IntroductionApple is an international company involved in the design, development, and distribution of consumer electronics, personal computers, and computer software. It is primarily recognized for hardware such as iPhone smartphones, iPod media players, and Mac computers, and software such as OS X, the Safari web browser, and iOS operating systems, among other software. Apple was founded in April 1976 by Steve Wozniak, Ronald Wayne and Steve Jobs with the sole purpose of developing and selling computers. Since then, it has experienced consistent growth. Today Apple Inc. is the second largest IT company in the world after Samsung Electronics. Like any other company, Apple's performance has fluctuated from time to time. This has been attributed by factors emerging from within the organization (internal factors) and those emerging from outside the organization (external factors) (Yu & Zhang, 2010). Apple hasn't always been successful. In 1996, Apple was declared bankrupt and Steve Jobs, one of the founders, looked for work to save his company (Hoover, 2001). In 1997, each Apple share cost $3.30. The company grew and in 2011 the price per share was $339.87 (Martins, 2011). Internal Factors Affecting Apple's Performance Management Management refers to planning, leading, organizing and controlling human and other resources with the aim of achieving an organization's objectives efficiently and effectively ( Sawayda, 2011). Management has had profound effects on Apple's performance. Apple's success and high performance are attributed to Steve Jobs' leadership skills. Steve Jobs developed a vision for the Apple company that managers needed to follow. Furthermore, he built strong management that left...... middle of paper ......-retail-stores_n.htmMello, A. (1996, 08). Apple articulates its Internet plans. Macworld, 13, 27. Retrieved from: http://search.proquest.com/docview/199251271?accountid=38569Rigby, D. K., Gruver, K., & Allen, J. (2009). Innovation in turbulent times. Harvard Business Review, 87(6), 79-86. Retrieved from: http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.csuglobal.idm.oclc.org/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=ab8bbd1c-70d2-47ca-baf2-2debe6a55016%40sessionmgr112&vid=2&hid=115Sawayda, J. ( 2011). The Ethical Success and Challenges of Apple Inc. Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative. Retrieved from: http://danielsethics.mgt.unm.edu/pdf/Apple%20Case.pdfYu, C., & Zhang, T. (2010). Internal factors influencing the organizational internationalization process. Evidence from the Huawei case study. (Student document). Halmstad University. Retrieved from: http://hh.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:325757/FULLTEXT01.pdf