Good day can you please Assist: Questions are at the End of the case study

Case Study:

Introduction

"Transformation is not the same as change. The latter, by definition, is fleeting; the former, lasting. Change is something that happens to you, a wave that you may or may not catch. Transformation is something you build through sustained effort. (...)."Virginia Rometty, Chairwoman, President, and CEO of IBM - 2015.

The Corporate Service Corps (CSC) was created as IBM was aiming to become a more "globally-integrated company." Since its founding, IBM had had a global footprint. But as the company transformed itself from a hardware and software company to one that provided services and consulting, IBM was looking to further integrate its far-flung workforce and introduce its services in new markets. The Corporate Service Corps (CSC) was created as a tool to open IBMers' minds to the demands and constraints of working in a globalized world through direct interaction with geographically and functionally diverse teams, working in resource-constrained environments.

In its ten years of operation, the CSC had evolved considerably. In terms of social impact, IBM was working on ways to more effectively monitor the performance of its projects and considering adjustments to program design to improve their benefit to communities. However, before any program changes, management had to consider not only the depth and breadth of the CSC's social benefits, but also the program's other goals. As a corporate program, the CSC had to maintain clear benefits for IBM, including business and relationships development, communications and marketing, and talent retention. As a leadership program, the CSC had to develop cultural intelligence, and allow top-performing IBM employees from across the world to stretch their minds, while taking into account the sacrifice that the employees and their families would make by committing an IBMer to spend time away from home, and the impact of their deployment on an IBMer's home organization. It was a difficult balancing act to maintain, but one that the CSC had to accomplish if the program was to be both effective and sustainable.

Constants

In spite of the dramatic transformations, there were many constants in IBM's history. From its earliest days, IBM conducted business outside its home base in the United States, with European operations starting soon after the founding of the company.

During the 2000s in the support of building a better service business, CEO Sam Palmisano led an effort to integrate services across IBM's geographic reach hoping to create a "globally integrated enterprise". Business units throughout the company were challenged to change and improve their organization, employee training, and service delivery methods to meet this objective. IBM's senior leadership have continued to support the CSC as a strategic program since its creation.

Research was another constant at IBM. IBM's R&D division was considered one of the largest industrial research organizations in the world.

The program and its goals

IBM's Corporate Service Corps (CSC) deploys teams of 10 to 15 high-achieving IBMers to short-term, pro-bono consulting assignments in emerging markets. From 2008 to 2015, CSC teams worked on 1000+ projects with an estimated market value of $70 million. CSC teams tackle a broad range of topics from food security and women empowerment to youth access to tech jobs or economic development.

Prior to deployment, each team spends a total of 40-60 hours over the course of three months in pre-work. During pre-work, the teams get to know one another through regular phone calls. Teams are given assignments on a variety of topics, including the basics of consulting and group reflections on their own cultural awareness and biases.

IBM maintains an extensive application process to select the CSC participants. IBM also creates the training program employed during pre-work. IBM engages four NGOs in determining the projects and providing logistics to teams in-country.

The triple benefit

The program seeks to benefit three groups: the host organizations, IBM, and the participants themselves. The CSC served IBM as a leadership development program, as a brand-building program, and as a charitable program fulfilling the company's goal of global corporate citizenship. In addition, IBM hoped that CSC would provide a model for other large corporations of how corporate generosity could be both sustainable and scalable.

As a leadership training program, IBMers participating in CSC became more effective employees with experience working across cultures. Working in CSC provided employees with a new understanding and ability to respond to situations that are by nature volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous. Not only did participants learn about the countries to which they were deployed, but numerous participants reported learning as much from teammates who hailed from various countries where IBM was located. The CSC program also proved to be a reliable mechanism for employee recruitment and engagement.

As a brand development program, CSC helped introduce IBM's services in emerging markets through actual projects rather than just marketing materials. The program also deepened client and government relations through the development of partnerships between the CSC and organizations like the US Agency for International Development or the US Peace Corps, or existing IBM customers. Although it is neither the goal nor very likely given the size and resources of a typical CSC client, in a few rare cases, CSC deployments led to commercial relationships between IBM and the host organization.

