Company Analysis

Introduction

Today 's market is characterized by highly competitive organizations which are all vying for consumer 's loyalty (Samie and Kendall , 1992 Firms are faced with the challenge to maintain their own competitive edge to be able to survive and be successful . Strategies are carefully planned and executed to gain the ultimate goal of all : company growth However , external factors are not the only elements which influence growth . Today most companies find that it impossible to create any kind of sustainable competitive advantage based on product alone . It is common knowledge

that every one of the successful companies sought and found a precise understanding of how it could create a customer-centered competitive advantage

Along with the changing business world , customers change as well becoming more demanding and knowledgeable than before (Palmer , 1995 . In turn , company management had shifted their focus on their clients or customers so as to stay successfully in business . This transition meant that organizations have to completely reformulate their conventional business aims and purposes from being process-focused to customer-centered . Hence , in to bring out exceptional customer services within the company operations , the management should employ fine-tuned organizational restructuring . Moreover , employing proactive customer commitment involves the consideration on culture and infrastructure (Lowenstein , 1997

Organizations that capitalize on customers ' active participation in organizational activities can gain competitive advantage through greater sales volume , enhanced operating efficiencies , positive word-of-mouth publicity , reduced marketing expenses , and enhanced customer loyalty (Lovelock Young , 1979 Reichheld Sasser , 1990 . Rather than going after every potential source of revenue , companies eliminate useless assets that do not add value for customers ' satisfaction . Business organizations implement bureaucratic policies and procedures for the benefit of the staff , customers and the company in general . According to Bowers , Martin Luker (1990 , if consumers somehow become better customers -- that is , more knowledgeable , participative , or productive -- the quality of the service experience will likely be enhanced for the customer and the organization

INDUSTRY ANALYSIS

In analyzing the competitive strategies of Apple Inc , Porter 's five forces will be used (Porter , 1998

Competitive rivalry : Very strong

The rivalry between Apple ,Inc . and their competitors is considered to be the strongest and most important force in Porter 's model (Porter 1980 It represents the presence and number of companies competing in the Consumer Electronics industry for each other 's economic profits . The level of rivalry within the fast Consumer Electronics industry can be described as high . This is mainly due to the presence of several competing companies of similar sizes like IBM , Hewlett-Packard and Dell Moreover , rivalry level increases because of product and service differentiation inadequacy . As IBM , Hewlett-Packard and Dell offer similar products like Apple Inc (e .g . desktop computers , laptops , palm tops , mp3 players , mp4 players , pod etc , the level of competition is naturally increased . The companies operating within the industry are also very aggressive in making fresh moves so as to increase sales and market share because of the following factors : Domestic demand is growing slowly , Competitors often rely on price...