Steve Jobs's departure won't make much difference for now, but the jury is out on Apple's long-term prospects
From Wall Street to Tokyo, it's the question on everyone's lips: Will Apple be the same without Steve Jobs? Don't be daft: of course it won't. Jobs is the strategic visionary behind a suite of products that have taken the world by storm and propelled Apple's share price to a level which, briefly, made it the most valuable company in the world. Small wonder the company's stock fell on news Jobs was standing down as chief executive, while the price of Asian rivals such as Samsung and HTC Corporation shot ahead.
Has the world forgotten how Apple was on its knees in the mid-1990s, with analysts giving it little more than six months to live? It was only when Jobs returned to head the company he helped to found in the 1970s that its star began to rise again, as its leader moved into his most creative phase, unveiling the iPod, iPhone and iPad, and launching the iTunes music store to the delight of consumers around the globe.
The Apple mystique and a powerful brand name have enabled it to enjoy profit margins that are twice as fat as those of competitors. Few people in the technology industry can rival Jobs in sensing how products should look and feel, or what will sell. Apple products have been able to command premium prices because they are pleasing to the eye and easy to use – something Jobs understands only too well.
It is disingenuous for people to dismiss the idea that a single individual can't make all the difference when it comes to running large companies: we have seen time and again how the quality of leadership can make or break corporations. Jobs is without doubt the creative force that has made Apple into one of the biggest business success stories of recent decades, and few would question the widely held belief that without him, the company would have struggled to survive.
But that is not the same as saying Apple in 2011 is about to go the way of the dinosaurs and be wiped off the face of the earth. It has been known for some years that Jobs's health has been failing; chief operating officer Tim Cook, who replaces him, was brought in to run the company in January after Jobs went on medical leave for a second time. Since February, Apple's share price has advanced more than 25% at a time when Jobs was on the sidelines.
Apple has had time to plan for the day when he finally steps aside, and in truth, there is plenty of home-grown talent to be found within the organisation.
So in the short term, Apple's customers shouldn't notice any difference; a number of big product launches are in the pipeline, such as the iPhone5. And the long term? The jury is out on that one.
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Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/aug/25/apple-prospects-analysis-richard-wachman
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