Company: IBM
Date: 2014-07-01
Overall rating: 3/5
Employment status: current
Experience level: Senior

Iconic company in a downward spiral driven by short term thinking and overemphasis on cost cutting
Pros: Strong brand name, smart coworkers, interesting work, flexible working arrangements (in some roles, primarily internal roles rather than consulting).
Cons: The company is under pressure and the response has been excessive focus on cost rather than growing revenue.  This is driven by a need to meet quarterly figures and has jeopardised the long term health of the company.  Years of meeting figures through underinvestment, travel bans, cutting employee compensation (especially through lack of or minuscule bonuses and decreased benefits), cancelling training, moving jobs to India, etc. have put the company in a poor position to compete.  Extreme miserliness has destroyed morale.  This is a company that has removed all office supplies and cut the janitorial staff so much that rat traps are now required to control a vermin problem.  Span of control is so large that career development and coaching is pretty much non existent.