Description
Book SynopsisWhat made IBM so successful for such a long time, and what lessons can this iconic corporation teach present-day enterprises? James W. Cortada—a business historian who worked at IBM for many years—pinpoints the crucial role of corporate culture.
Trade ReviewThis splendid scholarship—rooted in Cortada’s four decades at IBM and his astute analysis as a historian—offers insights on how everything from market abundances, training, and social events to lapel pins, humor, and coffee mugs shaped and sustained IBM’s corporate culture. -- Jeffrey R. Yost, author of
Making IT Work: A History of the Computer Services IndustryCortada is without question the world’s foremost IBM historian.
Inside IBM is a testament to his incredible perceptive skills. -- Charles H. House, CEO, InnovaScapes Institute, and coauthor of
The HP Phenomenon: Innovation and Business TransformationResponding to corporate America’s rekindled interest in stakeholder capitalism, this important and timely book shows how, beginning in the early 1900s, the IBM Corporation embodied respect for all of its stakeholders—workers, customers, suppliers, and investors. These values enabled the firm to survive the depression of the 1930s and then dominate the computer industry after World War II. IBM was and remains a hugely successful enterprise. James W. Cortada is a leading historian of the information technology industries and the foremost writer on IBM. -- Martin Campbell-Kelly, professor emeritus of computer science, University of Warwick
Table of ContentsPreface
Introduction
1. From Theories of Corporate Cultures to the Realities of Life inside a Global Enterprise
Part I. Cases from The Larger Picture of IBM’s Corporate Culture2. Role of Ethics in Corporate Culture: Enduring Beliefs at IBM
3. “The IBM Way”: Creating and Sustaining a Corporate Image and Reputation
4. Developing Managers in a Multinational Corporation
5. How IBM Prevented Unionization of its American Workforce
6. Corporate Benefits in Boom Periods: IBM’s American Experience
7. Managing A Nearly Invisible Corporate Community: “IBM Families”
Part II: Cases from IBM’s Material Culture8. From Lapel Pins to Coffee Cups: Links Between Corporate and Material Culture
9. Role of Postcards in Supporting IBM’s Image, Marketing, and Information Ecosystem
10. Humor and Corporate Culture: IBM, Cartoons and the Good Laugh
11. Gray Literature in IBM’s Information Ecosystem
Part III: How IBM’s Culture Went Global and Endured12. The Essential Strategy for Corporate Success
Author’s Note: In the Spirit of Transparency
Notes
Index
