Apple CEO Jobs’ Health Reports, Research Paper Example

In a letter from Steve Jobs on August 24, 2011 announcing his resignation, he addressed the Apple Board of Directors and the Apple Community, stating that, “I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple’s CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come. I hereby resign as CEO of Apple”(Apple.com, August 24, 2011). He went on to say,  “I would like to serve, if the Board sees fit, as Chairman of the Board, director and Apple employee. As far as my successor goes, I strongly recommend that we execute our succession plan and name Tim Cook as CEO of Apple” (Apple.com, August 24, 2011). He further noted that, “I believe Apple’s brightest and most innovative days are ahead of it. And I look forward to watching and contributing to its success in a new role. I have made some of the best friends of my life at Apple, and I thank you all for the many years of being able to work alongside you” (Apple.com, August 24, 2011).

The above message by Jobs was posted to the Apple website. A little while after, on October 5^th 2011, Steve Jobs passed away. The announcement of his passing was handled by newly inducted CEO Tim Cook. Who addressed the message to “Apple employees,” utilizing the same method as Jobs, by posting it to the company website for all vested stakeholders and non-stakeholders alike to access. In the letter Cook noted that, “Team, I have some very sad news to share with all of you. Steve passed away earlier today. Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius, and the world has lost an amazing human being. Those of us who have been fortunate enough to know and work with Steve have lost a dear friend and an inspiring mentor. Steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple”(Apple.com, October 5, 2011). He went on to say, “We are planning a celebration of Steve’s extraordinary life for Apple employees that will take place soon. If you would like to share your thoughts, memories and condolences in the interim, you can simply email [email protected]” (Apple.com, August 24, 2011). He further closed by stating that, “No words can adequately express our sadness at Steve’s death or our gratitude for the opportunity to work with him. We will honor his memory by dedicating ourselves to continuing the work he loved so much” (Apple.com, August 24, 2011) .

The sentiment of Cook’s words comes across as sincere and by retaining the same tone of Job’s message, he implies an intention to keep the corporate culture of Apple intact, while still honoring the company’s founder on his final day. There is an underlying communication within both messages to stakeholders that business will go on as usual and there is no need to panic over the future of the company, while still acknowledging an undeniable and major change is occurring.

The main unavoidable change Apple Inc. made in 2011 was the transition from the CEO Steve Jobs resigning to Tim Cook taking over as CEO. The change was unavoidable due to Jobs’s declining health issues (Giles, 2011). This change was followed by a wide range of other changes that Tim Cook brought to Apple. While Tim Cook has had more opportunities to take on the role as the new CEO for Apple, the business model perception of Apple has always been good but the impression was sometimes given that Apple was more concerned about Research and Developments for big technology breakthroughs instead of rewarding employee or other stock holders with profits. The most significant change Cook can be credited for making can be seen with how he is now engaging investors. Fortune noted, that in February of 2012, following Job’s resignation and untimely death, Cook had a group of investors visit the company as part of a “bus tour.” The tour was initiated by Citibank research analyst but Cook surprised the investors by making himself present during the meeting, first as a spectator and then as a presenter informing the investors of Apple’s plans for the future. This was viewed as a drastic change for the company as Jobs never made it a priority to attend such events. The two above media pieces mentioned in section B, hint towards this type of change.

As Apple has maintained a position over the past decade as being a company at the forefront of innovation, and infamous for its ability to dictate and create market trends as opposed to just being the first to catch on to them, Steve Jobs has taken advantage of his position as founder/ creative genius through abstaining from the standard protocols that would be expected of a fortune 500 CEO. Simple act such as hosting private investor meetings, or providing contact information to stakeholders where they can access more transparent information on company endeavors was never Steve Jobs’s style. The subtle difference between the two public media announcements by Jobs and Cook demonstrate that while Cook has every intention of maintaining the corporate Culture Jobs created, he is also opened to more engagement the public and transparency. He demonstrates this by being present at one of Apple’s investor meetings, an action that hadn’t been taken by an Apple CEO in over a decade (Lashinsky, 2012).

References

Giles, T. (2011, August 25). Apple ceo jobs’s health reports since cancer diagnosis in 2003: Timeline. Retrieved from http://archive.is/20120524203626/http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-25/apple-ceo-jobs-s-health-reports-since-cancer-diagnosis-in-2003-timeline.html

Lashinsky, A.  (2012). How tim cook is changing apple. Fortune. <Retrieved from>http://fortune.com/2012/05/24/how-tim-cook-is-changing-apple/