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Apple Inc. in 2020

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• | Pages: 31

About The Author

David B. Yoffie

Related work.

• December 2020
• Faculty Research
• January 2022

Apple Inc. in 2020 – Select Market Data

• Apple Inc. in 2020  By: David B. Yoffie
• Apple Inc. in 2020 – Select Market Data  By: David B. Yoffie

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Apple’s Company Culture: An Organizational Analysis

Apple’s organizational culture is a key factor in the continuing success of its business. The consumer electronics company’s organizational or corporate culture establishes and maintains the business philosophy, core values, beliefs, and related behaviors among employees. This business analysis case shows that Apple has a work culture that motivates human resources to support strategic objectives for competitiveness. For example, the company’s cultural traits are aligned with the drive for innovation, which is a major factor that determines business competitiveness in the information technology, online services, and consumer electronics industries. With this company culture, business operations facilitate the fulfillment of Apple’s mission and vision . Through the leadership of Tim Cook, the company continues to enhance its cultural characteristics to maximize human resource support for business relevance in various markets around the world. Apple shapes its business culture and uses it as a tool for strategic management and multinational business success.

Apple’s company culture strengthens competitive advantages over other firms in various industries. The company’s products compete with the consumer electronics and online services of Google (Alphabet) , Samsung , Microsoft , Amazon , and Sony . Also, Apple TV Plus competes with the video streaming services of Disney , Facebook (Meta) , and Netflix . These competitors impose a strong external force that influences strategic management among firms in the industry, as illustrated in the Five Forces analysis of Apple Inc . As a result, cultural traits must reinforce the iPhone maker’s business competitive advantages through its workforce. It can be argued that Apple partially achieves this strategic objective through the effects of its organizational culture on workers’ behavior and job performance.

Apple’s Culture Type and Traits

Apple has an organizational culture for creative innovation . The company’s cultural features focus on maintaining a high level of innovation that involves workers’ creativity and a mindset that challenges conventions and standards, such as in consumer electronics design. Apple’s IT business depends on cultural support and coherence, which are determinants of competitiveness and industry leadership, especially in addressing aggressive and rapid technological innovation and product development. The following are the main characteristics of Apple’s culture:

• Top-notch excellence
• Moderate combativeness

Top-notch Excellence . Apple’s organizational culture comes with a human resource policy of hiring only the best of the best in the labor market. Steve Jobs was known to fire employees who did not meet his expectations. This tradition continues under Tim Cook. Such a tradition maintains and reinforces a company culture that promotes, appreciates, and expects top-notch excellence among the technology company’s employees. This cultural trait is also institutionalized in Apple’s organization. For example, the company has programs that recognize and reward excellence among workers in software design. Excellence is emphasized as a critical success factor in the business, especially in product design and development, which is a major growth strategy described in Apple’s competitive strategy and growth strategies .

Creativity . This cultural trait pertains to creating new ideas that help improve the technology business and its products. Apple’s management favors creativity among employees’ knowledge, skills, and abilities. This characteristic of the work culture enables the company to ensure sufficient creativity, especially among employees involved in consumer electronics product design and development processes. Creativity is observable in the design and features of iPhones, Macs, iPads, and other products included in Apple’s marketing mix (4Ps) . Along with creativity, originality is also culturally emphasized as a way of maximizing the company’s intellectual properties, such as patents for new mobile devices. In this regard, the organizational culture helps maintain Apple’s capacity to satisfy and exceed customers’ expectations and preferences.

Innovation . Apple’s company culture supports rapid innovation. The technology business is frequently appraised as one of the most innovative companies in the world. Based on this cultural trait, Apple trains and motivates its employees to innovate in terms of individual work performance and idea contributions for product development, design, and other processes. The work culture facilitates rapid innovation, which is at the heart of Apple’s operations management . Rapid innovation ensures that the company continues to introduce new products that are profitable and attractive to target customers in the global consumer electronics and Internet services market.

Secrecy . Apple has a secretive organizational culture. This cultural characteristic defines the MacBook maker’s human resource development and management practices. Secrecy is part of the company’s strategy to prevent theft of proprietary information or intellectual property, such as designs for the next generations of the iPhone. It is also a strategic management approach that enables Apple Inc. to maximize its leading edge against competitors. Through the company culture, employees are motivated and expected to keep business information within the technology business organization. This cultural trait is reinforced through Apple’s organizational structure (business structure) and related policies, rules, and employment contracts that prohibit the disclosure of information, such as technological breakthroughs in the company’s consumer electronics. In this context, Apple’s work culture helps protect the business from corporate espionage and the negative effects of employee poaching.

