Apple can be an American company and global operator of its business worldwide. It was established in the year 1977 that employs more than 35000 employees and making annual revenue greater than 32bn yearly having its headquarter in California. Company is known because of its products of consumer electronics. It is the most adorable company and called in Fortune Publication. The corporation has its main branches that are 393 retail branches in fourteen countries. The business has brought innovative change in the field of electronic specially phones and personal computers. Mr. Steve Careers was the creator and CEO of Apple and was the largest contributor in the success of the business. (Apple1inc. 2009)
Slogan of the company-"Think different"
Vision of the company-"Apple is focused on providing the best personal processing experience to students, teachers, creative professionals and consumers throughout the world through its impressive hardware, software and Internet offerings. "
1. 1 Identify the key stakeholders in the organization and for each and every stakeholders analyze the main element information an knowledge they want. Compare your findings with the data and information needed by stakeholders in other organizations.
Stakeholders-are the group of individuals having interest in the company's working as it can straight or indirectly influence their stake in the company. Stakeholders will be the contributors in the business and also have some desire for the business. The stakeholders are favorably damaged if company performs well and negative affects if something runs wrong with the activities, operations or income of the business. Company's employees, traders, suppliers, trade unions, government, marketing and community all are stakeholders of the business because they are directly or indirectly involved with business procedures of the company. (Philips, 2003)
Power and affect of stakeholders
Different stakeholders have different needs and necessity which at times are conflicting and can't be satisfied at the same time. Thus it's important for the business to apply vitality and influence matrix and prioritize the needs and wishes of these stakeholders. For instance, Increase in the salary and bonus offer to the employees may reduce the income and bring reduction in profit which make a difference earning per shares to the shareholders and traders rising to the conflicts among the needs of employees and shareholders of the business.
Knowledge and information needed by each stakeholders
Shareholders and employees are thinking about the progress of the company which will cause profit. Profits will give more dividends to the shareholders and shareholders whereas employees will acquire bonus and upsurge in remunerations. They'll basically keep an eye on profitability ratios of the company expecting high percentage in gross income and net profit ratios. In contrast to increase in income resulting into upsurge in wage will influence the interest of shareholders resulting to the issues.
Investors-Being the financers and shareholders in APPLE MACKINTOSH, that needs huge investment scheduled to heavy expenditure on research and development activities, investors will look forward for profitability ratios, generating per show and market value of stocks all time.
Suppliers- will have a good give attention to company's growth through its gains as wish to know the returns of the business to be able to understand solvency and paying capacity of the business. They might even prefer to know quick test ratio to comprehend the immediate paying electricity of the company.
Suppliers of electronic digital parts in Apple supply their goods on credit and thus making certain of returns is very much essential thus suppliers will check for accounts receivable and payable cycles and also inventory turnover percentage along with current belongings to current responsibility ratios.
Customers-are the players of the marketplace, market development all depends on customer buying capacity. It's important for business to create and market the good as per the needs and would like of the clients to be able to increase its market talk about available competition.
Apple is a renowned and top brand in the market today and is known as to be children icon. Thus it is important for the business enterprise to give their best product in the market. Company should care for its competition with Samsung. Customers want to pay competitive prices and would like to focus on income and loss statements.
Employees-Employees are the interior stakeholders of the company and contributor to the business businesses and making company profitable. Their interest lies in getting the best pay, incentives, bonus items and other fringe benefits to make their attempts fruitful. These benefits can compete only if company functions well and obtain profits.
Employees of Apple mackintosh will need an extraordinary expertise as their job would demand technology and creation all time. In return they expect job security and maximum financial benefit. They will focus on profit and loss declaration with profits on return as well as liquidity proportion to make certain they are really safe in long haul.
Government and Local Community-Both the entities are external stakeholders and are considering business operations to make sure their activities are ethical, legal and environmental friendly. Company needs to operate within an eco-friendly way and keep on honest activities.
