Project Company – Apple Inc.
American Public University System – BUSN601

Project Company – Apple Inc.
Question 1
Are any employees of your company represented by labor unions or covered by collective bargaining agreements? Are any of these employees working outside of the United States?

Some workers are represented by labor unions like the Chinese Labor Watch that concentrates on the Chinese workers who manufacture products such as iPhones and laptops in Apple Company (Brochet et al., 2016). Apple has employed about 84,000 people in the U.S. as in February 2018, while an October 2017 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission said that it has a total of 132,000 full employed workers worldwide, implying that about a third of its employees work abroad.
Question 2
Does your company employ expatriates in any overseas operations it might have? If so, what resources does the company provide to train expatriates before they go to the foreign location? Does the company also provide training or support for expatriates during the repatriation phase?

Expatriates are provided with training on the host country’s culture, customs, language, and business etiquette in advance before they leave the United States (Lockamy, 2017). In the repatriation process, expatriates are given support in the form of mentorship through which communication on alterations made in the company of one’s home country is built.
Question 3
To what extent, or in what ways, does your company use the Internet for employee training and development?

Apple Inc uses the internet for the development and training of its employees. Apple Inc has its internal website accessible to Apple staff members only when they sign up for courses tailored to their positions and backgrounds (Lockamy, 2017).
Question 4
What products are sold in the company’s international markets? Do they vary by country or by region?

Apple products have a standardized design though technical support is patterned according to regions. The products that are sold to international markets include Iphones, Mac, Ipad, Apple Watch, iPod, Operating systems, as well as Apple TVs (Fogliasso and Williams, 2014).
Question 5
What types of promotion does your favorite company emphasize in its international markets? Do they differ from those used in its domestic market?

Product promotion strategies worldwide comprise, for example, advertising on technology news websites. Also, the company utilizes personal selling in the form of Apple Store workers providing product specifications to customers with the intention of convincing store visitors to purchase a product (Brochet et al., 2016). Additionally, product promotion comprises sales promotion such as locations offering old models at lower prices when bundled with larger or costly products. Publicity relations, especially press releases and apple events, also aid in product promotion to optimize its corporate image.
Question 6
What kinds of distribution channels are being employed in your company’s international markets?

Apple uses both direct and indirect product distribution channels. The direct channel is direct selling to customers via the Apple stores. While the later includes wholesalers, retailers, and resellers (Lockamy, 2017).
Question 7
Is the company practicing global procurement? If the company is procuring globally, what goods and services is it procuring and from which countries?

Apple acquires its materials from other global manufacturers. Examples of parts procured include:
Accelerometer from Bosch in Germany
eCompass from Alps Electric in Japan
Flash memory from Toshiba in Japan and Samsung in South Korea
Gyroscope from STMicroelectronics in France and Italy
Display Screen and Glass from Corning (Gorilla Glass) in the United States (Fogliasso and Williams, 2014).
Question 8
Is the company practicing global production? If the company is producing globally, what goods and services are produced globally and in which countries?

The company has experienced global production. The various suppliers manufacture the Apple products’ parts, then the products are assembled, so in a way, the products are produced globally. For example, Apple has an assembling plant in China where products are shipped to, put together, and shipped to their customers (Brochet et al., 2016).
Question 9
Has the company outsourced goods and services? Has the company in sourced goods and services?

The Apple company outsources some of its goods and services. Apple procures parts of its products and services, especially the assembly of parts, for example, the Mac Pro assembled by a Singapore-based company Flextronics at a plant in Austin, Texas. There are, however, many retail and warehouse stores belonging to Apple in the country (Heracleous and Papachroni, 2016).
Question 10
Is the company a member of one or more supply chains? If yes, can you identify the major members of the supply chain(s)?

The Apple company is comprised of many supply chains that work together to cater to the demand of the products. Components and materials from various suppliers are shipped to the assembly plant in China, then to online customers directly or to retail shops and other distributors (Fogliasso and Williams, 2014).
Question 11
In what countries does your company export goods? Import goods? How would changes in the values of these countries’ currencies relative to the U.S. dollar affect transactions and translation risks? Economic risk?

Apple products are exported internationally except for Syria, Cuba, North Korea, Sudan, where there are trade sanctions while Apple Inc. imports products from its supplier nations, some of which were previously mentioned; others are such as India and Vietnam (Heracleous and Papachroni, 2016). Fluctuations in these countries’ currencies will not have implications in the company’s loss or gain in terms of the translation risk. In contrast, the economic risk may increase or reduce if the company will be in a position to claim the value of its foreign assets.

References
Brochet, F., Palepu, K., & Barley, L. (2016). Accounting for the iPhone at Apple Inc. Harvard Business School Accounting & Management Unit Case (111-003).
Fogliasso, C. E., & Williams, A. (2014). Analysis Of The Business, Societal And Governmental Relationships Of Apple Inc. Leadership & Organizational Management Journal, 2014(1).
Heracleous, L., & Papachroni, A. (2016). Strategic Leadership and Innovation at Apple Inc. SAGE Publications Ltd.
Lockamy III, A. (2017, July). An examination of external risk factors in Apple Inc.’s supply chain. In Supply Chain Forum: An International Journal (Vol. 18, No. 3, pp. 177-188). Taylor & Francis.
Miller, T., & Maxwell, R. (2016). Apple. In Global Media Giants (pp. 383-396). Routledge.
Yusoff, M., & Husnina, N. (2018). Determinants of Risks and Performance in Apple Inc. Available at SSRN 3181705.