As a charitable program, CSC host organizations received a deliverable, in addition to four weeks of close interaction with high-performing IBMers. IBM's interactions sought to increase the organizational capacity of the clients and expand the social impact that host organizations are having on their communities. For instance, in June 2014, a team of two IBMers deployed to Merida, Mexico, and partnered with Banco de Alimentos de Merida to improve efficiency and expand services of the food bank. As a result, Banco de Alimentos de Merida reported having improved its storage capacity, shortened wait time for deliveries, and reduced payroll, resulting in a doubling of food donors and an increase in the number of financial donors.

Beyond cheque book generosity

The CSC program was designed to produce benefits for IBM as well as the communities served by CSC projects. In this way, the program's basic architecture differed from traditional generosity. Traditional generosity emphasized the direct transfer of resources from individuals and corporations to the objects of charitable giving. Many in the development community have praised the effect of unconditional resource transfers on communities' well-being, arguing that communities themselves are best equipped to make decisions about what is important to their development. Other development experts have decried this transfer of resources, arguing it could lead to unintended consequences such as suppressing local markets or producing dependency.

CSC history

IBM started planning the Corporate Service Corps (CSC) in 2007. Sam Palmisano, then IBM's CEO, had committed the company to become a globally integrated enterprise that "fashions its strategy, its management, and its operations in pursuit of (...) the integration of production and value delivery worldwide."

To deliver on this goal, IBM needed more employees who could collaborate effectively with their peers and clients around the world. The company had long embraced workforce education and corporate citizenship programs. At the time, IBM sent executives on long-term assignments abroad for a cost of over $1 million per employee per year; a commitment that also required "back-filling" positions of the executives on international assignments. It was hoped that the CSC could be scaled-up to provide a greater number of employees with the needed skills and cultural intelligence.

The CSC was modeled on the US Peace Corps, whose mission is to promote world peace and friendship in order to help people meet their needs for trained men and women; promote a better understanding of Americans, and promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans.

Corporate citizenship

The CSC also built on IBM's established history of connecting its employees with social enterprises. Previous programs allowed IBM employees to volunteer their services in a variety of areas. In 1990, IBM established its first support program to develop a "global strategy for social responsibility" in areas like education, the environment, and employee involvement. In 2003, the company launched the online volunteer platform "On-Demand Community" to connect schools and community organizations in need of assistance with IBM employees and retirees around the world. In 2014, the platform would inspire Procter & Gamble, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and IBM to launch a similar initiative in Egypt, Sharek.org, the first hub of its kind to match employee volunteers and civil society organizations serving Egypt and the Middle East.

Although IBMers do not get time off to volunteer through On Demand Community, by 2015, the number of volunteers using the portal reached 270,000. Projects varied tremendously, from supporting local schools with mentorship, an activity which many CSC alums report having taken part in, to responding to the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake with assistance in quick network deployment and server installation to support the identification of victims in Chengdu, China.

CSC Structure

Three groups of individuals administer the CSC program. Program management is done at IBM's world headquarters In Armonk, New York. On the ground, IBM's regional and local citizenship managers throughout the world assist in planning and implementation. Finally, IBM subcontracts with four non-governmental organizations to provide help in framing projects and providing logistics.

Program management

In Armonk, the CSC program management is part of IBM's Marketing, Communications, and Corporate Citizenship department. In 2017, Gina Tesla, the Director of IBM Corporate Citizenship Initiatives led the six-person team that managed the program. Tesla's team reported to Jennifer Crozier, Vice President of Global Citizenship Initiatives, and to Stanley Litow, Vice President of Corporate Citizenship & Corporate Affairs at IBM, also the President of the IBM International Foundation. Crozier, who at the time of writing was announced to be next in line to replace Litow in April 2017, managed a portfolio of programs including the Smarter Cities Challenge, IBM Health Corps, and the CSC, all of which she had helped create and develop.

