Development And Future Research Perspectives For Apple Inc

Labour Practices

Discuss About The Development And Future Research Perspectives.

Apple Inc. is an American multinational organization that operates in the technology industry. The headquarter of the company is located in Cupertino, California. The main operations of the company are based on the development and sales of computer software, consumer electronics and the online services as well. The hardware products of the organization further include, iPad tablet, iPhone smartphone, Apple Watch smartwatch, Apple TV digital media player and HomePod smart speaker. The software products that are offered by the organization further include, iOS operating systems, macOS, iTunes media player, iWork and iLife. The organization was founded in the year Steve Wozniak, Ronald Wayne and Steve Jobs in the year 1976 (Apple. 2018).

Apple is known in the technology industry of the world for the innovative capabilities that have been displayed by the company. The founder of the company Steve Jobs has been the main reason behind the success that has been experienced by Apple in the market. The organization has seen huge growth in shares in the technology market after the start of its global operations. A brand name has been developed by Apple Inc. in the technology industry. The major reason behind the success of the organization is the founder of Apple, Steve Jobs. However, the company has started facing major issues related to the ways by which the employees are managed by Apple Inc. (Alvesson and Sveningsson 2015).

The labour based practices that have been introduced by the organization have proved to be inappropriate in nature which have led to their outrage against Apple Inc. The employees of the company have also raised their voices against the ways by which the management has treated them. The employees of Apple have also filed lawsuits against the company which has proved to be quite demeaning for them. The company has not been able to show the high levels of trust that employees expect from the management of Apple. The labour or employee based practices of Apple Inc. thereby need to be changed so that the company is able to maintain effective relationships with them and provide the required respect as well (Aslam et al. 2018).

Change management refers to a process by which changes or transitions are brought in people, companies, projects or groups. The term can be effectively applied to the projects and business organizations which can be helpful in meeting the changing requirements and the objectives as well. The departments of the company that are mainly affected by the change that is implemented are, marketing, operations, finance and all the other important aspects or areas of the business (Bailey et al. 2018).

Change Management

The implementation of changes can also be helpful for the company to achieve the goals or targets that have been set. The main advantage related to the application of change management is based on the increase of chances of the business organization to operate in the environment in a sustainable manner. The three change management models that can be considered for the successful implementation of change in an organization are as follows,

Lewin’s Change Management Model – This model is effective and popular as it helps in understanding the structured way of implementing organizational change. The model was proposed by Kurt Lewin in the year 1950. Lewin’s model is mainly based on three different stages which include, unfreeze, change and refreeze (Benn, Edwards and Williams 2014).

• Unfreeze –This stage is based on the start of the entire change process which involves preparation for changes. This suggests that the company needs to prepare itself for the change that is about to take place in the various processes. The importance of this phase is to take the employees and other stakeholders who will affected by the change into confidence. This will help the management to explain the benefits of the change that is about to take place in the organization (Binci, Cerruti and Braganza 2016).
• Change –This stage is based on the time when the change has actually taken place in the organization. The time and communication based factors are also quite important in the successful implementation of change in the organizational processes (Botha, Kourie and Snyman 2014).
• Refreeze –After the change has been accepted in the organization, the organization tries to gain stability in the operations. This step refers to the time when the processes of the organization and staff start refreezing. After the completion of this stage employees become confident about the new methods and processes that have been implemented (Bratton and Gold 2017).

McKinsey 7 S Model – The McKinsey 7-S framework is based on the management of change that has taken place in an organization. The model was proposed by McKinsey & Company in the year 1980 and the seven major steps that have been described for the management of change are as follows,

• Strategy –This is the plan which is created by the organization to face the competition and achieve the goals. This is thereby considered to be the stage which is based on the development of step-by-step process or the future plan.
• Structure –This is the attribute or stage of the model that relates with the way which the company can be divided based on the structure that it follows (Cameron and Green 2015).
• Systems –The activities that are performed on a day-to-day basis are a part of this stage.
• Shared values –The shared values further refer to the main or core values of the company related to which the process works or runs.
• Style –This stage is based on the manner by which the leadership and the changes are adopted by the employees is known as the style.
• Staff –This stage is based on the workforce or the employees and working capabilities.
• Skills –The competencies and the skills are possessed by employees who work in the company (Camisón and Villar-López 2014).