Moderate Combativeness . Apple’s company culture has moderate combativeness. This feature is linked to Steve Jobs and his combative approach to leadership. He was known to randomly challenge employees to ensure that they have what it takes to work at Apple. Today, under Tim Cook’s leadership, the company has been changing its corporate culture to a more sociable and a less combative one. Nonetheless, combativeness remains a major influence in the technology business. Apple’s business culture exhibits a moderate degree of combativeness that presents challenges that motivate employees to enhance their output.

Apple’s Organizational Culture: Advantages, Disadvantages, Recommendations

Advantages and Benefits . The combination of top-notch excellence, creativity, and innovation in Apple’s organizational culture supports the company’s industry leadership. The business is widely regarded as a leader in terms of innovation and product design, especially in consumer electronics. These cultural characteristics empower Apple and its human resources to stand out and stay ahead of competitors. This company culture enables success and competitive advantages, as well as the further strengthening of the company’s brand, which is one of the key business strengths shown in the SWOT analysis of Apple Inc . Creativity and excellence are especially important in the company’s rapid innovation processes for continuous competitiveness and business development despite aggressive competition with Samsung and other firms.

Drawbacks and Weaknesses . Apple’s corporate culture brings challenges because of the emphasis on secrecy and the moderate degree of combativeness. An atmosphere of secrecy can limit rapport among workers, while moderate combativeness has the potential to limit or reduce employees’ morale. These cultural issues can reduce business effectiveness and increase employee turnover. Apple Inc. can address this situation by modifying its organizational culture to reduce combativeness, but not necessarily remove it. This recommendation focuses on reducing the disadvantages of combativeness, without eliminating the benefits of combative approaches in the technology company’s operations. Also, Apple can integrate new cultural traits to keep the business relevant, given trends and changes in the information technology, cloud services, digital content distribution, and consumer electronics industries’ environment.

• Choi, Y., Ingram, P., & Han, S. W. (2023). Cultural breadth and embeddedness: The individual adoption of organizational culture as a determinant of creativity. Administrative Science Quarterly, 68 (2), 429-464.
• Apple Inc. – Inclusion & Diversity .
• Apple Inc. – Life at Apple .
• Apple Inc. – Work at Apple .
• Dyer, C. (2023). The Power of Company Culture: How any business can build a culture that improves productivity, performance and profits . Kogan Page Publishers.
• Zhang, W., Zeng, X., Liang, H., Xue, Y., & Cao, X. (2023). Understanding how organizational culture affects innovation performance: A management context perspective. Sustainability, 15 (8), 6644.
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Table of Contents

Apple target audience , marketing strategy of apple, 5 key takeaways from apple marketing strategy, a case study on apple marketing strategy.

Breaking through with several inventions in the world of technology, Apple Inc. has been carving infinite milestones ever since its inception. Even though its innovations speak for themselves, this highly-valued giant corporation has invested heavily in its marketing team to soar high up as a tech maestro. Apple Inc. realized the role of brand marketing in the success of a venture from the start as a crucial way to connect with its target audience. This brand's marketing is so vigorously carried out and well-thought that it is often an inspiration and a place of research for marketing professionals. Here we bring you a well-curated case study on Apple's marketing strategy, the key takeaways to learn from this venture, and how to incorporate the same in your business and marketing strategies. 

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To understand its key strategies for marketing Apple products, let's first understand what Apple's target audience is like. Apple's target audience consists of middle-class and upper-class users who can pay higher for products that provide them with an incredible user experience. This means that these users have a higher disposable income and are willing to pay more for as high-priced products as Apple's. 

Let's take a look at Apple's target audience with this comprehensive analysis sourced from Business Research Methodology's report on Apple Segmentation :

Besides this primary classification, Apple also explicitly targets professionals working in specialized software like music, video, photography and all kinds of design careers. These working professionals prefer Adobe’s Final Cut, Photoshop and related editing software which work well with Macbooks and IPads than other operating systems. 

Even better, business professionals prefer Apple products such as iPods and Macbooks for their day-to-day work. Products like iPads and Macbooks are lighter and portable, so they are often selected by students (upper-class), educational institutions and teaching. 

