Running head: ORGANIZATIONS SOCIAL PERFORMANCE 1

Organizations Social Performance

[Student’s Name]

[Institutional Affiliation]
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Organizations Social performance

Apple Company is an American multinational corporation that design, manufactures and

sells consumer electronics, personal as well as office computers and computer software (Lusted,

2012). Apple Company is known not only in American, but also across the globe for their

hardware products such as, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, he Mac, the IOS and the OSX among, other

products with their recent product being the iWatch (Apple Inc, 2014). The Apple watch series 2

and Apple watch series 1 were released in September 2016.The Company is also known to offer

the best services such as, media communication devices, mobile communication devices,

software applications such as OSX operating system (Apple Inc, 2014). One can also download

digital contents applications through, Mac App, App Store and iBook Store. The company also

offers networking solutions to individuals and companies.

External factor that affected Apple Company

Apple as a multinational company whose products and services are consumed across the

globe mainly in United States, China, and Asia and Pacific regions is not expected to operate

smoothly throughout its life without facing some challenges (Lusted, 2012). The company’s

external environment such as culture, demographic, technological as well as social factors can

greatly affect the effective operations of the business and therefore leading to a declining trend in

profitability.

One of the profound external factors that have affected Apple Company is the 2007- 2008

economic crisis. This crisis also became to be known as the global financial crisis (O'Grady,

2009). It is considered to be the worst financial crisis of all time after the great depression of the
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1930s. During this period, the banks scaled high their mortgage approval rates, national banks

and the prices of stock dropped worldwide. During this period of economic crisis, various

companies were exposed to the systematic risk that affected the purchasing power of consumers.

Apple sales reduced as the consumers could not afford to take loans to buy Apple products and

services thereby reducing the overall profit for the company (O'Grady, 2009). This economic

trend led to a fall in wages as most company could not hire many casual laborers, this led to a

decline in consumption trend by consumers.

Another external factor that affected Apple Company is the competition from different

firms manufacturing the same products. During the 1980s Apple received competition from

Amiga and Atari St platforms. The company responded by flooding the market with Mac models

such as Cetris, Quadra and Perfoma. This was even not a wise decision by the company as it

brought a lot of confusion in the market, as people could not differentiate most of their products

since they looked alike. The introduction of the iPon inn 2001 also placed the company in a state

of competition with firms such as Sony walkman (Apple Inc, 2014). Apple also receives serious

completion from other Smartphone producers such as Samsung, Sony, and HTC. Above all, the

company has to change with the advancement in technology in order to keep its market share.

Primary Stakeholders and Apple Financial Performance

Apple Corporation has both primary and secondary shareholders who have ensured

growth and development of the company (O'Grady, 2009). The primary stakeholders of any

corporation would include; the customers, the company’s employees, the company’s suppliers

and distributors as well as the suppliers. These are individuals and corporations that directly

influence and affect the financial performance of Apple Corporation, as they are directly
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involved in the production, distribution and the purchasing of the company’s products and

services.

The first stakeholder in any corporation is the company’s employees. The production and

performance of an individual employee or a team of employees depend on various factors, but

one factor that we cannot to overlook is motivation (Lusted, 2012). Motivated employees can be

more productive than those that are not motivated. Considering this, the company can engage in

various ways of motivating its employees such as; training for capacity building, recognition,

better wages and salaries among other issues that affect the productivity of an employee. The

performances of employees in their areas of expertise directly influence the financial

performance of any organization which can directly be reflected in the company’s balance sheet

and the income statement.

Suppliers are considered primary stakeholder as they are involved in the supply of raw

materials that are used in the manufacture of Apple products. These materials have a direct

impact on the final product. Apple is known to have the best suppliers that have made them

produce high quality products that meet its consumer’s expectations (Apple Inc, 2014). This has

made them gain loyal customers across America, Asia, China and other parts of the globe.

Investors are the providers of capital. As one of the primary stakeholders of Apple, they

expect high performance by the company in order to recoup their investment and share in the

dividend of the company. If the company performs well, it attracts investors who provide capital

for further expansion. If the company has the capital that it requires, then it can expand and

compete favorably thereby reaching a larger market. A larger market share would transform into

increased sales and increased profit.

ORGANIZATIONS SOCIAL PERFORMANCE

Consumers are considered as stakeholder as they are involved in the buying of the

company’s products. These can be individuals and other company’s who buy Apple’s products.

If a company is able to establish for itself a brand in terms of meeting customer’s expectation,

then they are able to get customers loyalty (Lambooy, 2010). This will be reflected in the

financial statements of the organization.

Distributors can also affect the company’s financial performance. Getting the best

channel of distribution ensures that the consumers get the product in time and thereby boosting

their loyalty to the firm. Apple has effectively indentified its distribution channel of distribution.

It has established its sub branches in Asia, China and other parts of Europe. This has enabled it to

expend its profit.

Concern Controversial Corporate Social Responsibility associated with Apple Company

Apple has been involved in various legal battles concerning corporate social

responsibility. One of the known concerns is the company’s dealing with suppliers who are

known to violate the laws (Lambooy, 2010). The company’s dealing with Foxconn has always

spurred a heated debate among various human rights activists (Chen, 2012). Foxconn is known

for its poor working conditions and infringement of human rights. A number of cases concerning

violation of human rights have been reported. An explosion which occurred in the company in

2012 killed four people in the iPad case room due to limited safety precautions (Chen, 2012).

Many cases of long working hours without compensation and suicides related to work issues

have also been reported by Foxconn employees.

Conclusion
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There are a number of reasons why Apple products and services enjoy customer’s loyalty

across the globe, one of the reasons being, their sensitivity to produce user friendly devices. The

company is also concerned about its employees and environmental issues. They take seriously

their customers complaints and find solutions to their problems. These are some of the reasons

for its success.

ORGANIZATIONS SOCIAL PERFORMANCE

References

Apple Inc., (2014). Supplier Responsibility 2014 Progress Report. Supplier Responsibility

Progress Reports. Cupertino, CA, USA: Apple Inc.

Chen, H. (2012, March 2). Who's Really to Blame for Apple's Chinese Labor Problems?

Retrieved April 29, 2012017,

fromhttp://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/03/whos-really-to-blame-for-apples-

chinese-labor-problems/253892/

Lusted, M. A. (2012). Apple: The company and its visionary founder, Steve Jobs. Minneapolis,

MN: ABDO Pub.

Lambooy, T. (2010). Corporate social responsibility: Legal and semi-legal frameworks

supporting CSR. Deventer: Kluwer.

O'Grady, J. D. (2009). Apple Inc. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press.