Kotler’s change management theory – This theory was devised and formulated by John P. Kotler, who is a professor of the Harvard Business School Professor. The change management theory is further divided into eight stages which is focussed on the key principle which is mainly associated with response that is provided by the people who are a part of the change (Christin Jurisch et al. 2014). The stages of Kotler’s change management theory are as follows,

• Increasing urgency –This step is based on the urgency that is seen among the management for the purpose of motivation the employees to take a step forward towards the objectives.
• Building the team –This step is related to the ways by which the management is able to create a vision after taking into consideration the strategy and the creativity.
• Communication –The ways by which the management tries to communicate with the employees is a major part of the change management based theory.
• Get the things moving –This step is based on the ways by which the actions are empowered and steps are taken to implemented change. This is related to the removal of roadblocks and the implementation of the feedback in a constructive manner (Clegg, Kornberger and Pitsis 2015).
• Focus on the short term goals –The focus which the management has on the short term goals and divided the ultimate goal into achievable and small parts which is considered to be a good way for the achievement of success.
• Don’t give up –The persistence that is shown by the management is the main part of the successful implementation of change.
• Incorporating the change –This process is based on the ways by which the changes are managed by the organization easily. The reinforcement of change thereby plays an important role in reinforcement of the new processes within the work culture of the company (Cummings and Worley 2014).

The Lewin’s Change management model can be used for the implementation of changes in Apple Inc. The first step of the model is unfreezing where the members of the management get prepared for changing their behaviour towards the employees. The second step is based on the implementation of change in relationships of employees. The third step is further based on refreezing where the management and employees can work in a collaborative manner to improve the organizational operations (Foss and Hallberg 2017).

The McKinsey 7-S model can be implemented for the successful development of strategies and structures that can be helpful for the organized implementation of change in Apple Inc. The management of Apple will implement the change strategy of communicating with the employees in an effective manner. The structure and system of Apple will then be developed based on the needs and demands of employees. The change management goal will be based on the shared values of employees and the management as a whole.

Lewin’s Change Model

Kotler’s change management theory can be used by Apple Inc. to divide the change management process into eight major stages which can be helpful for the management to implement the process successfully. The urgency will be created based on issues that were being faced by employees of Apple. Management team will be built for the purpose of creating and the changes will be communicated among the members. The change will be finally implemented in the behaviour of management team and short term goals will be set. This will be based on solving the issues employees face. The final step is based on implementation of change in the relationships of employees and management.  (Fuchs and Prouska 2014).

The current economic conditions have compelled the organizations to provide the best and most productive working environment to the employees. The human resources are considered to be the most important part of the entire organizational processes. Apple has been successful in its operations in the technology industry. The company has however not been able to gain success in the ways by which the employees are treated or the human resources are managed (Geisler and Wickramasinghe 2015).

Lewin’s model of change – Lewin model of change is a traditional approach for the planned changes that take within an organization. This model can be used for changing the work environment in Apple. The three stages which are related to the change process with respect Lewin’s change model are unfreeze, move towards new state and refreeze new state. The unfreeze stage of Lewin’s model is based on the setting of a new direction for the organizational activities which will be helpful for the organization to implement new processes (Harter, Billy and Palla 2018).

The increase in levels of knowledge, changing of the motivation levels, change of groups to which a person belongs and the acquisition of various new skills are all based on the Lewin’s change model. The model of Lewin has been further refined by William Bridges. This refinement is based on the ways by which the transition period is able to affect the individuals who are a part of the process. The intervention thereby states that,

• The transition process starts with the end of the old situation or process that was prevailing within the organization. The changes that will take place in the situation will further depend on the changes that take place in the psychology of people. The psychological changes in this case are based on the ways by which employees in Apple perceive the managers or supervisors.  
• The neutral zone that occurs in the transition based process is based on the area which lies between the old processes and the new methods. This can affect the turnover of the employees which is likely to take place during the implementation of changes (Klonek, Lehmann-Willenbrock and Kauffeld 2014). This stage in Apple is related to the change process which has been implemented in the management of the organization.
• The end of the neutral zone is also the start of new processes within the organization. This stage is based on the ultimate implementation of change that can help in the creation of new methods as well. The development of positive work environment is the last step in the change implementation plan of Apple.

Becoming an effective Behind-the-Scenes Manager – The changes that can take place in the culture that is followed within an organization can lead to another major strategic invention. The shadow-side culture of the organization has many different dimensions which are,

• The arrangements and the significant activities that are unidentified in the decision-making setting of an organization.
• The shadow-side based factors of the organization are not discussed in a formal manner as these are out of the reach of the managerial interventions (Kuipers et al. 2014).
• The shadow-side based activities are also able to affect the quality of the work and the productivity of an organization.
• The shadow-side is based on the unwritten rules of an organization which can overwrite official rules of the company (Maheshwari and Vohra 2015).