Now coming to the marketing strategy of Apple, it is a combination of well-designed products with the right user experience, promotional campaigns, distribution, and pricing. Let’s take a look at all these features of Apple marketing strategy in detail:

Focus on Finer User Experience

Apple’s branding strategy is based on its stylish, more straightforward and lush products that focus on providing a user interface that is very simple to use and learn. They are lighter, easy to carry as well as durable. This minimal look and user experience makes it a perfect sell to its target audience, which comes from the middle to upper class.

Suave Yet Simple Advertising

Storytelling is such an essential part of every Apple ad as well as a marketing campaign. Often these ads focus on minimal design as well as high-quality images. They are either blended with music or a simple story. Apple consciously ensures that its advertising and marketing don’t use too much jargon or filler language in its ads. Instead, it shines a light on the product to let it speak for itself without showing what the price is like or using complicated words for its features.

Targeting the Right Markets

Apple is excellent at tapping into its target audiences like a genuine tech witch who knows their aspirations, preferences and pain points! Its market research is always on-point and crystal clear in its products, curation, and features. 

Here are the major critical takeaways from Apple Marketing Strategy:

• Tapping into your target markets and audience is the key to curating and selling user experiences that value the preferences of its people. 
• With simplicity and finesse in design, the right products with minimal designs and features can create a perfect impact for your brand.
• Incorporating emotion in your advertising and marketing can also help you connect with your audience better. 
• Don’t exaggerate the copy and conceptualizing of your advertising and marketing campaigns and prefer the “less is more” approach. Create shorter yet emotional and empathetic ads to captivate your target audience.
• When you create an international brand value through quality and minimal, sophisticated design, you don’t need to compete in terms of price. Instead, your price will set you apart for your user experience and design features.

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More From Forbes

Apple may require a gradual strategic shift to maintain growth.

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The company's markets are saturated, but it has a moat in size of available resources

By Oliver Rodzianko

• As the second-largest company in the world, Apple Apple faces market saturation risks; strategic shifts may be necessary to sustain long-term alpha in stock returns.
• Apple's less-pronounced AI infrastructure and reliance on consumer goods could limit future growth; diversifying into tech investments may support its continued long-term success.
• Despite a fair current valuation, Apple needs effective capital allocation and strategic innovations to prevent potential long-term share depreciation.

Apple Inc. ( AAPL , Financial ) is the second-largest company in the world at the time of writing, and many investors are concerned the company may be past its high-growth stage. However, I believe the investment could still have a useful place in portfolios that are looking for good returns at a lower risk.

My own opinion on the stock over the long term is that it will certainly not contract in value in the next 10 years, but that its value accretion will be more moderate. Additionally, if management does not effectively shift the company's financial strategy to meet long-term growth opportunities and mitigate present growth risks, which are vastly different now compared to historically due to its size, Apple's stock could start to depreciate in value.

Apple might have to manage a strategy shift

There are valid concerns at the moment about how Apple's growth might slow down in the coming years due to how saturated its markets are. In addition, I believe that with the absence of Steve Jobs as CEO, the company could undeniably face issues in vision and technology development in the future. Even though I admire Tim Cook's management and believe Apple hosts some of the best talent in the world, it is leading that talent with an effective long-term vision which is paramount, and it is very difficult to match the late founder in this regard. I will discuss in the following sections how I believe Apple's negation of developing a real moat in artificial intelligence infrastructure is a mistake and that it may need to shift its focus away from consumer goods as its primary value-add to a higher focus on investment operations, similar to how Microsoft ( MSFT , Financial ) operates, with a strategy of portfolio management of technology companies that operate under the umbrella of Apple. I believe that a failure to do this could mean the firm eventually plateaus in growth and, over the next few decades, sees its share price depreciate as a result.

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While Apple's transition into services and its large moat in the app store is admirable, it is facing significant pushback from regulatory bodies for monopoly practices. I believe this is a bad reputation for Apple to be getting, and it also highlights a critical issue. The company is preventing innovative upstarts from flourishing through negative app store ecosystem payment rules, which are eating away at the potential earnings these newer players will depend on for their survival. Instead of investing in these companies, as I have alluded to would be wise in my analysis here, Apple is trying to capitalize off of them without necessarily astutely supporting their long-term growth.

In essence, I think this is a bad strategy and is not conducive to long-term flourishment for Apple unless it changes its strategy somewhat. The tech giant has changed its commission structure for small developers, but I still think it could be more generous if it began a more thorough investment strategy, which could bolster long-term growth and open up its services and ecosystem for use in a more egalitarian way.

