 IBM

International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) has an

operations management (OM) strategy that addresses
optimization needs in hardware and software development,
distribution and maintenance operations in the 10 strategic
decision areas. IBM implements policies and reforms through
these 10 strategic decision areas to maximize the effectiveness of
implementation while ensuring the continuity of operations. Also,
Big Blue’s operations management fulfills its productivity goals by
systematically addressing challenges and issues in each of these
strategic decision areas. For example, each area is approached as
a distinct component of IBM’s operations, although corporate
managers address the operational goals of the business as an
integrated whole. In this integrated and systematic approach, the
company keeps its business productive and satisfies its strategic
objectives. In relation, IBM’s operational efficiency depends on the
effectiveness of human resource programs to maximize IBMer’s
productivity.

1. Design of Goods and Services : This strategic decision area of

operations management focuses on how to maintain consistently
high quality within target cost limits for the company’s
information technology products. For example, IBM’s operations
managers look for methods to minimize cost fluctuations.
Considering the main strategic decisions emphasized in this area
of operations management at IBM, such methods are on top of
basic considerations for design specifications. For instance,
managers implement design requirements and make the
necessary allocations for cost, quality and resources, while
keeping productivity targets. The goal is to keep operations
flexible enough for business growth opportunities, while adhering
to design specifications and operational consistency
requirements.

IBM’s Intensive Strategies (Intensive Growth Strategies)

Product Development (Primary Strategy): IBM’s primary intensive
growth strategy is product development. A strategic objective in
implementing product development is to grow the business
through continuous innovation to introduce new products to the
target market. For example, in applying this intensive strategy,
IBM can grow through the sale of its new computing systems in
addition to the sale of its other products.

Market Penetration (Secondary Strategy): Market penetration is a

secondary intensive growth strategy in IBM’s information
technology business. One of the strategic objectives in applying
market penetration is to maximize the company’s market share of
each product line or product type. For example, IBM aims to
maximize its market share for cloud platform products. The cost
leadership generic competitive strategy provides cost
minimization measures to empower the company to succeed in
using this intensive strategy.
Market Development (Supporting Strategy): IBM applies
market development as a supporting intensive strategy for
business growth. A strategic objective based on market
development is to develop new applications of the company’s
current products to enter new markets or market segments. For
example, IBM can develop new applications of its information
technologies in autonomous vehicles.

2. Quality Management: This strategic decision area of operations

management has the objective of satisfying customers’ demands
and expectations regarding IBM’s information technology
products. In this case, the company’s operations managers
employ regular quality tests to ensure compliance with quality
requirements. For example, IBM’s operational standards are partly
based on these quality requirements, while productivity
objectives are established with allowance for conducting quality
tests. Effective quality management contributes to competitive
advantage to address competition, which imposes a strong force
on the business.

3. Process and Capacity Design: High process efficiency and adequate

production capacity are the objectives in this strategic decision
area of operations management. IBM fulfills this objective through
a continuous improvement model that integrates new operational
standards and requirements in response to changes in the
information technology market. Operations managers use IBM’s
generic strategy and intensive growth strategies among the bases
for this model. For example, gradual but continuous growth in
productivity is maintained as a result of the model, and to align
process and capacity with the cost leadership generic strategy.

4. Supply Chain Management: Operations managers aim to keep high

supply chain efficiencies and capacities in this strategic decision
area. In this regard, IBM’s approach to operations management
involves using information technologies to automate supply chain
processes for high efficiency that supports the business strength
of high economies of scale. On the other hand, the company
satisfies capacity goals through programs that support suppliers’
productivity growth. For example, these programs provide
information and some technical support to help suppliers improve
their operational capacities. This approach aligns with efforts to
address the interests of suppliers as stakeholders in IBM’s
corporate social responsibility strategy.

5. Inventory Management: In this area of operations management,

the strategic decision deals with maintaining adequate inventory
while considering internal and external factors. For example, IBM
must ensure adequate inventory despite challenges linked to
vulnerabilities and risks facing firms in the information technology
industry. The company has redundancy allowances and buffer
inventory to address such operational issues and to account for
fluctuations in market demand. Also, IBM’s operations managers
achieve productivity objectives through inventory control based
on real-time data on business processes and market needs and
variations.

6. Concept of Lean: IBM elevates Lean Six Sigma and Process

Management to new levels by embedding these best-practice
techniques within an end-to-end approach to building dynamic
operational capabilities for sustained success aligned with the
enterprise strategy. They have established disciplined working
environments with a clear focus on customer needs, detailed data
collection and analysis and facts, not theories. They share the
following characteristics, which set them apart from those with a
traditional operational improvement mindset:
• Alignment across the extended enterprise – The strategic
innovation vision was used as a unifying force to align disparate
business units and influence supplier and customer relationships.

• Organizational capabilities that made innovation habitual – Lean

Six Sigma initiatives involved an intense initial period of training,
dedicated resources and a spate of projects to jumpstart their
transformation. As the mindset became mainstream, these
companies established enduring processes that helped drive
continuous innovation throughout the organization. The
successful companies we studied deployed Lean Six Sigma
approaches to surface significant innovation opportunities that
helped drive innovation in operations and processes throughout
their organizations. In the process, they were able to improve
business performance and establish organizations that now have
an inherent inclination toward innovation.

7. Just-in-time system (JIT): The Just-In-Time (JIT) compiler is a

component of the runtime environment that improves the
performance of Java applications by compiling bytecodes to
native machine code at run time.
 Java programs consists of classes, which contain platform-
neutral bytecodes that can be interpreted by a JVM on many
different computer architectures. At run time, the JVM loads
the class files, determines the semantics of each individual
byte code, and performs the appropriate computation. The
additional processor and memory usage during
interpretation means that a Java application performs more
slowly than a native application.
 The JIT compiler helps improve the performance of Java
programs by compiling bytecodes into native machine code
at run time.
 The JIT compiler is enabled by default. When a method has
been compiled, the JVM calls the compiled code of that
 method directly instead of interpreting it. Theoretically, if
compilation did not require processor time and memory
usage, compiling every method could allow the speed of the
Java program to approach that of a native application.
 JIT compilation does require processor time and memory
usage. When the JVM first starts up, thousands of methods
are called. Compiling all of these methods can significantly
affect startup time, even if the program eventually achieves
very good peak performance.