Strategy assignment term paper examples

A company that has been selected is Apple and the job is human resource management. The value proposition for any company is crucial for its operations. This is because the value proposition for Apple provides the chance for this company to attract its customers. It serves as its energy and its power. The role of value proposition for Apple is that it will convince all the customers that Apple’s products and its services are the best among all the rivals in the industry. Therefore, customers will have the information that Apple is a company with the best value proposition and also great brands. An example is the onset of I phone 4 in 2010. This phone occupied the smart phone market completely.
After several months, customers saw that it was supplied across many regions. Therefore, this I phone was popular just as all the other products by Apple Incorporation. Customers managed to purchase this I phone from many locations in a very convenient manner. This improved the sales of this phone in contrast to all the other brands in the market. Reasons for this attachment to the brand are several. The first is that Apple was the first company to produce very powerful and also convenient smart phones that were accompanied by touch screens. Due to these efforts, Apple held the spot due to the top quality and efficient products hence it was known as the best company to join this market segment.
Behind the products appeal, this phone had the design and also the ISO operation system that was unique. These features made it stand out against the market competition. In addition, it had apps that had connections with a number of businesses including Face book, Air Canada and Nike. Therefore, the value proposition for Apple Incorporation will be developed with this knowledge that it has been a successful company due to the introduction of its products (Ulrich & Brockbank, 2005). In general, Apple uses ownership of the hardware and also the software of its devices. In addition, the company ensures that the usage of its devices is simple. The value proposition for Apple will feature these three elements. Therefore, its best form is “ we offer high quality phones with tough covers that hold fast and newest software technologies that provide the best customer experience.”

How the value proposition was developed

This value proposition was developed by considering the values that Apple holds. Therefore, it represents an integrated statement of the reasons why customers should buy the products by Apple. It was developed to ensure that all customers can associate Apple incorporation with the success of its brands. By viewing the value proposition, the customers can be aware of their expectations with every product purchase from this technology company.

Organizational task statements

The organizational task statements represent the core activities that will be in line with the value proposition for Apple Inc. The first core activity is product design. The importance of product design is that it sets the direction that all the other core activities will take. The design should meet the needs of Apple’s customers through alignment with the value proposition. The design will allow for a successful mix between the hardware and software components of these phones. In addition, it will complement efforts of improving the customer experience through ease of use. This implies that Apple Inc. Must search for creative and experienced designers who will be improving the appeal of their phones so as to match the needs of their clients.
The second core activity that will be needed to match the value proposition is the actual production of the phones (Ulrich & Brockbank, 2005). This is the phase where the work of the designers will be put to reality. At this point, Apple must ensure that it done to the specifications of the designers. There must be a connection between the designer’s output and the output of the phone production unit. When these two core activities are aligned, Apple will have moved a step towards meeting the value proposition by manufacturing the right products.
The third core activity that Apple must devote efforts towards is sales and distribution. In this case, Apple will have to ensure that it distributes the phones in a way that will reach all the targeted customers. Therefore, these phones will have to reach all consumers in the desired manner. With the expansion of online retailing, Apple can use this platform to reach its targeted consumers. This would have the competitive advantage of reaching consumers on a global platform (Ulrich & Brockbank, 2005). With these efforts, Apple will have high sales and live to its value proposition.
The final core activity that Apple must be wary of is marketing. After creating a product with the design specifications and distributing it, it will be important for Apple to ensure that existing customers are aware of any product improvements. In addition, Apple must use marketing to inform any new customers of their product offerings so as to attract these customers (Ulrich & Brockbank, 2005). Marketing has to be done by laying emphasis on the value proposition. In this case, Apple must inform its customers that all its phones have top quality hardware and software and that its usage is simple.

Strategic job within Apple

The strategic job that has been chosen within this company is a human resource manager. At Apple incorporation, the human resource manager will have the responsibility of maintaining and also enhancing the human resources at this company. It will involve planning, implementing and also evaluating the relations of employee relations. This job will relate to the value proposition in that it will ensure that Apple has the required personnel to carry out each of the core activities. It will directly implement the value proposition through maintenance and enhancement of human resources in a company. Therefore, Apple will move fast towards the realization of its value proposition with the required human resources.
I consider this job strategic since it is at a high level of the organizational structure of Apple Incorporation. This implies that the holder of this position will be consulting with other strategic managers within Apple. The other consideration is the importance of this position. It is crucial in the realization of the value proposition since it will complement the capital investment efforts by Apple. With this strategic job, Apple will have to make consultations and adjustments whenever it will be making strategic decisions such as any expansions into some other markets. This is because differently skilled labor will be needed for new designs, production, sales and distribution and also marketing (Ulrich & Brockbank, 2005).

