APPLE INC. US-based consumer electronics company Apple, Inc.

(Apple) is known for its abili ty to come out with path-breaking products. Experts have associated the innovati on at Apple with its corporate culture. At Apple, the work culture was driven by a passion for new products with no end to challenges and opportunities. Apple b ecame the pioneer of the "Work Hard Play Hard" ethic. The corporate culture at A pple was exemplified by its intense work ethics. Though the work environment was relaxed and casual, there was a very strong commitment to deadlines and secrecy . Analysts summarized the work culture at Apple as "fun, yet demanding". Employees at Apple have to run their own show and work in a challenging and crea tive environment. Apple adopted a style that was not too formal or hierarchical and a more results-driven approach which worked best for them. Apple also focuse s on the career opportunities and employability security, compensation, and bene fits. The demand for absolute secrecy and insistence on control were infused into the company culture right from the beginning. Q. What type of Organizational culture does Apple follow? Substantiate with reas ons IBM and Microsoft This example is from the late 1980s. Microsoft was a fairly good company, with r evenues in the tens of millions. At the time, IBM had the largest market share b y far with over 80% of the mainframe market. At that time IBM spent a large amou nt of time and money investing in a software system that was supposed to "take o ver everything." IBM stopped analyzing its own corporate culture because they were so dominate th e thought became "everything we're doing is right," and in retrospect, the highe r ups at IBM were completely concerned with internal measures, internal goals, a nd proving production. They were so obsessed with keeping track of how many lines of programming were g etting done that many programmers did not write the best of most efficient progr amming--because it wasn't enough lines! Meanwhile, Microsoft's organizational culture was not focused on bureaucracy, bu t on getting things done. The bottom line was a better product, followed by an e ven better product, and so on. While IBM became so entangled with bulkier and bu lkier bureaucracy (they even had a class on how to order document manuals from t he main company--just to get help). Microsoft took advantage by making a product aimed at the customers. Because of this they absolutely dominated the computer market. IBM had a series of setbacks that resulted in the stock tumbling and the need to hire a complete outsider to re-invent the company. This is an example where becoming overconfident, falling into dangers of bureauc racy, and internal numbers and goals caused a company that never should have los t its near monopoly on the market to almost bust, while an upstart company who " had no business competing with IBM" according to most sources, had an outstandin g organizational culture based on customers needs and getting things done (as op posed to how they were done and measured--IBM's downfall). Microsoft is a sample organizational culture that showed how a company could wor k, and how important that culture was. Q. What type of culture did IBM Follow? Q. What was the major reason for the downfall of IBM? Q. Specify the type of culture Microsoft followed.