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SierraLynn Anderson
PSY-3753-850
06/04/2020
An Assessment of Apple Inc. and its Organizational Practices
When thinking of Fortune 500 companies, large conglomerates such as Amazon,
Walmart, or even Facebook may be the first to cross one’s mind. However, one Fortune 500
company is easily recognized across every continent for its continuous conquers in business,
technology, and consumer satisfaction and is almost too famous for introductions. Apple Inc. has
steadily held one of the top 5 positions in the Fortune 500 list for many years, and it’s not very
hard to see why (Fortune 2020). Apple Inc. is a multinational technology company that develops
cutting-edge online services, computer software, and electronics. It was founded in April of 1976
by Steve Jobs and his partner, Steve Wozniak. Both of whom were just college dropouts
attempting to survive their early twenties. With a dream of changing the world’s perception of
computers and conceiving a consumer-friendly computer small enough to have in a home or
office, they ran the startup company out of Jobs’ garage and created the first “personal”
computer, the Lisa. With a price point of $10,000, the Lisa was generally inaccessible to the
public. Nevertheless, it led to the creation of, arguably, the first computer that was truly
“personal,” the Macintosh, in 1984. Thus, effectively putting Apple on the map as a competitive
tech company (Richardson 2008). After a multitude of failures, missed investment opportunities,
and changes in leadership over the past 43 years, Apple Inc has slowly become one of the most
successful conglomerates in the entire world despite its humble beginning. It’s current
headquarters located in Cupertino, California, Apple Inc. is a modern, futuristic company that
perfectly fits into the high tech, futuristic aesthetic of Silicon Valley. Apple Inc. stands above its
competitors by creating visually simplistic, although uniquely advanced products that
consistently dominate the consumer market.
As one of the largest and most successful companies in the world, Apple Inc. has its
organizational processes down to an exact science. Being in such a competitive industry, Apple
keeps its business strategies very secretive. Thus, most readily available information on their
organizational practices is sourced from ex-employees or research done by those outside of the
company. This is true for Apple’s recruitment and personnel selection techniques. What
information that has been leaked on Apple’s recruitment and hiring process has since been
adopted by various businesses and organizations across the globe and has proven successful for
many. From information gathered across many sites, articles, and reports, I have compiled a step-
by-step list of the lengthy process Apple Inc. uses to recruit and hire new personnel. The first
steps of the process are completed by the Director of Human Resources (HR) at Apple Inc.
headquarters, who creates a clear job description, drafts the interview questions to be used by the
hiring unit, and defines the criteria for evaluating potential candidates. The Director of HR then
announces the job opening, sending the job description to roughly 350 universities,
organizations, and agencies, and then the hiring unit bares the cost of any additional advertising.
Lastly, the executive HR department evaluates the received applications and makes the initial
round of rejections based on the previously determined selection criterion and applicants’
qualifications and level of experience. The applications that survived the initial screening process
are then sent to the hiring unit for the next and longest step in the recruitment process,
interviews. When hiring a new employee, Apple conducts 3-4 rounds of interviews that slowly
weed out the many applicants that won’t make the cut. The interview stage begins with a large
group of applicants and the hiring unit’s senior staff who conduct interviews then meticulously
evaluate the candidates’ interactions with the staff and each other to ascertain whether the
candidates have the personality to excel in the position. The questions asked in each round of
interviews get more personal and specific, while fewer applicants move forward with each stage
in the interview process. The final round of interviews is conducted by a high level or hiring
manager and is similar to the previous interviews, although the questions are significantly more
personalized and technical. Applicants may be asked about products and operating systems, as
well as their passions and ambitions in life. This is done to once more determine if the applicant
possesses the qualities and traits of the ambitious, creative employee that Apple seeks. After the
final interview, potential candidates must submit to an extensive background check of their
academic, financial, occupational, criminal, and personal history. Upon completion of the
background checks, the hiring team will evaluate the final applicants to find the best fit for the
position and ensure that they hire an individual that most aligns with the selection criterion and
attributes (Krishna 2017). Apple Inc. utilizes a structured but simplistic recruitment process led
by its Department of Human Resources that is thoughtful and efficient. This process enables the
hiring units to focus their time and energy on acquiring the most qualified and desirable
candidates, therefore bettering the image of the company altogether while simultaneously
increasing the productivity and skill of the staff. Apple also employs a meticulous and complex
personnel selection process that is highly effective. The process is long a grueling, but ensures
Apple Inc. only highers the best of the best, enabling the company to remain competitive within
the industry and retain its exclusive reputation.
Organizations spend billions on training and developmental activities in the United States
alone (Salas, Tannenbaum, Kraiger, Smith-Jentsch 2012). Apple Inc. is no exception. Steve Jobs
established a training program to educate his employees on the history and business culture of
Apple Inc as the company and technology business evolved. Unlike many organizations, Apple
runs all of its training in-house, which means that the program, named Apple University, is
located in the Cupertino headquarters and distributed by Apple employees to Apple employees.
Although highly secretive and rarely discussed, Apple University is said to vividly reflect the
company’s image in that it is streamlined and meticulously planned with a polished presentation
that masks the massive amount of effort poured into it. The university staff includes world-
renown writers, editors, and instructors from prominent universities such as Harvard, M.I.T., and
the University of California, Berkeley. Though employees are only encouraged not required to
take courses, Apple rarely has difficulty getting employees to enroll (Chen 2014). The university
offers courses tailored to specific skills and positions as well as classes over Apple’s history and
important business decisions. Employees use an internal website to enroll in courses, many of
which can be taken right from home. In addition to the Apple University, the company also uses
