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  • Essay / The Creation of the iPod and the Importance of Sun Tzu's Constant Factors and Porter's Five Forces

    Apple's creation of the iPod reflects the teachings of Sun Tzu and Michael E. Porter. Sun Tzu was a Chinese military general who wrote the book "Art of War." Michael Porter is a professor at Harvard Business School and wrote Porter's Five Forces. The iPod shocked the technology world in 2001. The steps that led to the invention of the iPod apply to Sun Tzu's constant factors and Porter's five forces. Sun Tzu's constant factors are moral law, heaven, earth, commander, method and discipline. Porter's five forces are threat to new entrants, buyer bargaining power, supplier bargaining power, and threat to substitute products or services. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Sun Tzu's constant factors are most evident in the creation of the iPod. During the production process of the iPod, Steve Jobs (Apple CEO) set the deadline for the iPod to be available to consumers before Christmas, which is related to "heaven". “Heaven” is the Sun Tzu word for weather and climate change. Around Christmas, demand shifts as consumers buy more goods than at any other time of the year. The first release of the iPod at Christmas will boost sales of Apple products and demonstrate good time management. Apple employees admire Steve Jobs because he had a good track record of innovation and could increase the human capital of his employees if they worked under him. According to Steve Jobs' book, he took 100 of his most valuable employees into retirement. He gained followers from his innovative tendency, which represents Sun Tzu's "moral law". Apple settled with a small company, Portable Player, which makes mp3 players. The relationship between the two companies gave Apple security and chances of survival during the iPod production process. Security and life chances are the meaning that Sun Tzu gives to the “Earth” factor. The exclusive agreement between Apple and Portable Player granted Apple the rights to the innovative mp3 player. Steve Jobs had good expectations regarding the project of creating the iPod. Jobs assigned Jon Rubinstein as iPod project manager. Rubinstein hired an entrepreneurial programmer from the University of Michigan, Tony Fadell, to be a member of the development team. When Fadell proposed competitors, Jobs had enough confidence and courage in the project to overlook a major competitor called Sony. Jobs explains to Fadell: "We know what we're doing, and they don't." Jobs ask a lot of questions when making proposals and are strict about preferences. He strictly instructed Fadell to create an iPod that ensures it only takes 3 clicks to play a song. Jobs' actions are linked to Sun Tzu's "The Commander" factor, which means courage and rigor. When creating the iPod, Jobs showed evidence of Sun Tzu's "Method and Discipline" factor. Sun Tzu's "Methods and Discipline" factor means graduation of ranks, maintenance of roads for transportation and management of supplies. Apple modified Portal Player's flaws to create the iPod, which had maintenance on the product. Jobs manages his innovation by simplifying. During the production of the iPod, obstacles arose such as switch locations, button colors, and pricing strategy issues. Jobs is also developing a method to limit iPod usage for more interactionwith iTunes. Users create their music playlist on iTunes. In addition to Sun Tzu's Constant Factors, Porter's Five Forces also played a role in the process of creating the iPod. Apple sees Microsoft as Porter's "threat of new entrants." According to Steve Jobs' book, Microsoft CEO Bill Gates recognized the product and asked "Is it compatible with Microsoft?" » His curiosity about the iPod proves that he is ready to create a plan for Microsoft to benefit from the iPod. Porter's second strength was the rivalry between existing competitors. The existing competition mentioned in Steve Jobs' book was Sony. Steve Jobs wasn't worried about Sony. Fadell felt like they were competing, but Jobs felt they weren't aware of Apple's innovation. Porter's second force is the "bargaining power of the buyer", which gives Apple the advantage. The creation of the iPod places Apple in a Blue Ocean market where they can choose a profitable price of $399. Tech geeks disagree with the iPod price abbreviation for “Dumb Device Prices.” When the iPod was created, there was no other comparable product on the market that offered buyers limited bargaining power. The supplier's bargaining power was Porter's third force. Apple has entered into an exclusive agreement with its Japanese supplier Toshiba. Toshiba sold its rights to the disk used to create the iPod to Apple, giving Toshiba little negotiating power. The carrier's fourth strength lies in threats of substitute products or services. When creating the iPod, Jobs worried about the threat of CD burners and file-sharing programs. Both substitutes threaten the iTunes Store's music sales. Ultimately, the creation of the iPod applies to Sun Tzu's Constant Factors and Porter's Five Forces. Many companies around the world still use both systems for strategic planning and to learn about their competitors. Both strategic systems can be used when entering a new market. Choose the principality that you think best matches Steve Jobs' entry into Pixar. Discuss what the redemption of the principality means, in modern terms, and why it best fits Jobs' situation. Steve Jobs' entry into Pixar is a hereditary principality. Modern Hereditary Principalities are corporations whose traditional system and practices are subject to change. The new CEO joins the company and changes the methods based on the company's SWOT analysis. If the new CEO fails, the board can fire him or her. However, the board can rehire the CEO if it feels it needs the former CEO back. Hereditary Principality fits Jobs' situation because he didn't build the company from scratch. Before Jobs bought the company, the name was LucasFilm's computer division. They produced software and hardware for rendering digital images. Jobs focused on changing business strategy and finances. His goal was to sell Pixar computers at affordable prices and make them user-friendly. Think about your semester project. Decide whether your strategic plan approach for the project (as an organization) was more of an approach: a resource-based theory, a dynamic theory, or Porter's five forces approach. Support your conclusion with specific examples and be sure to write a strong argument that covers all important aspects of the theory and your project. The positive image campaign of.