Running head : IBM COMPANY ANALYSIS Annotated Bibliography of IBM Company Analysis Names: Institution: 1 IBM COMPANY ANALYSIS 2 Annotated bibliography of IBM Company analysis International Business Machine (IBM) is a multinational enterprise (MNE) that has its operations, services, and products spread all over the world. In this case, the company has grown to become one of the largest, competitive, and innovative businesses in the technology field. The following is an annotation that analyzes various sources that will be used in the analysis of the company as one of the largest MNEs. Ceruzzi, P. E. (2003). A history of modern computing. London, Eng: MIT Press. In this book, Ceruzzi discusses the various aspects of modern computing, ranging from simple data entry and management to the fast growing technologies such as cloud computing and big data. In this case, the author studies the origin of the technologies and how it all began. While basing the study at the mid-20th century when automated computation began becoming popular and revolution of modern technology began, Ceruzzi recounts how it all began with simple machines being developed, and their constant improvements relative to rising business needs. According to Ceruzzi, notable companies such as IBM played some of the biggest roles to the development of technology to where it is now. The paper will be used to understand the basis of the various ventures in the field of information technology where IBM bases its operations, products, and services. Gandy, A. (2013). The early computer industry: Limitation of scale and scope. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Gandy explores the traditional business environment in the information technology field by discussing companies that had been in the business even before major breakthroughs were achieved during the third quarter of the 20th century. The author discusses the various factors that led to the fall of some of these companies and the rise of some that were lesser known such as IBM. Through the analysis of these market and economic forces, the author is IBM COMPANY ANALYSIS 3 able to evaluate IBM’s competencies and strategies that the company applied to achieve a competitive advantage in its operations. Further, Gandy creates a comparative analysis of the US and the UK technology industries and their differences in a move to acquaint the reader IBM’s might and strategies that enabled it to capitalize on the European market and succeed at the expense of some of the European and UK giants of the past. This book will be used to understand IBM’s international operations, the source of the IBM’s success, and what makes IBM more competitive over some of its competitors even in their domestic markets. Haar, J. (January 01, 1989). A comparative analysis of the profitability performance of the largest US, European and Japanese multinational enterprises. Management International Review, 29, 3, 5-18. In this article, Haar explores the area of operation of a multinational enterprise (MNE) and what affects the profitability and expansion of the MNEs. By focusing on US, Japanese, and European markets, the author creates a comparison of the chances of success that companies in these regions have and their competitive advantages while capitalizing abroad. In this study, the author identifies that some of the US large MNEs, such as IBM, have a higher leverage than the companies from other regions and particularly since their policies back at the domestic market are favorable enough to facilitate expansion. Although this article is not directly about IBM, it creates a good platform to understand what it takes to succeed in the multinational platform. It is for this reason that it was chosen so as to get a reference point while exploring the multinational operations of IBM. Haigh, T. (January 01, 2011). The history of information technology. Annual Review of Information Science and Technology, 45, 1, 431-487. In this article, Haigh acquaints the reader with some of the oldest technologies in information technology such as calculations and communication. As a result, the author is able to introduce the reader to the various technologies that exist in the world of computing, IBM COMPANY ANALYSIS 4 how they came to be, and who developed them. In this case, there is a clear platform to create a comparison in the contribution of different IT giants and how they have managed to develop technologies that could simplify operations and interconnect different regions through their pursuit of globalization. This article will be used as a reference to the information technology development and its advancement so as to understand the various operations, products, and services within IBM as a conglomerate. Heller, R. (1994). The fate of IBM. London: Little, Brown and Company. This paper is one of the most significant in understanding the revolution of IBM. Heller explores the company’s history and comes up with rich, multifaceted information that explores the company from all angles. Unlike Maney and other authors, Heller does not take sides while analyzes the company. Rather, the author explores both the ups and downs of the company. In return, this enables the author to determine the various issues and environmental, organizational, and stakeholder forces that have been present in the company and where these will lead it into. As