Introduction
An organizational chart represents shapes that may sometimes contain pictures with contact information, page links, emails, or illustrations of the employees and positions they hold in the company. The chart portrays the company’s internal structure with links depending on every member’s position. Organizational design charts usually differ from company to company, as every company has a unique structure.
The chart can also highlight the company’s values, philosophies, beliefs, and culture. The chart benefits the organization as it helps investors and shareholders understand the people responsible for decision-making. Apple Inc. uses an organizational chart that shows the role of employees, their position, and how the structure affects the company’s performance in its business environment.
Apple Inc.
Apple Inc. is a technology company with many products, including consumer electronics, software, mobile devices, servers, and computers. Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs founded it in 1976 as an organization that manufactures Apple computers (Nigam, 2023). The company’s success began in 2001 when it launched the iPod. Later, in 2003, Apple Inc. launched iTunes, and the events unfolding in the technology industry have significantly contributed to its success (Nigam, 2023). For decades, the company has won the consumers’ trust through developing products valued by their qualities in the market compared to other companies operating in the technological industry.
The company has also focused on research and development, which has geared its innovations in the technology industry. Investment in this area has enabled the company to develop new products tailored to meet the needs of its clients worldwide. Electronic devices such as Mac, iPad, and iPhone are some of the products that have made Apple Inc. a dominant company in the technology sector (Chen et al., 2021).
The company also relies on its vast loyal clients, as Many users of Apple products have more than one gadget or tend to purchase more from the same company. The customer experience at Apple Inc. is led by new developments and the uniqueness of the company’s products. The company manufactures user-friendly products with remarkable user experience, which drives them to return for other devices.
Apple’s Hierarchy
Apple is a multinational technology company that designs, develops, and sells consumer electronics, offers online services, and sells computer software. The company’s design is based on a functional hierarchy where every sector has a person responsible for its activities. From Figure 1, at the top of the company’s hierarchy is the CEO, Tim Cook, who took over the company in 2011 from Steve Jobs. The CEO manages all the company strategies and directs the company (“Apple Leadership,” 2023). The CEO oversees the company’s plans and proposals from the managers to ensure that they are going in the right direction, according to the company’s short-term and long-term goals.
The CEO is Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams, who oversees multiple company operations. The chief operating officer reports to the CEO and manages Apple’s global operations, customer support, and service. Jeff Williams also manages the company’s software and hardware design (“Apple Leadership,” 2023). He is also responsible for pioneering innovations in the company by developing new technologies. Jeff also oversees medical research, which empowers people’s health and fitness and the company’s health initiatives. He is in charge of launching new products, such as the iPhone in 2010 and developing Apple’s wearable devices.
Underneath the chief operating officer are Senior Vice Presidents (SVP) of China’s marketing, engineering, finance, administration, operations, and managing director. Senior vice presidents Deirdre O’Brien, Greg “Joz” Joswiak, Tor Myhren, and Phil Schiller are fellows in marketing. Deirdre O’Brien is responsible for retail and people as she leads the online teams (“Apple Leadership,” 2023). She focuses on ensuring the company and processes connect well with the customers. Deirdre O’Brien and her team are tasked with creating retail experiences that inspire and educate clients.
Greg “Joz” Joswiak manages worldwide marketing and focuses on developing and launching Apple Inc. consumer products. Tor Myhren oversees marketing communication with a team that handles advertisement, package design, and Apple’s internet presence (“Apple Leadership,” 2023). Phil Schiller manages Apple events and Apps by guiding the marketing of the company’s products. He currently serves as senior vice president of global marketing at Apple.
Several senior vice presidents in engineering report to the CEO, including Eddy Cue, John Giannandrea, John Ternus, Craig Federighi, and Johny Srouji. Eddy Cue manages the company’s services and supervises all of Apple’s services, including Apple cards, iCloud services, Maps, Apps, iPad, and search Ads (“Apple Leadership,” 2023). Eddy’s team builds and strengthens the company’s services to ensure they meet and surpass clients’ expectations.
John Giannandrea is tasked with machine learning and manages artificial intelligence strategies all over the company. John also oversees the development of technologies such as Siri and Core ML. John Ternus manages the hardware engineering of all the teams developing Apple hardware products (“Apple Leadership,” 2023).
Craig Federighi oversees software engineering and manages a team responsible for developing macOS and iOS. The team ensures the software is designed to meet customers’ requirements. Johnny Srouji oversees hardware technologies and has a unique team that drives innovations in the company. He oversees developments such as sensors, processors, display silicon, and batteries.
