Reference no: EM132319231

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Apple is discontinuing iTunes after 18 years

I researched the GCU library for a relevant article related to the discussion topic but had difficulty finding one that discussed a company that recently added or dropped a product or service, or a company that decided to outsource. In lieu of a GCU article, I chose to discuss this week's announcement that Apple is discontinuing iTunes which is supported by the article Apple is discontinuing iTunes after 18 years by Trevor Tan.

The article discusses Apple's announcement at the Worldwide Developers Conference that it will be discontinuing iTunes. iTunes was originally designed for the Apple iPod and was used across multiple Apple products for the past 18 years. Apple will replace iTunes with three separate apps: "Apple Music, Apple TV, and Apple Podcasts when the new operating system for Mac computers, dubbed macOS 10.15 Catalina, becomes available this September" (Tan, 2019). Advances in technology capability and changes in user preferences lead to the ultimate decision to discontinue iTunes. Consumers prefer to stream music, video and podcasts rather make individual purchases and store on their devices; streaming has also become mainstream and more affordable. In addition to the replacement of iTunes, Apple is also deploying a new iOS 13 which will provide better/advanced security features with enhanced privacy as it will restrict how iPhone apps collect users' data (Tan, 2019). The collection of users' data has been under a scrutiny as witnessed with Facebook and Google which has driven the develop and deployment of the three new apps in place of iTunes. The challenge with the new iOS 13 is that it will not support the older iPhones (iPhone 5S, iPhone 6 and 6 Plus).

My reaction to the article is simple: products have a lifecycle and technology products have shorter lives. The fact that iTunes existed for 18 years before being discontinued and replaced is impressive. However, many feel that iTunes has not been useful for several years and only use it for administrative tasks (i.e. backup, restore, etc). I am one of those individuals. I don't remember the last time I purchased music or a video on iTunes as I have chosen to stream my media selections. I only use my iTunes when I need to work with photos stored in iCloud or have to backup or restore my phone. Product lifecycles are always associated with consumer preferences and Apple has finally listened with the new iOS 13 privacy features. Companies must adapt their products and/or product offerings to ensure continued success.

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Re: Topic 8 DQ 1-Apple's iPhone: Designed in California But Manufactured Fast All Around the World

Outsourcing is the practice of obtaining goods and services from a foreign supplier most commonly used in industries where there is either a shortage of labor for particular positions or where the cost of labor is too high (Lopez, 2017). Manufacturers that outsource reduce their overhead and increase profit margins when producing the product. Even though Apple designs all of their products in the US, they outsource hundreds of thousands of manufacturing jobs to countries like Mongolia, China, Korea, and Taiwan. Many would assume Apple outsources to reduce labor expenses. This article states the real reason for Apple's outsourcing strategy is to save time. It claims that it would take 9 months to hire 8,700 engineers in the US compared to 15 days in China needed to manage all factory workers. It provided an example of a last-minute major decision in materials, the US suppliers deemed it impossible to provide the glass screens in time to meet a product launching deadline. A factory in China committed and did everything possible to make the change and produce the phones in a timely manner. To support this theory, the article includes the number of Apple generated jobs held in the US in 2012; 598,500.
I chose this article because when outsourcing is discussed the controversy focuses on the increase in US unemployment caused by the million of jobs outsourced. This article proved that reducing labor costs is not the only reason or the case for some companies especially dealing with R&D or Technology. Apple's headcount has increased by 9,000 employees (Rossignol, 2018). It also discussed focused on suppliers and the flexibility needed to produce product in a timely manner in order to keep up with a fast-paced technology market. Many companies have been affected by recent increases in tariff rates and many speculate that either prices for goods will increase or companies will begin to bring business back into the US. With the information provided, I do not think Apple should be affected nor have the need to restructure their business strategy.

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Why Most Product Launches Fail

The article, Why Most Product Launches Fail, by Joan Schneider and Julie Hall helps provide an insight to why product launches fail and implementations of outsourcing. Though the article does not highlight recent products dropped by companies, it does provide examples that demonstrate the reason behind these decisions and how the organization could overall benefit. The authors correlate that due to consumer behavior, product launches have a low success of making a consumer leave their brand regconition and switch products. " American families, on average, repeatedly buy the same 150 items, which constitute as much as 85% of their household needs; it's hard to get something new on the radar." (Hall & Schneider, 2011) Looking at the example of Microsoft Windows Vista launch in 2007, the organization launched a product that was not ready for market. Due to compatibility and performance issues, the high expectations of the product resulted in a flop and cost to the organization. Users were not purchasing the product and generated a brand image problem for releasing such in andequate products. Alternatively, the authors go into detail on how outsurcing products manufacturing can result in a loss of quality and that will result in decreased sales and growth of the organization.The Mosquito Magnet produced by American Biophysics is a great example. "American Biophysics, which had once had $70 million in annual revenue, was sold to Woodstream for the bargain-basement price of $6 million." (2011)

After reviewing this article, I have gathered a better understanding of why organization would seek to outsource or dop a product. By outsourcing, the organization will be able to allcolate less costs in certain process that allows them to reinvest into other ventures. By outsourcing, they hope to generate an increased profit which could result in higher performance reviews and public opinion of the conomic future of the organiztaion. Accordingly, looking at the future of the organziation, the company will face decisions of whether the costs of continuing a product outweigh the benefits of producing. The organization can look at it could better allcolateresurces by increasing production on an alternative product, or introducing a new product to replace the current underperforming product.