RELATED TO ORGANISATION BEHAVIOUR AT IBM

1. LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY
HOME WORK NO. 1
Topic: Multicultural Multinational Teams at IBM
Section: Q1207
Registration no.: 11111563
Roll no.: 120
Name of the Tutor: Amit kumar
Course Code: MGN201
Course Title: Essentials of organisation behaviour
Class: BBA Hons.
Batch: 2012
Max. Marks: 30
Date of Allotment: / /2013
Date of Submission: 10 / 02 /2013

2. Multicultural Multinational Teams at IBM
Summary of the case
When many people think of a traditional, established company, they think of IBM. IBM has
been famous for its written and unwritten rules—such 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. The firm was one of the mainstays of
the “man in a gray flannel suit” corporate culture in the United States.
But now Times have certainly 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. One relatively new focus is on teamwork. While IBM uses work
teams extensively, like almost all large organizations, the way it does so is unique. The way
was the Corporate Service Corps .
The Corporate Service Corps was launched in 2008 to help provide IBMers, with high
quality leadership development while delivering high quality problem solving for
communities and organizations in emerging markets. IBM’s Corporate Service Corps, is a
philanthropic program that lends IBM employees to solve complex problems in cities of high
growth emerging markets. For host cities, it is a chance to benefit from IBM’s expertise in
working on economic, social and environmental sustainability challenges. For the
participating IBM employees, it is a leadership development opportunity like no other. The
program empowers IBM employees as global citizens by sending groups of 8 - 15 individuals
from different countries with a range of skills to an emerging market for four week
community-based assignments. During the assignment, participants perform community-
INTRODUCTION
 International Business Machines Corporation
American multinational technology and consulti
ng corporation
 (founded in 1911)
 Headquarters: In Armonk, New York, United
States.
 IBM manufactures and markets:
Computer hardware and software, and offers
infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas
ranging from mainframe computers to nanotechnology

3. driven economic development projects working at the intersection of business, technology,
and society.
How the CSC Got Started: The goals of the CSC were much more modest when it began to
take shape four years ago. The program had its roots in a 2006 article by IBM Chief
Executive Sam Palmisano in Foreign Affairs magazine. He laid out IBM’s goal of becoming
what he called a “globally integrated enterprise.” The idea was that the entire model for
doing business internationally had to change. Rather than multinational companies
operating smaller versions of themselves in each country where they did business,
Palmisano argued that they had to perform work anywhere in the world where it could be
done best and most efficiently, and they had to coordinate those efforts so masterfully that
their customers felt they were being catered to locally. In other words, corporations had to
be global and local at the same time.
At a time when companies of all sizes are becoming increasingly global, corporate leaders
are looking for ways to make the most of the opportunity. IBM’s Corporate Service Corps,
which was inspired by the U.S. Peace Corps, produces rich dividends for communities in
which IBM does business, IBM employees and IBM itself. It’s a triple benefit.
1. Communities get their problems addressed — free of charge.
2. IBMers receive leadership development and have life-changing experiences and
3. IBM cultivates a new generation of global leaders while gaining a foothold in emerging
markets. As a bonus, the cost of the program to IBM is modest.
The company launched the Corporate Service Corps in 2008 primarily as a vehicle for
leadership development and corporate social responsibility. Teams of CSC 8 to 15 members
work with government, business and civic leaders in emerging markets to help address high-
priority issues. They also help grassroots organizations serving entrepreneurs and artisans.
Indeed, the CSC has emerged as a new model for leadership in the 21st century. It’s a living
laboratory for experiments in leadership development, market expansion and social
engagement at a time when organizations are under incredible pressure to change the way
they operate in this, the first truly global century.
How the CSC Works:-
Today, after numerous refinements, the operational model for the program is well
established and running smoothly. Each year, IBM solicits applications from high-potential
employees who are top performers. Participants are selected based on their expertise and
suitability for the program.
IBM selects top management prospects and then trains and dispatches these leaders to
emerging markets around the world. Participants spend four weeks in groups of 10 to 15 to
help solve economic and social problems of their selected communality. For three months
before they’re deployed (to use something or someone, especially in an effective way), they
do “pre-work,” meeting regularly on teleconferences to get to know one another and learn
about their host countries and their projects--approximately 60 hours of work. They spend
one month in-country. On location, teams work with local governments, universities, and
business groups on a variety of initiatives ranging from upgrading technology for a

