OBHR Comparative Case study

SharminAkter

(2122743)

University Canada West

HRMT 622: Talent Management

Parm Birring

March 25, 2022

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Table of Contents

Executive Summary 3
Introduction 4
Organizational Structure and Culture 5
Mode of Communication 6
Leadership and management style 6
Apple’s success & Nokia’s Failure 7
HR Planning, Talent Management, Performance and management strategy 7-8
Recommendations And suggestions 9-10
Conclusion 10
References 11

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 Executive Summary

The main objective of this study is to compare two different organizations. One company

is focused on success and the other one is focused on organizational failure. In this case study, I

described the organizational culture and structure, mode of communications, leadership style, the

reason behind success and failure, human resource strategic planning, recruitment, and selection

process. The reason behind comparison is to analyze and provide recommendations for the

failure of one company and the success of another organization.

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Introduction

I have selected Apple as a successful organization and Nokia as a failure organization to

compare which are similar in their organization. Apple is a US-based multinational corporation

that designs and manufactures consumer electronics and software products. It is known for

hardware products including Macintosh computers, the iPod, and the iPhone, Apple Software. It

was established in Cupertino, California on April 1, 1976, co-founded by Steve Jobs and Steve

Wozniak.

Nokia is a Finnish-based multinational company which is founded in 1865. It is one of

the largest renowned mobile manufacturing industries. In 2007, when Apple introduces iPhone,

Nokia was busy making features of their phone and faith of hardware which lead to failure

drastically. 

(A Brief History of Nokia: Rise & Epic Fall, 2021)

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Organizational Structure and Culture:

Apple's organizational structure follows hierarchical and functional-based. The senior

management has the authority to keep the employee under control. 

On the other hand, Nokia is a Finnish multinational organization and follows a horizontal

structure. (MEYER, 2019)

 The main features of Apple’s corporate culture are given below:

 Top-notch excellence

 Creativity

 Innovation

 Secrecy

 Moderate combativeness

Whereas, Nokia is known for a flat networked organization with bureaucracy. Their values are:

 Customer satisfaction

 Individuals respect Hi Performance

 Achievement Nokia

 Always learning Low Satisfaction

 (Reason behind nokia failure)

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Mode of communication: 

Apple follows a pyramid structure for employee communication where information both

comes from the lower section to the upper section. It helps to make a decision faster. 

Next, Nokia adopted internal communication. They developed several various systems

such as

 BlogHub.

 VideoHub

 Infopedia wiki

 Leadership and Management style:

Apple does not have a fixed leadership style but it follows a democratic leadership style

which allows the employee to show their talents in company success. When Steve Jobs was CEO

of Apple, he was an autocratic leader who expected all employees to follow his direction without

any question. But present CEO Tim Cook is different who believes in an effective leadership

style based on open communication, transparency, and teamwork.

The management style of Apple is:

 Allow employees to share their thoughts and knowledge without fear

 Gather employees in decision-making practice.

In contrast, Nokia follows a 7-step approach. It helps to change their leadership style and re-

develop a competitive market presence. 

The Management style of Nokia is:

 To maintain, build and enforce positive organizational culture.

 Create Channels where employees can share their opinions and thoughts while

making a decision.

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Apple’s success:

 The main reason for continuing Apple’s success is its culture of work and organizational

structure. Their culture maintains and develops Apple’s values, beliefs, and behavior of

employees. The leadership style of Steve Jobs was remarkable and controversial as his

management styles contradict the modern rules and style of other successful organizations. Then,

Tim Cook also re-shapes the organizational culture and uses it as a vital tool for success and

strategic management.

Nokia’s Failure:

The reason behind this failure is both internal and external. Firstly, Nokia changed the

organizational structure and chose a matrix structure. Several stakeholders and top-level

management left the company due to this reason. Secondly, their culture of work was not strong.

Then, lack of coordination among employees raises more problems in the top level, and Lack of

direction and analyzes the market lead to failure in a market.

Apple’s HR Strategic Planning: 

 Provide free training when an employee joins Apple.

 Highly emphasize emerging new ideas and developing products.

