Dell free essay sample

They do not in any way replace the recommended books that students are advised to use to supplement knowledge and understanding of the module. Students can purchase the recommended reading books from a retailer of their choice. However, students experiencing problems in obtaining books independently can contact us to make a purchase using LCM’s account with Amazon. Apple Company background Apple Inc, also earlier known as Apple Computer, Inc. is an American multinational corporation. They are responsible for designing and selling consumer electronics, computer software and personal computers. Apple sells all their products and services throughout the world through its online stores, its retail stores, direct sales force and third party wholesalers, resellers and value added resellers. History It was initially established in Cupertino, California on the 1st of April 1976. It was established by the late Steve Jobs,  Steve Wozniak Ronald Wayne to sell the Apple I personal computer kit. We will write a custom essay sample on Dell or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Since its inception, it has seen many products being introduced from the Lisa and Macintosh in the early 1980’s to the iMac’s and iPads of today. During the early 90’s the company went through several launches and failed attempts at consumer electronics such as portable CD’s and portable cameras. There have been internal power struggles as well, among the CEO John Sculley and the Late Steve Jobs in the 1980’s, which resulted in Jobs resigning from apple and founding NeXT Inc. In the late 90’s with stiff competition from Unix and Sun Microsystems and apple not being profitable, Steve Jobs was brought back as an adviser and later became the interim CEO of the company. He was instrumental in reinventing and redesigning the product line of the organisation. During the years of 2005 2007 Apple was able to make a transition to Intel processes and later became formally known as Apple Inc, rather than Apple Computers. Customers The Company sells to various segments of customers both B2B and B2C The Company operates in five segments: Americas, Europe, Japan, Asia-Pacific and Retail. The Americas segment includes both North and South America. The Company sells its products globally through its retail stores, online stores, and direct sales force and third-party cellular network carriers, wholesalers, retailers, and value-added resellers. Apple has not only given a whole new focus for the entertainment industry, but it has also given a whole new meaning to the alphabet! (2) As in any other organisation Apple has had and continues to contend with many environmental forces that provide opportunities and threats. Its culture of reinvention and creativity has enabled it to succeed through many difficult times as well as making use of opportunities. Political / Legal environment Apple Inc. has been incorporated in the United States. Therefore, Apple is directly exposed to the political and legal environment of the US. Whilst the political environment of the US is highly stabilised, it has strict rules and regulations in place to protect the wellbeing of the country and its citizens. Trademark laws, copyright laws, intellectual property laws, consumer protection laws and the United States competition law, which is known as the antitrust law would be some of the main forms of regulations that affects the operations of Apple Inc. Apple deals with technologies which accommodates sharing and utilising of data. Therefore, data protection laws directly create an impact on Apple. Furthermore, Apple works with many third parties such as resellers and content providers. Any changes to laws that govern business practices will largely affect Apple Inc. Economic environment Apple Inc. operates in over 11 countries with more than 300 stores. Mostly, all economies in the world are in the process of recovering from the recession. All products offered by Apple are non-essential, but definitely habit forming and lifestyle defining. The recovery will be a great opportunity for Apple to showcase its latest innovations and implement upgrades. However, pricing must be right if Apple wants to capture the market at this point in the economic cycle. Furthermore, Apple can make it an opportunity to work with dealers and financial institutes to offer purchase plans focusing on affordability. Social Environment Apple is offering products to customers who don’t even know what they want. Customers or potential customers have unlimited needs and wants. Though most of these needs are realised ones, there are an uncountable amount of unrealised needs which are given life through breakthrough technology producers such as Apple. At the same time, customers are also part of the society at large. Therefore, there is a trend towards favouring producers who are ethical and socially responsible. Social networking sites and gadgets have also started to play a major role in customers and potential customers lives. These sites and blogs have proven to be a good form of opinion leaders who mould customers’ values and beliefs. Single households due to an increased number of unmarried individuals, multitasking to cope with the fast phased life, localisation from food to politics, increase in spiritualism are some of the leading trends in society. In summary, the society is both spoiled and confused with: †¢ Too much information †¢ Too much choice †¢ Too much technology Technological Environment The technological environment in which Apple operates is hostile and fast moving. It no longer takes years for a technology to be out-dated or outdone, but it only takes a few weeks and sometimes, only a few