4. government agency, increasing international tourism to a government funded poverty
alleviation initiative, working with artisans to improving public water quality.
During the first two weeks, they gather information by interviewing a wide variety of
stakeholders. During the second two weeks, they develop plans and proposals and, in some
cases, execute on them. After they’re back home, they’re required to share what they have
learned with other IBMers and often serve as mentors to succeeding teams. Typically, IBM
sends several CSC teams to the same place, one after another, so initiatives begun by one
set of people can be advanced by the follow-on teams.
IBMers’ perception about CSC program and IBM
As the program has evolved, IBM’s Corporate Citizenship leaders have refined their
understanding of what makes a good CSC team member. She or he is a flexible problem
solver who is able to collaborate within a team that does not have an assigned leader, adapt
to a different culture, and communicate effectively in a wide variety of situations. Indeed,
the characteristics of a successful CSC participant are coming to define what’s required to be
a successful global IBMer. The program is producing impressive results. A survey of
participants conducted in July of 2011 shows that the goals for the program are being met.
• Of 575 people who responded, 88% agreed or strongly agreed that their CSC
involvement had increased their leadership skills and
• 94% said it had expanded their cultural awareness.
• 90% said it had increased their understanding of IBM’s role in the developing world,
and
The Executive Service Corps, which launched
with an engagement in Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh
City in 2010, is run a bit differently. Teams of
five or six executives help municipal leaders
envision a superior future and map out a set
of initiatives that will take them to that better
place. They lend their problem-solving skills
to help solve pressing and complicated issues,
such as traffic congestion, water
conservation, public safety and healthcare.
The program dovetails with IBM’s Smarter
Cities agenda. Each team is made up of people
from the entry tier of IBM’s executive ranks.
Just as with the CSC, nobody is the boss, so
they’re forced to operate and collaborate
without the crutch of hierarchy. The on-site
commitment is shaved back to three weeks in
recognition of the difficulty for executives to
spend time away from their regular jobs.

5. • 76% said it boosted their desire to complete their business career at IBM.
American Janis Fratamico, a marketing executive, says her experience as a member of
the ESC team in Jakarta, Indonesia, in 2011 convinced her to stay with IBM after a
competitor attempted to recruit her. “They offered me more money but they couldn’t
offer me this experience,” she says. “There are intangibles of being at IBM that are
beyond money.”
• When asked what the Corporate Service Corps has meant to them, participants
often refer to it as life changing.
• As for Chakra, he was thrilled to be selected for the team. “I felt like I won the
lottery,” he said who manages a large group of software developers and has more
than 55 patents. He advised Green Forest on how to become a paperless company in
3 years and 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.”
Mr. Chakra and his eight colleagues were lodged in a guest house in Timisoara, known as
Romania's Silicon Valley because of the local technical university. They were among the first
volunteers in IBM's new Corporate Service Corps program, which aims to stretch the
company's vast global reach while building a network of international teams.
Ms. Andrade worked with a non-profit foundation that offers services to disabled adults.
Mr. Takeda offered his knowledge about IT networking to Tibiscus University. Ms. Grantham
spent her four weeks helping Pasmatex, a textile manufacturer, prepare its EU application
and do financial modelling so it could better analyze investment decisions.
IBM INITIATIVE TO MAKE THE WORLD BETTER
Indian Arindam Bhattacharyya, who went to Ghana in 2008, says he was emotionally
shattered by his visit to a former slave-trading centre. He stood in a dungeon where
hundreds of people had been packed under inhuman conditions. “It helped me understand
some of the reasons that Africa is where it is today, and to appreciate the young
entrepreneurs I met there who were so full of hope and so willing to do business with the
Western countries that had pushed their society back in that way,” he says. “You have a lot
of respect for them and what they’re trying to do.” There’s abundant evidence that it’s a
company-changing experience, as well.
IBM’s leaders are determined to integrate all of their global capabilities on behalf of clients.
IBMers who participate in the CSC think of themselves as part of a global network of experts
who can assemble into teams quickly to solve any problem a business, community or
government agency can throw at them. They’re on board. The CSC program has proven its
worth. The challenge ahead is to continue IBM’s commitment to make improvements to the

6. CSC and ESC and produce even more substantial results — for IBM, its employees and the
world.
SWOT ANALYSIS OF CSC PROGRAM
Strength
• A problem solver and analytical thinker
• Adaptable and flexible
• Able to collaborate globally and sensitive
to cultural norms and practices
• A builder of mutual trust and
understanding to achieve shared outcomes
• Savvy about personal interactions
• Able to engage and nurture a team that
doesn’t have an assigned leader
• An effective communicator (appreciative
of non-native language speakers)
Weakness
•Communication
• Expectations, and
• Values
Opportunity
• Communities have their problems solved.
• IBMers receive leadership training and
development.
• IBM develops new markets and global
leaders.
Threat
• Other MNCs are also attempting these
things
• Crisis situations and job performance can
create serious conflicts. This damages the
level of trust in the group and causes division
•
Questions

