External/Internal Factors IntroductionSince Apple's inception in 1976, Apple has earned a unique reputation in the consumer electronics industry. Apple started as a computer company and has expanded into other electronic products over the last decade. Apple has approximately 35,00 employees worldwide and had worldwide annual revenue of 32.48 billion in its first fiscal year ending September 29, 2008. (Para Amitt, Singh 2004) This paper will explore how Apple has used the four levels of managing, planning, leading, organizing and controlling and the impact the four levels had on internal and external factors. Planning According to the website apple.com Apple just celebrated over one billion application downloads in less than five months (2009). How can a company like Apple Incorporated create a product that can attract a billion transactions in less than five months? The answer lies in the application of fundamental management principles. The first phase of management is planning. The purpose of planning is to identify the desired goal and decide what course of action will be taken to achieve the goals. Planning is vital to ensure the future success of the project being considered. Apple Inc. had to consider many factors when planning the variety of products to make available to consumers. Apple Inc. has chosen a line of products marketed under the “I” brand. Mac, IPod, iPhone and iTunes are some of the hardware and software that Apple Inc. intended to build and market to consumers. Brand I planning had to take globalization into consideration. In planning it was necessary to consider the internal and external impacts of globalization. How could a product be made in...... middle of paper...... Companies. Haynes, Thomas “Management/Leadership Styles” Encyclopedia of Business and Finance Ed. Burton S. Kaliski vol. 2 Retrieved from the Gale Apollo Library on April 29, 2009 .funding Universe/company-histories. (2001). Retrieved May 2, 2009, from Funding Universe: http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Apple-Computer-Inc-Company-History.htmlCareers: Apple Inc. (2009). Retrieved May 2, 2009, from Apple: http://www.apple.com/jobs/us/NA (April 24, 2009) Apple's revolutionary App Store surpasses one billion downloads in just nine months Retrieved 4/28 /09 from:http /www.apple.com/pr/library/2009/04/24appstore.html?srThomas S. Bateman, S. A. (2007). Keys to Graduate Study: Becoming an Active Thinker, 2e. In SA Thomas S. Bateman, Chapter 1: Management (p. 20). Prentice Hall, Inc. A Pearson education company.