Step 8 - TOWS Matrix (Apple)

Weaknesses – Opportunities

WO (Min-Max) Action Plans	Strategy
W1O1-- Expand product range to the masses by offering lower-cost variants	CL
W1O2-- Gear R&D spending to offer affordable portable offerings to capture market appeal	CL
W1O3-- Create a niche position in the corporate arena to cater to the growing preference of the Unix	MP
W1O4-- Incorporate software and design expertise to reduce TCO of portable products to sustain advancement of micro electronics technology	CL
W1O5-- Increase competitive edge by positioning brand premium as a steadfast assurance to alleviate software/virus threats	MP
W1O6-- Capitalize on advancements in speech and gesture recognition technologies to improve product line-up and achieve higher ROI to finance lower-cost variants	Dif
W2O1-- Embrace licensing opportunities to increase market share of Mac OS X and licensing revenues to meet growing dependence on technology	CD
W2O2-- Steer alliances with complimentary industry leaders to penetrate the corporate enterprise market	BI
W2O3-- Capitalize on world standard Unix-based OS to market Apple’s MAC OS on PC platforms	MP
W2O4-- Penetrate the business market due to increasing demand for mobility	MP
W2O5-- Continue to exclusively innovate the Apple OS platform to battle rivalries	CD
W2O6-- Strategize to attract en masse attention to Apple’s safer and reliable OS platform	MP
W3O1-- Utilize software and design expertise to create multi-platform software/applications to cater to both niche and PC hardware markets	PD
W3O2-- Create electronic gadgets that will be able to support multi-facet software applications from third party software vendors	ConD
W3O3-- Continue to maintain bundle of Apple’s software-hardware policy and concomitantly allow for open sourcing	HD
W3O4-- Increase functionalities in Apple laptops to install and run Windows natively	CD
W3O5-- Diversify Apple’s software platform to offer the safety and usability of Mac OS and the expansive software library of third party vendors available for PCs	CD
W3O6-- Incorporate accurate customer design goal in products to maximize its potential and make interactions between human and intelligent machines more enjoyable	PD
W4O1-- Restructure decision-making processes to stabilize monopoly of idea generation by Jobs, ultimately to meet the varied needs of the growing IT population	BI
W4O2-- Empower Tim Cook (COO) and Jonathan Ive to continue operational and design excellence to maintain reputation as trendsetter	BI
W4O3-- Strengthen succession plans of the CEO role to focus on desktop computing industry to capitalize on the increasing demand for Unix-based OS	PD
W4O4-- Introduce suitable succession plans to eliminate interdependencies in decision making to allow prosperous growth of IT in education as well as other segments	BI
W4O5-- Continue to expand and spread Apple’s talent across a variety of projects and to hire more new talents to counter tough competition from Microsoft	BI
W4O6-- Increase top management’s agility in managing continuous improvements in niche markets to gain directional leadership based on independent efforts	BI
W5O1-- Boost revenue by leveraging on R&D investments through excellent ideation, project selection, development and commercialization	PD
W5O2-- Strategize R&D investments to mete more Apple concept stores and capitalize on the rising popularity of portable electronics among the masses	FI
W5O3-- Capitalize on profit stemming from the operations division to steer R&D investments in Mac OS	PD
W5O4-- Pump R&D investments to create hybrid product mix to expand product range and capitalize on revenues	PD
W5O5-- Work with Microsoft to have an Apple certified version of Windows for Macs to capture the mainstream market. Thus, effectively leveraging on R&D investments	BI
W5O6-- As the market for innovative HCI continues to grow, Apple’s strategic investments in HCI should increase concomitantly to reap revenues and attain a balance in investments vs. profit	Dif