Regional and local citizenship managers

IBM's Global Corporate Citizenship & Corporate Affairs team included local and regional "citizenship managers" in the nearly 170 countries in which the company operates. These citizenship managers worked to address local needs and help improve the communities where IBMers work. Besides their other duties, citizenship managers played an important role in the operation of the CSC. Citizenship managers were responsible for the ground delivery of all programs and managed relationships with local partners and media. John DiMarco, CSC program manager in Armonk remarked, "They support the PR function and have deep relationships with government leaders." Beyond media and relationships, local citizenship teams were in charge of all field operations and assisted in project design through selecting organizations and developing scopes of work together with the four CSC implementation partners.

Implementation partners

To ensure implementation, IBM contracted with four NGO partners with experience in developing projects. From the beginning of CSC, IBM decided that relying on NGOs was a key to operating such a large program. IBM viewed the NGOs not as vendors, but as partners with expertise in development. Having NGO partners also freed IBM from worrying about logistics and opened up locations where the company did not yet have a presence.

The four organizations collaborated with citizenship managers to find the host organizations for CSC projects and to develop an initial scope of work. In addition, the organizations handled logistics, i.e. flight arrangements, ground transportation, and assistance with visa. Implementation partners were paid for the work they do in supporting the program by grants from the IBM International Foundation.

Participant selection process

The application cycle begins in the spring and the CSC management team makes decisions about admission to the program in July, for a deployment from mid-February to mid-November of the following year. Deployment occurs on a rolling basis.

The CSC application process for IBMers is competitive; 3,000 to 5,000 employees apply for the program each year, and the program management team selects anywhere between 400 and 500 participants. Litow noted, "This is not for everyone. It's a leadership development program for top talent. So it's highly selective."

The tough selection process means that CSC management can field teams consisting of IBM's top performers. Within IBM, the quality of participants motivated other high-achieving staff to apply. Externally, the selection process fostered positive relationships with communities as host organizations know they will receive services from some of IBM's best.

Motives for applying to the CSC varied. Many applicants cited giving back to the community. Others mentioned personal growth. Another important reason was being excited by the challenge.

Application process

The participants had three weeks to fill out an application form that required writing three essays about (i) the candidate's interest in the CSC, (ii) his or her personal growth experience after being challenged, and (iii) how admission to the leadership program would help IBM be a more "agile organization." The application process did not include in-person interviews.

Although candidates could rank their preferences for Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America, or Middle East and Africa, applications were location-blind. During the application process, neither the candidates nor the CSC management team knew the host organizations, or projects that would ultimately be chosen.

Criteria for admission

Tesla's team made the final decisions about participants. The team considered the quality of the application, the professional competencies of the applicant, their experience and engagement with volunteering prior to applying, and their past performance, including recommendations from managers. Language abilities are not taken into account in the participant selection process, but are used in matching participants and locations or projects.

Quality of application

Essays also allowed participants to describe professional and personal goals that may tie into the charitable and leadership training nature of the CSC program.

Performance

To judge past performance, the CSC team used IBM's human resources performance review system and recommendations from the applicants' managers. Until 2016, IBM used Personal Business Commitments (PBC) ratings. PBCs were scores applied to employees by immediate line managers during annual reviews. PBCs ranked from 1, "among the top contributors this year," to 4, "unsatisfactory," and a minimum of 2+, "above average contributor," was required

for two out of the three previous cycles in order to be considered for the CSC program. In February 2016, Checkpoint, a quarterly evaluation structure in which managers assess IBMers' performance across five dimensions including business results and impact on client success, replaced the annual performance review system.

Business priorities

Regions or countries (like the African continent or India) that IBM have determined are attractive growth markets are favoured. The program was limited to developing countries. But because nominations followed from IBM business interests, most of the countries considered had some development, although the degree of development within various regions where CSC teams were deployed varied quite a bit.

CSC project management asks business unit leaders to consider a variety of factors in their nominations:

What are the local business priorities and how can the CSC program support this?

What types of projects will be valued locally by both IBM leadership and local

industries?

Are there successful past CSC projects / relationships that you would like to replicate

or continue?

What local influencers will be gained by pursuing projects in this location?

How does this align with significant national/regional government plans and priorities?

How will local projects and organizations support the CSC global priorities, e.g. health,

education, economic development, women's empowerment, etc.?

What IBM growth plays (cloud, analytics, mobile, social and security (CAMSS) and

Cognitive) are important locally, and how would the business like to pursue via CSC?

