Steve Jobs’ resilience in the face of failure made him an incredible entrepreneur. Danny Boyle directed Steve Jobs in order to show Jobs’ success path, from the Apple II development to the introduction iMac G3. Multiple economic concepts were displayed throughout the film. This included the law of supply-and-demand, the conflicts and wants between stakeholders as well the idea scarcity.
Apple’s success was due to its 30% market share. The competition in the market demonstrated that if all else remains unchanged, supply increases as prices increase while demand decreases. Macintosh sales after launch were low, with only 35,000 units sold. This was due to its high price. The price of the Macintosh increased, but demand decreased. Consumers would rather support IBM or Microsoft. At the same price, the PC with more versatility was sold. Apple II was a good financial decision because consumers wanted to be able to customize their computers. Macintosh was not as feature-rich as PCs, and users were also prevented from adding additional features by the end-to end control. It is clear that it’s important to meet the needs of consumers in order to be competitive. Jobs wanted to protect his ideas from hackers by keeping the system closed. Jobs was overconfident. He believed he could change the market in a relatively short time by convincing his consumers.
Steve Jobs portrayed the conflicts between owners and stakeholders, i.e. institutions and people who have their own interests in the success or failure of another. Andy, a Jobs employee, couldn’t get the voice demo to work and was determined to have it removed. Although employees would prefer to work less in a relaxed atmosphere, Jobs demanded that they be productive. He publicly humiliated Andy, because he desired to maximize profits with his products. Andy was then sufficiently motivated to test the voice demonstration. Jobs also wanted to turn down the exit signs for the product launch. The owner and government were at odds. The government was not in agreement, as it expected companies to adhere to safety regulations because exit signs can be vital during an emergency. Jobs’ desire for his products to be successful was not in their interest, as this would not directly benefit them. Jobs’ voice-demo and Next computer both demonstrated the conflict that existed between consumers and owners. Jobs performed the voice demonstration on an unreleased computer, whereas his Next computer had no operating system. Apple’s consumers were expecting quality products but Jobs was happy to lie about the products in order to make a good advertisement.
Scarcity, or limited resources, forced the film to make multiple decisions. The second-best alternative is sacrificed, a concept known as opportunity cost. Apple’s decline in sales following the Macintosh is evidence of this. The consumers are limited by money. The Macintosh has less features, so they have to choose the PC that offers more features. Macintosh buyers would be paying more for the Macintosh because they will miss out on a greater number of features. Apple sales dropped significantly because of the PC’s comparative advantage. A similar example is the time when the Board of Directors fired John Sculley and hired Jobs back. It was because of the lack of financial resources that the company could not hire both Sculley as well as Jobs. Jobs was chosen because he offered the greatest advantage to shareholders who wanted more dividends. Sculley, on the other hand, was only able focus on Newton Message Pads which were not popular at the moment. Apple hired Jobs to potentially bring in more products, which would increase sales. Shareholders could make more money.
ConclusionOverall the film showed that the needs of stakeholders and the owner could clash. It also demonstrated the importance of supply-demand and the impact of opportunity costs on decision making. The film helped the viewers to understand Steve Job’s economic journey and the key concepts that helped him become a successful entrepreneur.