Government helps to keep a check up on Apple development and other dealings to be able to make sure it is ethical and legal. It'll check on health and safety law continued by the employees and machines and operations eco-friendly. Taxation is the key income of the government and thus it'll consider business earnings and loss declaration and also twelve-monthly report.
Community as generally speaking is keen to know starting and new opportunity made available from Apple. They would also like to know how Apple's overall dealings to enrich the city are. This is known by its total annual records and information and information on its website. (Riley, 2012)
Needs and requirements of stakeholders of peer company-Samsung
Samsung has been competitor to Apple and has extensive range of electronic products with competitive turnover to Apple. It is plan of Samsung to ensure stakeholders proposal. Which includes both interior and external stakeholders? Pursuing are some of the needs and requirement of Samsung stakeholders.
Shareholders and investors-Company experienced communicate on its commercial social responsibility plus some changes created by compliance systems management methods.
Customers-Some changes were made anticipated to issues and inquires made by the clients and needed plans were executed for example-suppliers CSR regulations and decrease in employees working time.
Employees-For wide open communication with employees from all departments are well coordinated on Reply assessment room and each employee can present their own views.
NGO-Samsung takes care of environmental policies and other issues raised by NGOs. Some changes made based on these enquires are on environmental guidelines, employee welfare and safety policies.
Government-As per the needs and requirements of the operating specialists, some management changes were manufactured in respect to ban on use of turmoil minerals, greenhouse effect management and campaign of a cultural and good trade procedures.
Thus it is vital duty of an organization to be sure that needs and wants of every stakeholder are fulfilled and issues should be settled. It is also important that company bring in some management changes wherever necessary. (Samsung Sustainability Report, 2012)
1. 2 Make clear the systems used for interacting key information to the stakeholders in chosen organization
Companies use various guidelines to talk to its stakeholders. Internal stakeholders are communicated using its internal plans whereas external plans are designed for external users which will vary from internal users. As stakeholders are important to any business, it is important to draft insurance policies which bring what to their anticipations and the best coordination among them. Policies should concentrate on their satisfaction as well as image resolution to issues.
The basis of communication plans of Apple is based on four ideas of honesty, esteem, confidentiality and conformity. These rules have make Apple world wide and an effective company. It really is a notion of Apple that with these principles, it would be able to meet its customer's needs and fix any conflicts.
1. Credibility- All business dealing, activities and businesses are taken by practicing credibility in the business. With honesty practice, company can boost it requirements and ethical status in the world.
2. Respect-It is demanded all time by all employees towards their stakeholders and same is expected in exchange. It's important for just about any business to respects its acquaintances, suppliers and customers. Value really helps to develop business a commercial image.
3. Confidentiality-Some important and confidential information need to be maintained discreet as it's important business dealings. Apple has some policies to confidentiality and its own employee's duties to keep this information confidential. It could be information about its suppliers, customers, employees or traders. This communication policy is circulated all time.
4. Compliance-To stick to rules, restrictions and business plans is expected by all employees and stakeholders all time. Decisions and policies should always be within limit and laws and regulations.
Thus based on these ideas, Apple has made some systems to talk to its stakeholders. A few of its customers and business relationships are customer and third party information, nondisclosure contracts, copyright protected items, endorsements and customer concentrate. Each one of these systems helps to communicate guidelines about its stakeholders rights and responsibilities which are based on four above mentioned ideas. (Apple Inc, 2012)
1. 3 An examination of potential barriers to effective work place communications.
Barriers are also called obstructions or obstacles that prevent from satisfying some goals. Communication and its own objectives are not fully accomplished scheduled to barriers to marketing communications. Effective communications really helps to complete and reach the mandatory targets whereas hurdle prevents the goals to be achieved. Some potential obstacles of effective communication at workplace are as follows-
Physical barriers-Some physical environmental barriers are the hurdles to the communication. Loud place, distractions, individuals crowds and framework of any office creates distraction at work environment. For example-construction work outside the office might create distraction and blockage to the task or communication at work.
