Mission, Vision, & Tone of IBM Organization

Posted: July 13th, 2021

Introduction

Every organization defines its purpose and objective through the vision and mission that they develop. A vision is simply a corporates description of their desired future as they produce their products as well as serving the clientele. On the other hand, a company uses a mission to define the corporate businesses while outlining the objectives the company is set to achieve, the desired goals, and the means that it uses to attain these goals and reach the objectives. IBM organization just like any other organization has a vision and mission among other core values for the effective and successful operation in the industry (Pace, 2017). In this assignment, the main focus is whether the IBM organization has and is living the mission and vision in their daily operations and processes as well as the tone used within these mission and vision statements.

Evaluation of the Congruence of IBM’s Mission and Vision Statements

When evaluating the congruence of IBM’s mission and vision statements, it is important to identify what each dictates and whether they agree. The agreement or congruence between these two statements should be evident in that the vision and mission statements complement each other. Moreover, the congruence takes place when a company’s mission statement also expresses the vision of the company. A company’s mission ought to express the vision making it clear that there is a level of congruence model in the company. For instance, IBM’s corporate mission statement is “To lead in the creation, development, and manufacture of the industry’s most advanced information technologies, including computer systems, software, networking systems, storage devices, and microelectronics. And our worldwide network of IBM solutions and services professionals translates these advanced technologies into business value for our customers. We translate these advanced technologies into value for our customers through our professional solutions, services and consulting businesses worldwide.” (Lombardo, 2018).

From this mission statement, it is clear that it defines the purpose and business that IBM conducts. In addition, the corporate aims are outlined and the means to be used to achieve these aims. Some of the most salient features highlighted in IBM’s corporate mission statement include their leadership in the IT industry. This involves being the leading company in the creation, development, and manufacture of the most advanced technologies known to the world. Secondly, the mission statement emphasizes on creating value to its customers and it is achievable through the providence of worldwide network solutions, services, worldwide consultation, and professionalism (Lombardo, 2018). Thirdly, the mission outlines some of the activities and strategies within the organization used to create value to its customers namely, professional solutions, services, and consultation.

IBM’s vision statement, on the other hand, is, “To be the world’s most successful and important Information Technology Company. Successful in helping out customers apply technology to solve their problems. Successful in introducing this extraordinary technology to new customers. Important, because we will continue to be the basic resource of much of what is invested in this industry.” From this vision, IBM identifies the future they desire to achieve as well as its developmental goals. Some of the salient features of this vision statement include leading and being the most successful in the IT industry. Secondly, IBM defines the kind of success they aspire to which is through helping the customers to effectively apply technological concepts to solve all their problems (Kirkpatrick, 2016). Thirdly, IBM aspires currently and in the future to maintain its status as the provider of basic resources.

From the analysis, IBM’s mission statement and vision statement strongly link with a close nexus. This is because they both emphasize the corporate’s desire to lead in the IT industry. Besides, they both share similar components and salient features. For instance, leadership is a shared and similar component seen in both the vision statement and the mission statement. Secondly, they both define the goals and objectives that the company aspires to achieve as well as the strategies developed to attain them. This means that IBM’s vision and mission statements are congruent and have similar goals and objectives to achieve. They complement each other, besides; the mission statement expresses and highlights the vision in its statement. The agreement present in these two statements enables clarification of the corporate scope, the desired and common goals or even better common vision.

Arguments for IBM Living the Mission

IBM organization is living its mission in various ways as outlined in its products and services provided. Primarily, IBM’s mission is to be the leading company in the creation, development, and manufacture of the most advanced technologies known to the world (Kirkpatrick, 2016). Leadership in the IT industry is an aspect the IBM is living; the company has a competitive advantage in the industry. The ranking places it in the second place after Microsoft Company in reference to its net worth, size, and coverage. Moreover, when analyzing the competitive force and nature of IBM, it has a very strong force in competitive rivalry as stated in the Five Forces of Potter. Secondly, the company achieves and maintains leadership in the industry by overseeing product differentiation and innovations. IBM invests and values diversity and comprehensiveness in its products and services that in turn maintains its leadership status and aspirations in the industry. The company has all the information on technologies and breakthroughs in its “Our Industries” section (IBM, 2019). This section has a variety of 19 sub-areas of almost all industries that outlines and affirms the leadership maintained by the company. As part of achieving leadership in the industry, IBM enjoys the highest patent rights in its technological innovations. All these arguments show that IBM is living its mission.