Assessing Apple's valuation

Because Apple is the second-largest company in the world by market cap, there is very little room for inefficiencies in the valuation. As the GF Value chart indicates, the stock is fairly valued at the time of writing. Recently, the company's valuation multiples have increased somewhat. However, this is warranted due to the fact its earnings growth rates without non-recurring items have been increasing over the past decade.

Apple's GF Value Line

The main concern I have with the valuation is that, at the moment, it is still notably high, even if fair. I believe that if the company's growth reduces significantly over the long term because it fails to effectively pivot in a manner similar to my operations forecast above, the market could deem Apple's valuation a problem and begin a significant sell-off. After a potential significant correction, if the company is not managed with stock price growth in mind over the next decade, it could enter a new period of earnings contraction and share price depreciation. This is something we definitely do not want to see as shareholders, which is why Apple will have to focus carefully on its capital allocation strategies to maintain long-term growth in line with the broader economy as a baseline from here on out.

Deeper analysis of market risks

A significant slowdown in Apple's growth could occur if it ineffectively harnesses its acquisitions in AI to produce a moat in machine and deep learning capabilities, products and services. I believe that AI is going to absolutely transform the technology industry and will have far-reaching effects on every industry in the world. I believe it is a massive mistake for Apple to sideline AI or even outsource the most advanced tasks. Before his death in 2011, Jobs was involved in bringing Siri to the market through an acquisition led by Apple's leadership in 2010, which was arguably one of the first AI implementations in consumer technology. However, today, with the recent AI surge, which I posit was driven largely by OpenAI, Apple showed that it was not at the forefront of this innovation, but instead is having to adapt accordingly. Based on my analysis and research, the company wants to harness AI tools to create the best consumer goods rather than have a moat in any real sense in AI technology, tools or infrastructure. Its focus has been on deploying AI in its hardware and software ecosystems, with less noticeably visible offerings for consumers. To me, this is a mistake and will significantly negatively impact shareholder value over the long term as AI becomes the largest value-add in the modern technology industry in history.

In many respects, despite Apple's size, it is already behind on the AI front. Even considering its 25 acquisitions of AI companies from 2016 to 2020 and 32 AI startups being acquired in 2023, the question here is not acquiring the talent; it is what Apple does with the talent that is paramount. This reiterates my point that Jobs was known to be ruthless in the pursuit of technological excellence and vision. Without him, I believe the company's focus on consumer goods as its primary value-add could begin to wane over the long term. Its strategic shift to technology investments rather than fully integrated acquisitions could broaden its growth opportunities and allow for a deeper ecosystem of growth to strengthen it over the long term.

Key takeaway

Apple may still be a big player in the game, but I believe it is quite telling that Microsoft has recently overtaken it. I think what Microsoft has over Apple, which is incredibly astute, is a business strategy that is similar to portfolio management but focused on technology. I believe this was instilled in Microsoft by Bill Gates ( Trades , Portfolio ), and while I think Apple's consumer products have been the best in the world up until now, I think due to its size and the loss of Jobs, Apple's executive management has to navigate a shift in strategy to meet long-term financial growth targets that shareholders will want.

In many respects, Apple is at a critical crossroads and must navigate its future carefully. As such, I will hold the stock, but not at too high a weight in my portfolio until I see the shifts needed to maintain growth over the long term.

Disclosures

I/we have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and have no plans to buy any new positions in the stocks mentioned within the next 72 hours.

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Husay Onboarding 17+

Husay onboarding, spiderhook inc., designed for iphone, iphone screenshots, description.

The app features real-time information about users’ vessel assignments and allows users to upload travel documents. The aim is for users to be continuously engaged and need to stay updated on their tasks and travel requirements. 1. Assignment Details: The app has an Assignment Dashboard wherein users can see complete information on their upcoming vessel assignment. The dashboard will provide updates or changes to assignments in real-time. This could will include notifications for new or any changes in assignment, or any other relevant information and users should be able to confirm their travel willingness on each assignment assigned. 2. Real-Time Updates: Implement a notification system that sends push notifications to users whenever there is a change in their assignments. This could include changes in vessel, port of embarkation, or any other relevant information. Users should also be able to opt-in to receive email notifications for important updates. 3. Document Upload: Integrate a feature that allows users to upload travel documents directly within the app. This will include relevant travel documentation required prior departure and boarding the vessel. Users should be able to easily upload documents from their device's storage or take photos of documents using their device's camera. 4. Document Verification: Once users upload their travel documents, provide a feature for administrators to verify and approve them. This could involve a simple verification process where administrators review the documents and mark them as verified within the app. 5. Reminders: Implement a reminder feature that reminds users to upload or update their travel documents as the travel date approaches. This can help ensure that users have all the necessary documents ready before their trip. 6. Secure Storage: Ensure that all uploaded documents are securely stored within the app. Implement encryption and other security measures to protect users' sensitive information.