Language and Cultural Barriers- In a diverse cultural work area, language is known as important obstacles. People via various culture and places uses different vocabulary, signs and icons to spell it out things which is not evidently and properly comprehended forms to be a barrier. Cultural dissimilarities is seen at MNCs where people from diverse culture come together to work. The differences in language, attitude, food style and different method of work could be found which brings in barriers.
Personality Barriers-One person differs to the other in comparison to their nature, attitude and method of things. They have different learning approached some learn by logical, verbal, physical, or visual. Similarly some people are poor listeners although some are poor audio system or some may have some or the other disorders which proves to be obstacles in the communication process.
Barriers to communication at work place bring in complicated situation for employers and the work itself. It detracts company from its targets and earns inefficiency to the work. (Feigenbaum, 2012)
2. 1 How communication is affected by worth and social factors. Consider these influences within the business.
Communication and culture are highly tied to the other and also have great affect on each other. Cultural diversity brings in great impact on verbal and non verbal communication in an organization. The forming of organizational culture is seen at some business organization which is developed by practice from years and years. Different culture can be seen which are seen as a power, attitude or individualism.
Culture and Values-While having communication both parties should be similarly participative and proper dialogue delivering is important. Failing to which communication is disrupted. With different culture and beliefs, one can possess different beliefs, experiences and ideas than t other. Difference in culture, customs, languages and style can be discovered which would be difficult to comprehend and may lead to turmoil. Person from different culture is expected to have different style, decision-making style, communication style and various knowledge and experience which have to be understood and resolved. People who have different cultures also carry different values, action and expressions which need to be respected and tolerated by every one.
Culture and Prices at work place-It is important to keep some rules and regulations regarding punctuality, working style and coordination. It's important that employees works in a team and value each other notion, knowledge and culture so s to ensure performance and team nature. Communication must be completed smoothly without any disturbance to cultural and ideals issues among all employees. It is thus important to make business environment intercultural in order to have rcognition and respect to all cultures, beliefs and principles by hermeneutical strategy. (Nordby, 2012)
Apple is at the top in the list of 10 top companies on the globe. It has achieved this position due to its diversity plans that attract people from diverse culture and traditions having diverse ideals. It provides cooperative environment where folks from diverse culture get together with different experience and knowledge. It does not differentiate people on the grounds of discrimination on culture, prices, language, race, disability or any other discrimination. It snacks all employees on identical grounds and provide them equal system where they is capable of doing and demonstrate their talent by technology and creation. This frame of mind of company makes employees feel integrated, united and respected. (Apple Inc, 2012)
2. 2 The use of technology-how it helps communication and also whether it hinders communication. Support with instances.
Today, even small business enterprises are using technologies to talk to its customers and stakeholders. Effective communication needs to be carried out for effective feedbacks and meeting up with business needs. Modern tools and communication techniques have helped to keep these criteria. Various means of communication are carried out by the companies to make its process and dealings better and easier. Various method of communication through use of systems are as follows-
1. Telecoms and wireless marketing communications- Business carry out their business dealings through interior telecoms system which helps in transferring information in one office to the other without the charges and expenditure apart from installation charges. Cordless communication system helps to copy information via cell phones, mobiles and walkie-talkie that happen to be operated by signs and set-up satellites in the area.
2. Internet-Internet has proved to be bliss to entire world from individuals to the business enterprise. Business can operate and talk through internet facilities which remove time factor and time difference of the countries. It's the fastest method of communication today and effective as well.
