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PCA Structure

Jake Davis

OGL 481

Dr. Charlotte Newman

3 September 2022
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As many people know, Apple was founded by two college dropouts, Steve Jobs

and Steve Wozniak in 1976. Their mission was to make a computer that was small

enough to fit in a house or office, they wanted the computer to be user friendly. Apple

continues to grow to this day, and has become one of the most recognizable names in

the industry. They continued paving the way in technological innovations as the years

went by. Before Steve Jobs retired, Apple was a hierarchy structure but under Tim Cook

(current CEO of Apple) it has changed slightly. With Cook, Apple is still a hierarchy

however it is not a traditional hierarchy, but more similar to a spoke and wheel hierarchy.

There is now more communication between departments, as well as better collaboration

between hardware and software departments.

I have always been a lover and user of all things Apple. From my first phone, to

computers and even television by Apple. The same goes for my family, however, in

2015 there were a series of terrorist attacks in San Bernardino, which led the FBI to ask

Apple (the maker of a perpetrators phone) for technical assistance that almost changed

my mind. Apple, in turn, provided the FBI with the data that they had and also sent

engineers to the FBI for advice. However, Apple refused the court order to bypass the 4

digit passcode on the phone which included a feature that would erase all data after 10

incorrect attempts. Tim Cook issued a letter that reinforced Apple's decision to refuse

the FBI’s request. He stated that doing such would be “the first step towards creating a

master key that would have access to tens of millions of IPhone just in the US alone”. A

day before the hearing, the FBI withdrew its request saying that they no longer needed

help accessing the data.

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Tim Cook and Apple had an option to help the FBI and provide access but chose

not to for the sake of maintaining privacy for millions of customers around the world.

This was a difficult dilemma because this particular phone might have contained

information for the attack in 2015 as well as information on new threats. If Apple granted

access to one phone then it could be used against them because they would have then

‘already done it before’. With the way that their organization is structured this one choice

could have meant the beginning of the end for the company. Apple being a spoke and

wheel hierarchy means that if Cook did help the FBI which would have led customers to

lose faith in him thereby weakening the center of the entire organization. This highlights

the importance of privacy as well as security. Within our own teams it is important for

members to feel a sense of trust. This is also true for clients and stakeholders as well.

Clients must trust that we can keep them and their personal information safe.
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Works Cited

Meyer, P. (2022, June 4). Apple Inc.'s Organizational Structure & its characteristics

(an analysis). Panmore Institute. Retrieved September 3, 2022, from

https://panmore.com/apple-inc-organizational-structure-features-pros-cons#:~:tex

t=Apple%20Inc.%20has%20a%20hierarchical,as%20for%20iOS%20and%20ma

cOS.

This Month in business history: The founding of Apple Computers, inc.. Research

Guides. (n.d.). Retrieved August 25, 2022, from https://guides.loc.gov/this-month

-in-business-history/april/apple-computers-founded#:~:text=and%20Photographs

%20Division.-,Apple%20Computers%2C%20Inc.,in%20their%20homes%20or%2

0offices.

University, S. C. (n.d.). Apple vs. Fbi case study. Markkula Center for Applied Ethics.

https://www.scu.edu/ethics/focus-areas/business-ethics/resources/apple-vs-fbi-ca

se-stdy/.