Case Analysis of Lenovo-IBM: Bridging Cultures, Languages and Time Zones



Case Analysis of Lenovo-IBM: Bridging Cultures, Languages and Time Zones

Introduction

There are two organizations which have been merged due to acquisition. Lenovo Systems has acquired PC making division of IBM. IBM is an American company while Lenovo is a Chinese company and both have been operating on the two extremes of the globe. The companies have been able to merge themselves and pursue the objectives coherently but it was not that easy as it seemed to be. Both the companies faced the issue of cultural and communication barriers. Leadership differences were also there due to which operational and decision making issues were occurring. The management styles and working of style of both IBM and Lenovo were different due to which the companies are facing the issue of decision making and communication.

Brief Overview of the Business/Human Resource Situation

Management at Lenovo tried to implement the management strategies at IBM but it was not successful due to large distance and communication barriers. People at Lenovo are unable to adapt to the American culture while people at IBM are unable to adapt to the culture at Lenovo. There are cultural differences, differences in the thought process. People at IBM are more process oriented continuously improving themselves while at the same time have adopted a bottom up approach in order to solve problem and provide resolutions. On the other hand Lenovo is purely hierarchy driven organization where hierarchy cannot be challenged and the approach to decision making is purely based on the top down approach. The decisions are passed from the top to the bottoms which are then implemented. This management culture was perceived as quite autocratic by the people at IBM which are following the democratic approach. There were cultural differences as well, the differences which were mainly found in the US approach Chinese approach. Cultural values and norms were very much different due to which the companies due to which the adjustment has become quite difficult. The attitudes, values and philosophy are very different of Chinese people as compared to their American Colleagues. The philosophy of Lenovo was not been properly implemented in the IBM PC division. The corporate Culture was very different from that of IBM counterpart. Another issue which Lenovo faced is the biasness towards the Chinese company by the American colleagues. They have fiercely opposed the changes proposed by the Chinese while in Japan he situation was more tensed as they do not want to implement the changes which mainly included the design of the ThinkPad series which was mainly influenced by the Japanese Lunch Box design. Americans have blamed that Lenovo computers is a method of spying on the Americans due to which American Security department have altered the machines which were imported from China.

However the commonalities are that both companies focus towards innovation, responsibility and strong focus towards the needs of the customers but they are not sufficient enough to reduce or eliminate the managerial, cultural and ...