Case Study A- APPLE Apple Inc. is a technology company that was established on April 1, 1976, as Computer Company; and on January 3, 1977, Apple Computer Co. is officially incorporated, with Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak listed as co-founders. By the early 1980s, Apple was no longer a start-up; rather the business been aggressively developing itself in different ways. The key challenge was “How to maintain quality as the company expanded?” The adopted approach was reflected in its slogan “T

Case Study A- APPLE

Apple Inc. is a technology company that was established on April 1, 1976, as Computer Company; and on January 3, 1977, Apple Computer Co. is officially incorporated, with Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak listed as co-founders. By the early 1980s, Apple was no longer a start-up; rather the business been aggressively developing itself in different ways.
The key challenge was “How to maintain quality as the company expanded?” The adopted approach was reflected in its slogan “Think different” and its mission statement “To bringing the best user experience to its customers through its innovative hardware, software, and services”. In achieving this mission statement, the adopted vision by the company is “Different together”.
In illustrating its vision, Apple Inc. stated, “At Apple, we are not all the same. And that is our greatest strength. We draw on the differences in who we are, what we have experienced, and how we think. Because to create products that serve everyone, we believe in including everyone”. In a manifesto dated 2009 Tim Cook (CEO) set the vision specified, “We believe that we are on the face of the earth to make great products and that is not changing”.
Today, Apple is famous for its ethics, being innovative, and quality focus organization. The key driver to do so, was its clear business strategy “The Company’s business strategy leverages its unique ability to design and develop its own operating systems, hardware, application software and services to provide its customer’s products and solutions with innovative design, superior ease-of-use, and seamless integration”.
 

Activity 1

1. Critically analyze how APPLE’s organizational culture, politics, and power can influence individual and team behavior and performance.
2. Critically evaluate how to influence the behavior of others through the effective application of content theories such as Maslow or Herzberg, process theory such as Vroomand motivational techniques of  Behavioural psychology such as emotional intelligence and Reinforcement theory to enable effective achievement of goals at APPLE You should support your points with practical examples from Apple.
3. Critically evaluate the relationship between culture, politics, power, and motivation that enables teams in Apple to succeed. You should provide justified recommendations.

Case Study B- IBM

International Business Machines (IBM) is a global technology company that provides hardware, software, cloud-based services, and cognitive computing. IBM, which is nicknamed as the ‘Big Blue’, is headquartered in Armonk, New York. The company is over 100 years old. Since its inception in 1911, the company has been focused on continuous innovation. In this regard, we find Ginni Rometty, IBM CEO, stated that

“Digital is the wires, but digital intelligence, or artificial intelligence as some people call it, is about much more than that. This next decade is about how you combine those and become a cognitive business. It’s the dawn of a new era”.


In achieving this, IBM employs more than 366,600 employees in over 170 countries, working with different customers to implement and enhance their business. IBM’s diverse employees are skillful, talented, and innovative. The company keeps training and developing its employees in order to keep producing innovative technology and provide accurate solutions. This requires reliable methods of coming together in a truly meaningful way to do their best work. In each office, there are informal groups comprising of people from the same ethnic or social backgrounds who socialize and support each other in different ways.

Activity 2- IBM

In your capacity as a business consultant, with the information of IBM above and your own research, provide a report which covers the following:

1. Explain what makes an effective team as opposed to an ineffective team in application to IBM. In doing so, analyze the role of team development models (Tuckman’s Team Development Model and the Nine Belbin Team Roles) to support the development of dynamic cooperation in IBM.
2. Apply and evaluate concepts and philosophies of organizational behavior; namely Path-goal theory, Social Capital theory to IBM. Explain how or in which way these two theories can inform and influence behaviors to improve performance and productivity in IBM;  in both positive and negative ways in IBM.
3. Critically analyze and evaluate the relevance of Tuckman’s Team Development model and the Nine Belbin team Rolesin context of organizational behavior concepts and philosophies that influence behaviors in IBM.