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International HRM Case Study: Apple Inc.

Apple hrm case study: abstract, apple’s hrm, apple’s experience in international hrm: case study, apple human resource management: conclusion.

International human resource management has become a necessary undertaking in many multinational corporations. Globalization, a major driver of international trade, is one of the factors behind this development. Success in international ventures is significantly driven by the input of expatriates or international assignees.

In this paper, some issues relating to these assignees were highlighted. They include such issues as the various aspects of pre-departure training, recruitment, and selection criteria. Staffing strategies were also reviewed in this study. The author of this paper proposed a system of measuring return on international assignments.

The topics mentioned above were analyzed in the context of Apple Inc., a top ranking multinational corporation. The success of this organization is one of the reasons why it was selected for this study.

Key words: International human resource management, international assignees, multinational corporations, Apple Inc.

In the recent past, there has been an increase in the number of multinational corporations operating in the world. Such companies are heavily investing in the global market. A number of factors have influenced the growth of these organizations.

They include dynamics of international trade, amalgamation of the financial markets, and human migration. Other factors include speedy movement of capital as a result of globalization. All these factors have facilitated trade on the international arena.

Human resource management entails the activities carried out by organizations to effectively utilize their human resource. Consequently, effective human resource management at the global level is a major determinant of success in international trade.

Human resource development at the international level has largely focused on the formulation of effective and highly skilled workforce. By doing this, individual employees and the organization at large can realize their ultimate goals of serving customers.

Apple Inc. is a competitive global company in the communications and electronics industry. It is a leading designer, manufacturer, and marketer of communications and media devices.

It is also involved in the manufacture and distribution of digital music players and portable computers. The company has operations in different parts of the world. It has an elaborate international human resource management system.

The current study addresses the element of international human resource management with regards to Apple Inc. Various aspects related to management of personnel in this organization are reviewed.

They include, among others, training of employees, deployment across the world, and return on investment. The author of this paper holds that effective management of human resource at Apple Inc. has contributed to the success of the organization.

Components of Pre-Departure Training

Overview. According to Avril and Magnini (2007), pre-departure training provides expatriates with the knowledge and skills required to survive following their immediate arrival at the destined country of work. Essentially, employees going to work in another country require information on various aspects of the host nation before they leave home.

Some of the things they need to know include the culture and customs of the host country. They also need to be aware of the language and dress code appropriate to the new environment. In addition, international assignees need information on business etiquette in the new country (Avril & Magnini, 2007).

Information on verbal and non-verbal communication, taboos, rules, decision-making techniques, and business management structures should be provided to international employees during pre-departure training.

Culture and customs of the new country. Training on host country’s customs is essential in ensuring that the expatriates adapt to the local culture. It is noted that business operations would be negatively affected if the behavior patterns of the new employees conflict with the cultural expectations in the host country.

For instance, a US citizen working for Apple Inc. may be deployed to Saudi Arabia. Such an employee should be aware of how Saudi nationals regard alcohol. In addition, female employees would be expected to conform to the societal expectations with regards to their dress code.

Language. Language is an essential component of communication in international business. Expatriates and inpatriates require more than just basic knowledge on the host country’s language for effective execution of their assignments. In addition, they should be aware of non-verbal communication techniques. Such awareness would facilitate communication in foreign countries.

Business etiquette in the new environment. Business etiquette may vary between countries. In some parts of the world, governments regulate business policies. For instance, such elements as tax policies, power distance, and human resource management may differ from one country to the other (Katz & Seifer, 1996).

An expatriate manager at Apple Inc. would be required to understand the variation of such policies. Failure to comply with the new rules and regulations would most likely jeopardize the operations of the corporation in the host market.

Business management structures and decision-making techniques. Different countries adopt different approaches in relation to business structures and decision-making techniques. For instance, decision making in high-power distance cultures differs with that in low-power distance communities.

