Globalization and Its Impact on Organizational Change and Practice of Apple Inc.

People have different interpretations about the definition of the term globalization. The most agreed upon definition is the unified economy, or transforming the world into one large village. Globalization strives to integrate national economies into the international framework through trade and foreign investments. International trade has increased by a multiple of thirty since the mid-nineties. Globalization affects countries and businesses. Among those businesses, this study will focus on the American multinational company Apple Inc. The company specializes in manufacturing electronic equipment like computers and smartphones.

Apple’s globalization strategy relies on putting unique elements in their products. Apple makes it a priority to choose elements, which will appeal to customers. This strategy strengthens their market position, as it puts them ahead of the competition (Porter, 1998). Apple’s innovative and unique product is the reason behind its global success. Apple’s strategy is always being refined to advance their high-quality product at the hardware level, and their platform at the software level (Apple Inc.

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, 2010).

The company’s target customers are divided into various categories. Apple uses distribution channels to meet the needs of their customers by using the online platforms, retail stores and the direct sales approach. The company is always expanding its distribution network to enhance their profit (Form 10-K SEC Filing, 2010).

Apple faces a very competitive market niche. According to Hoover (2011), Apple’s top competitors in the U.S are International Business Machines Corporation (IBM), Fujitsu Siemens, and Media Net Digital. In order for Apple to draw more customers, it focuses on methods to leverage pricing.

The company outsources some of its production components overseas to countries such as Japan and China (Linden et al., 2007). In that regard, globalization hinders domestic manufacturing. Apple has established manufacturing facilities in various countries, which allows the company to launch its products simultaneously in America, Asia and Europe (Chaffin, 2002). However, this strategy has cost the United States jobs due to downsizing.

Another downside to Apple’s Globalist strategy has been its lack of control over the output of the product manufactured abroad. Some reports stated that some of Apple’s outsourcing plants have shown questionable practices. There were allegations of employing minors and committing environmental violations. This makes Apple Inc. susceptible to ill practices by the subcontractors hired overseas (Sherman, 2010, 2011).

The economic world has become more welcoming of open trades and free market than ever before. While globalization provides countless opportunities for business growth, the international market environment still needs maturity from a regulatory standpoint to make sure that the world does not become one large monopoly. Apple, as an example lacks the firm structure it requires for the business it conducts internationally, in particular, at the manufacturing level. Apple can assemble a department in charge monitoring to ensure everything is regulated.