Nov 15 2010
Apple
Apple is an extremely successful entrepreneurial company. It’s an American multinational corporation that designs and markets consumer electronics and software. The company’s best-known hardware products include the Macintosh line of computers, the iPod, Iphone, and iPad. The company exhibits each of the four characteristics of entrepreneurship in terms of amount of wealth generated, the speed of which this wealth is created, risk, and innovation. As of September 25, 2010, Apple had 46,600 full time employees and 2,800 temporary full time employees worldwide and had worldwide annual sales of $42.91 billion in its fiscal year ending September 26, 2009. Apple was one of several highly successful companies founded in the 1970s that went against the traditional notions of what a corporate culture should look like in organizational hierarchy (flat versus tall, casual versus formal attire, etc.). When Apple went public, it generated more capital than any IPO since Ford Motors Company in 1956 and instantly created more millionaires (about 300) than any company in history. As a computer and software company, there are a lot of potential risks involved, such as the success rate of their new software or product. As for innovation, Apple is considered to be near the top for the company constantly tries to come up with new products, such as the Ipad, iPhone, and their laptop designs.