Positive Impacts
1. It's the fastest means of communication breaking geographical differences.
2. Helps in reducing cost of physical paper work and other costs of operations.
3. Provide huge information of required issue and immediate response
Negative impacts
1. Misuse of the communication techniques on large for illegal activities
2. Usage of modern strategy has affected occupation level by delayering some layers of personnel.
3. Misuse of technology is on extensive at personal and professional level.
Apple is a renowned company for developing digital and uses modern and advanced technology on large. Technology really helps to make products competitive and effective on the market. Advancement of new technology and new features in the electronics is the key aim of Apple. A number of the feature that helps Apple to communicate with its stakeholders is software and programs like product reviews, website feedback, contact us, support and service service along with buyers and pr features helps it to possess better communication with its stakeholders about the world. Nowadays, Apple is becoming secretive as it pertains to its regulations due to some leak on sociable media and so has forbidden on use of cultural media websites which includes affected its coverage. Company is performed liable for making poor regulations that allowed personnel to use communal mass media for personal use and has affected company's professional communication when store employees from retail department social media coverage was leaked. (Socialvolt. com, 2011)
2. 3 The communication regulations and strategies and their impact
Company contains numerous inner and exterior stakeholders which need to be communicated regularly. Thus communication policies and strategies form an important duty of management for so that it is an efficient company with good working environment. Insurance policies and techniques to communication help organizations to gratify their stakeholders' needs and needs. It can be maintained through developing social skills in the employees and adding right plans and strategies into action.
Some of communicating policies and technique in companies in general are as follows-
1. Interpersonal Communication-Technique of communication internally which include verbal, non-verbal and written.
2. Cultural Understanding Policies-Makes office environment culturally safe and sound. It includes some regulations that bring esteem towards different ethnicities and ways of better communication.
3. Disability Support-Making environment safe and sound for disabled people. It includes policies to techniques of communication and assistance to disabled personnel.
4. Conflict Resolution-Policies and types of procedures to resolve internal and external issues through written and verbal communication.
Written communication-It includes messages. Letters, report, agendas, manuals and bulletin boards.
Verbal Communication-It includes handovers, telephonic discussions, messages and conferences information. (Toolboxes, 2012)
Impact of communication insurance policies and procedures
1. Marketing communications is carried out smoothly with internal and exterior stakeholders with customer satisfaction
2. Helps to fulfill obligations relating to guidelines and rules and regulations in general
3. Formal communication that assists and presents company's objectives and goals to all employees generally.
4. Helps employees' to comprehend employees information to keep secretive and stops disclosure than it.
5. Brings platform of equality and integrity for all those employees.
Thus guidelines and procedures regarding the communication not only helps employers but also employees to follow these procedures and become faithful towards company and its own confidentiality. (Almaden Minerals Ltd. , 2012)
3. 1 Measure the effectiveness of your communication skills
One must identify its own personal communication skills to be able to make self-assessment of their own social skills. Analysis and evaluation of these skills helps to bring advancements whenever needed and makes professional and personal development better.
Personal Non-verbal Skills- Compare to my verbal skills, my non verbal skills are greater. My writing skills have helped to construct my professional career as a I am able to draft a good professional email, letters and agendas. My abilities to draft mails at professional level have helped my communication to be better daily and have offered me advertising for the exec post at my workplace. I employ technical and managerial terms while drafting letters with proper use of sentence structure and punctuation grades.
Verbal Communication Skills-Speaking with confidence with right postures and gestures is definitely important dependence on the business enterprise communication. Being a good speaker attribute comes from being truly a good listener. My verbal communication is bit distorted with less self-confidence and public dread. I take advantage of right gestures and right postures but shortage technical words utilization while speaking in public areas. Compared to general public communication, my telephonic conversation is way better.
In general, I am a good loudspeaker in my interpersonal network but with professional life, I lack communication skills and turn out to be an average presenter while my writing skills seems to be on good area that wants me campaign in professional life.
3. 2 Ideas of interpersonal communication
Interpersonal communication is a talk or coordination between two or more people where different methods of communication can be used to make information relevant. This method really helps to forwards and communicates our information or suggestions to the other get together. It can be done through direct means and indirect means so as interpretation gets easier and message dispatched is clear.
Among many ideas of social communication theory, two talked about below theories are extremely popular.
Uncertainty Lowering Theory-This theory helps one person to understand behavioral facet of the other person. It really is uncertain to predict a person else's behavioral pattern and thus brings uncertainty and makes communication difficult as you loses it tabs on conversation and also the plans to carry on. Thus this theory really helps to reduce this factor and make communication easier process. This doubt factor can be removed by 3 ways.
