to hasten the management team’s integration, which is necessary for them to acknowledge the decisions taken for their advantage.
Additionally, the firm may consider implementing exposure and mentorship programs. It is essential for human resources departments and HR directors to have opportunities to interact with and observe aspirational leaders in action and develop business leaders through coaching and mentoring. Another great way to learn about real-world leadership experiences is to be “thrown into the deep end” as part of challenging initiatives. The development of leaders for the twenty-first century also requires review. You must be aware of your leaders’ roles and possible areas for advancement. Employing efficient performance management solutions, like Qualtrics Employee XM, will help your leaders realize their full potential and avoid falling victim to the “curse of expertise” and becoming inert (Daniëls et al.,2019). These provide solutions powered by artificial intelligence that operates in real-time and accelerate performance growth. These instruments, which consist of integrated 360-degree feedback surveys, can assist leadership with goal-setting, data collection, results in evaluation, and publicly sharing findings. The feedback’s conclusions could, most critically, lead to action being made to solve leadership development gaps.
Apple Inc evaluation strategy
The strategic evaluation includes the organizational environment actions crucial to the company’s potential to gain a competitive advantage. It comprises developing a plan of action to achieve particular goals. Apple Inc. is a very active technology-based company that manufactures top-notch goods for its target market. The company was intentionally built, resulting in a huge atmosphere that makes it very simple for the company to advance its products throughout the many marketplaces in a global setting. Due to its innovative and creative nature, which has considerably piqued the interest of many customers, Apple has been actively participating in the market (Atik et al.,2016). The company has put a lot of time and effort into emphasizing creativity and innovation, which has been its primary goal for years. The development, design, and marketing of the company’s products are the focal points of its innovation and creativity. In addition to its other products, the company also sells networking solutions, software, and technology-related services. The distinctiveness of the company’s products in terms of quality and design has made it feasible to gain a competitive edge in the market. The distinctive, cutting-edge, and user-friendly products and services that are smoothly integrated into the Apple ecosystem are one of the key elements influencing the desire for Apple premium items among many consumers (Wheelen et al.,2017).
Conclusion
For the planning and execution process to be autonomous, effective management and leadership techniques must balance environmental dynamics and externalities. Selecting the best option requires carefully weighing each option before making a decision. The organizational design of Apple PLC has allowed for the incorporation of management and leadership skills, resulting in a vibrant and successful company. As a result, the business is among the best in its industry at making choices and achieving various objectives. The organization must sharpen its attention and intuition to create a controlled consensus-building process. The suggested improvement to the current integrated performance management system might be used to achieve this. For human resources departments and HR, directors to have the chance to speak with and observe aspirational leaders in action and grow business leaders through coaching and mentoring, mentorship, and evaluation programs must be put into place.
References
Atik, D., Atik, C., & Karatepe, C. (2016). The effect of external apple vinegar application on varicosity symptoms, pain, and social appearance anxiety: a randomized controlled trial. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2016.
Baxter, J. (2015). Who wants to be the leader? The linguistic construction of emerging leadership in differently gendered teams. International Journal of Business Communication, 52(4), 427-451.
Daniëls, E., Hondeghem, A., & Dochy, F. (2019). A review on leadership and leadership development in educational settings. Educational research review, 27, 110-125.
Dasgupta, S. A., Suar, D., & Singh, S. (2013). Impact of managerial communication styles on employees’ attitudes and behaviours. Employee relations.
Harrison, C. (2017). Leadership theory and research: A critical approach to new and existing paradigms. Springer.
Stone, B., 2009. Apple sales rise despite recession (Published 2009). [online] Nytimes.com. Availableat:https://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/22/technology/22iht-apple.4.19605999.html [Accessed 11 August 2022].
Wheelen, T. L., Hunger, J. D., Hoffman, A. N., & Bamford, C. E. (2017). Strategic management and business policy (Vol. 55). Boston: pearson.