Secondly, IBM’s mission is to connect the whole world with connectivity and network services as well as creating value. This is a life mission in the company as through its professional services and providence of IT solutions to other companies and businesses there is value creation. Many businesses are implementing many services and software products from IBM ranging from cloud computing, internet of things, to data analysis software and cognitive computing. In the contemporary world, businesses ought to incorporate various technological software and appliances to smoothen their processes and operations. This digital world forces companies and businesses to implement the most advanced and updated IT appliances, which IBM has been instrumental in serving (Dutta, 2019). Over the years, IBM has been investing in technology and value creation among other companies and businesses. This fulfills part of its mission and is a strategy to increase its competitive advantage in the industry. IBM has played an instrumental role in networking the world through diverse products and services. It serves 177 countries in the world, which is 91% coverage. This argument supports that IBM is living its mission.

Thirdly, IBM’s mission is to improve the quality of life among the users and customers of its products and services. Other than creating value among businesses, IBM improves the lives of its users through the professional solutions and consultation services it offers. Companies and businesses experience daily IT problems that require solutions; IBM is at the forefront of addressing these issues. They have managed to address these issues through their highly skilled experts and professionals. The company’s website outlines some of the services offered, training and skills available, and the industrial expertise that they hold (IBM, 2019). For instance, IBM is involved in many life improvement activities namely, improvement of clinical data analysis and capture through its database integration, it is involved in improving the solar forecasting in the weather industry (Marr, 2019). In addition, the company always outlines the “5 in 5” list that outlines five different ways technology changes the world and improves the quality of life in the next five years. In 2019, the list encompasses measures and technologies able to reduce hunger among the world population as well as reducing waste (Marr, 2019). From the above instances, IBM is living its mission to create value in the world while improving the lives of the people.

How IBM Sets the Tone within their Mission and Vision Statements

The tone used when developing the mission and vision statements in a company greatly influences the working environment as well as stakeholder response and accommodation. Therefore, setting the right tone when communicating a mission and corporate vision is imperative for every company and business (Jonathan Passmore, 2016). IBM sets a tone that depicts certainty, ethical consideration, diversity, and comprehensiveness. Each statement in the mission and vision statements has the core values that the tone tries to illustrate. Each statement illustrates positivity in achieving the goals, specificity in the desired results and outcomes, and finally, there is an aspect of ambition in each statement. For instance, below is an illustration that shows how some of the statements in IBM’s corporate mission and visions depict a different but harmonious tone.

Conclusion

Developing a vision and mission for the company is a crucial and valuable aspect. They act as unifying tools that guide all stakeholders on a common goal and objective. Moreover, they act as sources of inspiration and motivation, especially to the employees. This, in turn, creates a suitable working condition characterized by energy and enthusiasm. Finally, they both act as a focal point that enables effective goal-setting, business planning, and decision-making in the company. IBM Company has a sufficient mission statement that is coherent, detailed, well- structured and is specific of what they want to achieve. For instance, the mission statement shows the activities of the company such as creating, developing and manufacturing information technologies. It also identifies the key customers and the outputs or deliverables produced by the company to its customers. This shows a satisfactory statement, as the tone depicts success, ambition, diversity, and comprehensiveness. The vision, on the other hand, depicts a tone that shows all the above-mentioned elements inclusive of ethical considerations. Aspects such as improving the quality of life among people and compliance of corporate social responsibility characterize the ethical considerations in the vision statement.

References

Dutta, C. M. (2019). Editorial: Technology Commercialization and Entrepreneurship (January 2019). Technology Innovation Management Review, Vol 9, Issue 1: 3-8.

IBM. (2019). Inside IBM. Retrieved from IBM: https://www.ibm.com/us-en/?lnk=m

Jonathan Passmore, D. P. (2016). The Development of Meaning and Identity. In The Wiley-Blackwell Handbook of the Psychology of Coaching and Mentoring (pp. pp: 59-66). New York: John Wiley & Sons.

Kirkpatrick, S. A. (2016). Toward a grounded theory: A qualitative study of vision statement development. In Academy of Management Proceedings. Academy of Management., Vol. 2016, No. 1, p. 10225.

Lombardo, J. (2018). IBM’s Mission Statement & Vision Statement (An Analysis). Business, Management .

Marr, B. (2019, February 11). 5 Big Technology Innovations Of 2019: IBM Unveils How They Will Transform All Our Lives. Retrieved from Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2019/02/11/5-big-technology-innovations-of-2019-ibm-unveils-how-they-will-transform-all-our-lives/#46211c907835

Pace, S. (2017). Shaping corporate brands: From product features to corporate mission. International Studies of Management & Organization, Vol 47(2), 197-205.