VCU Apple and Tim Cook after Steve Jobs Case Study Questions I have uploaded the two cases below read them and answer the questions for Each case. 35712585

VCU Apple and Tim Cook after Steve Jobs Case Study Questions I have uploaded the two cases below read them and answer the questions for Each case. 357125854/cfi/431!/4/4@0.00:50.5
Uni-case
Can You Follow an Icon and Succeed? Apple and Tim Cook After Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs was Apple’s co-founder and iconic CEO. A
number of observers feel that much of Apple’s phe-
nomenal success, especially after 2000, is a product
of his “genius” and leadership. Because of this and a
leadership style that varies significantly from his pre-
decessor’s, some have questioned Tim Cook’s ability
to succeed Jobs as Apple’s CEO. Yet, in 2014, several
years after assuming the CEO position, Apple had what
Tim Cook referred to as an “unbelievable year” given
that the firm sold 200 million iPhones and generated
$200 billion in revenue. Apple’s stock price increased
by 65 percent, and the company’s market value reached
more than $700 billion, the largest ever of any U.S. firm.
At the time, Apple’s market value more than doubled
that of Microsoft. Prior to assuming the CEO posi-
tion, ook’s primary experience had en as manager
of operations; his success in this domain led to his
appointment as COO prior to assuming the CEO role.
Interestingly, a significant percentage of Apple’s sales
flow from products developed and introduced to the
market under Jobs’ leadership. As such, the jury is still
out on Cook, especially with regard to developing mar-
ketplace successes in the form of new products, tasks at
which Jobs excelled.
Jobs and Cook have different leadership styles.
Some thought Jobs was ruthless, impulsive, and almost
maniacal in developing new products and finding paths
through which they became marketplace successes.
Cook’s knowledge and skills do not make him an expert
in product development, design, or marketing. Because
of this, he delegates those responsibilities. As the firm’s
key strategic leader, Cook tries to buffer and maintain
Apple’s corporate culture that developed largely during
Jobs’ tenure. Thus, the emphasis remains on innova-
tion that is valued in the marketplace. To support
this emphasis and to nurture the firm’s all-important
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culture, Cook hires talented individuals to join the top
management team who blend well with the culture.
He has made some very good hires, such as Angela
Ahrendts who now heads Apple’s very important retail
stores. As a leader, Cook is less emotional in his style
and actions compared to Jobs. Some refer to this aspect
of Cook’s style as a “measured emotional approach to
leadership.” He empowers his top management team
members in ways that allow each of them to manage
the functional area for which they have responsibility.
He also encourages each team member to adopt a long-
run perspective while leading.
Observers have been able to highlight other dif-
ferences between Cook’s and Jobs’ strategic leadership
approaches. Compared to Jobs, Cook more regularly
shares the limelight with his leadership team, spot-
lighting their contributions while doing so. One ana-
lyst suggested that Cook is a good leader who builds
an effective team around him. With respect to strate-
gic choices, Cook’s decisions have resulted in major
acquisitions (e.g., an audio company for $3 billion)
and developing enterprise solutions for corporate IT
units; Jobs opposed actions of these types. Under Cook,
Apple formed an alliance with IBM to develop enter-
prise applications with a focus on the iPad, especially
the new and larger versions.
During Cook’s early tenure as CEO, Apple introduced
several innovations including the Apple watch, which
entered the market in April 2015. This product’s mar-
intends to focus research and development efforts to
develop products to achieve this objective.
In mid-2018, some analysts were questioning the
delays Apple was encountering when introducing
products to the marketplace. Of three major product
launches under Cook since becoming the firm’s CEO in
2011, AirPods earbuds and the HomePod speaker missed
publicly announced shipping dates. The Apple Watch,
mentioned above, entered the market later than the
firm desired, initially causing customers to experience
long wait times to buy the product. The Apple Pencil
and Smart Keyboard, two critical accessories for the
iPad Pro, also entered the market later than announced
initially. On the other hand, Apple’s first quarter 2018
results yielded all-time highs in both revenue and earn-
ings. In an overall sense, only the march of time will
yield insights needed to determine if as CEO, Tim Cook
was a success as Steve Jobs’ successor. With a market
value of over $900 billion in early 2018, it seems that as
Apple’s key strategic leader, Cook’s effect on the firm he
was leading was positive.
I
Sources: 2018, Transcript: Apple CEO Tim Cook on the company’s 2018
Q1 earnings, iMore, www.imore.com, February 1; T. Mickle, 2018, Tim
Cook stumbles at his specialty, shipping Apple products on time, Wall
Street Journal, www.wsj.com, January 6; R. Safian, 2018, Why Apple is
the world’s most innovative company Fact Camnanu www factcamnanu
com, February 21; T. Le
change the way people
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wsj.com, January 28:24
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‘unbelievable’ year, Nei
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57125854/cfi/432/4/4@0.00:20.7
leadership. He empowers his top management team
members in ways that allow each of them to manage
the functional area for which they have responsibility.
He also encourages each team member to adopt a long-
run perspective while leading.
Observers have been able to highlight other dif-
ferences between Cook’s and Jobs’ strategic leadership
approaches. Compared to Jobs, Cook more regularly
shares the limelight with his leadership team, spot-
lighting their contributions while doing so. One ana-
lyst suggested that Cook is a good leader who builds
an effective team around him. With respect to strate-
gic choices, Cook’s decisions have resulted in major
acquisitions (e.g., an audio company for $3 billion)
and developing enterprise solutions for corporate IT
units; Jobs opposed actions of these types. Under Cook,
Apple formed an alliance with IBM to develop enter-
prise applications with a focus on the iPad, especially
the new and larger versions.