7. 1. If you calculate the person-hours devoted to IBM’s team projects, they amount to more
than 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?
Answer: Yes, The amount of hours IBM devotes to management time for team projects is an
excellent idea and has proven to the market how well teams can change an organization for
the better. Team projects takes a lot of work with many different people, but it requires those
different people to accomplish the task that is given. The human resources at IBM have made
a very wise decision in devoting so many hours to team projects. The teams IBM sends
oversees, not only brings in new clients but broadens the possibly of new clients through
helping organizations. By this way IBM is preparing a very strong and diversified team
which can coup-up with any culture and do the work effectively. There are some benefits of
this program as follows:
• IBM will get a problem solver and analytical thinker.
• IBMers will be able to collaborate globally and sensitive to cultural norms and practices.
• This program is a builder of mutual trust and understanding to achieve shared outcomes
• Savvy (practical knowledge and ability) about personal interactions
•This team will be able to engage and nurture a team that doesn’t have an assigned leader
and also an effective communicator (appreciative of non-native language speakers).
2. Why do you think IBM’s culture changed from formal, stable, and individualistic to
informal, impermanent, and team-oriented?
Answer: As mentioned in the case that earlier IBM was famous for its written and unwritten
rules—such 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. The firm was one of the mainstays of the “man in a gray flannel suit” corporate
culture in the United States. But at present scenario it has changed as mentioned below.
Initially
• group oriented
• group leader
• formal dress-up
• group performance was
sum of individual
performance
 This structure was
permanent initially
At present
• team oriented
• team leader
• empowerment in decision making for each team member
• team performance is the sum of individual performance and
performance together among themselves
 Not permanent structure always changes to find the
best result. They send different teams at the same
place for the same motive to get the best result.
3. Would you like to work on one of IBM’s multicultural, multinational project teams?
Why or why not?
Answer: Yes, I would like to work on one of IBM’s multicultural, multinational project teams
because IBM gives us various opportunities for-

8. --A leadership development opportunity
--a unique perspective and desire to increase our cultural awareness
-- Knowledge of effective business and service delivery practices
-- Participants can easily adapt and excel in challenging global environments where they
Hone their problem solving and teaming skills
-- Since its launch in 2008, the Corporate Service Corps has had a positive impact of the lives
of more the 140,000 people through skills transfer and capacity building
--By understanding the group-decision making process, the stages of group development
and ways to improve teams, working in teams will be a much easier task to do
4. Multicultural project teams often face problems with communication, expectations,
and values. How do you think some of these challenges can be overcome?
Answer: An overarching component in multicultural teams is communication. Diverse
values, beliefs, attitudes, customs, and thoughts are brought by the team members.
Therefore, understanding other team member’s intentions, messages and expectations, as
well as clearly expressing their own, is fundamental not only for the effectiveness of the
team, but for its very existence. Expectations about leadership, decision making and
communication are culturally defined. Although leadership is modelled differently among
cultures, those that lead are always major players in making and communicating decisions.
Cultural preferences affect how people view leaders and interpret their actions in decision
making and communication.
Problem resolution is directly related to communication and is a specific challenge in a
multicultural group.
• Dialogue is one way to begin to find a balance between cultures but must be
understood to include the intentional joint development of a new paradigm which
will guide the relationship into the future.
• Using small group discussions and giving and receiving response during
conversations are ways to make sure each member really understands what the
other person is saying.
• Patiently waiting for others to express themselves in a language that is not their
mother tongue or putting off a decision until everyone has been heard will help build
trust. Being flexible in using various methods to resolve a conflict is important.
• For example, it may be necessary to use a third party as a mediator to resolve a
conflict. Acknowledging the importance of other cultures and appreciating the
cultural differences in a team and learning to capitalize on this diversity can bring
vitality and strength to a team.
• Both the leader and the team members should be trained to use tools that achieve a
high level of mutual trust with their colleagues. However, when training programs
for leadership are created or implemented, the cultural background of the leader or
manager should be taken into account in building an effective program that result in
better.

9. The experience of being a part of a multicultural team will begin positively and have a
chance of long term success
• When people agree to serve on such a team,
• When they expect there will be cultural differences,
• When they have a positive attitude about working together, are willing to learn and
practice skills that build trust and mutual understanding.

10. The experience of being a part of a multicultural team will begin positively and have a
chance of long term success
• When people agree to serve on such a team,
• When they expect there will be cultural differences,
• When they have a positive attitude about working together, are willing to learn and
practice skills that build trust and mutual understanding.