As such, a manager working for Apple’s branch in Korea should be aware of the best approach to adopt in directing employees. The same applies to a German employee working in Africa, where decisions usually come from the top management.

Rationale for Utilizing the Pre-Departure Training Components

Managers are expected to effectively handle employees from different cultural backgrounds. The ability of such managers as far as the employees are concerned affects the profitability of the company. People from different countries express their nationality and dress codes differently.

The approach used by international assignees when dealing with certain problems may also differ. Such issues as the need to interpret actions and comments, predict behaviors, and resolve conflicts may arise. As a result, focusing on the various components of pre-departure training would harmonize Apple’s operations with the reality in the host country.

Performance Assessment among Expatriates

Introducing assessment. Assessing the performance of expatriates is a major element in international human resource management. The performance can be reviewed using a number of criteria. Such criteria include determining strategy implementation and attainment of competitive advantage.

According to Caligiuri (1997), there are three criteria commonly used in evaluating expatriates. They include completion of foreign assignments, performance on the foreign assignment, and cross-cultural adjustment. The criteria apply to all employees irrespective of the operations of a particular organization.

Completion of foreign assignments. It is an important behavioral measurement. It is used in reviewing the results of tasks assigned to foreign employees. Success under this criterion is determined by the ability of the employee to complete their assignment without seeking for transfer to another country (Caligiuri, 1997).

Premature termination translates to failure in relation to the performance of the expatriate. In most cases, premature termination occurs when the expatriate requests for transfer to home country before completion of the assignment. The assignee may also be requested to return home before they have completed their work.

Cross-cultural adjustment. Adjustment to foreign culture also determines the success of the assignee (Caligiuri, 1997). Inability to adjust to the host country means failure in the assignment. Successful adjustment indicates that the employee is psychologically comfortable working and living in the new country.

Adjusted assignees are comfortable with the local culture. On their part, maladjusted employees find it hard to survive in the new environment. The failed employees may prematurely terminate their assignments (Suutari & Brewster, 2000).

Performance on the foreign assignment. Multinational corporations expect their employees to adjust culturally and remain in their foreign posts. In addition, the expatriates are expected to successfully execute their assignments. According to Caligiuri (1997), a large number of maladjusted foreign employees fail to achieve the envisaged outcomes in their work.

There are various measures of performance with regards to foreign assignments. They include establishing working relationships with the locals. Others include transfer of information and the language and cultural proficiency of the foreign employee (Caligiuri, 1997). The measures are in relation to the benefits of expatriates to the multinational corporation.

Recruitment and Selection Strategy for Apple Inc.’s International Assignments

According to Suutari and Brewster (2000), international assignments entail three discrete phases. The first is the pre-assignment stage. It involves the selection and preparation of employees for deployment.

The second is the ‘actual’ assignment. It involves the ‘actual’ stay of the expatriate in the new country. The last is the post-assignment stage. It is also commonly known as repatriation.

Recruitment and selection of expatriates is a multifaceted process. It takes into account both personal characteristics and interpersonal skills. Caligiuri (1997) postulates that most international organizations use knowledge of company systems and technical competencies in the selection process.

The strategy is the most suitable recruitment and selection criteria for Apple Inc. It is noted that measuring relevant cross-cultural and interpersonal abilities is a difficult task for many organizations. In addition, most expatriate postings rely on personal recommendations.

Such recommendations are derived from either line managers or specialist personnel (Suutari & Brewster, 2000). As such, Apple should rely on the proposed recruitment and selection policy. The strategy would reduce chances of failure in the assigned job.

Staffing Alternatives for Foreign Operations

There are several approaches used in resolving the issue of human resource in relation to international assignments. The strategies include ethnocentric and polycentric staffing approaches. Others are regiocentric and geocentric staffing strategies (Dowling, Welch & Schuler, 2004).

The ethnocentric approach involves filling all the key positions in the organization with local experts. The polycentric approach, on the other hand, proposes the use of host country’s nationals in managing subsidiaries. However, in this approach, key positions in the corporation’s headquarters are held by nationals of the parent country (Dowling et al., 2004).

The regiocentric approach is a mixed staffing strategy. Here, executives are transferred between regions. Operations of the company are divided according to geographical regions.

Apple should adopt the geocentric policy to address its staffing needs. The approach disregards the nationality and location of the candidate. It is appropriate for Apple Inc. since the corporation has a vast international experience and a global structure that is well developed.

