1. INTRODUCTION ................................ ................................ ................................ ..................... 2
1.1 APPLE INC ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ 2 1.2 Organisation Structure of Apple ................................ ................................ ............................... 3 2. Management Information System................................ ................................ .............................. 4 2.1 Introduction................................ ................................ ................................ ............................. 4 2.2 Importance of Information................................ …show more content…
This kind of structure creates numerous possibilities for the lower level managers to take initiative and thereby foster company¶s strength (BusinessWeek, 2004). The next level of the organisation is structured as follows which can be considered as the mid managerial level, this is segregated according to the geographies that they serve, like for example the Americas, Europe, Japan, and finally Retail. This kind of structure at the mid managerial level enables the company to be responsive and understand the operational issues of the different geographies that they operate in. This enables the company to leverage its skills globally (Hill & Jones, 2004). The difference in structure at the various levels creates a concern in terms of communication as the matrix structure is created in the lower levels, the functional reporting to the corporate directors and the operational elements being reported to the regional directors. In this juncture it would be prudent to understand the effectiveness of information systems to enable and sustain this issue of dual reporting and how the same can be turned into an advantage by the …show more content…
Let us have a look at how Apple is managing their information system and the technology that is used by the company to managing this mammoth task of information management. Apple¶s main objective has always been to be the innovation leader. The same philosophy extends even to the manner in which they manage their internal communication which showcases their superiority. In accordance with this concept they have most of the processes which are virtualised, as the company believes that virtualisation is the factor which will provide the company with a competitive advantage in the market place in future. Apple¶s intranet provides th e required platform for undertaking this process and this intranet in the company enables the employees to access all required information from the comfort of their desktop. From an external linkage point of view the company has an extranet which enables the company to interact with the key suppliers and developers of Mac based applications. This enables the organisation to build a seemingly unlimited µvalue chain¶ in the information domain by creating a virtual link