Strategy of General Electric & Apple-Free-Samples for Students

Question: Discuss about the Competitive Strategy of General Electric and Apple. Answer General Electric General Electric is the An American multinational company. It was established on 15 April 1892. The company deals in various products such as oil, gas, energy, water, aircraft engines, appliances, electrical distribution, electric motors, finance, health care, locomotives, weapons, wind turbines, lighting and software (GE 2017). The company is selected because it provides a great example of an excellent company. It is ranked in Fortune 500 countries of USA. In good as well as hard times the company did what others can only wish for. It always lies ahead in the game and sets targets for others to follow therefore it is one of the most admired and successful company. In the beginning, General Electric is only targeted at the business to business marketing for electric sector. The company grew so much because it diversified the product portfolio and designed various marketing campaigns. The theories that can be held responsible for the current market standing of the company are a theory of business transformation, the theory of intellectual leadership and stakeholder theory. Theory of business transformation means bring changes according to the dynamic environment needs i.e. adding and subtracting to the business portfolio to strengthen the competitive advantage (Elliot 2011). GE showed an example of a constantly evolving company. It has added various products to its product portfolio and eliminated various processes that became obsolete with the time. Today the company has almost 11 diverse product sectors. The company always has framed its culture in such a way that its employees act like entrepreneurs, they recognise the changing trends in the environment and come up with dynamic ideas to deal with the changes. The company has not only undergone product portfolio expansion it has undergone reorganisation and cultural transformation. People inside General electric have a healthy disrespect for history. They are flexible to change according to need and are not burdened by the past. The other theory is a theory of business transformation. Theory of intellectual leadership defines the types of leaders that aim to transform the society by proving the clear insights to the future. These leaders tend to change the behaviour of others by providing them with the view that how their idea can impact the future state or society (Nohria and Khurana 2010). General Electric has not only established intellectual leadership in the organisation it has managed it since hundred years. The company always focuses on developing managerial talent in the organisation. In the years 1980s and 1990s the company started focusing on leadership managem ent to develop the culture of global management. The other theory is stakeholder theory, this theory states that managers have the study to satisfy all the stakeholders of the company but this should be done within the legal political and ethical boundaries (Garvare and Johansson 2010). The company does every possible effort to serve all the stakeholders in a possible way. The company aims to satisfy its customers by providing them with the innovative and high- tech products. The company is has adopted the digital industrial strategy which will make it worlds largest digital industrial company. A concerted push was made by GE to ensure transparency for maximising shareholders interests. Apple Apple is an American multinational company. It was founded in 19776 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. The company deals in computer electronics, computer software and electronic services. Companys most trending products are iPhone, iPad and Mac book. Current CEO is Apple is Tim Cook (Apple 2017). Apple is worlds largest company of information technology and second largest mobile manufacturer. Apple is perceived as an excellent company in the industry because it has an established brand name. The company never fails to deliver innovatively and quality assured products to its customers. Therefore it is the market leader in the industry. Apple was recognised as worlds most valuable brand in Forbes article. The credit of Apple success is often given to its former CEO, Steve Jobs who brought it to this height. Apple always manages to be a step ahead in the completion and has always been in top position. The major theories and concepts that can be applied to the success of apple are innovation, strategic alliance and customer satisfaction. Theory of innovation is also known as diffusion of innovation theory. This theory explains how advancements gain traction and spread throughout the organisation over the time. This advancement can be new products, ideas or moves (Lundvall 2010). Apple has been in the spotlight for its innovative products. It offers a range of products that are dynamic and different. The company consistently keeps on changing the business plan and processes according to the environment. The company cultivates the culture of innovation and creativity in the organisation. The company always spends in res earch and development so that its team can come up with more innovative ideas. Apple always identified the next big thing and provided it to customers before the competitors. The next thing that helped Apple to attain current market position is a strategic appliance. A strategic alliance can be defined as partnering with the competitor (Teng 2007). The company at different times partnered with different competitors depending on the need. Apple entered into strategic alliance with Microsoft where Bill Gates invested $150,000,000 in the company. Apple also manufactured various mobile parts for its competitor Samsung. This reduced the threat of rivalries and helps the company to gain a competitive edge in the market. This is the witty technique used by the company to lie ahead of competitors. The next theory on which Apple works is the theory of customer satisfaction. According to this theory, the customer is the king of the market and companies must work to maximise customer benefit ( Oliver 2014). The company works in every possible way to maximise customer benefit. It provides the customer with a premium quality product which is an essential component for customer satisfaction. The customer realised that retail store was not able to provide best customer services, therefore, the company decided to open its own retail stores worldwide. It created simple and easy to use products for its customers. The company also handled customer complaints very effectively. Apple always provides a very quick response to customer service References Apple, 2017. Apple Site Map, viewed on 16 August 2017 from https://www.apple.com/sitemap/ Elliot, S., 2011. Transdisciplinary perspectives on environmental sustainability: a resource base and framework for IT-enabled business transformation.Mis quarterly,35(1), pp.197-236. Garvare, R. and Johansson, P., 2010. Management for sustainabilitya stakeholder theory.Total quality management,21(7), pp.737-744. General Electric, 2017. About us, viewed on 16 August 2017 from https://www.ge.com/about-us/building Lundvall, B.. ed., 2010.National systems of innovation: Toward a theory of innovation and interactive learning(Vol. 2). Anthem Press. Nohria, N. and Khurana, R. eds., 2010.Handbook of leadership theory and practice. Harvard Business Press. Oliver, R.L., 2014.Satisfaction: A behavioral perspective on the consumer. Routledge. Teng, B.S., 2007. Corporate entrepreneurship activities through strategic alliances: A Resource?Based Approach toward Competitive Advantage.Journal of Management Studies,44(1), pp.119-142.