What local influencers can play a role in global messaging of the CSC program?

The ability of IBM to align its services with a country's national agenda also influences nominations. In Africa, about half of the CSC projects are with government agencies, and have a strong focus on education. In South Africa for instance, IBM has an office in Johannesburg and one in Cape Town. However, the government is looking to spread economic opportunities in rural areas, so that Moore's team decided to propose rural counties where CSC participants could work with local governments and NGOs on projects supporting the national agenda.

Culling the nominations

Once nominations were in, Tesla's team culled the locations list based on

(i) the rationale for the location provided by the local IBM business,

(ii) the degree of the local IBM organization's commitment and support on communications, and (iii) "general location readiness," including assessing a location's safety. With a list of approved locations in hand, IBM starts its RFP process to select implementation partners, host organizations, and projects.

Selecting host organizations and projects

Once locations were picked, IBM's attention turned to finding host organizations and projects suitable for the CSC program and situated in the chosen locations. To do so, IBM issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) to its NGO partners. In response to the RFP, NGOs submitted one host organization and one project for each location, with other host organizations and projects to be determined after the NGO partner is retained. The CSC management team issues final award notices about two months following the deadline for submissions.

NGO proposals and IBM criteria

In their responses to the RFP, NGO partners must demonstrate how a suggested organization and project can deliver the CSC's triple benefit. In order to gauge a proposed host organization's fitness and the adequacy of the specific project, IBM reviews the RFP responses holistically, examining:

The qualification of the NGO to work in that location;

The quality of the proposed host organization;

Benefits and challenges to engaging with local influencers to develop effective

communication efforts and earned media attention for IBM;

The potential for impact on communities. IBM also assesses logistical aspects of the proposals such as cost per participant or restrictions on deployment dates and/or locations.The NGO proposals should also illustrate how IBM's assistance will help the organization forward their mission and advance their vision in the community, and clearly articulate the expected community benefit.

Project proposals

In addition to assessing the host organizations, the IBM CSC team will review project proposals. Project are evaluated by their Community impact; Ability to incorporate local IBM business priorities, Potential to deliver on the thematic priorities of the CSC.

After the RFP process

When the CSC program started, NGOs were tasked to include all host organizations and projects in the RFP for a location - requiring the identification of up to four host organizations and multiple projects within each host. IBM changed its requirements to have the NGO partner identify only one organization and project, leaving the rest of the line up to be determined after the NGO partner was selected. The change allowed IBM to focus more on the alignment of priorities among stakeholders than on the particulars of a proposal. The modified RFP process recognized the flexibility necessary to identifying host organizations and creating projects. It can take up to 18 months between the time of the RFP and the time of deployment.

DiMarco observed that up to four months prior to deployment, there could be changes to the host organizations, either because business priorities had shifted or another location has become more important, or because the host organization that was identified is no longer interested or no longer able to support a CSC team. In addition, project scopes also evolved over time.Therefore once a proposal is selected for a location, NGO partners exchange back and forth with IBM on additional organizations and/or projects to consider. The process is highly dependent on the sophistication and experience of the local IBM team and the NGO partner. While the CSC team provides oversight, local IBM citizenship teams are more directly involved with NGO partners in finding host-organizations and crafting projects.

The mix of NGO and IBM involvement varied by location. In South Africa for instance, the team that NGOs consult with during the RFP process includes a citizenship manager, a university relations manager, a public sector manager, a health sector manager, a government relations manager, and a business development manager, who all shape priorities and make suggestions.

Not only is there variation by location, but each NGO partner has their own processes in determining how and whether to engage with a host organization and the CSC.

Scope of work

While the RFP process yields one idea for a project, the NGO partners must develop scopes of work for each team prior to deployment, for all of the host organizations that end up being selected, during the RFP and beyond. "We just had a team in South Africa. IBM South Africa had a clear idea of who they wanted to work with: local governments. But we really drove the shaping of the scope of work."

Pre-work

Twelve weeks prior to deployment, CSC participants begin "pre-work." Pre-work has four goals:

Building a high-performing team; Delivering high-quality work and value to the community;

Telling an engaging story about the CSC and the team's role; Shaping each team member's personal and professional journey with the CSC.