1. Observation Process-Before carrying out dialog or initiating dialogue, it's important and suggestive that you need to observe other party which is known as passive strategy.
2. Interrogation Process-This is just how of positively taking effort to ask the person for his or her interest or required information by him which needs to be handle with right communication and interacted.
3. Interactive Process-In this technique both parties enter communication process and connect to each other communicating, questioning and knowing each other. This strategy helps to bring both parties near each other by mutual conversation.
Symbolic connection Theory-This theory focuses on social and ethnic aspects of one custom where same so this means is transported for interactions. People have shared knowledge and meanings for certain things and ideas which is often distributed by them. Certain titles are commonly distributed by same culture as well as symbols to certain things and ideas. Thus conversation is carried out by distributed group of people with common feeling and in a typical way. The primary idea of this theory is split into three parts.
Society-Interaction is completed between one individual to another through a gesture which has interacted results in form of desired consequence.
Self-This idea is made from other's perceptions where self-image arises which is defined in sociable context with other people in society.
Mind-Things are responded in kinds of symbols where meaning for several thing and items are put up into signals and symbols and interaction occurs by aligning meaning to that symbols and linked it to the things.
With these ideas you can send meaning to the other through energetic, passive or interactive process and expect the concept in a similar understanding and knowledge. (Baxter and Breithwaite, 2008)
3. 3 Thoughts and Responses from others
For enhancing one's good understanding, it is crucial to talk about our thoughts and knowledge with other so as to bring in more ideas and disclosure that will enable to clear and better has understandings as advised by Sidney Jourard who is a psychologist.
Sharing and Disclosure-It helps one's knowledge and information by posting and disclosure. It also earns new experience by mailing and receiving responses. Feedback after disclosure increases our understanding for certain principle and brings understanding in us.
Feedback-Feedback must be a genuine reply that brings improvement to the communication and better insight. By reviews, one get an chance to increase and improve is enlarged. Feedbacks can by means of suggestions or recommendations. Right reviews is the the one which is honest and clear of any biasness 360 degree feedback is one of the best methods to get view from others at place of work. It's the feedback from higher-level to functional level for the self-assessment which helps as a direction for even more development. It is also known as multi-rater responses.
Thoughts and reviews is a whole process that starts off with showing ones thoughts and ideas with other in types of words sent encoded and received that is decoded in order to get feedback in return. Feedback is merely not to acquire but can be asked for. Once the feedback is received, you have to concentrate on the disadvantages and rankings which require more attempts to put in. Writing thoughts and reviews is a learning and improvement process. (Jourard, 1971)
3. 4 Plan your own personal development to improve your own communication skills.
Appropriate planning is required to improve my lacking skills and efforts needs to put in to learn certain lacking skills which will be a challenging job for me as t needs excellent time, initiatives and money to teach and get myself acquainted with new required skills.
Skills
Improvement
Particular
Resources Required
Written Skills-
Email and Survey writing
Composition and Style
Use of Theme and use of scholarly article
Computer software training for 2 months
Power point Presentations
Structure
Graphs and Charts
Learning PowerPoint and slideshow techniques
Formal Letters
Grammatical errors
Misuse of similar sounding words
Time spending on reading Wren and Martin/
Verbal Skills-Listening Skills
Concentrations skill
Avoiding distractions
Effective hearing training required
Telephonic Conversations
Questioning Skills
Open and close concluded questions practice
Time free to listening sound conversations of formal business calls
Public Speaking
Stage Fear
Use of words
Regular practice to deliver speech in small groups
Above table obviously expresses that my communication skills both written and verbal needs to be improved through putting personal work and specialized help necessary to take training and time need to be devoted to complete my loopholes and lacking skills.
4. 1 Marketing communications within Apple Company
Apple website gives a clear eyesight of marketing communications techniques that is carried out with its stakeholders so as to understand their need and gratify their needs.
News and Incidents- through Media and happenings blog, Apple is nourishing its updated reports on this blog. Hot Reports arises with the news on any services or system that's available for sale as well as any inside statement or results or news is popped on this software that helps stakeholders to keep themselves kept up to date all time.
