1. MULTICULTURAL AND VIRTUAL TEAMS OF IBM Globally Distributed Workforce in IBM Prepared By: Devrim AKSU 1
2. IBM BRIEF HISTORY Founded in 1896 HQ in Armonk, New York Approximately 400,000 global employees IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, focusing on the latter Offers infrastructure services, hosting services, and consulting services in areas ranging from mainframe computers to nanotechnology Samuel J. Palmisano – Chairman, President & CEO 2
3. 372,000 IBMers contributing to the success of IBM Asia Pacific 123,000 Corporate headquarters Americas 157,000 NE, SW Europe 92,000 * June 2007 3
5. GLOBALIZATION TEAM RESPONSIBILITIES Defining and maintaining IBM's corporate globalization strategy and baseline requirements for conforming to the language laws and local customs of the countries in which we operate Defining and maintaining standards, architectures, processes, and tools for implementing globalization requirements Defining and maintaining the processes and tools for translation of IBM information into different languages and providing functional direction to translation partners 5
6. GLOBAL WORK INTEGRATION To stay competitive, businesses need to move with it - to gain the speed, flexibility and resilience to handle whatever the market does next, on a global basis Global strategy and business practices change with globalization and technological advancements The best way for IBM to continue its global developments… 6
32. MULTICULTURAL WORK TEAMS Why multicultural work teams? Global economies of scale and scope Geographical locations – clusters Global learning and knowledge transfer Enhanced global strategy and capabilities Markets are expanding worldwide, creating economic interdependencies, global operations, workforce mobility, and global regulations IBM - Leveraging our differences for innovation, collaboration, and client success 8
33. MULTICULTURALWORK TEAMS Given the speed and diversity of the global marketplace – geographically, culturally, ideologically – IBM’s success as a global enterprise depends on their ability to work effectively across those differences and using diversity to drive innovation Diversity is a Competitive Advantage - Workforce Diversity is the bridge between the workplace and the marketplace, and as such, victory with the customer begins with winning in the workplace Consciously building diverse teams helps IBM drive the best results for their clients 9
34. MULTICULTURAL WORK TEAMS To stay competitive, businesses need to move with it - to gain the speed, flexibility and resilience to handle whatever the market does next on a global basis IBM marketing and communications materials present information in culturally appropriate ways IBM has long understood the importance of providing a work environment that respects, values and empowers our diverse employees around the world – Ron Glover, VP Global Workforce Diversity 10
35. MULTICULTURAL LEARNING Global Mentoring - objectives are to increase the flow of knowledge and develop talent companywide – overcoming geographic barriers by fostering collaboration and promoting cultural intelligence Personalized Learning Account (PLA) – offers employees chances to fund new educational experiences outside of their current job responsibilities Enables thousands of IBMers to master new fields and skills, recognizing that individuals who are well rounded and more globally aware are better employees and global citizens—and ultimately experience greater job satisfaction. 11
36. MULTICULTURAL LEARNING “I just completed my second semester of language classes at the local university—it was great to have IBM pay one-third of the cost of both classes. Learning a second language in a classroom environment has given me a deep appreciation for IBM coworkers who speak English as a second language. I mentor several IBMers in other countries, and half of my team is located in India. I find myself being much more compassionate and patient when communicating with them as I personally experience my own challenges with learning all the subtleties of a second language.” Beth L. Hoffman - IBM Cert. Consulting IT Specialist 12
37. A global virtual team is "a group of people who interact through interdependent tasks guided by common purpose" and work "across space, time, and organizational boundarieswith links strengthened by webs of communication technologies(Lipnack and Stamps,1997). GLOBAL VIRTUAL TEAMS 13
38. Identified by their organization(s) and members as a team Responsible for making and/or implementing decisions important to the organization's global strategy Use technology-supported communication substantially more than face-to-face communication Work and live in different countries GLOBAL VIRTUAL TEAMS 14
39. In early 2006, small teams of innovators around IBM began exploring virtual world technologies for business enablement. Innovationjam: An online brainstorming session that brought together more than 150,000 IBMers, family members, business partners and clients from 104 countries identified the 3D internet as one of top 10 focus areas for new businesses. HISTORY OF VIRTUAL WORLDS IN IBM 15
40. Established shortly after InnovationJam Brings community together virtual world enthusiasts, developers, innovators and those interested in learning more about usage of virtual worlds. Members from different geographies, cultures and business perspectives. Help connect people and technologies, mentor, build, improve and showcase various virtual space solutions both inside and outside of IBM VIRTUAL UNIVERSE COMMUNITY 16
53. Minimizing travel costs, eliminating office space, and reducing product costs Allow greater diversity within an organization Allows work in teams even when separated by great distances People can work from anywhere at anytime People can be recruited for their competencies, not just physical location Many physical handicaps are not a problem COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE 26
Chris after globalization affect you can talk about how globalization affected team perspective. What is changed? The answer is related to occurrence of multicultural and virtual teams.
Best way for IBM to continue integrating a global workforce is through global virtual teamsGlobal outsourcing of work is one of the most compelling reasons that many of the work groups today are virtual. Global distribution affects a number of team deliberation and communication processes and work practices, which in turn affect team performance Globalization of operations, reduced time to market, increased need to respond quickly to customers’ needs worldwide and reduced cost of operations have encouraged many business organizations to adopt global virtual teams for their business activities.
These teams rarely meet face to face and are primarily linked through computer and telecommunication technologies often across boundaries. With globalization and improved telecommunication technologies virtual teams are becoming the norm in most corporate environment such as consulting firm, technology product and e-commerce (Lurey& Raisinghani, 2001)
Awareness of the community is maintained with numereous channels, including forums, blogs, virtual meetings, conferences and an twitter account.
IBM’s greater China Group recently held a graduation ceremony for 120 members of a management initiative. Meeting was cost effective, allowed broader participation, activities that may be prohibitive in the real world. AW was also used by IBM Human Resources to host a four-day Learning Summit to reach out to learning professionals within IBM to discuss application of virtual social worlds in the education and training industry. Over 230 attendees used a combination of virtual worlds and wikis to communicate. They captured and shared their thoughts and ideas about corporate learning, grades K-12, and higher education industries.
Used For: Pilot deployment for early adopters includes team meetings and small events
Used: Meetings and small events Team brainstorming Community building Language translation 2D-3D integration Interoperability between regions Data center modeling and management
Used: Events and meetings Employee orientation Learning Business rehearsals Serious games Systems management Interoperability with OpenSim You can see who is using it and interact with them at the same time. Support chat, voice functions and avatar customization. Example: used by IBM to create poster session.
Used: Remote mentoring Small events Brainstorming 2D-3D integration Data center modeling
Used: Proof-of-concepts to demonstrate 2D-3D integration and interoperability between worlds
Expenses associated with travel, lodging, parking, and leasing or owning a building may be reduced and sometimes eliminated.There is no commute time and reduces travel expensesAllows more inclusion of people in the labor pool.It decreases both air pollution and congestion because there is less commuting.It allows workers in organizations to be more flexible.By working in virtual team, physical handicaps are not a concern.Allows companies to procure the best talent without geographical restrictions.
