IBM: The Corporate Service Corps

Christopher  Marquis; Rosabeth M. Kanter

Case | HBS Case Collection | March 2009 (Revised July 2010)

IBM: The Corporate Service Corps

by Christopher Marquis and Rosabeth M. Kanter

Abstract

Describes the conception, development, and implementation of the Corporate Services Corps (CSC), an international community service assignment for high-potential IBM employees. The year 2008 was the pilot year of the CSC program, and 100 of IBM's best global employees were deployed to work for local partners, frequently non-governmental organizations (NGOs), in locations such as Ghana, Tanzania, Romania, Philippines, and Vietnam. The case provides data for students to assess the first year of operation and recommend what changes IBM should make to the program moving forward. Also considered is how the CSC fits into IBM's broader corporate citizenship portfolio and IBM's globalization strategy.

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Global Strategy; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Mission and Purpose; Organizational Structure; Partners and Partnerships; Non-Governmental Organizations;

Format: Print

22 pages

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Citation:

Marquis, Christopher, and Rosabeth M. Kanter. "IBM: The Corporate Service Corps." Harvard Business School Case 409-106, March 2009. (Revised July 2010.)

Zhang Ruimin's change management efforts as CEO of Haier Group attempted to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship in the digital Internet of Things age. His transformational initiatives involving micro-enterprises and platforms aimed to create an ecosystem that would help the Chinese company achieve zero distance between employees and users, making it fast, agile, and responsive. This Teaching Note helps instructors teach the Harvard Business School case, Haier: Incubating Entrepreneurs in a Chinese Giant, presenting analysis of the case and a teaching plan to guide classroom discussions.

In 2018, CEO Lowell McAdam led efforts to transform Verizon through digital innovation, media acquisitions and integration, and changes to the company culture. He sought to manage change at the company as growth in traditional areas slowed, and position it as a leader in a 5G world.

Case | HBS Case Collection | February 2018 (Revised April 2018)

Haier: Incubating Entrepreneurs in a Chinese Giant

Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Nancy Hua Dai

CEO Zhang Ruimin must plan how to accelerate the growth of self-managed micro-enterprises. Platforms were Haier’s business platforms operating in five major sectors: white goods transformation, investment and incubation, financial holdings, real estate, and cultural industry. Platform owners incubated micro-enterprises on their platforms with the resources Haier had, but they were not the supervisors of micro-enterprises. His goal was to tear down the walls between the organization, shortening the time the company took to respond to users’ needs, with the ultimate goal of “zero distance” between employees and users. Haier had engaged in a series of organizational changes since 2005, the most recent of which started in 2012. His latest experimentation was turning Haier into a platform for entrepreneurship. Employees and those outside Haier could set up micro-enterprises on Haier’s platforms. Zhang thought Haier was on the right track, but the model had to prove itself in practice. He set a timetable: the micro-enterprises must reach the tipping point by September 20, 2018, which meant the micro-enterprise would have become a platform to which all resource providers would flock and stay loyal. There was no precedent of transformation like this anywhere. Would Haier succeed? What could Haier do to push the micro-enterprises to get to the tipping point?

Keywords: China; microenterprise; entrepreneurship; appliances; platform; Change; innovation; leadership; Opportunities; Entrepreneurship; Market Platforms; Transformation; Innovation and Invention; Leadership; Growth and Development Strategy; China;

Citation:

Kanter, Rosabeth Moss, and Nancy Hua Dai. "Haier: Incubating Entrepreneurs in a Chinese Giant." Harvard Business School Case 318-104, February 2018. (Revised April 2018.) View Details

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