RSS Feeds-is a credit card applicatoin that update reports, hot lists of music of i-tunes to the internet browser supported using its knowledge basic.
Apple Events-This is filled with company presentations and announcements about company's products and company's issues and concerns which are fairly update by the business. It presents all videos of any event at Apple.
Users Group-This is the web site where all stakeholders get together and sign up for the membership. This tool gives a chance to any common person to be friend of this group and talk about their views and ideas. People from various countries and different professions have became a member of this group.
Public Relations-gives all news on latest pr announcements an all archived subject matter can be extracted. Support services always help to people from various locations. Product opinions blog helps one to share their experience about the merchandise and website opinions helps someone to report or post their remarks on any issue came across by them. Buyers' reports on the Apple Website provides total annual reviews and results of the business to help buyers keep themselves modified on their gains and profits. (Apple. com, 2012)
4. 2 Application of ideas of organizational communication
Many theories acquired emerged during nineteenth hundred years about organizational communication.
Frederic Taylor's Scientific Management Theory. This theory suggest some techniques for completion of any process and where planning is carried out in a organized planning which is carried out by individuals.
This is a unique theory that helps to bring efficiency in the development system. It was replacing of systems that were upon rules of thumbs and certain traditions. It brought efficiency factor in the scene that was considered as a broader theory which was based on rational counting. The four main objectives of these ideas are -
1. It replaced traditional guidelines and produces practice of human effort and factor in concentrate.
2. Training and development practice to e guaranteed for the best outcome.
3. Cooperation and coordination principle between employees and management can into emphasis and some plans were drafted for better use.
4. Department of work between management and employee in equal share was forwarded by this theory. Hierarchy system was thus created.
Thus trend in group was seen after Frederic medical management theory which includes proved to be a corporate and business reengineering and brought development to the workers. (Skaik, 2008)
Apple Company requires some sort of understanding of management in the organizations so as to improve its businesses and employees satisfaction. Managers and executive at higher level should comprehend their responsibilities and fulfill their responsibilities. In APPLE MACKINTOSH, employee should be given free power to bring in creativity and technology. Thus bureaucracy needs to be eliminated and it is important to put into practice technological management and standard administrative theories by Apple.
The benefits can be seen in various ways-
1. It will help to achieve organizational efficiency
2. Increase motivation and participation of employees
3. Will improve romance between employees and management.
4. 3 Recommendations-Plan to improve the workplace marketing communications in Apple
Business and Organizational Culture-Steve Jobs possessed done his best at Apple since 1977and was rehired in 1997 when company was found in beleagurement and bring the glory back again. He was the founder of Apple to put in great effort to bring the best designs and models on the market. Thus it is crucial for Apple to generate another Steve Jobs for making sure its existence and competition in the electronic market.
Strategic Analysis-Apple has poor market penetration. As per strategic analysis, it can be seen that Apple hasn't covered many marketplaces in the world that are its products. It requires to improve its strategies and explore new markets, it can be done by alliances and therefore reducing costs. It could view it product in other market which is known for it reliability and standards.
Market Fluctuations-Apple needs to be careful of market and monetary fluctuations which can blow almost all of the international companies like Lehman Brothers. With monetary downturn not only market is damaged but consumers are influenced as well. It really needs a careful planning, structuring and other operational activities when coming to new products and strategies. (studymode. com, 2012)
Conclusion
Apple has taken revolution to personal computers and phones. It includes altogether improved the stage of cellphone. It innovation and creation activities has kept almost all of the competitive company struggling. It has become an icon in the electric market credited to high quality, stylish and ground breaking products. After Steve Careers, creator of Apple the company has encountered many turmoil and issues when it comes to its development and business plans. It needs to formulate some strong and strong insurance policies for it services and new market by proper product development through modern creativity, competitive pricing and moreover strong marketing and advertising programs in future. All of these can be achieved through application of right organizational communication theory which would remove all road blocks from functional to managerial levels and generate team heart.
