Assignment: Case Incident- "IBM's MULTICULTURAL MULTINATIONAL TEAMS"
Historically, IBM was one of the most tradition-bound companies on the planet. It was famous for its written and unwritten rules%u2014such as its no-layoff policy, its focus on individual promotions and achievement, the expectation of lifetime service at the company, and its requirement of suits and white shirts at work.
How times have changed.
IBM has clients in 170 countries and now does two-thirds of its business outside the United States. As a result it has overturned virtually all aspects of its old culture. On relatively new focus is in the teamwork area. While IBM, like almost all large organizations, uses work teams extensively, the way it does so is unique. To instill in its managers an appreciation of local culture, and as a means of opening up emerging markets, IBM send hundreds of its employees to month-long volunteer project teams in regions of the world where most big companies don't do business. Al Chakra, a software development manager located in Raleigh, North Carolina, was sent to join Green Forest, a furniture manufacturing team in Timisoara, Romania. With Chakra were IBM employees from five other countries. Together, the tea helped Green Forest become more computer savvy to help its business. In return for the IBM team's assistance, Green Forest was charged, well, nothing.
This is hardly pure altruism at work. IB calculates these multicultural, multinational teams are good investments for several reasons. First, they help lay the groundwork for opening up business in emerging economies, many of which might be expected to enjoy greater future growth than mature markets. Stanley Litow, the IBM VP who oversees the program, also thinks it helps IBMers develop multicultural team skills and an appreciation of local markets. He notes, "We want to build a leadership cadre that learns about these places and also learns to exchange their diverse backgrounds and skills." Among the countries where IBM has sent its multicultural teams are Turkey, Tanzania, Vietnam, Ghana, and the Philippines.
As for Chakra, he was thrilled to be selected for the team. "I felt like I won the lottery," he said. He advised Green Forest on how to become a paperless company in 3 years a recommended computer systems to boost productivity and increase exports to Western Europe.
Another team member, Bronwyn Grantham, an Australian who works at IBM in London, advised Green Forest about sales strategies. Describing her team experience, Grantham said, "I've never worked so closely with a team of IBMers from such a wide range of competencies."
Questions Based on case
1. If you calculate the person-hours devoted to IBM's team projects, they amount to more than one 180,000 hours of management time each year. Do you think this is a wise investment of IBM's human resources? Why or Why not?
2. Why do you think IBM's culture changed from formal, stable, and individualistic to informal, impermanent and team oriented?
3. Would you like to work on one of IBM's multicultural, multinational project teams? Why or Why not? What is your rationale?
4. Multicultural project teams often face problems with communication, expectations and values. How do you think some of these challenges can be overcome? Provide feedback from the view of an experienced team leader.
Format your assignment according to the following formatting requirements:
1. The answer should be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides.
2. The response also includes a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student's name, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
3. Also include a reference page. The Citations and references should follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length.