“With recent Global RA (Resource Actions/separations) from IBM continuing”, there is high potential for managers across business units to be next RA targets. Discussion of ‘Span of 10’ being the minimum number of direct reports for every manager.
More details available at: facebook.com/groups/watchingIBM
Managers were part of the last RA, just not enough though to compensate for all the billable consultants that got RAed.
So back to square one where the revenues will not grow, then the vicious circle start again...
They already were in last RA. My manager was let go in Watson Health along with a subordinate of theirs.
Span of 10, Span of 20. It doesn't matter. Most managers at IBM aren't spending time managing their direct reports. They are managing up, trying to give their own managers what they are asking for, regardless of how absurd and ill-informed those top down requests are.
Band 10 jobs must be the most thankless job in IBM. Down below their direct reports are either checked-out or struggling to do the jobs of their 3 RA'd colleagues. Up above they have Executive MBA types who read a book on the weekend on some new technology or management style, whose ego they have to massage and whose interference they have to limit.
Don’t bother going to watching ibm on facebook. There is rarely any useful information there and nothing currently related to the topic of management RAs.
Managers are always the last to go, otherwise they could sabotage future organizational efforts (e.g. general layoff)
About time. IBM US HQ / Corporate is a fat target. Next is IBM India. It is incredibly bureaucratic and bloated - they got away with being cheap but no more when they are half of Ibm and not cheap any more.
The tiers are bad, but the columns are worse. And by "columns" I mean entire organizational structures that are worse than useless, that create admin overhead and burdens for the real producers. In my BU we have a "program management" organization with its own VP, directors, etc. All they do is create "process improvement" aka more checkbox exercises and templates. They should disband the organization and have the program managers report to the dev managers they support.
Similarly, we have a "cloud strategy" team that is supposed to drive cross-portfolio initiatives. Except that there are none.
I am convinced that any cross-portfolio organizational unit is a grave mistake. If there are things that need to be coordinated, delegate people from each affected product, so that they have skin in the game - unlike the Director of Cloud Strategy, who can demand anything because it's no cost to him
IBM has no choice here... they laid off too many billable consultants... Managers are 100% cost...
We need a lot less of managers.
yes they are doing that in AP some were just moved back into a SME role while others were cut.
yeah, way too many 1st and 2nd lines managers that have 5 or less reports. I am just wondering what these guys do all day???
When you have in the US an internal rate of $240 for a consultant, you know that something is clearly wrong... and that is after no bonuses, no GDP, no raise, low pay, so the actual cost of the consultant (the only guy doing actual billable work) is really low... you know where the rest of the money is spent and frankly wasted!!!
This problem is pretty typical of mature aging organizations. Folks find places to hide in AA roles and in staff roles. When Gerstner came in, he chopped everything in 1/2 in a drive for efficiency. I expect AK will have to do the same. NOTE when Gerstner did this he found span of control was optimal at 20, not 10
Yes, we are over-managed especially at 2nd and 3rd levels. But blanket rules like "Span of 10" that ignore context are rarely the right answer.
My immediate manager is probably doing 0.5 FTE as an individual contributor in addition to his conventional managerial role (because we are understaffed). Give him more people to manage, and know where that work is going to get devolved to...