days. Technology plays an important role in developing products, delivering them and in communicating about the product to the relevant markets. Apple is known to be one of the main innovators in the entertainment industry. It introduced technological breakthroughs to the gaming market, music industry, mobile phone market, and video and movie entertainment market. Some of these technologies created a barrier for many other organisations whilst they became a new line of thought for others. However, new technologies increase exposure to privacy and copyright violation while blurring the boundaries amongst industries. In conclusion, all elements of the macro environment are interrelated. For example, a technological breakthrough allowed Apple to challenge libraries and book stores through its i-pad. However, at the same time, the i-pad did and will do damage to the traditional delivery methods of reading material, which can result in possible legal action. Whilst one part of the society has made the i-pad a part of its lifestyle, others consider it to be a destruction to the wellbeing of people. All in all, Apple is on its way to give a whole new meaning to the ordinary fruit which was once used to teach the first letter of the alphabet! Question Identify sources of information that can be used to assist marketers in conducting a PEST analysis. Answer There are various sources for an organisation to collect information. Primary sources and secondary sources are the main two methods of data collection. Both primary and secondary sources can be utilised by Apple to collect information when carrying out its PEST analysis. Primary research is concerned with conducting new research, whilst secondary research is concerned with identifying appropriate information from already collected information that exists in the market. Secondary sources for example can be government statistics, sales information, reports etc. Primary research can be obtained by methods such as questionnaires, focus groups and in depth interviews. In discussion below we will be focusing on how information on each of the PEST factors can be obtained by Apple. Political and Legal Information on the political background of the company can be accessed from various secondary sources: Sources available on the internet such as reports on the political background of the countries that the company operates in can be used to access information on the company’s political environment. Government reports too are another important source that can be used. There are a number of laws and regulations affecting Apple. Trademark laws, copyright laws, intellectual property laws, consumer protection laws and the United States competition law can be named as the key laws affecting the company. Information on laws affecting Apple can be accessed from secondary sources such as legal documents and though regulatory bodies. PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE OF SOFTWARE Economic As Apple operates in around 11 countries, the economic environments of these countries have an impact on the operations of Apple. Information on the economic conditions impacting on the company such as the GDP can be accessed from sources such as government statistics and again through government reports. Most of the countries that the company is operating in are recovering from the recession. Therefore, accessing information on the economic environment of these countries is important to ensure successful operations. Internet sources and reports which contain information on the economic background of the company can be used to access information. Social Information on the social environment of the company is very important in catering to the needs of the customers. Primary information is more useful when identifying the social environment of the company. Social networking sites have started to play an important role in the lives of many customers. Online questionnaires can be posted on social networking sites. These can be useful in identifying the social needs of customer groups. The perceptions of opinion leaders can also be accessed through social networking sites. Customers tend to favour products which are ethical and socially responsible. The perceptions of the customers can be identified through these social networks. Therefore, social networks can be a valuable primary source in accessing information on the social environment of the company. [pic] The dell is in growth stage Technological Apple is a leading technological company. The company operates in a fast changing technological environment. As the company deals with rapidly developing customer needs and wants in terms of technology, identifying the technological environment is key for Apple. Primary sources are important in identifying information on the technological environment rather than secondary sources. Information contained in secondary sources such as reports may be out of date, as the technological environment the company operates in is rapidly changing. Primary sources such as focus groups and in depth interviews can be used as the best methods in identifying the needs in terms of the technological requirements of the customers. Conclusion It is very important to access reliable, up to date and accurate sources when conducting the PEST analysis. Information on each environmental factor needs to be accurate. Political, legal and economic sources can be mostly accessed from secondary sources, whilst information on social and technological environments can be mostly accessed from primary sources. This sort of analysis has to be carried out periodically and this is dealing with the Macro environment, which is uncontrollable and continuously evolving.