Papermaster's Departure Linked to 'Cultural Incompatibility' Rather Than Antenna Issues

[CFreymarc]

I'll bet you're right on the money with this scenario. Somebody's got to take the blame, just to keep everybody in line and happy they've got a job and it sure isn't going to be SJ. Some giant corporations play musical chairs with a select group of executives, whose role is to occupy a title, then move on after a year or two. They always get hired by another company for their business acumen and experience, and repeat the process. They're praised at the hiring and not so subtle hints are dropped at the resignation announcements that they failed, but they quickly turn up again somewhere else. They make whole careers out of being the perceived fall guy, and allowing the new company to pick their brain for info on the competition.
This guy will end up in charge of some department at Dell or HTC or somewhere within a year.

I have been inside and outside the Infinite Loop enough times to get this feel. Also turned down enough jobs there to where they don't bother calling anymore.

My guess he ends up somewhere in the Palm / HP fusion that is going on right now. The shake up at HP is having ramifications that being felt all the way down the 280 into San Jose.

 

[DMann]

Of course; they not charging double like apple do for their hardware!, Their margin should be far far less, I believe Cvaldes has answer your question precisely. So I do not have to guess.

This is precisely the problem here.

Walmart's business model is based upon purchasing common commodities at rock bottom prices, and selling them at the lowest possible prices, at razor-thin margins.

High-volume sales are their only means for staying afloat, while selling the same products their competitors do, such as Costco, for less.

Apple's margins are not based solely upon charging more for their hardware, as hardware is only a constituent.

They sell solutions - integration, design, and user experiences - hence, the apparently well-accepted premium.

Maybe if Walmart raised their prices, they wouldn't be so deeply in debt.

Remember, debt is spending more than you earn. Perhaps Walmart should expand at a more prudent pace. After all, Apple builds new Apple Stores without going into debt.

If they tried that, they'd quickly go out of business. With their overhead, stiff competition from wholesale clubs, and razor-thin margins, they're caught between a Wall and a Market.

A completely different business model, and hardly a model business for investors - I'll stick with AAPL.

 

[CFreymarc]

If the rumored i4 antenna testing schedule is any indication, the i5 was on the drawing boards last year, and is already in early developmental testing by now and in time to get enough test runs done before a volume production ramp next spring.

Keep in mind, when a major exec like this leaves Apple, his children are killed in the process. I would not be surprised at all if a half dozen or so projects have been killed with his departure. Also the timing is interesting with many taking their vacation this month. My take is that Steve's big white board on the sixth floor was just wiped half way clean and will stay that way 'til the first week of September.

 

[cvaldes]

People who haven't bought one yet are seriously missing out. I haven't had a better phone. The screen and resolution is amazing and looks beautiful. Actually the reception is the best I've ever had out of all my past cell phones. And the battery is great! I play with a lot of apps all day and usually charge every other day. That's a major improvement.

I'd love to get an iPhone, but waiting for it to arrive on T-Mobile's network. I get no AT&T reception at home and poor reception at work. T-Mobile works great in both locations for me.

Note that this is on the same handset. I've tested it using a Truphone Local Anywhere SIM (connects to either AT&T or T-Mobile network). I have no deep-seated loyalty to any mobile operator. I just want a GSM iPhone on the network that works the best for me.

Until then, I am content with my iPod touch and my Motorola dumbphone that averages about $3 of charges per month on the T-Mobile Pay As You Go prepaid plan.

 

[Arisian]

What should be the story here is that his last name is PAPERMASTER!!!!!!

why he is not working for dunder mifflin boggles my mind~~~~!!!!!!

Hah. I actually thought that as well... lots of jokes were rolling around in my head... not his fault though. lol

 

[Collected]

I'm sure Apple will be looking to the positives of all this. A company that never makes mistakes never learns. I fully expect the iPhone 5 launch to be full of "We learnt the hard way and because of that process, this phone is incredible" type statements. Steve Jobs is the master of turning something bad into something hysterically good.

 

[kockgunner]

Because with that "sucky" antenna on my i4, I can make phone calls in locations where my 3GS won't even get a signal at all. The testing probably found that benefit, and weighted that fact too heavily against all the alternate trade-offs.

Don't get me wrong, I thought I wouldn't be in the minority of antennagate victims, but sometimes I pull my iP4 out of my pocket and it's not even connected to a network. When I hold my phone to talk, I don't touch the antenna so that's good, but it's when I hold it in my hand using it other than a phone that I can't keep bars. I need to hold it carefully whenever surfing the web or playing games. It might be my phone's radio is weak to begin with since even without touching my phone, this phone get's 1-2 bars less than my 3GS (both on iOS 4.0.1).

