Aug 3, 2011 06:51 GMT  ·  By

The tech industry is putting a new spin on a statement by Tim Bajarin, of Creative Strategies, who recently said Steve Jobs was no longer micro-managing Apple, but rather just overseeing operations at a distance.

Tim Bajarin, who “talks regularly with upper management at Apple” according to the MercuryNews, issued his statement as far back as July 31st.

The information the paper had obtained was received positively at first, mostly thanks to Bajarin’s mentioning that “he [Jobs] calls in regularly” and that the Apple boss is now more into the “management of his executive team and the big-picture issues.”

However, other reports are now interpreting Bajarin’s words in a totally different way.

Admittedly, the analyst had also said Jobs was no longer involved with the minor stuff, something the iconic CEO was once notorious for.

The analyst’s full statement (for the sake of proper understanding) follows below:

“They tell me he calls in regularly, he talks to Tim, he talks to the top guys, he talks about the Apple Stores. But while he used to micromanage everything in ways that most CEOs would not, right down to issues with the company cafeteria, the big change with his latest leave is that there’s less micromanagment and more management of his executive team and the big-picture issues.”

Indeed, Jobs’ diminished involvement with the nuts and bolts of Apple may just as well be regarded negatively.

Apple watchers are most entitled to put a negative spin on Bajarin’s wording, as the Apple chief has been on medical leave of absence for the better part of this year, with no indication that he may ever return as CEO full time.

Jobs, a cancer survivor who has undergone a liver transplant in recent years, is at his third such leave in less than a decade.

However, if we’re to look at the recent surge of Apple’s stock price (which recently hit $400), the Cupertino technology gem seems to have won its shareholders’ confidence that things will be just as fine with Tim Cook at the helm.