Importance of a High Quality Mentoring System for International Assignees

Mentorship refers to a form of developmental relationship. In this case, an experienced employed assists less experienced members of staff in performing their tasks. The mentors can function as guides in the exploration of career interests. They provide support to international assignees deployed by multinational organizations.

Mentoring systems for expatriates can be formal or informal. The former describes established procedures and specified targets. The latter, on the other hand, is initiated whenever the assignees seek advice from their superiors or from external professionals.

A high quality mentoring system is very important to any multinational organization. It determines the success or failure of foreign employees. In most cases, the programs provide the management with an opportunity to support the assignees.

The support is especially important during departure or repatriation phases of the assignment. As such, the programs are powerful means of strategically retaining valuable employees with international experience.

High quality mentoring programs also help the employees to adjust to their new environment. It improves their productivity and overall performance in their new posts.

In addition, the programs provide continuous communication on changes in the company and the state of affairs back at home. As a result, the expatriates can effectively cope with transfers, expatriation, and repatriation.

The current global economic meltdown has led to cost constraints in most organizations. As such, it is important for organizations to have the right people at the right place. High quality mentorship programs are very essential in the management of talent and employees.

To this end, Apple Inc. employees should always have a mentor irrespective of their position in the foreign country. The mentors should supervise the assignee with a view to support their development.

They should assist the new employee for a given period of time. Prior to the assignment, the employee must undergo an extensive pre-departure training. The training will help them settle down in the host country.

Measuring Return on Investment in International Assignments

Every business undertaking requires a mechanism to determine its subsequent return on investment. The same applies to international assignments in multinational organizations. The companies should analyze the profitability or importance of international assignments to the parent organization.

Studies conducted with the aim of measuring return on investment with regards to international human resource have focused on numerical results of foreign deployments. In most cases, the costs and returns associated with the investment are used to determine its profitability (Caligiuri, 1997).

To determine Apple Inc.’s return on investment, one should take into consideration a number of factors. The various aspects of international human resource management would help in assessing the profitability of foreign employees. The factors include identification of the assignment’s purposes, cross-cultural training costs (Dowling et al., 2004), and compensation.

In addition, performance management and repatriation outcomes should be factored in. Calculation of return on investment would eventually be ascertained by analyzing the financial and non-financial costs and benefits of the venture. The costs and benefits are then linked to the expenditure incurred with regards to the assignment.

International human resource management differs with domestic management of employees in several ways. Managing employees at the international level is characterized by different labor markets, varying management practices, and dynamic labor laws. Economic and other cultural barriers make international management of human resource a complex affair.

Managing international employees may differ from one organization to the other. However, according to this author, the underlying principles are similar in all organizations. As a result, effective management of assignees and their related assignments is a major determinant of the success of these international ventures.

Avril, A., & Magnini, V. (2007). A holistic approach to expatriate successes. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 19 (1), 53-64.

Caligiuri, P. (1997). Assessing expatriate success: Beyond just “being there”. New Approaches to Employee Management, 4 (1), 117-140.

Dowling, P., Welch, D., & Schuler, R. (2004). International human resource management: Managing people in a multicultural context (4th ed.). Cincinnati, OH: Southwestern College Publishing.

Katz, J., & Seifer, D. (1996). It is a different world out there: Planning for expatriate success through selection, pre-departure training, and on-site socialization. Human Resource Planning, 19 (2), 32-47.

Suutari, V., & Brewster, C. (2000). Making their own way: International experience through self-initiated foreign assignments. Journal of World Business, 35 (4), 417-436.

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IvyPanda. (2019, April 23). International HRM Case Study: Apple Inc. https://ivypanda.com/essays/international-hrm-a-case-study-of-apple-inc-essay/

"International HRM Case Study: Apple Inc." IvyPanda , 23 Apr. 2019, ivypanda.com/essays/international-hrm-a-case-study-of-apple-inc-essay/.

IvyPanda . (2019) 'International HRM Case Study: Apple Inc'. 23 April.

IvyPanda . 2019. "International HRM Case Study: Apple Inc." April 23, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/international-hrm-a-case-study-of-apple-inc-essay/.

1. IvyPanda . "International HRM Case Study: Apple Inc." April 23, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/international-hrm-a-case-study-of-apple-inc-essay/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "International HRM Case Study: Apple Inc." April 23, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/international-hrm-a-case-study-of-apple-inc-essay/.

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