On April 1, 1976, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak entered into a partnership
agreement to found Apple Computer. In the decade that followed, Apple
experienced remarkable growth and success, as Jobs catapulted Apple to the
Fortune 500 list of top‐flight companies faster than any other company in history.
Under direction of Jobs, Apple, an idea that started in a garage, transformed into a
major force in the computer industry of the 1980s. Though Jobs' leadership
undoubtedly influenced Apple’s success during this time, in 1995, he was forced to
resign, when conflicts mounted at the executive level. Using Kenneth Burke’s
theory of identification and the dramatistic process, this thesis examines Jobs’
discourse through a series of interviews and textual artifacts. First, I provide a
framework for Jobs' acceptance and rejection of the social order at Apple, and then
consider the ways in which Jobs identified with employee and consumer audiences
on the basis of division. Analysis shows that Jobs identified with individual
empowerment, but valued separation and exclusivity. Jobs' preference to create
identification through division, therefore, established the foundation for new
identifications to emerge. The findings of this study suggest that division has
significant implications for creating unity. / Graduation date: 2012
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ORGSU/oai:ir.library.oregonstate.edu:1957/29602 |
| Date | 17 May 2012 |
| Creators | Anderson, Scott M. (Scott Matthew) |
| Contributors | Moore, Mark P. |
| Source Sets | Oregon State University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
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