Corporate culture is a very important aspect of Apple Computer. The theme at Apple is freedom and originality.

1. Organizational Culture
Todd Vatalaro
8/10/01

2. Corporate culture is a very important aspect of Apple Computer. The
theme at Apple is freedom and originality. The corporate culture of Apple is
unique and so are the products. At Apple we, as employees, are given freedom
to pursue originality. We at Apple passionately personify a life style through our
computers. Most of Apples major PC competitors simply assemble computers
for their customers. Apple takes on the complete responsibility for the whole
personal computer realm. Apple is known for ease of use, cosmetic appeal, and
innovation such as wireless communication.
Corporate culture is learned over time and is difficult to change. In a
company like Apple, a new worker has roughly three choices: accept the
corporate culture, become an innovator, or leave. I have been in communication
meetings where Steve Jobs has made it perfectly clear, “If you don’t like working
at Apple please quit, because there is a line of people waiting outside the door to
replace you.” Although most outside the organization would see this statement
coming from the CEO as being arrogant or destructive, it seems to make people
want to stay! The corporate culture also demands the very best from its
employees. My previous job at Apple was Test Engineer, traveling the world
dealing with quality issues. I must admit it was the most stressful job I have ever
had, but it made me the best I could be.
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3. In Triumph of the Nerds, a PBS show that traced the roots and history of
the personal computer, an engineer is interviewed and asked about his
experience working for Steve Jobs. The engineer shared a story about a time
when he was working on a new computer that was so revolutionary that it would
change the world. He recalls Steve entering the computer lab late one evening
and asking him what the hell he was doing? The engineer gave Steve a “dog
and pony” presentation of his work. Steve replied “That’s shit! You need to work
harder,” then Steve turned and walked away. As history shows, this project would
change the world., its name was Macintosh. The engineer today will tell you that
the corporate culture at Apple and the drive for perfection made him one of the
best microcomputer engineers ever. His name is Steve Wozniak, co-founder of
Apple Computer.
Steve Jobs may be a p pain in the neck, but he is the heart and soul of
Apple’s corporate culture, and pushes us all to be “insanely great.” Clearly
Apple’s corporate culture has not faded out, just has had to change itself in a
technological world that’s never the same as it was the day prior.
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4. References
Amelio, G. (1996). Profit From Experience. New York: Thomson Publishing,
Inc.
Carlton, J. (1997). Apple. New York: Random House, Inc.
Robbins, S. (2001). Organizational Behavior. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc.
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