BUS362: IBM (an MNC) has Subsidiaries Worldwide. It Faces Fierce Competition From Competitors: IT-Enabled Business Transformation Assignment, SUSS, Singapore

Question 1

1. IBM (an MNC) has subsidiaries worldwide. It faces fierce competition from competitors with overlapping business areas. As a result, IBM management implemented a decision-making structure that is flexible in nature. IBM incorporates IS within most of its operations so that employees can offer valuable inputs to an issue, enabling decisions to need to be made in a timely manner.

Appraise the application of organizational strategy, analyze how IS can be used to support the various organizational designs, and discuss the impact of cultural factors in business, IS, and organizational strategies.

Do so by using the managerial levers framework that is defined in terms of three categories of organizational design variables: organizational variables, control variables, and cultural variables. Specifically, answer each of the following three (3) sub-questions below and providing case facts to justify your answers.

• Organizational variables – Formal reporting relationship

Specify the formal reporting structure that is most suitable for IBM and describe the type of IS that can be employed to support such a formal reporting structure.

• Control variables – Data

Describe the data that are collected and used by IBM developerWorks.

• Cultural variables

As IBM further expands, discuss two (2) ways that national culture can impact IS in the organization.

2. Formulate how information resources can be employed by the organization as strategic tools by:

• Describing the concept of network effects and explain one (1) way in which IBM can employ network effects to add value (i) to the company and (ii) to a developer.