Management Fundamentals 5th Edition by Robert Lussier

Exercise 7

Together with Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, Steve Jobs helped popularize the personal computer in the late 1970s and is credited with bringing cheap, easy-to-use computers to the masses. When 21-year-old Jobs saw a computer that Wozniak had designed for his own use, he convinced Wozniak to assist him and started a company to market the computer. Apple Computer Co. was founded as a partnership on April 1, 1976. Though their initial plan was to sell just printed circuit boards, Jobs and Wozniak ended up creating a batch of completely assembled computers and thus entered the personal computer business. The first personal computer Jobs and Wozniak introduced, the Apple I, sold for $666.66, a number Wozniak came up with because he liked repeating digits. Its successor, the Apple II, was introduced the following year and became a huge success, turning Apple into an important player in the personal computer industry. In December 1980, Apple Computer became a publicly traded corporation, making Jobs a multimillionaire. In the early 1980s, the company struggled to compete against IBM and Microsoft in the lucrative business and corporate computing market, and IBM and Microsoft continued to gain market share at Apple's expense in the personal computer industry. Jobs decided that to compete he needed to bring in professional management to grow the company. In 1983, Jobs lured John Sculley away from Pepsi-Cola to serve as Apple's CEO, challenging him, "Do you want to spend the rest of your life selling sugared water, or do you want a chance to change the world?" The following year, Apple set out to do just that, starting with a Super Bowl television commercial titled "1984." The Macintosh became the first commercially successful computer with a graphical user interface.
An industry-wide sales slump toward the end of 1984 caused a deterioration in Jobs's working relationshipwith Sculley, and at the end of May 1985-following an internal power struggle and an announcement of significant layoffs-Sculley relieved Jobs of his duties as head of the Macintosh division. In 1986, finding himself sidelined by the company he had founded, Jobs sold all but one of his shares in Apple. Around the same time, Jobs founded another computer company, NeXT Computer (a computer platform development company specializing in the higher education and business markets). NeXT technology would later play a large role in catalyzing two unrelated events: the World Wide Web and the return of Apple Computer. Also in 1986, Steve Jobs started what became Pixar Animated Studios, of which he was CEO. Jobs contracted with Disney to produce a number of computer-animated feature films, which Disney would co-finance and distribute. The first film produced by the partnership, Toy Story , brought fame and critical acclaim to the studio when it was released in 1995. Over the next ten years, the company would produce the box-office hits A Bug's Life (1998), Toy Story 2 (1999), Monsters, Inc. (2001), Finding Nemo (2003), The Incredibles (2004), and Cars (2006). In 2006, Jobs sold Pixar to Disney and remains on its board.
In 1996, Apple bought NeXT for $402 million, bringing Jobs back to the company he founded. With the purchase of NeXT, much of the company's technology found its way into Apple products. In 1997, Jobs became Apple's interim CEO. Under Jobs's guidance the company increased sales significantly with the introduction of the iMac and other new products; since then, appealing designs and powerful branding have worked well for Apple. At the 2000 Macworld Expo, Jobs officially dropped the "interim" modifier from his title at Apple and became permanent CEO, a job he still holds today.
Since then, the company has branched out from personal computers, dropping the word "Computer" from its company name, to focus more on mobile electronic devices. With the introduction of the iPod portable music player and iTunes digital music software in 2001, and the iTunes Store in 2003, the company has made forays into consumer electronics and music distribution. In 2007, Apple entered the cellular phone business with the introduction of the iPhone: a multitouch display cell phone, iPod, and Internet device. Also in 2007, the company released the Apple TV, a set-top video device that links up to a user's television and allows consumers to view photos, play music and podcasts, and watch movies and TV shows via the iTunes store, Netflix, and YouTube. Most recently, Apple introduced its much anticipated media tablet, the iPad, which offers multitouch interaction with multimedia formats such as books, TV shows, and music. It also includes a mobile version of Safari, Apple's Internet browser, as well as access to Apple's App, iTunes, and iBooks stores.
Much has been made of Jobs's notorious micromanaging of his employees and his aggressive and demanding personality, and people who have worked for Jobs over the years have mixed reactions to his leadership style. Some call him temperamental, aggressive, tough, intimidating, and very demanding. He has been known to verbally attack people who are not meeting goals and expectations. Many employees have admitted a fear of encountering Jobs while riding in the elevator, "afraid that they might not have a job when the doors opened"-a practice that became known as "getting Steved." Yet employees who perform to expectations are well rewarded. Many who fear him also have great respect for him, as he inspires loyalty, enthusiasm, and high levels of performance through continuous learning, innovation, and change. Many people believe that the reason Apple has had its continued, incredible turnaround since the late 1990s is due to Steve Jobs's leadership.
______ Which University of Michigan leadership style would Jobs's critics say he uses?
A) job-centered
B) employee-centered