Final answer:
Apple's mission and vision statements guide the company to focus on its core strengths, such as product design and innovation, while leveraging global comparative advantages for manufacturing, allowing for efficient and cost-effective production.
Step-by-step explanation:
Apple Inc.'s mission and vision statements have played a crucial role in guiding the company's strategies and business practices. The emphasis on innovation and delivering high-quality products has enabled Apple to maintain a strong brand reputation, despite facing criticisms regarding its supply chain. For instance, Apple's determination to focus on designing elegant products while outsourcing the production of components and assembly to other countries has allowed the company to leverage the comparative advantage of different regions.
Regions like China and Korea, for example, specialize in assembly and components production due to their large skilled labor forces and cost-effective production methods. This global strategy aligns with the economic concept that trade is about mutually beneficial exchange, resulting in a sophisticated global assembly line that produces devices such as the iPhone efficiently and cost-effectively.
The vision to create user-friendly, well-designed products keeps the company focused on its core strengths and ensures that Apple stays at the forefront of technology, even in the face of competition from firms like Samsung, which simultaneously acts as a supplier and competitor.