Deployment

The teams meet in person for the first time once they arrive in-country. The level of support that they receive once they are on the ground depends on the host country, the NGO partner, and whether there is a local IBM office. NGO partners generally arrange for transportation to and from the hotels where teams are staying, and based on local conditions and projects, provide translators to work with the teams. Occasionally, some host organizations have used their own employees for translation purposes. Some CSC alums reported that additional translation capacity would have aided collaboration in countries like China where English language abilities are not widespread. If there is a local IBM office, its resources for printing and internet access may also be made available.

Post-deployment

After deployment, CSC alums are asked to give back to the program, mainly through the delivery of internal and external presentations, focusing both on local and global communication. They also serve as partners for future CSC teams, help with participant selection, and participate in some impact evaluation activities. The deliverables each team develops are stored in a CSC projects library, but no real exchange takes place between teams in a given cycle. Within teams, most alums reported keeping in touch with their teammates outside of IBM-organized events, either virtually through Facebook or WhatsApp, or in real life, with some teams planning reunions or meeting each other for dinners when traveling to one another's countries. In some cases the networked structure of the host organization itself allows for a continued engagement with the CSC. For instance, various members of the Global Food Banking Network have had the opportunity to host CSC teams across Latin America.

Participant experience by the numbers

IBM reported all numbers below based on responses to surveys for the 2015 CSC cycle in their 2016 CSC program results overview. From 2008 to 2015, 2,800 IBMers from 60 countries deployed to 37 countries in 248 gender-balanced, multi-cultural teams.

85% of managers of CSC alums stated that their employees increased their understanding of business's role in society, and of IBM's role in the developing world.

96% of CSC participants agreed with the statement that the CSC program helped them

increase their "ability to effectively lead a global team."

83% of CSC participants stated they acquired, practiced, or improved their leadership

skills.

95% of CSC participants stated they acquired, practiced, or improved their teamwork

and collaboration skills.

91% of CSC participants stated they acquired, practiced, or improved their cultural

awareness skills.

80% of CSC participants stated they acquired, practiced, or improved their consulting

skills.

79% of CSC participants stated they acquired, practiced, or improved their

communication skills.

93% of CSC participants agreed with the statement that the CSC program prompted

them "to search for other ways to get engaged with local and international

communities/or engaged in local and international community activities."

94% of CSC participants agreed with the statement that the CSC program "offered important and unique learning/development opportunities that match my career goals."

89% of CSC participants agreed with the statement that the CSC program helped them

"make a real difference in the lives of other people/client organizations."

88% of CSC participants agreed with the statement that after their CSC experience they

are "extremely satisfied with IBM as a place to work."

94% of CSC participants agreed with the statement that after their CSC experience they

are "proud to tell people I work for IBM."

87% of CSC participants agreed with the statement that after their CSC experience they

would "gladly refer a good friend or family member to IBM for employment."

77% of CSC participants agreed with the statement that after their CSC experience they

are "less likely to think about looking for a new job with another organization."

Building the brand

For decades after the release of the Series 360 computer in 1964, IBM was synonymous with computers and information technology products across the globe. However since the 1990s, other companies, such as Apple, Microsoft, SAP, Amazon, Alibaba, and Google, have become prominent players in the tech space as well. IBM's brand strategy in this crowded market was made more challenging as the company needed to remind potential customers of its transformation from a provider of hardware and software to a company that offered consulting, software as a service, and cloud computing. The CSC, in part, was created to demonstrate IBM's services to important decision makers and introduce the company in emerging markets. While IBM marketing officials are quick to point out that marketing considerations do not and should not dominate the CSC, the program does help translate IBM's offerings into understandable benefits for organizations and their clients.

The value of the CSC program in terms of its branding and marketing is hard to measure. One metric that IBM does track is earned media hits - press stories about the CSC and its projects. According to figures compiled by IBM, each year the CSC program generates 100-150 such press mentions. But observers note that such counts can be misleading. One story in a key publication can reach more people than a dozen stories in various niche periodicals.

