what is Apple best known for?

Easy answer, for its innovation in hardware, software and services for a
wide range of products such as computer, Iphones and Ipads. Now I’ll present to you what is less known
but significant about the company. Its organizational design and the associated leadership model that
play a crucial role in driving its innovation success. It all began after Steve Jobs returned as CEO in 1970,
one of his first move were laying off all the managers in a single day. Apple at that time had a
conventional structure for a company of its size and scope. It was divided into business units, each with
its own profit and loss responsibility. The reason behind his strategy is that he believed this conventional
management stifled innovation: He put the entire company under 1 P&L (profit n lost) and combine
different functional department of the business into one fuctional organization. To make it simple,
imagine a functional structure divides an oragnization into departments based on their fuction. This
structure, which retains to this day ensure that those who with the most expertise in experience in a
particular domain have the decision right for that domain. Apple’s Structure is based on 2 views:

- First and foremost, the organization competes in a market with a high rate of technological change and
disruption. It has to rely on the judgement and intuition of technical experts who can predict which
technology and designs that are likely to succeed. General management are unlikely to be able to do
that

- Apple’s commitment to offer the best possible products would not be achieved if cost and price target
were fixed parameters to make designs and engineering choices, Instead, R&D leaders expect to weigh
the benefits to users against cost considerations.

An expample to this is Dual Lens camera with potrait mode in Iphone 7 plus in 2016. Paul Hubel, a senior
leader who played a central role in the Potrait mode and his team were taking a huge risk: If users are
unwilling to pay more for a more expensive phone but with better cameras, the team would loose its
credibility the next time they propse an upgrade for Iphone’s feature. The camera then become one of
Iphones’ most iconic function and a defining feature. This wouldn’t be happen under traditional
structure since Hubel wouldn’t be empowered to take such risk as well as the feature would not have
been made because of traditional cost and price analysis lack a deep understanding of users’ need. In
order to achieve success, Apple has balanced between the attention to cost and the value added to the
users’ experience. It was Steve Job’s decision to change the way Apple works as the combination of
organizational structure and leadership model not only saved the company from bankruptcy but also
transformed it into one of the most influential tech companies in the world.