Business Policy and Strategy Assignment
CASE: Apple Inc. in 2015
INSTRUCTIONS
Read the case, Apple Inc. in 2015 (details on how and where to get the case are provided in the syllabus). Also, please review the guidelines for written case analysis provided in this document.Next, answer the following questions based on the case:
1. What, historically, have been Apple's competitive advantages?
2. Analyze the personal computer industry using the five forces framework discussed in class. Why did Apple struggle historically in PCs?
3. How sustainable is Apple's competitive position in smartphones?
4. Evaluate Apple's strategy for Apple Watch. Has Tim Cook taken the right approach? Would you suggest any course corrections?
GUIDELINES FOR YOUR WRITTEN CASE ANALYSIS
Here are some important guidelines for your written case analysis:
(1) You should not conduct outside research for the case analysis. In fact, you should pretend that you are facing exactly the same situation and information presented in the case.
(2) Think of your case analysis as a consulting assignment that you are performing for the case firm. Thus, your audience for the case analysis is your client (an executive in the case firm) and your analysis should take the form of an executive briefing. Think about who your client is and what he/she would like to see in your report. The analysis must be professionally written and presented. If you need help with the writing, please use the campus-writing center.
(3) Do not summarize the caseunless the question specifically asks for it. The audience (your client) is very familiar with the situation and requires further analysis that goes beyond the information presented in the case.
(4) Avoid laundry lists. Focus and organize your analysis. Look for frameworks from the readings or class that help you organize and present your analysis. (In emphasizing frameworks from this class I don't mean to discourage using ideas from other classes, lessons learned from personal experience, lessons learned from previous cases, or common sense.)
(5) The best structure for your case analyses depends on the particular issues raised in the case that you analyze. The assignment questions for each case are a useful starting point for your analysis.