During Cook’s early tenure as CEO, Apple introduced
several innovations including the Apple watch, which
entered the market in April 2015. This product’s mar-
ketplace success is yet to be determined; initial reports
suggested that demand exceeded supply, causing Apple
to increase production. In addition, hints provided by
Cook suggest that Apple may be planning to enter the
television market. Most importantly, Cook claims that
Apple’s goal is to change the way people work. The firm
publicly announced shipping dates. The Apple Watch,
melio above, entered the market later than the
firmed, initially causing customers to experience
long wait times to buy the product. The Apple Pencil
and Smart Keyboard, two critical accessories for the
iPad Pro, also entered the market later than announced
initially. On the other hand, Apple’s first quarter 2018
results yielded all-time highs in both revenue and earn-
ings. In an overall sense, only the march of time will
yield insights needed to determine if as CEO, Tim Cook
was a success as Steve Jobs’ successor. With a market
value of over $900 billion in early 2018, it seems that as
Apple’s key strategic leader, Cook’s effect on the firm he
was leading was positive.
Sources: 2018, Transcript: Apple CEO Tim Cook on the company’s 2018
QI earnings, iMore, www.imore.com, February 1; T. Mickle, 2018, Tim
Cook stumbles at his specialty, shipping Apple products on time, Wall
Street Journal, www.wsj.com, January 6; R. Safian, 2018, Why Apple is
the world’s most innovative company, Fast Company, www.fastcompany.
com, February 21; T. Loftus, 2015, The morning download: Apple will
‘change the way people work, CEO Tim Cook says, CIO Journal, blogs.
wsj.com, January 28: 2015, Apple’s Tim Cook cites record sales and
‘unbelievable’ year, New York Times, www.nytimes.com, March 10;
A. Chang, 2015, Apple CEO Tim Cook is forging an unusual path
as a social activist, Los Angeles Times, www.latimes.com, March 31;
A. Lashinsky, 2015, Becoming Tim Cook, Fortune, April 1, 60–72;
T. Higgins, 2015, Apple iPhones sales in China outsell the U.S. for first
time, Bloomberg Business, www.bloomberg.com, April 27; J. Lewis, 2015,
Tim Cook: A courageous innovator, Time, April 27, 26; J. D’Onfro, 2015,
Tim Cook dropped a maior clue about Anple’s next his product Yahoo
Finance, finance.yahoo
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suggested that demand exceeded supply, causing Apple
to increase production. In addition, hints provided by
ook suggest that Apple may be planning to enter the
ision market. Most importantly, Cook claims that
Apple’s goal is to change the way people work. The firm
A. Lashinsky, 2015, Becoming Tim Cook, Fortune, April 1, 60-72;
T. Higgins, 2015, Apple iP! es sales in China outsell the U.S. for first
time, BloombergBusiness, www.bloomberg.com, April 27; J. Lewis, 2015,
Tim Cook: A courageous innovator, Time, April 27, 26; J. D’Onfro, 2015,
Tim Cook dropped a major clue about Apple’s next big product, Yahoo
Finance, finance.yahoo.com, April 28.
Case Discussion Questions
1. What makes a CEO’s job so complex? Use the challenge Tim
Cook faces as Steve Jobs’ successor to provide examples that
support your answer.
3. Given their different leadership styles, describe the differences
you see in Apple’s culture under Tim Cook’s leadership com-
pared to the culture in Apple when Steve Jobs was CEO.
2. Tim Cook came from Apple’s internal managerial labor
market to succeed Steve Jobs. In your view, was using the
internal managerial labor market the best approach to follow
when replacing Jobs? Use materials in the chapter regarding
the internal and external managerial labor markets to explain
your answer.
4. Using information in this Mini-Case as well as additional
materials available to you via searches, how do you evalu-
ate Tim Cook as a CEO? Is he an effective strategic leader
or not? Use examples from the chapter’s discussion of
“Key Strategic Leadership Actions” to justify your answer
to this question.
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Copyright 2020 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party
ditorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove ade
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Mini-Case
wiat Explains the Lack of Innovation at American Express?
Is It Hubris, Inertia, or Lack of Capability?
The lack of innovation and entrepreneurial focus at
American Express (AmEx) may be because of hubris,
inertia, and a lack of capability. The firm’s performance
in 2014 was not, by any means, what stakeholders expect.
Partly in response to its poor financial performance, the
firm announced plans to reduce its workforce by up to
4,000 employees.
The loss of two of its major partnerships, with
Costco and JetBlue, contributed to AmEx’s poor perfor-
mance in 2014. Its partnership with Costco, which had
involved an exclusive co-branded credit card, Was
par-
ticularly damaging. At its peak, this collaborative rela-
tionship had accounted for approximately eight percent
of AmEx’s total revenues. Interestingly, cardholders used
this co-branded card for many other purchases outside
of Costco, as about 70 percent of the revenue generated
by the card came from its use in other venues besides
Costco.
Losing a major court case also affected AmEx’s
2014 performance. In part, the case in question sur-
faced because AmEx charges each merchant higher fees
when a customer uses its card to make a purchase than
do other major credit card companies such as Visa and
MasterCard. AmEx has a contract with each merchant
using its card that does not allow the merchant to recom-
mend to the customer to use a different card or to offer
discounts that increase the attractiveness of other cards.
A federal judge ruled that this requirement by AmEx
was in “restraint of trade” and, therefore, violated anti-
trust laws. This is important because AmEx may have
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Copyright 2020 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party
Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove ad

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