In general, there are two types of stories generated by the CSC. The first describes the overall program, linking it to IBM's capabilities and global commitments. The other kind of story is associated with specific projects and tends to run in the media of the host organization's country or region.

Stories about the overall CSC program highlight IBM's scope of offerings, its commitment to training its employees and the company's desire to tackle societally important problems. This type of coverage tends to resonate with key officials in both the private and governmental sectors. Ari Fishkind of IBM Media Relations observed, "I think we're reaching the right people, reaching decision-makers that look favorably upon what we're doing."

Another key audience for these stories about the CSC program is potential (and current) employees. The market for the best tech employees is tight. IBM recruiters have found that high-quality candidates are influenced by the existence of the CSC program.

IBM is not concerned about other companies, whether in tech or other sectors, upstaging the CSC. Indeed, CSC's partnerships with other companies or with governmental agencies is seen as another way in which the CSC extended the influence of the company. One IBMer characterized the pro bono consulting of the CSC as being akin to "open source" technology - an area where companies co-operated to everyone's benefit.

Local projects

Emerging markets represented an important arena for IBM's future revenues. The rapid rise of the middle class in India, China, Africa and Latin America, required companies in these areas to utilize technologies that could reach new consumers. In these markets, cloud computing, data analytics and mobile capabilities were important in banking, telecommunications and other industries. Regional players were rapidly becoming international companies. The CSC projects gave IBM credibility with local businesses and governments, paving the way for commercial relationships later on. Even in local markets, IBM marketers noted the important thing was not to emphasize a particular technology, but to focus on creating a positive impression of IBM as a capable provider of services. In general, CSC projects tended to be less visual (and therefore harder to cover) than other generous enterprises where companies handed oversized cheques to organizations or provided volunteers to dig latrines or build houses.

When you hear of IBM, you only think of computers. So, we thought that these people will just be computer literate people. But we found to our surprise that they were very knowledgeable in several areas. If you go into details on some of the things they did with us and our members, you would be surprised. Some of it had nothing to do with computer stuff. They were also very knowledgeable about procurement. They were knowledgeable about supply chain issues, and so many other things. We were very impressed.

Measuring and evaluating impact

Evaluating the community impact of CSC projects is an important part of the CSC program management team's work, and also, maybe, the hardest. In 2015, IBM and its four NGO partners started administering three surveys following the end of deployments; a CSC participant survey relating to the experience of the IBMer, a joint survey to be completed by a CSC participant and the host organization relating to community impacts, and a host organization survey relating to the client experience. Based on 2015 survey results, IBM reported that the number of people impacted by CSC engagements in 2015 if recommendations were implemented would be 40,920,495 people, including 19,854,280 women and 20,210,879 youths.

Measuring capacity building

While focusing on capacity-building did limit the universe of impacts IBM might measure, there was no consensus on evaluating capacity-building within the development community either. The CSC program used the definition of capacity-building adopted by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID); "A process or activity that improves the ability of a person or entity to 'carry out stated objectives." However, Fernandez noted that while most major development organizations agreed on a high-level definition, actual monitoring and evaluation frameworks of capacity-building were largely heterogeneous.

QUESTIONS

Question One (25 marks

CSC has resulted in changes within IBM. Change/s to the IT of IBM is in line with the changing Business Model of IBM.

Do you agree with the statement? Motivate your answer.

Questions Two (30 marks)

The CSC, in part, was created to demonstrate IBM's services to important decision makers and introduce the company in emerging markets. While IBM marketing officials are quick to point out that marketing considerations do not and should not dominate the CSC, the program does help translate IBM's offerings into understandable benefits for organizations and their clients.

Motivate the manner in which Governance frameworks such as COBIT and ITIL can be used by IBM for the governance of Information Technology used by CSC.

Questions Three (20 marks)

In South Africa, IBM has an office in Johannesburg and one in Cape Town. "However, the government is looking to spread economic opportunities in rural areas, so that Moore's team decided to propose rural counties where CSC participants could work with local governments and NGOs on projects supporting the national agenda."

Are there any special factors/changes that IBM would have to undergo for successful implementation in a South African context? Motivate your answer. (Hint: Use King III/IV and South African laws as a starting point)