Company: IBM
Date: 2011-11-22
Overall rating: 2/5
Employment status: current

An almost daily question of how much worse could it get
Pros: IBM is a giant company with some great people and the potential to gain invaluable experience if you know where to look. 

It is, from what I've seen, genuinely trying to promote cultural and gender diversity as well as flexible work options for employees where appropriate, although it can be easily contradicted by individual managers.

At a senior management (executive) level, I do understand they believe the hype of flexible work options and development options for employees, plus business growth and doing 'whatever it takes' for the client. Somewhere in the company, people are genuinely concious of the eroding morale and skills but the efforts put in place to combat this are cursory at best, and countered by the extreme cost saving and outsourcing measures that have graduated from 'exceptional quarter end activities' to standard fare.
Cons: Literally no incentives left for doing a good job (awards, promotions, or even a 'thankyou') other than if you don't outperform your peers, you be more likely to be let go sooner.

Employee ratings, succession planning and career paths are a total farse. Sorry to anyone at a senior level with 'good intentions' but its simply not happening on the front line.

Irrespective of the individual, it feels impossible to get work done, because any investment (infrastructure, travel, or additional employees) would be considered contrary to the enterprise cost cutting or outsourcing edict, regardless of how strong the business case is.