Introduction
As in the current era where international relations, trade dynamics, and cultural exchange are interconnected, globalization embodies the whole picture. Apple Inc. – a multinational technology corporation – is a perfect example of successful use of globalization possibilities to promote its competitive power. With workforces scattered around the world and mainly manufacturing in China, Apple operates an extremely complicated cost system, and this has a significant effect on the company’s competitiveness.
The worldwide reach of the company including broad range of goods offered everywhere and taking into account the specific behavior of certain markets makes its function as a medium transferring the global integration. This paper maintains that Apple is masterfully using the channels of globalization in order to not only make fundamental changes to technological realms but also illustrate how multinational corporations, via harnessing global resources and employing them effectively, become the serious competition on the international business scene.
Literature Review
The globalization is a complex phenomenon consisting of forces that overwhelm physical boundaries and trade and finance are its main aspects (Dabic et al., 2021). Apparently, the globalization literature points to this fact that the forces behind globalization determine the way MNCs function, by changing their strategies, operations, and position in the global markets (Perraton, 2019).
International trade and finance underpin the internationalization of MNCs by enabling them to minimize their supply chains costs and source from different markets (Sutcliffe and Glyn, 2019). Simultaneously, the transfer of knowledge promotes innovation and cross-cultural cooperation with the aim of helping MNCs to operate in constantly changing global circumstances (Brennan et al., 2018).
The Apple Inc. serves as a paramount example of this framework. The company draws its strategic advantage from the use of a global workforce and Chinese manufacturing that is decentralized. These traits are characteristic of international trade in which the process of production is distributed globally to gain efficiency and reduced cost (Krishnan and Krishnan, 2022).
In addition, Apple’s unyielding pursuit of technological advancement can be explained by the exchange of ideas’ literature, which reveals the company’s ability to absorb a variety of perspectives and build a worldwide culture of creativity.
Manufacturing and Labour Costs
The workforce of Apple, Inc. is carefully managed from a global standpoint and this labour contributes significantly to the firm’s day-to-day functioning. The workforce distribution of the company, in which around 43,000 employees is located in the United States and the rest 20,000 overseas, is deliberate to utilize the international talent and therefore increase production efficiency (Tilak Naik and Vaikunth Pai, 2020). Also worth noting is that Apple leverages the services of 700,000 contractors predominantly based in Asia and Europe, with this indicating the scale and significance of Apple’s overseas engagement and it reaffirms the company’s position as a multinational organization.
The Apple’s workforce geographical distribution matches its cost savings attempt, which is particularly visible in their manufacturing units. The comparison of labour costs in the US and China reveals a strategic decision-making, which is a key factor that highlights the role of cost-effectiveness Apple’s successful competition. In 2011, the total wage bill for the U.S workers was $750 million servicing 13,920 employees (Danau and Defraigne, 2020).
This is quite substantial when compared to the $320 million allocated to overseas employees numbering 27,250. The sharp difference reveals the fiscal restraint that Apple practices by means of exploiting China’s disciplined and highly efficient labour force to the fullest degree (Enderwick and Buckley, 2019).
One of the advantages, which have arisen from the employment of cheap overseas labour, is a significant cost advantage, which has become the basis for Apple’s competitive advantage and thus helps the company to offer products at competitive prices and still maintain a high percentage profit margin.
Supply Chain Efficiency
The efficient supply chain of Apple Inc. shows the evidence of highly efficient sourcing globally and the strategic alignment of final assemblies. The company’s international sourcing process makes use of getting components and subassemblies from different countries, where particularly noticeable is the focus on Southeast Asia and China (Sodhi and Tang, 2019). This diversified sourcing strategy serves a dual purpose: not only it gives Apple access to specialized manufacturing capabilities all over the world but also it creates a supply chain that is robust enough in order to adapt to changing market conditions.
Apple’ s sourcing strategies focuses on the optimization of efficiency and cost cutting. Apple can take advantage of the competitive advantages of various regions and at the same time ensure affordable manufacturing and quality standards (Choudhary et al., 2023). The decentralization across manufacturing operations enables Apple to manage risks that are related to local disruptions thus, adding a resilience and the flexibility of the supply chain.