a result, what follows is a masterpiece that enables the author to predictably discuss the future of the company observed from a 1990s perspective. Notably, this was the time when computing was gaining widespread revolution, and where companies were anticipating to implement technology in their businesses to enable them to go global or simplify their operations. This book will help in understanding the role that IBM played in the advancement of computing and how it helped other companies to achieve their going global or virtual quests. IBM (2017). About IBM. Available from https://www.ibm.com/ibm/us/en/ This is IBM’s official website. In as much as the writer may seek information about the company, there is no richer source than the company’s homepage that has directories that lead to various information the company. In one directory, the reader comes across “Icons of Progress: IBM is founded,” which is a descriptive article on the history of both the company IBM COMPANY ANALYSIS 5 and the previous independent companies before their merger. Similarly, other directories lead to information regarding the company’s operations, products, and services as well as its regions that it operates. The reader can also access the financial information regarding the company from this section. In this case, it will be used as a primary source to gain insight about the company, what it ventures in, how it is performing, its strategies and goals, as well as its key people. In return, the information gained from this source will act as the foundation and a central link to the information gained from all other sources. Maney, K. (2003). The maverick and his machine: Thomas Watson, Sr., and the making of IBM. New York: J. Wiley & Sons. In this source, Maney discusses the past state of IBM and with a special focus to one of its greatest chief executives, Thomas Watson. In this case, Maney discusses how the company grew during the early 20th century beyond the barriers of the time, which included the world war and the constrained relationships between countries and how Mr. Thomas was able to guide the company beyond the borders. In this case, it forms the foundation of the MNE nature of IBM as we currently know it. Although Maney fails to pay attention to other market forces such as the competition at the time and the threats that the company experienced at the time, he explored widely the operations of the company and the rigorous methods that it was applying in expanding its operations while other renowned companies were busy specializing their operations. The book will be utilized in understanding the history of IBM in its pursuit for entry into the international business. O’Regan, G. (January 01, 2012). IBM. SpringerLink This is a chapter that is dedicated to analyze the history of IBM and the changes that occurred in both its operations and its size. In this chapter, O’Regan recognizes that indeed the company has come a long way through its R&D and innovations to ultimately become a IBM COMPANY ANALYSIS 6 household name all over the world. The author discusses some of the traditional computing success that the company had achieved as early as the 19th century where its founding subsidiaries took Abacus ideologies to another level and particularly in their roles such as the 1880 US census. According to the writer, it was these early commitments that made the company climb the ladders and ultimately penetrate the international world basing on its success in the US. This chapter will be used alongside other chronological IBM descriptions such as Maney (2003) so as to have a thorough understanding of the past success of the company and the historical expansion to the overseas markets. Rodgers, F. G., & Shook, R. L. (2011). The IBM way: Insights into the world's most successful marketing organization. HarperCollins e-books. In this book, Rodgers & Shook take the reader back to IBM’s history of expansion, its product portfolios of the past, and how this portfolio has been expanded to the modern company as we know it. The authors begin by an illustration of the current position of the company, its areas of operation, and the various businesses that it conducts. Afterward, the authors dig into generating an analysis of how the company advanced through the history and various operational environments to achieve its current state. In return, this creates a picture of the journey that IBM passed through to achieve its success and also “what makes IBM IBM.” This book will be important to understand the current state of the company and the various markets where its products and services have a presence. Additionally, the book will be used in order to understand the company’s achievements and what makes it better than other market players. IBM COMPANY ANALYSIS 7 Weil, U., & Morgan Stanley & Co. (1979). Computer company valuations: IBM and its major competitors. New York, N.Y: Morgan Stanley & Co. This book is one of the earliest to discuss the state of IBM during the early times. In this case, Weil and Morgan Stanley Company evaluated the performance of the company for the period before 1980. In this case, the authors analyzed all the business operations, company resources, its products, and the services that it offered to its wide clientele. However, the authors go beyond and explore other market players that were competing with IBM at the time and