The intervention is further based on the concept of hidden organization which is related to the ways by which the manager is able to coordinate the different activities related to change. The different tactics which are related to the intervention are as follows,

• Identification of the shadow-side issues – The first step is based on bringing the issues under the control of the management. This intervention will be based on the ways by which the manager of Apple will make an effort to distribute the resources among the employees in an effective manner.
• The cost-benefit analysis is based on the managerial choice about the areas that need to be tackled on an immediate basis. The issues that have been created in Apple due to mismanagement of employees need to be tackled on priority basis.
• The decision making forum will be chosen based on the results that are provided them with respect to the shadow side issues (Matos Marques Simoes and Esposito 2014). The decision making forum that can be selected by Apple in this case are the top management of the company.
• The discussion based on changes that need to be implemented also needs to be done in an assertive and tactful manner. This will help the managers of Apple to convince the employees about the changes that are to be implemented.

McKinsey 7-S Model

The two strategic interventions that have been discussed can be effectively implemented for the purpose of implementing changes in Apple Inc. The changes that can be implemented in the organization are further based on the ways by which the strategies are applied in Apple Inc. (Palthe 2014).

Apple has been able to be successful in the operations based on revenues and profitability. The organization has faced major issues in the management of employees who are considered to be the most important part of the activities of Apple Inc. The major needs for the change in Apple are as follows,

• The company is known in the market for not treating the employees in a respectable manner. The employees have also filed many lawsuits against the organization in the year 2013. This has been able to affect the reputation of Apple Inc. in the industry to a large extent (Petrou, Demerouti and Schaufeli 2018).
• The innovative capabilities of the company are mainly related to the efficient employees who have the ability to create products that are unique in nature. On the other hand, the company has not shown trust on the employees and their work process.
• The management has been treating the employees like criminals and search operations are conducted on them before they are ready to leave the stores. This also had a negative effect on the self-respect of the employees. The change in the organizational processes of managing the human resources thereby needs to changed so that Apple is able to maintain its profitable position.

The major factors that have led to the need for changes in Apple Inc. are as follows,

• Human resource based factor – The managers also treat highly valued employees like criminals which is a major issue that has affected the ways by which the company operates (Smollan 2015). The employees were also not happy about some other practices that were followed in Apple Inc.
• Human resource based factor – The high level of secrecy was a major reason behind the dissatisfaction of the employees which has further caused issues in the work process and environment of the company.
• Human resource based factor – The employees were also made to wait for a long after their shift hours so that the managers and supervisors are able to check their belongings (Uzoamaka, Nnamani and Eze 2015).
• Financial resource based factor- The organization has been able to place itself as one of the most valuable brand in the whole world. The work culture of Apple Inc. comes in contrast with the image that the company has created in the technology industry over the years.
• Physical resource based factor – This has caused huge damage to the image of the company in the technology based industry. The organization has also gone through many PR issues which are related to the appointment of contractual labour from all over Asia.
• Human resource based factor – The company has faced lawsuits from more than 20,000 employees who work in different levels of Apple Inc. The employees have sometimes been forced to work for long hours even without meals and breaks (Vaara, Sonenshein and Boje 2016).

The major change is thereby required in the systems of Apple Inc. which can help the management to integrate their work process with the employees (Van der Voet 2014). The major resource implications that are related to the implementation of change in the behaviour of employees are the training related costs that need to be provided to managers. The change in working hours will also be a major resource implication as the managers will be required to give some extra time to the training process that will be implemented in the organization.

Step 1 – The first step that has to be taken for involving the stakeholders of Apple Inc. to implement the strategic change in the management is based on the demonstrating a nature of caring for the employees. The managers or supervisors need to become more caring in nature so that the unique talents of the employees can be nurtured in an effective manner (Wheelen et al. 2017).

Step 2 – The passions and talents of employees need to be given more importance so that the company is able to gain the highest level of production from them in an effective manner. The enhancement of the passion of employees will further lead to the increase of innovation levels in the organization. The company is thereby able to create a positive and productive working environment for the employees.

Step 3 – The employees and customers are considered to be the major stakeholders of the organization. The management thereby needs to include the employees and their interests in the process of change implementation. The employees can also be provided with flexible working schedules which can play an important in motivating them to provide innovative ideas to the organizational processes (Wirtz et al. 2016).