Finance and administration have vice presidents such as Katherine Adams, Lisa Jackson, Luca Maestri, and Kristin Huguet Quayle. Katherine Adams handles the executive team and manages all the legal matters, including security and privacy, corporate governance, global security, and intellectual property rights (“Apple Leadership,” 2023). Lisa Jackson manages the environment, policy, and social initiatives. She makes sure that the company reduces its effect on the environment by using green resources. Luca Maestri is a chief financial officer managing financial planning, accounting, investor relations, tax functions, treasury, and internal audits. Kristin Huguet Quayle handles global communications and leads employee communication and public relations (“Apple Leadership,” 2023).
In operations, Sabih Khan oversees the company’s global supply chain, including manufacturing, logistics, planning, product fulfillment, and procurement. He has a team responsible for partnering with suppliers to ensure green manufacturing is attained. Adrian Perica manages corporate development and is responsible for investing efforts, mergers, and acquisitions. Isabel Ge Mahe provides coordination and leadership to the Apple teams in China.
Apple Organizational Design and Its Operating Environment
The organizational design of Apple Inc. has contributed to its success in the global environment in which the company operates. The structure promotes practical innovations, a success factor in the technology industry involving consumer electronics and online services. The structure combines the resources, leadership, and workforce groups that can manage the technological changes that the world is experiencing (Podolny & Hansen, 2020).
The company’s structure supports its business activities in its environment as it embraces innovations. The current function suits the needs and demands of the global market. Apple Inc. competes with huge companies such as Microsoft, PayPal, Google, Samsung, Intel, and IBM. The corporate structure of Apple Inc. gives it a competitive advantage through creative innovations in software and hardware requirements in the international market.
The structural design enables the company to have control of the resources by enabling the CEO and other top executives, such as senior vice presidents, to control the organization’s processes in the market. The structure also creates coherence throughout the company, which is crucial for strategic management. It has created collaboration in the company, making it flexible, although the changes must go through the CEO (Podolny & Hansen, 2020).
The senior vice presidents at Apple Inc. significantly impact the company’s functionality as they manage its functions, including the teams directly linked to product and service management. This structure has allowed the company to control its activities, leading to adherence to its culture. The company has significantly expanded with innovations, and the hierarchical design is still in operation as it maintains strict policies to ensure quality and uniqueness.
Apple’s Vertical and Horizontal Structure
Apple Inc.’s vertical structure is designed based on the functional groups that the company has placed in action. The vertical structure involves the board of directors, the CEO, the senior management team, department heads, and employees. The board of directors is at the top level and is responsible for making key decisions at Apple and setting goals and visions (Agbejule et al., 2021).
The CEO is second in command and oversees the direction and management of the company. The senior management team is third and is assigned to functional areas such as marketing, engineering, finance and administration, operations, and production in China. The departments have senior vice presidents who manage the functions to ensure that productivity is attained, and the employees present in those departments report the progress to the managers.
On the other hand, the horizontal structure of Apple Inc. is based on the teams that have been tasked with specific roles. The teams handle multiple projects and include employees from various departments in the organization with varying skills and knowledge (Verma et al., 2020). The horizontal structure has levels such as project teams, team leaders, and employees.
Project teams are formed to handle a project and include employees with specialties in different areas. The team leaders manage the project team to ensure they are completed within the set timeline and budget. Employees at the bottom of Apple Inc.’s horizontal structure must complete various tasks per their assigned projects.
Conclusion
Apple Inc. has an organizational chart that shows the positions and roles of every company employee. It is a leading company in the technological industry, manufacturing consumer electronics and online services. The company’s hierarchy involves the CEO, chief operating officer, and senior vice presidents of various functions, including marketing, engineering, finance and administration, operations, and managing China.
The company’s organizational design helps it operate and compete effectively in its environment. The structure is also crucial in managing innovations in the company. The company’s vertical structure involves chronological levels, which begin with the board of directors, CEO, senior management team, head of departments, and employees. The horizontal structure differs from the vertical structure, involving project teams, team leaders, and employees.
References
Agbejule, A., Rapo, J., & Saarikoski, L. (2021). Vertical and horizontal trust and team learning: The role of organizational climate. International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, 14(7), 1425–1443. Web.
Apple leadership. Apple. (2023). Web.
Chen, X., Liu, Y., & Gong, H. (2021). Apple Inc. Strategic marketing analysis and evaluation. Advances in Economics, Business and Management Research, 203, 3053–3061. Web.
Nigam, I. (2023). Marketing strategies of apple inc. International Journal for Multidisciplinary Research, 5(2), 1–9. Web.
Podolny, J. M., & Hansen, M. T. (2020). Organizational culture: How Apple is organized for innovation. Web.
Verma, P., Sharma, R. R. K., Kumar, V., Hsu, S. C., & Lai, K.-K. (2020). Identifying organizational variables to the implementation of horizontal strategy in conglomerates. Benchmarking: An International Journal, 29(5), 1703–1733. Web.