Market Expansion and Competition
Apple Inc.’s global market outreach reflects a prototypical way of reaching markets with a holistic balance between omnipresence and fitting to various consumer tastes (Tien, 2019). Apple products have extended their narrow paradigms the world over. That shows the company is able to infiltrate almost every part of the globe. While the product range of Apple has iPhones to iPads and MacBooks, and the company is everywhere in all the major geographies, its footprint globally is pervasive which reflects the essential interlink between today’s business setting (Xing, 2020).
This wide global footprint enables Apple to draw from different markets and offer solutions that appeal to different consumer interests. What Apple’s products adaptability to different cultures, societies, and economies shows is the company’s determination to recognize and satisfy the peculiar needs of consumers in each part of the world (Rikap, 2018). Through a wide array of products that will connect with different types of users, Apple extends its significance and allure to people of different walk of life.
Technological Advancement
While the effect that Apple Inc has had on the world of technological advancement is impossible to ignore, this lies in Apple’s undying dedication to its innovative culture which has in turn brought about revolutionary changes in different industries and societies around the world (Sodhi and Tang, 2019). The introduction of iconic devices like iPhone and iPad has not just transformed computer, communication and entertainment but has changed the approach of people and enterprises towards technology at a global level.
The innovative power of Apple goes beyond the mere production of goods, it affects a wider audience triggering secondary effects in other mediums and societies. The iPhone, which iproved the smartphone market from the creation of its first model up to the iPad, which again transformed the tablet market, are two examples of Apple products that have constantly set industry benchmarks; therefore, all competitors have had to improve their goods and there was a phase of very fast technological evolution (Krishnan and Krishnan, 2022).
Unsurpassed in the integration of Apple technologies across borders is often what defines the company’s technological footprint (Mongardini and Radzikowski, 2020). The harmonious synergy between Apple’s hardware, software, and services facilitates a user experience that transcends geographical constraints.
Users can seamlessly obtain their data or applications from anywhere at any place, thus, developing a sense of global connectivity, in harmony with globalization (Kabey, 2018). This integration does not only make user experience comfortable, but also leads to the falling of barriers and hence, Apple is the uniting platform of the world through technology.
Considering Apple as a transmitter of global integration and competition
The global sourcing network of Apple is huge. But running final assembly phase in the U.S. is facing a logistical difficulty for it. The complexity and the rapid changes in Apple’s products, as well as the necessity of efficient and flexible manufacturing the processes, complicate the arrangement of the final assembly in the United States (Chen, 2018). On the contrary, China’s manufacturing industry, dominated by big and agile plants, that responds perfectly to the final assembly needs, offers logistics advantage to Apple (Omitola and Wills, 2018).
The manufacturing model of Apple, based on outsourcing outside the country and the assembly of the rest in China, is just a further example of the low-cost approach that leads to global competitiveness in this case (Azim and Nahar, 2020). The sourcing of components and subassemblies is spread out globally, and the final assembly in China benefits from the manufacturing agility and scale by which its infrastructure can be leveraged, for operational efficiency (Cassidy et al., 2019). However, the Apple company’ thus aligns with the strong points of Chinese manufacturing network simplifies the production process and also supports Apple’s position as a leading player of cost-efficient and large-scale manufacturing in the world.
The company has strong competition in the market that is posed by Samsung, in addition to a number of other smaller smartphone players in the Indian and Chinese markets (Kabeyi, 2018). This competitive landscape is the motivation for Apple’s continuous search for new innovations.
The company is driven to continuously improve and update its products through the battle for market share. The competition that requires the company to be better than its counterparts in terms of features, design and functionality breeds a culture of innovation at Apple thus its products remain the best in terms of technology.
Conclusion
In a summary, the strategic moves of Apple Inc. within the globalization components shapes a story that stands out as the best success story in the globalized business environment. The intricate interplay of a globally dispersed workforce, cost-effective manufacturing in China, and the seamless integration of its ecosystem underscores Apple’s role as a transmitter of global integration and competition. The Company’s acumen at navigating diverse markets, daunting competition and unrelenting pursuit of technological innovations entrenches it in as a major player in charting the course of international business.
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