Human Resources Management in Apple Company Essay

Human Resources Management in Apple Company - Essay Example Microsoft was the prominent competitor of Apple from tis beginning itself. In 1980’s and 1990’s Apple struggled to counter the competition faced from Microsoft. Microsoft pushed Apple yards behind with the introduction of their Window based operating system. However, Apple was able to bounce back at the beginning of twenty first century with the help of their innovative â€Å"i† series products such as iMac, iPhone, iPad, iPod, iTunes etc. Kim (2010) has pointed out that Apple Inc, is currently the second largest company in the world in market capitalization, second only to Exxon Mobil. Moreover it is believed to be the most valuable technological company in the world at present, again pushing Microsoft far behind (Kim, 2010). (Warren, 2010) Even though Apple succeeded in achieving top spots in international market, many people believe that their organizational culture and human resource management needs drastic changes to maintain their top spot in the market. E ven though Apple employees are getting competitive salaries, increased workload, lack of work-life balancing, lack of motivation, prejudices and biases in deciding promotions etc are some of the major complaints of the employees. Moreover, Apple’s success and failures revolve around the charismatic leadership of Steve Jobs. This paper critically analyses Apple’s human resource management policies at the individual level, group level and organizational level. Individual Level Work Motivation The topic of employee motivation in Apple Company is a controversial one. On one side, Apple is able to motivate the employees and on the other side some of its HR strategies are demotivating the employees. It is a fact that Apple provides ample opportunities to the fresh employees to grow under the wings of experienced employees (Qumer, 2009, p.3). The above strategy is a big blessing for the fresh employees to take advantages of the immense experience and talents of the experience d ones. The above work culture helps Apple to blend fresh and the experienced hands in a judicious manner so that neither the employees nor the organization faces any problems in completing their works. Fresh employees may bring new ideas to the organization which will be critically analyzed with the help of experienced ones. Thus the fresh people will get immense support from the experienced hands in shaping their ideas and concepts useful to the company. The compensation and benefits offered to employees of Apple are very competitive and it includes product discounts, vacation time, healthcare, training courses, casual dress codes on jobs etc. In 1995, Apple created the Apple Fellows Program in order to recognize its best employees who had made extraordinary contributions to the company. Funny, brilliant, relaxed co-workers and modern spacious beautiful offices filled with comfortable equipments etc are some of the major benefits of working in Apple Company. Apple workforce includ es diverse employees from different countries which enable them to utilize the expertise from different regions. It provides equal opportunities to its diverse employees irrespective of their ethnic background (Qumer, 2009, p.3-9). In short, Apple is keen in recognizing outstanding performances with rewards which is definitely a motivating factor for the employees. At the same time there many complaints also about some of the controversial HR policies of Apple. Employees often forced to work overtime and thereby they are facing troubles in achieving proper work-life balancing. Moreover Apple provides no information about the new products which are going to be developed in the company. The above policy demotivated the employees since no organization can capture the employee

Research Critique Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Research Critique - Essay Example Suggestions and alternatives on how to improve these strengths and weaknesses shall also be considered. The research subject of this critique is relevant to the practice as it evaluates the effects of securing fall prevention policies in hospitals, especially for the elderly and those with limited and compromised mobility. This topic is also relevant as it displays the benefits of a fall prevention program in the hospital with the end hope of securing improved patient outcomes. Critical evaluation The title of the article is clear and very much precise. It is short enough to warrant interest from the reader, but also concise in its description of the research. It also provides the foundations of the research in terms of its variables and clinical setting. It does not however specify the subject respondents for the research, whether they be elderly patients in critical care or those who have compromised mobility. These details would have made the title more concise and encompassing. T he abstract is adequately written. It clearly provides a condensed version of the contents of the study, noting the research questions, aims, and objectives of the study (Polit and Hungler, 1997). The methods of the study have also been specified in the abstract, including the results and conclusion (Parahoo and Reid, 1988). The abstract is however overly long, made up of more than 250 words. Abstracts should average about 100 to 200 words (Ingham-Broomfield, 2006). The background/introduction of the study clearly identifies the purpose of the article. The authors detail the conceptual basis for the study, while also identifying gaps and health issues in the practice. The aims and objectives of the study were also identified in the research, particularly specifying the general direction of the research paper (Parahoo and Reid, 1988). The only weakness which can be seen in the introduction is that not all the essential details for the background of the study are identified in the tex t instead, they are incorporated into the text for the reader’s extrapolation. As for the literature review, it is not clearly identified as a distinct part of the research. Instead, it is incorporated and summarized in the introduction. Nevertheless, all the important details for the literature review are contained therein (Polit and Hungler, 1997). Original and primary sources have been used by the authors. The studies included in the literature review detail what is currently known about the research topic, the gaps in the knowledge, the significance of the study, and the position of the study within the current body of knowledge (Polit and Hungler, 1997). A broad understanding of the topic has been made possible through the literature review and the authors were able to use the studies to guide their methodology in their research. The review also assessed the strengths and weaknesses of the methods used in the previous studies and to use such data to guide their research (Burns and Grove, 2001). The other methods were also critiqued in order to analyze their applicability to their current research. In reviewing the research’s literature reviewed, more studies could have been discussed or drawn out in order to provide more support for the study. These studies would have strengthened the research foundation and provided more details to guide the researchers. The design for the study – comparative –