Methods for forecasting labor demand

Forecasting demand for human resource for Apple will involve an estimation of the future human resource requirements based on quality and number. This forecast will keep changing depending on the plans that Apple will be adopting from time to time. This forecast will be dependent on the basic human resource needs and also the needs due to growth in Apple. The basic human resource needs will be driven by replacement of employees due to retirement, death, resignation and termination of contracts (Conrad, 2012). Growth of sales in Apple will drive the need for growth in labor requirements, in this company.
There are several practical and also useful methods that may be applied in forecasting the human resource needs. The first method is managerial judgment. For Apple, it will involve bottom-up approach and also the top-down approach. For the bottom-up approach, line managers will send their human resource departmental requirements to the top management. This information will be well integrated with the one from all departments to form a forecast for the whole organization. In the case of top down approach, the top management will forecast the human resource requirements of the whole organization (Conrad, 2012).
Different departments within Apple will be supplied with this information for review and approval. Under this managerial judgment, these two approaches may be intertwined to lead to the participative approach. The top management and all the departmental heads will meet to discuss on the human resource needs of their organization. The second approach that may be useful for Apple is the work – study technique. This will fit for Apple Incorporation since the work load will be easily measurable. The estimated total production and the specific activities in a future time are predicted.
The labor hours are then calculated from this information (Conrad, 2012). In this case, experience in production of phones will be instrumental for Apple. In addition, the holder of the strategic position – that of human resource management will play the role of incorporating the absenteeism rate, labor turnover and machine breakdowns into the equation. The third approach that may prove useful for Apple is the ratio trend analysis. In this case, the demand for manpower will be estimated on the foundations of the ratio of production level versus the number of workers available. It will be used by Apple to estimate the future demand for human resources.
Apple may also apply econometrics models in labor demand forecasting. For this forecasting tool, mathematical and statistical techniques will be applied in estimating the future demand (Conrad, 2012). A relationship will be established between the human resource need – which is the dependent variable and the value of sales – the independent variable. The result of such a case will be a curve, which can be applied in predicting the human resource needs.
The Delphi technique may also be applied in forecasting the labor requirements for Apple Incorporation. This technique will call for consideration of human resource requirements as determined by experts. These experts are managers of Apple and they will collect information on the human resource needs. After this collection, they will summarize the various responses and prepare a report for the management of Apple Incorporation. This process will be done until all the strategic managers agree on the level of human resources.

Methods for forecasting labor supply

In order to forecast the labor supply for Apple Incorporation, both qualitative and quantitative techniques will be applied. The qualitative techniques will involve estimates by individuals who have knowledge of the past human resource availability or utilization. The first method is the nominal group. In this case, Apple will use a group of respondents – either four or five. They are requested to present their views regarding labor forecasts (Conrad, 2012). The management will note all the views and reserve discussions until all members advance their positions. The group will discuss the presented information and take a final ballot to determine the judgment.
The other technique is replacement planning. In this case, the labor supply for Apple is determined by charting techniques. These techniques identify current job incumbents and collect all the relevant information about these incumbents. This information comprises of a brief assessment of performance and potential, age length in their current positions and the overall length of service (Conrad, 2012). Allocation planning may also be applied by Apple Incorporation. This technique will involve judgments about the labor demand and supply. It will be executed through observance of the movement of labor supply at the same organizational level.
Quantitative techniques may also be applied in forecasting labor supply for Apple Incorporation. The first method is the regression model. In this model, any fluctuations in labor supply will be projected through the use of applicable variables such as sales. The other quantitative technique is a time series model. Apple may use this technique to project labor supply by isolation of trends, cyclical and any irregular trends. The economic model will involve labor supply projections by the use of a production function. In addition, the linear programming model will involve an analysis of labor supply through an objective function and organizational constraints (Conrad, 2012). The final quantitative technique is the Markov model. In this case, labor supply will be projected by use of historic transition rates.

References

Conrad, B. (2012). HR Demand Forecasting. The Wall Street Journal, 67-75.
Ulrich, D., & Brockbank, W. (2005). The HR Value Proposition. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.