1. Fortune magazine once ranked Apple number 1 on it its list of America’s and the World’s Most Admired Companies and Steve Jobs was ranked number 1 on its Most Powerful Businesspeople in the World. But he did not start at the top. Together with Apple Computer co-founder Steve Wozniac, 21 year old Steven Paul Jobs developed and built the personal computer (PC) in 1976. The Apple II kicked off the PC era in 1977 and in 1984 the Macintosh altered the direction of the computer industry. Jobs is also credited with desktop publishing, laser printers and for pioneering personal computer networks. Innovations under Job’s leadership include the iPod, iTunes, iMovie, Apple TV, Apple Stores and the iPhone. He was ranked number 1 for his leadership and power in influencing five industries: computers, Hollywood, music, retailing and wireless phones. Apple and Jobs have had some problems in their 30 year history. 
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3. In the late 1970s and early 1980s IBM developed its own PC and was soon outselling Apple computers. Jobs decided that to compete he needed to bring in professional management to grow the company. Jobs hired John Scully. Scully and Jobs did not agree on how to run the company and soon Jobs lost control over the company he had started. He left in 1985 to start NeXT – a computer platform development company specializing in the higher education and business markets. In 1986 Jobs started Pixar Animated Studios. He contracted with Disney to produce a number of computer animated films such as Toy Story, A Bug’s life, Monster Inc, Finding Nemo, The Incredibles and Cars. Meanwhile Apple was not doing well and in 1997 Jobs returned to Apple. Back as CEO of Apple, Jobs led the company from the brink of bankruptcy to the most dramatic corporate turnaround in the history of Silicon Valley. Job changed Apple’s culture back to a more entrepreneurial atmosphere. 
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5. The job was a visionary and Apple’s success is due to continual and artful innovations. Through self-assessment Jobs realized his strength was in developing new products, People who have worked for Jobs have mixed reactions to his leadership style. Some called him temperamental, aggressive, tough, intimidating and very demanding. He was known to have attacked employees who made mistakes and did not perform up to expectations. Yet, employees who perform up to expectations are well rewarded. Many who feared him also had great respect for him as he did inspire loyalty, enthusiasm, and high levels of performance through continuous innovation. Steve Jobs brought about change, took innovative risks,s and was not afraid to fail.3  (Source: adapted from a case study in Effective Leadership by Achua and Lussier (2010), 4th ed, South Western Cengage Learning, pg 24) 
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7. Question 1 Examine how each of the five (5) elements of leadership applies to Steve Jobs’ leading of Apple. (50 marks) 
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9. Question 2 Analyse the type(s) of organizational power Steve Jobs used to manage Apple. (50 marks)

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

1 Examine how each of the five elements of leadership applies to Steve Jobs leading of Apple Vision Steve Jobs was known for his strong vision and ability to anticipate and shape the future of technol... View the full answer