For any type of advertising, the IBM logo could only be shown on the product within the ad, not as a separate logo in the ad. The use of the IBM logo on the Think-family products would change over time. In return, Lenovo promised not to compete with IBM's services and consulting groups. IBM would continue to provide global support for the computers for five years. Finally, Lenovo also had access to IBM's 30,000-member enterprise sales team and ongoing support from partner and channel management programs. Acquisition of the IBM PC business allowed Lenovo to move quickly into the international marketplace: the expanded firm claimed customers and businesses in 138 countries. The way IBM and Lenovo sold PCs was very complementary. In China, 70% of sales were transactional (made through business partners) and 30% by relationship (through consulting). Globally, it was the opposite, with only 30% of sales made through partners.30 Further, Lenovo's focus had been on small businesses and consumers, whereas IBM had long targeted corporate and enterprise customers. On the supply chain side, significant operational benefits flowed from the fact that components for IBM PCs were sourced in China. "On paper this was pretty much a match made in heaven," Advani recalled. "We had complementary products and client bases, and practically no channel conflict. We could use the Lenovo: broad product portfolio we sell in China and use global distribution and take products around the world." Conveying the opportunity created by these complementarities was a key message to deliver to customers. The only major overlap, though a welcome one, was in company cultures. "The two companies had similar values with a focus on meritocracy," Advani said, "since Lenovo had in...
Customer focus, innovation and trustworthiness were shared values. Even so, the potential remained for cultural and operational clashes between IBM veterans and Chinese nationals. There was also uncertainty about how IBM's existing customers -- who demanded the highest quality products and services -- would react to the new ownership arrangement. During the transition, PC competitors would surely try to dislodge loyal customers. When asked about the Lenovo-IBM PC division merger, Michael Dell was categorical: "It won't work." When was the last time you saw a successful acquisition or merger in the computer industry? Having maintained Legend's PC market leadership in China for five consecutive years, Yang was promoted to Legend Group president and CEO in 2001
Toshiba Networking Case Study Toshiba: How Personal Networking Can Be Used to Avoid High-Turnover Electronics giant Toshiba Corp.'s American business unit is facing a class-action lawsuit over how it pays and promotes women. (6), (7) Recently, the law firm Sanford Wittels & Heisler brought a $100 million gender discrimination lawsuit in federal court in Manhattan on behalf of a potential class of 8,000 women working for Toshiba in the U.S. Ibid. Sanford Wittels earlier
Once this takes place, it could mean that Toshiba may have a parts shortage (which is having an adverse effect on productivity). To address this issue, the line should be redesigned to ensure each station has its own extra supply of parts. This will help to prevent possible supply disruptions and can maintain the 300 units per day target. Where, the strategy will allow the line, to continuously function,
Toshiba’s Accounting Scandal: Business Ethics and the Media Along with Sony, the Toshiba Corporation is one of the most legendary and famous Japanese technology companies in the world. According to the “History of Innovation” section of its official corporate website, Toshiba boasts a long, proud 135-year technological history. In the past thirty years, the company has given birth to the first laptop computer for the average consumer, the first wireless laptop,
Toshiba's response to the scandal was insufficient -- shareholders were protesting months later and many stakeholders did not really know what happened. Toshiba's response was simply to replace a lot of top leadership. The company should have been more forthcoming about the nature of the fraud, so that there was better understanding of the issue. Just as important, Toshiba needed to get in front of the response to the scandal
Organizational Structure According to Pugh (1990), the organizational structure is an instrument that appears from the need to fulfill the organizational aims and objectives with the tools and activities that are available. Following the way that this process is managed, several types of organizational structures can be identified, including pre-bureaucratic structures, bureaucratic and post-bureaucratic structures, functional structures, divisional structures and matrix structures. Westinghouse organizational structure falls into several different categories. On one
Bluray Player The Blu-Ray player is a media player that is produced and marketed by the Sony Corporation. It was first introduced in Japan in 2000. Over the course of the next several years, the Blu-Ray entered into competition with the DVD, in particular the HD DVD that was championed by rival Toshiba. In early 2008, Toshiba announced that it was going to discontinue the HD DVD, effectively ceding the market
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