Kotler’s Change Management Theory

Step 4 – This step will include the formation of different programs which can help in increasing the trust levels of the employees. The managers need to stop the checking based activities during the exit of employees from the stores. Instead of this, high level security systems can be installed in the stores so that the management is satisfied with the checking of employees (Van der Voet 2014).

The change management strategy that can be implemented by Apple Inc. is based on the ways by which the management can gain the trust of the employees. The innovation levels of the organization can be increased effectively with the help of proper management of the employees and the creation of positive working environment. The increase in trust levels of employees by stopping the manual checking activities that were performed by the managers during the exit of employees from the stores. The management can share the vision with the employees and become more transparent so that they are able to create a productive workforce.

The systems that have been implemented for involving the stakeholders in the change management process are based on the care that is taken of the employees which can prove to be effective for the maintenance of positive relationships. The next step is based on giving importance to the passions of employees which can increase the innovation levels of the organization. The inclusion of employees in the different organizational operations will further improve the ways by which the stakeholders take part in the process.

The strategy that can be implemented for the reduction of resistance to change is based on the ways by which the management is able to create positive relationships with the employees so that they are able to trust them completely. The resistance to the implementation of change can be managed by Apple by involving the employees in the decisions that are taken by the managers or the supervisors.

The first change management model that can developed for the purpose of implementing the change in Apple is Lewin’s model. The stages of Lewin’s change model are as follows,

• Unfreeze– The change needs to take place in the management level of Apple so the managers need to be first included into the process. The main cause behind the issues that are being faced by the company are the managers and their attitude and they need to be taken into confidence before the change plan is implemented.
• Change– This step is related to the ways by which the change is implemented in Apple and the managers are provided training regarding the training activities that will be conducted within the organization. This will also involve the employees who are not satisfied with the work environment within the organization (Klonek, Lehmann-Willenbrock and Kauffeld 2014).
• Refreeze– This step is based on the ways by which the employees of Apple adjust themselves with the changes that have been implemented within the organizational processes. The change in behaviour of the managers will further lead to change in the satisfaction levels of the employees.

The next change management model that can be implemented is the Kotler’s change management theory. Apple can implement this strategy to adapt the business to current environment. The sense of urgency needs to be created by giving importance to the lawsuits that have been filed against the company. The strategic vision needs to be formed so that the change can be implemented in the organizational processes in an effective manner (Palthe 2014). The managers and employees need to be included within the change plan that is being prepared by the management. This will enable the inclusion of employees in the change strategy.

The barriers that can occur during the implementation of change process also need to be reduced. The major barrier in this case can be the non-participation of the managers in the training based process. The short-term wins are based on monitoring the work improvement and motivation levels of the employees so that the next goal can be set. This entire change process will thereby be helpful in the successful implementation of changes in the management so that the employees are satisfied (Matos Marques Simoes and Esposito 2014).

Section	Description
Priority Area	Main priority is based on the issues that are faced by the employees based in the ways by which they are treated in the organization.
Goal	The goal is to accomplish the high levels of satisfaction of the employees in the work environment of Apple.
Performance measures	The effect of change implementation will be measured with the help of feedback from the employees. The rates of employee turnover can also be measured for testing the effectiveness of change process.
Objectives	The major objective of the change implementation is to increase the innovation level of Apple Inc.

The change plan can be monitored with the help of the feedback from the employees. The management needs to formulate effective feedback systems which can affect the ways by which the employees provide their opinions about the changes that take place in the attitude of employees. The progress of the change implementation can also be checked with the help of opinions that are given by the employees. The feedback of employees will be gained every week with the help of a feedback form that will be provided to them. The feedback will be provided to the management in an anonymous manner. The proper analysis of the feedback provided by the employees will thereby be helpful for the management to decide the effectiveness of the change (Palthe 2014).

Conclusion

The report can be concluded by stating that Apple Inc. can implement the change strategy for the purpose of increasing the satisfaction levels of employees. The increased satisfaction of employees can further increase their productivity and the revenues of the company as well. The management level changes are however quite difficult to implement which can create barriers in the entire process. The organization can thereby create a positive working environment for the employees. The managers will play the most important role in the implementation of these changes in Apple Inc.

Recommendations – Apple Inc. is recommended to implement the change strategy in an effective manner so that the image of the organization can be saved. The company needs to implement the changes to operate in a sustainable manner in the highly changing technology industry.

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