Wishful thinking told me that 3 million people can't be wrong and I wanted to believe that the antenna issue was really a 'non--issue', but even without trying to produce the issue, my phone just can't hold bars. I did some testing where I called my home phone and put it on speaker phone. When talking to into my iP4, when I bridged the antenna gap with my finger, the call stayed connected, but no voice was being transmitted. As soon as I lifted my finger, you can hear voice again. If I hold it intentionally with pressure, the call drops. Sorry if this is the wrong place to state my issues, but I really hope it's just my particular device that is so crappy at being a phone. I couldn't imagine using any other phone so hopefully I can get a replacement and get an iPhone 4 that actually works as a phone.

 

[Nuvi]

Antenna work is all compromises and trade-offs. They knew the flaws but they thought the gains made up for them.

It was a 2-steps-forward, 1-step-back in their mind. They thought people would notice but say "oh well, but it's better overall so it doesn't matter."

What they DIDN'T know was that people wouldn't care about the steps forward. Apple didn't guess that the advances were things people wouldn't really notice or care about. I really do think that part surprised them.

Thus, I stand by my "this stuff happened after it shipped" comments. Just because they knew of the flaw it doesn't mean they knew it would be the big problem it turned out to be.

What gains? it's an antenna and its purpose is to connect the device to network. If it fails to do that then it fails the only purpose it has. There are no gains in iPhone antenna design. The display, processor, iOS etc. are separate matter. iPhone antenna design is just a failure and astonishing one at that. When Apple promos its antenna testing facility and still delivers one of the worst performing mobile phone antennas ever released you start to question why on earth do they promo the facility if they still release products with bad antennas. What are they trying to tell us? "Yes, we know it sucks but we released it anyway" or "We have this awesome lab and it works here so we have no idea why it doesn't work outside of it" or "Our only prototype used outside got stolen so we decided to do all the testing here which really didn't work out how we planned but anyways we have all this cool gear so we guess it counts for something, right?"

 

[peterdevries]

NO in general they get mean from the pain from the cancer he had months ago. Not talking about this just one person who got laid off.

I hope you are only 12 years old and don't know any better. Several in my family have had or died from cancer and they are/were incredibly nice and kind people. It's not the cancer that makes people mean, it's having to deal with stupid and ignorant comments like yours that generates mean reactions.

 

[iWolf00]

Maybe if Walmart raised their prices, they wouldn't be so deeply in debt.

Remember, debt is spending more than you earn. Perhaps Walmart should expand at a more prudent pace. After all, Apple builds new Apple Stores without going into debt.

Many thanks; it was nice chatting with you

This is precisely the problem here.

Walmart's business model is based upon purchasing common commodities at rock bottom prices, and selling them at the lowest possible prices, at razor-thin margins.

High-volume sales are their only means for staying afloat, while selling the same products their competitors do, such as Costco, for less.

Apple's margins are not based solely upon charging more for their hardware, as hardware is only a constituent.

They sell solutions - integration, design, and user experiences - hence, the apparently well-accepted premium.

I will pay premium for any thing it has apple logo on it at any day..

 

[wjlafrance]

Any data to back up those claims?

Check out the Stevenote at the press conference. iPhone 4 is, according to Steve, the highest rated smartphone on the market, and has a early return rate of 1.7%, compared to the 3GS's early return rate of 6%.

 

[markcres]

Sounds like he didn't praise Jobs enough (hero worship and brown-nose)..or copy his sartorial uniformity (like Jonny Ive suddenly dressing up like a Jobs mini-me in jeans and black t-shirt)!

 

[iZac]

Why is it, while reading this, my mind imagined it like some sort of Mafioso family?

"Marky boy, Mr Jobs, he don't like you no more.

He sez, you'ze been playin him for a schmuck.

He sez, you'ze a little rat an you'ze been feedin' Sammy Palmisano our family secrets.

HE sez if you'ze don't get out of here, he's gonna come down to your turf and bust some balls."

 

[theneweyes]

This is & conclude this ordeal with Apple. People with cancer will get mean. Simple as that & sad. But now he's cured hmm wonder how that happen maybe with luck or $ for the cure they keep bottled up in LABS. It's his decision to change his antics and treat his people nicer.

I can't believe how much of a soap opera this is turning out to be. This is how things work in the real world if he did indeed fire Papermaster for that reason.

