The latest one was the same day as the RA. What is the purpose of all of these ? Just for Alvind to puff his chest out and brag about acquiring smaller companies ? So there’s no money for modest raises or GDP but they’re borrowing money at 7% to purchase these companies. It seems like IBM is always behind and trying to play catch up.
10 replies (most recent on top)
DE's are people that know how to play the game. spend 2 years away from actual work doing their "how to learn the kool aid" most really do not give much back, but know how to take.. knew a de that spent most of his time on a plane, then waffled for 2 hours without actually producing anything.
You have got to be kidding us. IBM has a strategy now ? since when ? it's more like slice and dice and downsize, not grow organically any more....except for India of course.
As for revenue, it's in the dumpster where it has always been with Alvind and the lying tub of lard, Kavanaugh from F&O. It's not getting better even when the pair of them cook the books.
This is all part of the strategy Buy innovation and make money on worldwide distribution
The acquisitions serve one purpose - to buy revenue. Since it isn't increasing organically.
DEs are at the top of the technical food chain in their respective divisions. That means that they understand the needs of their divisions from business, financial and technical perspectives. You don't get to be a STSM or DE in a division without understanding all aspects of the business, including finance. Being an egghead is not enough. Distinguished Engineers in IBM aren't necessarily geeks who wear pocket protectors.
Like all large corporations, IBM has a number of "councils" where executives (and sometimes rank and file employees) meet to discuss different topics. Among these councils are several investment councils, and DEs and STSMs are regularly in attendance. In answer to your assertion, senior executives rely on many people to offer input before making investment or deinvestment decisions, and the BOD also looks at that input. DEs and STSMs offer input as the top of the technical food chain in the company, and the finance people offer input related to finance and investment. There are other groups that offer input related to legal or government matters.
"However, they also serve another purpose: They advise the executives on which businesses to buy and sell."
You really don't know what you are talking about... Do you really think the Execs are relying on these DEs to make decisions on which business to sell or buy? You said it yourself in your blurb that decisions are only made on a financial basis... what does a DE know about finances? Nothing!
Let's talk about DEs, STSMs and how they relate to AK.
To answer the OP, at the upper executive levels IBM is run like a big hedge fund. Lines of business (divisions) are regularly bought and sold by the corporation depending on their cash flow and profit potential. At the risk of oversimplification, "raise" and "RA' decisions come from divisional ("local") management, based on divisional needs and cash flow. At their option, AK and the BOD can choose to move funds to and from individual divisions based on the corporate priorities at the time. AK and the BOD can also choose to buy, sell, expand and/or shrink different divisions within the firm.
Where do the DEs and STSMs come in? DEs and STSMs are the "brain trust" of IBM. They are allegedly the thought leaders of the company...the most advanced and experienced. (Whether this is actually true or not is, of course, up to interpretation.) However, they also serve another purpose: They advise the executives on which businesses to buy and sell.
In other words: IBM executives did not decide to buy Red Hat on their own, nor will they decide to sell Red Hat on their own should that time ever arise. They aren't "smart" enough to make that call. They will base their decisions to no small degree on what their brain trust (the DEs and STSMs) advise them to do.
So, in response to one of the comments: Yeah, a lot of the senior staff is dragging everyone else down. But it's not just the bean-counter executives who are responsible.
"Most of ibm DE’s and STSM’s I had the chance to work with are complete mo--ns. They are incompetent, they made it to top of the technical ladder by excelling in lying and boot licking.
Unfortunately, these parasites don’t get let go. They are dragging everyone else down."
Great observation about the DEs and STSMs... It is pretty sad, isn't it?
I am currently working with one DE on a big account, the only thing that that guy does is reminding me all the time how long he has been at IBM (4 decades) ... time to go mo--n!
I was mentored by a DE a long time ago, that guy was really good, unfortunately he decided to leave IBM because IBM was cr-p. The next DE that took over, I had to "fire" him after a month since he was so bad! A total id--t!
Time to get rid of all these id--ts ... and save the money!
Newly-acquired companies can be empty vessels to be debt-loaded. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/debt-loading.asp
From a business view, it makes sense to layoff deadwood and acquire new smaller companies, in the hope to strike gold. Most of ibm DE’s and STSM’s I had the chance to work with are complete mo--ns. They are incompetent, they made it to top of the technical ladder by excelling in lying and boot licking.
Unfortunately, these parasites don’t get let go. They are dragging everyone else down.