Apple Inc.

What are key forces in the general and industry environments that affect Apple's choice of strategy?

By looking at the demographic, Apple has to understand that the younger generation are more tech savvy and welcome new changes as to the older generations which maybe open to the idea but will not pick up on the technology as fast. With the popular growth of the technology it has made the Internet a huge new market for opportunities. These new opportunities help makes the daily life easier whether if it is a speeder delivery or a new way to manufacture an item with half the material like the new water bottles. However, when dealing with technology there is always a factor of risk to keep in mind. You may not want to constantly update way to fast or update way late compare to the rest of the society.

Apple is able to command a price premium on their products because of the name on their product and the quality of products they are selling.

What internal resources and assets does Apple have that may give it a competitive advantage?

The competitive advantage Apple has is in their value chain. A value chain consists of inbound logistics, operations, distribution, sales and marketing, and service. According to Porter in order to gain competitive advantage, the five areas of the value chain will need to meet. Apple executes the value chain perfectly in all five areas. With Apple's success, their financial resources are well funded when it comes to the research and development. Technological wise, Apple is the biggest human resource that is capable to motivate creative employees. This results Apple to be able to keep up with technology innovation. As an organizational stand point, Steve Jobs has strategically focused on the digital lifestyle that he has created. These are the tangible resources Apple has. For the intangible resources it is the innovation and creativity that Apple as a whole company has as a major strength. The reputation is one of Apple's most important strength and one that Apple is well known worldwide. The important factors to focus on here are the importance of resources such as innovation and reputation.