 

[oscarmacca]

So it was his IBM-typeness that did him in.

Yeah, that and the collar and tie.

 

[Bernard SG]

Though they are close relatives, "micro-management" and "acute attention to details" are not the same thing. You're micro-managing when the time and energy you spend for details prevents you from seeing the big picture.

For a company like Apple, the saying that "The devil is in the details" is particularly true. Without the Jobs' style of management, Apple would be a tech-company like any other one, i.e. a company than can accommodate a certain amount of product mediocrity, as long as the numbers are good enough. Such mindset is absolutely incompatible with Apple's ambition which is to make the BEST products out there. In order to achieve this, it is paramount that the employees themselves strongly believe it.

I believe Steve Jobs has done a great job building such confidence among Apple's employees. Even though he apparently does it in a quite abrasive way, he does it successfully so it's a dumb thing to say that his managerial skills are poor. They are actually tremendous.

But it can't work with ANY employee. I'm sure I would hate it. Working at Apple is probably not for me. Yet, I don't equate my potential cultural incompatibility with Apple to "poor management".

Another thing is that I don't believe at all that Steve Jobs is your typical corporate-tyrant. He's a tyrant, but I'm pretty sure he LISTENS a lot to people, provided those people have proven that they deserve his confidence.

 

[BornAgainMac]

Yes, that was quite funny. Are you referring to the one where an interview is going on with an executive and Jobs walks in, puts his feet on the desk, and says "How often do you get laid?"

No. "Are you a virgin?" was what Steve asked the IBM guy.

 

[Winni]

One of these people also said Mr. Papermaster had difficulty maneuvering Apple's internal politics.

In other words, he couldn't accept that Steve Jobs' word is indisputable law and that other opinions and ideas don't count.

 

[slipper]

*Kinda late on this conversation*

Well of course Papermaster left because of "cultural incompatibility"... Cause after all the iPhone 4 is "perfectly fine"

 

[MorphingDragon]

In other words, he couldn't accept that Steve Jobs' word is indisputable law and that other opinions and ideas don't count.

Thats usually the case when hes your boss.

 

[GoCubsGo]

What does that EVEN MEAN?!

"Cultural incompatibility" = insubordination.

Jobs You Fool!

Why? Because he is protecting his company from anyone unwilling to get on board with his plan? We call that business here.

 

[awmazz]

Yes, that was quite funny. Are you referring to the one where an interview is going on with an executive and Jobs walks in, puts his feet on the desk, and says "How often do you get laid?"

I haven't seen the movie, but Jobs actually participated in all the interviews due to concerns by Andy Hertzfield about his team getting a boring suit as a new mananger which would kill the team dynamic, so Jobs saw his role as weeding those types out.

Here's Andy's recollection of that interview.

PS. Interesting to see Ed Taft and Tim Mott, who went on to Adobe and Electronics Arts, interviewed for that same job. The computer world was a small one back then.

 

[kernkraft]

The report notes that it was Jobs who pressed forward with the iPhone 4's antenna design despite questions about its performance, suggesting that perhaps Papermaster does not bear as much blame as many have thought. In addition, Apple has claimed that the antenna design was in testing for two years prior to the launch of the iPhone 4, meaning that it had been designed and subjected to significant testing even before Papermaster officially joined the company in April 2009.

They were testing THIS for two years?! They were testing it wrong!

 

[sjo]

I'm sure Apple will be looking to the positives of all this. A company that never makes mistakes never learns. I fully expect the iPhone 5 launch to be full of "We learnt the hard way and because of that process, this phone is incredible" type statements. Steve Jobs is the master of turning something bad into something hysterically good.

They better be very careful what they say, if they sell 30-40m devices between saying "there's no problem!" and "there was a huge problem, no it's gone!", there will be lawyers that see a goose laying golden eggs walking on stage...

 

[spinoza2]

"How come the antenna sucks so much after rigorous testing for 2 years?"

Because the media can generate more newsworthy attention by making this an issue. Out in the real world the issue is non-existent, and at worst is not any different than the attenuation experienced by other phones. None of my many iPhone 4-owning friends have any reception issues, and the countless people I noticed snapping pictures, surfing the Web, and calling with their iPhone 4s yesterday in a touristy part of Boston certainly didn't consider it an issue.

Apple can certainly improve on the antenna design--as is true with the introduction of any new technology--but as far as I'm concerned it's rock-solid stable and as ingenious as Apple claims it is.