Recruitment and selection strategy:

To fit in Organizational culture, Apple invests highly in the recruitment process to choose

the right candidate for their organization. They use both internal and external methods to select a

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person. They mainly give more focus on employee efficiency and hard work. Moreover, they

ensure

 Diversity and equal opportunities of employment, 

 Fair treatment to all employees in the workforce

Talent Management Strategy:

Apple forces employees to be self-reliant and develop their skills on their own. It

provides lucrative salaries and innovative organizational culture to drive their employees more

hard workers. (SULLIVAN, 2011)

On the contrary, Strategic planning is closely related to Nokia. 

 Make English an official language to work globally.

 They recruit people from all over the world to verify the demand of customers.

Recruitment and selection strategy:

 Creativity and Innovation are the optimal criteria while them recruiting.

 Nokia maintains the toughest interview because of the various processes such as

behavioral interviews and even they also measure the capability of a candidate.

 Try to reduce employee turnover by giving competitive benefits to their

employees.

Talent Management Strategy:

Nokia strategy of talent management was weak. Now they re-develop their strategy and

make them lighter as well as more relevant to the business.

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Recommendations for Apple:

 Apple can integrate new cultural traits to keep the business relevant.

 The company should maintain operational secrecy of their new product,

information and design strategies.

 To maintain their brand image Apple must understand the consumer demand,

demographic demands, diverse expectations, and changes in technology.

 They can measure performance management by applying 360-degree performance

management appraisal.

 Apple must maintain its design thinking and product innovation to lead the

competitive and rapidly changing industry.

Recommendations for Nokia:

 Nokia should re-develop its strong organizational structure and arrange sufficient

coordination between departments.

 The HR team should give more focus on hiring qualified candidates for the right

places.

 Leadership style also needs to be straightforward and innovative. A leader should

embrace new ideas from their employees and adopt a culture of listening and learning.

 They should give more and more focus on customers' demand, analyze market

trends quickly.

 Nokia must give concentrate on innovation rather than avoid the risk of bringing

the innovation of mobile phones.

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Conclusion:

It is irrefutable that Apple is smartly conducting business while Nokia fails to keep their

position lack of wrong decision, strategy, and knowledge of market trends. As Apple is going

well with its new CEO and may have retained its position for its outstanding strategy and

capability. On the other hand, Nokia will need to take time to reform its position.

References:

A Brief History of Nokia: Rise & Epic Fall. (2021, June Friday). Retrieved from Brand Riddle:
https://brandriddle.com/nokia-failure-rise-epic-fall/

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Heimer Matt, D. S. (2022). The World's Most Admired Companies. Fortune, 185(1), 93–96,
https://search-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.myucwest.ca/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=bth&AN=154916180&site=eds-live&scope=site.

MEYER, P. (2019, February 15). Apple Inc.’s Organizational Culture & Its Characteristics (An
Analysis). Retrieved from Panmore Institute: http://panmore.com/apple-inc-
organizational-culture-features-implications

Nair, P. B. (2012). The Sweet and Sour Apple: The Case of CEO Strategies at Apple Inc. Vidwat:
The Indian Journal of Management, 5(1), 21–24 https://search-ebscohost-
com.ezproxy.myucwest.ca/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=70457252&site=eds-
live&scope=site.

Podolny, J. M. (2020). How Apple Is Organized for Innovation. Harvard Business Review, 98(6),
86–95 https://search-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.myucwest.ca/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=bth&AN=146207721&site=eds-live&scope=site.

SULLIVAN, D. J. (2011, September 12). ERE MEDIA. Retrieved from Talent Management Lessons
From Apple: A Case Study of the World’s Most Valuable Firm (Part 1 of 4):
https://www.ere.net/talent-management-lessons-from-apple-a-case-study-of-the-
worlds-most-valuable-firm-part-1-of-3/

Tomi Laamanen, J.-a. L. (2016). Explanations of Success and Failure in Management Learning:
What CanWe Learn From Nokia's Rise and Fall? Academy of Management Learning &
Education, 15 (1) 2-25 https://journals.aom.org/doi/abs/10.5465/amle.2013.0177.

Zaidi, N. T. (2019). Nokia's Comeback — Is it Revival of an Iconic Brand? Asian Case Research
Journal, 23 (2), :415-426
https://doi-org.ezproxy.myucwest.ca/10.1142/S0218927519500172.

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