How to Create an Effective BigTech Work Environment

Apple has gone from a project of two young entrepreneurs to the largest technology corporation in the world . Founded in 1976, the company has become a symbol of innovation and luxury in design. Apple is now the world's largest company by capitalization, with a market value of about $2.8 trillion.

Apple is also ranked number one on the World Brand Lab’s list of the world’s 500 most powerful brands. The company’s approximately 165,000 employees interact with each other, with suppliers, and with more than 1 billion users worldwide. In 2022, the company surpassed 2 billion active devices.

Since 2011, the world's most valuable company has been run by CEO Tim Cook. Tim Cook prides himself on not hiding his email address, which anyone can easily find on a search engine. Customers can directly tell the Apple CEO what they think of Apple products, sometimes sharing stories from their own lives, and this information becomes an important source of inspiration for Apple's leaders and employees.

After his morning workout, Tim Cook heads to Apple’s Cupertino office and spends the day meeting with various members of his team to discuss new products, strategies, and plans for the company. He sometimes schedules meetings on the go, walking around the office. He also spends time communicating with investors and partners to ensure the company continues to grow and develop, attending various events and conferences where he represents Apple and interacts with other leaders in the technology industry.

Emphasis on security

All Apple employees are required to adhere to strict confidentiality rules regarding the development of new products and services. Within the company, the atmosphere of secrecy is ensured by a number of rules and regulations to ensure that products are not known to the public before they are officially introduced.

Employees only get full information about their projects when they need it, which can sometimes make it difficult to coordinate with each other because they don’t have the opportunity to ask for advice from colleagues on other teams. But this rule helps protect Apple’s intellectual property and maintain its competitive advantage.

All Apple employees are required to sign an intellectual property agreement; it requires them to keep confidential Apple business information, including intellectual property, confidential business plans, unpublished product plans, sales and marketing strategies, and other trade secrets.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs holds up the new iPad while speaking at an Apple special event in 2010.

Brad, one of Apple's former interns, once told Business Insider that sometimes employees might not even know what specific product they were working on. Apple's corporate culture is so secretive that some employees didn't realize they were working on the first iPad until Apple co-founder Steve Jobs revealed it at a presentation. Only after the product was launched did they find out what they had been working on for two years.

Inviolable workplace

The company's headquarters is called Apple Park and is located in Cupertino, California. The entrance to the headquarters building is a four-story circular building that is only accessible to company employees. Some visitors can go to the Apple Park Convention Center - the "Steve Jobs Theater" - to attend annual product launches. The development center, located next to the main building, is also open to the public during major events.

For those who want to learn more about Apple’s campus, the company has built a special area for visitors called the Visitor Center. It contains a three-dimensional model of the company that can be interacted with using augmented reality technology. Anyone can take a virtual reality tour of the entire Apple Park.

There is also a store that displays all Apple products as well as exclusive souvenirs featuring the brand’s logo. Visitors to the store can even buy a T-shirt that reads “I’ve been to the Apple campus and that’s all I can say.”

Generous remuneration

According to the technology news site The Verge/US, in interviews at Apple, candidates are not asked about their salary history for the job they are applying for and the salary that Apple recruiters offer is based on the salaries of Apple employees in similar positions.

Every year, the company reviews the compensation that employees receive and ensures that salaries are fair, regardless of gender, race or nationality. In particular, Apple offers its employees a good social benefits package: health insurance, maternity leave, sports and travel expenses, as well as discounts on company products.

According to The Wall Street Journal/USA, Apple's median employee salary increased 18% in 2021 to $68,000. This is one of the largest increases compared to other US companies in the S&P 500 list. Apple's typical compensation package usually includes base salary, Apple stock and bonus.

In 2021, CEO Tim Cook's salary exceeded the median Apple employee's salary by 1,447 times. In total, he received nearly $100 million. By 2022, Tim Cook received compensation from Apple of $99.4 million, including a $3 million base salary, about $83 million in company stock and bonuses.

In January 2023, Apple announced that Tim Cook had voluntarily asked to take a more than 40% pay cut, to $49 million in 2023. In early June 2023, Forbes estimated his fortune at $1.9 billion. Other executives, including CFO Luca Maestri, general counsel Kate Adams, retail chief Deirdre O'Brien and chief operating officer Jeff Williams, will each be paid $27 million in 2022.

Businesses have different cultural structures

Apple is organized along functional lines rather than business units, which is rare for a company of its size. Hardware people lead hardware, software people lead software and services, and design people lead design.

This sets Apple apart from most other large companies, where senior managers supervise other managers. At Apple, the people with the most expertise in an area make the decisions in that area.

Employees are required to maintain high standards of professional conduct, including treating each other, customers and partners with respect. They must also avoid conflicts of interest and actions that could damage the company's reputation.

Apple's corporate culture is based on several principles: Integrity - employees must demonstrate honesty and high ethical standards in all business dealings; respect - employees must treat customers, partners, suppliers, co-workers and others with respect and courtesy; confidentiality - employees must protect Apple's confidential information and the information of customers, partners, suppliers and other employees; compliance - business decisions must comply with applicable laws and regulations.

The company’s policies allow Apple employees to speak freely about their pay, hours, and working conditions. “An interesting observation: When you say you work at Apple, you don’t have to explain anything. You’re proud of it,” said Brian, head of engineering in Cupertino.

(According to Insider, RBK and The Verge)

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