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Change The Structure At Ibm

Satisfactory Essays

To change the structure at IBM, Gerstner needed to clearly communicate his plans, goals, and vision to all stakeholders. Gerstner gave a speech early on with IBM leaders and explained “why he took the job, what his early expectations were, his thoughts on the structure and strategy of IBM, and morale” (Gerstner, 2002, pg. 22-23). Further, he felt strongly that employees need to essentially have the fire under them lit. He felt his role as CEO required him to define and communicate the crisis, its magnitude, severity, and impact (Gerstner, 2002). He states “[i]f employees do not believe a crisis exists, they will not make the sacrifices that are necessary to change” (Gerstner, 2002, pg. 77). Therefore, he set out to communicate how employees and the company could end the crisis: the new strategy, company model, and culture. He is a firm believer that if you have to do hard or painful things, you should do them quickly and make sure everyone knows what you are doing and why (Gerstner, 2002). Gerstner’s view on communicating a crisis is supported by organizational theory behavior. Theory states you can change people by adopting “doomsday management”—creating a sense of urgency in employees by introducing the idea that there is an impending crisis (Greenburg, 2013).
IBM’s Compensation Structure
IBM’s existing compensation system was an impediment to change and innovation for several reasons. First, under the existing structure at IBM, stock ownership was a minimal part of

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