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IBM

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International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) is an information technology company that uses their expertise to provide customer solutions. The company operates primarily in a single industry using several different segments that create value by offering a variety of solutions that include, technologies, systems, products, services, software, and financing (10-K report). The company 's major operations compromise three hardware product segments. These segments are: technology, personal systems, and enterprise systems. They also offer a global services segment, a software segment, a global financing segment, and an enterprise investments segment (Ibid). IBM offers its products and services through third-party business …show more content…

This means setting reasonable commitments, and not misrepresenting the capability of IBM products.

IBM is constantly re-assessing and clarifying its business practices to meet with the rapid changes in the industry. No set of guidelines should ever be considered the absolute last word under all circumstances. The Chief Executive Officer and senior executives are responsible for setting standards of business ethics and overseeing compliance with these standards. It is an individual employee 's responsibility to comply with these standards.

In 1999, IBM was ranked number one in business ethics according to Business Ethics Corporate Social Responsibility Report. IBM dropped from its top position to number 5 in 2000. This was largely due to its mishandling of the change from a defined benefit to a cash balance pension plan, which drew widespread employee outrage. The switch cost some older employees as mush as 50 percent of their pension, while it saved the company an estimated $200 million. The company did agree to offer more employees a choice of plan, but the unpopular move is still a blot upon IBM 's otherwise positive leadership in the area of employee relations. (Business Ethics Corporate Social Responsibility Report)

The cash-balance program is a type of pension in which companies can reduce their pension costs by cutting future benefits to middle-aged

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