Apple’s Strategic Decision in Employee Motivation

Apple’s strategic decision in employee Motivation

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The world acknowledges Apple Inc for the efforts that the company has been putting into practice with the aims of innovating, offering quality to customers and also seeking to satisfy consumer expectations. In an attempt to attain a global market dominance, Apple chose to move from the red ocean business strategy and adopt a blue ocean strategy. In the red ocean strategy, Apple Inc used to compete with the existing competitors over the same customers, market segments and the same level of innovation. This was brought to an end by the blue ocean strategy in which the company created an uncontested market space, hence making competition irrelevant via a high level of innovation (Kim & Mauborgne, 2015). Under the same strategy, Apple sought to break the value-cost losses or trade offs, capture and innovatively create new user demands on their products as well as simultaneously differentiate their products and costs (Kim & Mauborgne, 2015). For instance, the introduction of iPod, iTunes and the Apple Smart phone models are the actual fruits of the blue ocean strategy. Nowadays, every consumer admires to own an Apple’s product while competitors are busy trying to close the competition gap in vain.

The adoption of the blue ocean strategy was the turning point over Apple’s quest for stakeholder wealth maximization. Consequently, in an attempt to maintain this market space,  (1: Premise) Apple’s Human Resource Department made another strategic business decision on 2nd October 2014. This decision based on improving employee talent management programs within the company as well as offering their employees a myriad of benefits in an attempt to motivate them (Müller, 2010). This was a good business decision because it sought to personally and professionally develope their employees and motivate them. A motivated employee is considered a vital asset to the firm in a variety of metrics such as production, customer service, satisfaction and loyalty in that motivation bears a positive impact on these mentioned factors (1: Conclusion).

(2: Premise). Any business decision is termed as good if it parallels with the businesses’s main goals and seeks to benefit the company while at the same time incurring the minimum risk or cost possible. For such a decision to be made and termed as good, it must be based on a strategy that is SMART (Müller, 2010). The strategy must be specific, measureable, attainable, realistic and timely. Consequently, Apple HRM department made it specific that the decision aims at specifically motivating their employees and also improving their Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (SKAs) in an attempt to help them attain both personal and professional development (2:Conclusion).

In a memo from the HRM department, Apple made it clear to the employees that they were considering, and had actually decided to give employees additional benefits (3: Premise). These benefits comprised of full acceleration of stock in the event that an employee passes, having a longer parental leave, subsidized student loan refinancing and also an additional education reimbursement for all classes taken by employees. According to Marslow’s hierarchy fo needs, employees have different needs that need to be satisfied at different levels. The satisfaction of these level needs ultimately leads to motivation, increased productive and many more benefits (4: Conclusion).

This decision seems to be highly relevant in the modern industry (5:Premise). For instance, studies have repetitively indicated that employees perform poorly due to lack of motivation. These employees also have other needs, such as the need for professional development, acquisition of skills among other categories of self actualization needs. These needs can be satisfied by introducing incentives such as benefits (Crouse,, 2005). Now that the employees have a chance to receive reimbursement for every professional development classes they attend, they will be motivated by to attend such classes. Consequently, they will attain skills that are rare and hard to imitate by competitor employees from rival companies. The latter makes them assets to the firm, giving them a competitive edge over competitors (6: Conclusion). Therefore, this decision of motivating employees via professional development is not only realistic but also attainable because many companies have done it.