Apple was sweeter when Steve Jobs held sway: Company illustrates contrasting attitudes to organizational change

Abstract

Purpose

This paper observes that Apple illustrates the right and wrong ways to bring about organizational change, and emphasizes the key role of personalities in the process.

Design/methodology/approach

Compares and contrasts the performance of Apple under the leadership of Steve Jobs and John Sculley.

Findings

Advances the view that Steve Jobs was more successful because he focused on innovation, while John Sculley paid more attention to current products and profitability.

Practical implications

Describes how the Steve Jobs era saw the introduction of such iconic Apple products as the iPod, iPhone and iPad, which helped the company to gain pre-eminence in its field.

Social implications

Argues that, in today’s globalized business environment, organizational change is a must. Demonstrates how to achieve this successfully.

Originality/value

Describes two sides of the Apple story and draws the lessons for other businesses involved in organizational change.

Citation

Kaliannan, M. and Ponnusamy, V. (2014), "Apple was sweeter when Steve Jobs held sway: Company illustrates contrasting attitudes to organizational change", Human Resource Management International Digest, Vol. 22 No. 4, pp. 25-28. https://doi.org/10.1108/HRMID-07-2014-0084