Strategic Management in Action Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Strategic Management in Action - Assignment Example Introduction Technology sector in the US includes more than 140,000 companies with combined annual revenue of about $900 billion. AT&T, IBM, Intel, Adobe, Apple, and Microsoft are the major companies (US Technolgy Sector Analysis, 2010). â€Å"Industry concentration is high in many segments with the largest 50 participants generating more than 60% of the segment revenue† (US Technolgy Sector Analysis, 2010). Scientific discoveries and new product developments form the basis of profitability in this industry. Both large and small companies can compete successfully – the mammoths have access to capital and marketing and the miniatures have domain-specific expertise. In the period Aug-10 to Jan-11, the Application Software industry has been on a bullish trend before being thrust into a bearish mode in the wake of the European sovereign debt crisis. The history of Apple begins in 1976 when Stephen Gary Wozniak and Steven Paul Jobs began working on the Apple I. When the design was finished Wozniak and Job’s tried to sell it to Hewlett Packard but there was no interest in the Apple I. By April 1976 Ron Wayne had joined Jobs and Wozniak and designed the first Apple logo. Wayne sees the financial risk being too high and resigns. In 1977 Apple becomes incorporated and in 1979 the Apple II is introduced. At this time development began on Apple’s first business computer, the Lisa. In 1980 Apple went public and by 1983 Apple had become the fastest growing company in history. Flash forward to 1998 when the iMac is announced and releases, it becomes the fastest selling PC in history. May 19th, 2001 Apple opens its first retail store in Los Angeles and Washington DC, followed by the introduction of the iPod in October (TAM, 2010). Among Apple’s long list of products include the iPad, iPhone, iPod, iTunes, Mac, PowerBoo k, and Power Mac. As of May 2010 Apple had a gain of 1.8% at $222.12 billion (Nosowitz, 2010). While Apple has produced some products that have experienced the same success as the iPod, for example Apple TV, the authors believed that the new projector laptop will be among Apple’s more popular products. SWOT Analysis The primary strength of APPLE is its strong presence in the market. It could be realized from the fact that it is the world’s number one brand in Asia, US and Europe. It has outperformed technology giants like Intel, IBS and Microsoft in many segments. Its strong presence in the market has helped it to aggressively acquire market share compared to many other companies that only have strong presence in their local markets. The company has the largest market share in MB and motherboard segments selling approximately 22 million pieces in FY09. APPLE is one of the rear technology companies that had made operating profits even though global economy was undergoin g a recession (Apple Annual Report, 2010). Another Strength of APPLE is its advanced and excellent Research & Development capability, efficient and effective supply chain, and mass production at a competitive production cost. These competitive strategies of APPLE have helped it to become a market leader in many products. In 2009, the company came up with first of its kind notebook and motherboard that was compatible with USB 3.0 securing a leading position in the segment (Apple Announcements, 2011). This was a shear display of Research initiatives of the company. With the use of technologies like e-commerce, the company had created an efficient supply chain which helps it with seamless flow of information and products among resources. Mass production done by APPLE helps it achieve economies of scale thereby increasing operating profits of the company. The primary weakness of the company is that it is investing a lot of amount in restructure activities involving spin-off of certain s ubsidiaries

Profiling of black males in the unites states Essay

Profiling of black males in the unites states - Essay Example Each African American living in the United States who has travelled via public transportation such as buses, airplanes or owns a motor vehicle has been a victim of racial profiling. Unfortunately, many victims of the law enforcement officials experience this form of discrimination unknowingly. On the outside, legally, one may visualize an equal America with each person being protected by the liberties in the constitution. Individuals of all races, with several generations of American blood, have an illusion of equality from the fairy tale like image of the America. Sadly, this is not the case, and individuals of African American decent are disproportionately stopped, searched and targeted by the police purely on the basis of their race (Weatherspoon, n.p). Many times I have witnessed a black male being borderline harassed by the law enforcement officials in a way that would never happen to a white male. In addition, these harassments frequently occur with no signs of provocation from the victim. Well, one might ask who is to blame for this unequal and unfair treatment of the African American male. The justice system has had a significant role in this matter as it has in some instances given encouragement and condoned the law enforcement officials to prosecute, arrest, stop and incarcerate black males (Weatherspoon, n.p). The typical image of criminal in the eyes of the law enforcement is a young black male. Racial profiling exists in all sections of American society including the government, which has led other institutions in the private sectors to take the same approaches in their activities. The majority of black males in America are aware of the fact that they are profiled. A study was carried out by the Washington Post asking random black males whether they feel they are victims of racial profiles. The study found that approximately 50% of black males believe that they were victims of racial profiling