All too often when a company is founded by a dynamic entrepreneur, such as Steve Jobs with Apple, and he leaves the company or passes away as in Mr. Job's case, there is a void left in the company and corporate performance declines. In addition, according to "How Has CEO Turnover changed?" "Kaplan and Minton, 2008) annual CEO turnover is 17.4%, meaning the average tenure of Chief Executive Officers in less than seven years. Thus Executive Succession is an important consideration for Boards of Directors.

1) Discuss Executive Succession in general from the aspect of how companies go about it and the effect that executive turnover has on corporate performance. List any sources that are used.

2) Review the attached article from the Wall Street Journal from Oct. 7, 2011, "Apple's Game Plan: Avoiding Culture Shock" attached below. Based on information in that article, as well as additional research on your part, answer the following questions below regarding Apple, which may apply to other companies as well as Apple.

Obviously, Steve Jobs was no product designer or software developer. So what critical functions did Steve Jobs have as CEO of Apple? Name at least six different key roles he played as Apple's leader. Specify at least six different key things he did on a day-to-day basis that set Apple apart from other firms. Of the six or more tasks you have listed, which ones can be "codified," that is, which ones can be formalized in such a way that they can be adequately carried out without Steve Jobs himself actually performing them? On a scale of 0-100, to what extent do you think Apple can confidently succeed in performing them without actually having Steve Jobs to do them?

TECHNOLOGY
OCTOBER 7, 2011
Apple's Game Plan: Avoiding Culture Shock

How to Preserve a CEO's Ethos? Company Had Nearly Decade to Prepare; Gathering a 'Top 100' and Starting a University

Read: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204294504576615261190142814.html#ixzz1cJMgEOlq