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Professional assignment 2
Zhoodar Sabyrkulov
Westcliff University
Strategic Management in a Globalized Economy- MGT 500
Professor: Schahrzade Rezvani
October 09, 2022
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Introduction
Apple is primarily associated with founder Steve Jobs. Steve Jobs has proven himself to be
an excellent leader of an innovative leading company. Often the leadership style of Steve Jobs is
a subject of study in management. After Steve Jobs left Apple in 2011, he was replaced by Tim
Cook, who worked for 30 years at Apple as COO. This paper compares the leadership styles of
Steve Jobs and Tim Cook, includes challenges that Tim Cook faced after replacing Steve Jobs and
Tim Cook is rated as a strategic leader.
Evaluation of a CEO’s job and the challenges Tim Cook faces
In any business, the CEO is a top manager who has several key tasks. These tasks include
making core decisions and managing the company's operations by properly allocating resources.
The CEO is the main point of communication between shareholders, public and employees of the
company. The Board of Directors and shareholders elect the CEO. Depending on the
organizational structure, the size of the CEO's functions vary (Glick, 2020). In general, the
responsibilities of the CEO include (Kenton, 2020):

Acts as a main point of communication between stakeholders;

Decision-making at the strategic and corporate levels according to the mission and vision
of the company and leadership in the implementation of the vision of the company;

The company's representative in public and the formation of a good image of the company.
In my opinion, the most difficult thing in the work of a CEO is to make the right decisions in the
conditions of today's dynamic development of markets.
After Steve Jobs left the post of CEO of Apple, Tim Cook, who held the position of COO
in the company, was appointed in his place (Bidwell & Keller, 2013). Steve Jobs was an excellent
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leader who had his own methods and leadership style, thanks to which he achieved amazing results
(Schwan & Soeters, 1994). After the leadership of Steve Jobs, Tim Cook had to face many
challenges as CEO of Apple. The main challenge for Tim Cook was to maintain the same high
level of productivity in every sense and the same culture so that employees were motivated and
trusted. Another challenge for Cook was the fall in the company's shares associated with the
leaving position and death of Steve Jobs in 2011. He had to gain the trust of shareholders with his
leadership style. At the same time, Tim Cook had the task of continuously meeting customer
demand for an iPhone and maintaining the image of an innovative company. Steve Jobs has been
the face of the company for many years and has perfectly formed a personal brand. It took time
for people to recognize Tim Cook as the CEO of Apple.
Using the internal managerial labor market
The Internal Labor Market Filing is a way in which managers recruit from among
employees who already work in the organization (Lazear & Oyer, 2004). An internal managerial
labor market is well suited for finding employees for senior positions and consists of qualified
employees (Hitt et al., 2019). In many companies, the CEO is appointed from the internal
managerial labor market, as in the case of the Apple.
Tim Cook served as Chief Operating Officer and worked at Apple for 30 years. This means
that Tim Cook was familiar with the strategies and leadership style of the former CEO. He also
knew the culture of the organization perfectly and knew all the processes, that is, he knew the
company from a to z, which makes him the most suitable candidate. During the reign of Steve
Jobs, Tim Cook successfully implemented strategies. Therefore, it is very important to choose a
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loyal employee familiar with the company in leadership positions. This is especially important for
giants like Apple, as the strategies and decisions made by the CEO will affect the entire business.
Leadership styles of Steve Jobs and Tim Cook
Steve Jobs had the charisma of a leader. In the leadership style of Steve Jobs, both
transactional and transformational leadership were observed by researchers. Transformational
leadership corrects the system, simplifies existing problems in the system for employees.
Transactional leadership is based on maintaining stability through socio-economic trade and
organizational indicators (Biering, 2017). Steve Jobs had the ability to achieve incredible results.
He was strong in the field of innovation and motivated employees to think differently, to find
innovative approaches when creating products. Thanks to him, Apple has become a technology
giant and positions itself as an innovative company "thinking differently". Steve Jobs literally
paved the way.
Tim Cook is following the path laid out by Steve Jobs. But like any leader, he has his own
style, his own approach. Tim Cook uses transformational leadership and it is based on sustainable
thinking. He does not force employees to think differently. But innovative products are being
developed under his stubborn ethical leadership (Kim, 2020).
Evaluation of Tim Cook as a CEO
Tim Cook proved himself to be an effective strategic leader. This is evidenced by the results
of Apple under the leadership of Tim Cook. Over the 10 years of Tim Cook's leadership, the
company's value has exceeded $ 1 trillion. He could increase the company's revenue from $6
billion in 2011 to $29 billion in 2021 (Hollister, 2021). Also, under the leadership of Tim Cook,
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innovative products like Apple Watch were developed in 2015 and since then Apple has been a
leader in the market of wearable gadgets (Hitt et al., 2019).
Unlike Steve Jobs, Tim Cook seems restrained and quiet person. He listens carefully to the
people around him and believes that every employee of the company can offer an innovative idea.
Also, he focuses on the diversity, because the difference in the nation and culture can give rise to
an innovative idea.
Conclusion
Tim Cook had a hard time at the beginning. After Steve Jobs, he needed to gain the trust
of stakeholders. He is a transformational leader and under his leadership the company retains the
image of a successful innovation giant. Overall, Tim Cook has proven himself to be an excellent
strategic leader. This is evidenced by the Apple performance from 2011, which were written above.
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References
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