IBM reviews

IBM internal performance review rules promote meritocracy. You can work very hard, accomplish a great deal and still be given a bad or average performance rating just because you were not visible enough to the right people or simply because it was your time to take one for the team. Most employees I know of have given up on trying to improve anything in the products. People are in "survivor" mode - minimum effort for maximum benefit and don't stick your neck out. A lot of truly talented technical people have either left on their own or were layed off. People that seems to be staying behind are poor souls that are stuck at IBM for some reason, or those who play internal politics well.

This company once had a culture based on quality, customer satisfaction, and respect for the individual. These are no longer values held by our executives. Commitments - made to business partners, clients, and employees - are not kept. Executives are not held accountable: the employees are. The executives are given a quota for "management initiated separations" and despite an employee's track record and prior performance, an employee may be dropped from a 1 to a 3 and immediately place on the "measured mile". Even though this runs counter our published guidelines! An "Open Door" will only back the executive, regardless of the evidence. This had not been the case in the past!. On top of this, routine "downsizings" cull the herd, regardless of performance rating. The employment relationship at IBM is out of balance: IBM holds all the cards. Few people get beyond 5 years of service anymore. While some of this may be due to globalization, and some of this is not avoidable, most of it comes from the view by IBM executive leadership that people are no longer desirable resources, but only an expense to be controlled. They're missing the point that a loyal employee will produce so much more than one just doing his time. Presently, IBM is schizophrenic: there are some outstanding people in IBM who live up to the old expectations and basic beliefs, and others who are just collecting their unearned executive bonuses.