Mini-Case: Can You Follow an Icon and Succeed?

Apple and Tim Cook After Steve Jobs

Mini Case – Hitt, et. al. 2020. SM – Competitiveness & Globalisation. 13e. p. 408-409
Case Study Questions – Suggested Answers.

1. The strategic leader’s work is demanding, challenging and requires balancing short term performance
outcomes with long-term strategic goals. Some of the challenges faced by Cook: Uncertainty in market,
unacceptable long delays to bring products to market (long time to market time), evolving dynamic and
highly competitive markets and industries; rapid changes in customers’ needs, tastes, behaviour and
patterns of buying, rapid technological changes,…..
2. Theory: Generally, organisation select managers and strategic leaders from two types of managerial labour
market: internal and external.
a. An internal managerial labour market consists of a firm’s opportunities for managerial positions
and the qualified employees within it.
b. An external managerial labour market is the collection of managerial career opportunities and the
qualified people who are external to the organization in which the opportunities exist. For e.g.
Angela Ahrendts was recruited from Burberry where she was the CEO. Why?
Benefits of using internal managerial labour market: Continuous commitment to vision, mission and core
values. Familiar with firm’s internal environment: people, resources, capabilities, systems, policies…,
Lower labour turnover, knowledge of core competencies, culture……
When firm uses external managerial labour market: Need to innovate, to reverse its poor performance
(for e.g. in a turnaround strategy situation), Need for strategic change, industry is rapidly growing.
3. Leadership styles:
a. Jobs: Style is more passionate & perfectionist, rather autocratic, innovative skills, transformative.
b. Cook: Encourages participation, collaboration, team-oriented approach, democratic style –
delegate responsibility & authority, shows empathy, empowers team in decision making, more
involved in philanthropic activities, transformative. During his tenure, he made a number of
acquisitions, internal restructuring & redesign, open partnership agreement with outside firms.
As COO he was instrumental in streamlining manufacturing processes, supply chain and
distribution activities, reducing the number of suppliers drastically (thus Apple has a stronger
bargaining power with its reduced suppliers).
Strategic leadership is the result of both innate feelings and learning.
4. Cook did some crucial talent acquisitions such as Ahrendts to reinforce its resources & capabilities in retail
distribution.

Mini Case – Hitt, et. al. 2020. SM – Competitiveness & Globalisation. 13e. p. 408-409