how they were performing financially. In this case, the reader is acquainted with the companies’ operations and the scope that each company covered. This book will be used as a foundation to understand the past performance of the company. Additionally, the book’s rich information on competitors is important in understanding the business environment at the time when the company was using every means to achieve a leverage in the information technology field. Running head: COMPANY ANALYSIS 1 Company analysis Name Institution COMPANY ANALYSIS 2 For the research proposal project, I will pick International Business Machine (IBM) for analysis. The company was established in 1911 has ventured into the computer manufacturing industry. The industry is a fundamental component of the global economy. The invention of computers has been a milestone in upgrading the carrying out of business activities. The firm has headquarters in Armonk, North Castle, New York, and the United States. IBM is run by a board of directors responsible for the overall running of the business. Board committees have specified responsibilities while executive officers are in charge of the actual operations of the company (Rothaermel, 2015). The company has an excellent grasp of both domestic and local market. IBM is the largest computer-making company in the world. The company produces the brand Compaq. The firm has a high employee count, holds one of the most significant patent rights in computer related products. The company has a skilled team of researchers, engineers, and consultants. The firm has state of the art research facilities to facilitate technological innovation(Rothaermel, 2015). The company also offers consultation services to companies all over the world in a variety of industries. IBM boasts a large share of the electronics and business services consultancy market. The company is built on values of improving customer satisfaction and continued innovation to come up with new products to cater to the demand(Paroutis, Bennett, & Heracleous,2014). The main headquarters are located in the United States of America while there are other manufacturing and consultancy segments in various countries to ease the distribution of products and services across the globe. IBM maintains a grip on the market through innovation. Looking into the market condition over time, the demand for business strategies has gone up due to the rise of many companies in the COMPANY ANALYSIS 3 world targeting to be global MNEs. The company lays emphasis on helping the firms create a better future by majoring on the firm’s strengths. (Grant, 2016). The company has proven to have strength on the innovation of products, new technology and creating new solutions ( Paroutis, Bennett & Heracleous, 2014). Most of IBM’s major competitors are corporations like Dell, Microsoft, HP, Apple, and Nice limited to name a few. They deal with similar products. To counter competition the company embraces product differentiation, product promotion and maintaining good customer relations (Grant, 2016). Quality is paramount in surviving the industry. IBM has ensured it delivers highquality products in the market. The market is almost saturated, IBM has to counter this threat continuously. IBM has managed to remain on top of the game by going into gainful mergers, acquisitions, and diversification in production (Paroutis, Bennett, & Heracleous, 2014). Adopting business policies that can be implemented has also been beneficial. IBM should keep up on the market segmentation. IBM has divided all its customers into segments allowing the company to know the needs of its consumers. According to consumer knowledge, the company has customer segments based on demographic and economic division (Rothaermel, 2015). The company has a broad range of products for every customer despite the difference in needs. The company offers a wide range professional management consultation and system integration to serve companies irrespective of the size. The business industry is trendy. IBM has managed to keep up with the trending pattern securing ensuring it can help its customers catch up with the frequent changes is the world such as social networking and analytics. A good number of companies owe capturing market opportunities to IBM.(Grant, 2016). COMPANY ANALYSIS 4 I chose to do an analysis on IBM because the firm has proven over time to be a key player in the consultancy industry. The firm has a variety of opportunities and threats too. The company is a giant in the computers business raising interest in analyzing the company. IBM has a lot to learn from due to the long time the company has been in the industry. Having survived the harshest times in history as the world wars. The company has also managed to last during recessions in the global economy. Having clearly shown business resilience is the primary motivation for choosing IBM. COMPANY ANALYSIS 5 References Rothaermel, F. T. (2015). Strategic management. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. Grant, R. M. (2016). Contemporary strategy analysis: Text and cases edition. John Wiley & Sons. Paroutis, S., Bennett, M., & Heracleous, L. (2014). A strategic view on smart city technology: The case of IBM Smarter Cities during a recession.Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 89, 262-272.
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