Oct 25, 2013 01:41 PM
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Now unlike most Indian IBMers, I happen to be skilled, knowledgeable and experienced. I do agree with the other posts on your site regarding the Indian workforce of IBM - 90% are unskilled, don't have the requisite knowledge and have been hired to make up the numbers/FTEs for GDF.
Most of the work is messed-up and the 10% who have the knowledge, spend all their time fixing the crap of others or the mess just grows. Is there any wonder why clients hate IBM and are cancelling contracts by the dozen.
GDF was an utter failure and because whoever in senior management came up with GDF can't be fired(Oh yes, they'll be suitably rewarded with a cushy transfer to another division to screw that up also completely), IBM doesn't want to admit GDF was a bloody mess and failure, hence re-branding the old way of doing things - "Client First" this is brand new crap.
Its frustration hell in IBM India(especially for anyone who's talented, skilled and hard-working). People who are on bench because they're bloody incapable get transferred to some other department(where they have no clue/skill-set as to what they are doing to ensure they screw that up too).
Managers are the most idiotic bunch I've come across in my career - they are technically zero, they don't have any managerial soft skills and most specialize in sycophancy(whether it be giving rank idiot subordinates good ratings or cosying up to their superiors for better ratings for themselves).
Diversity is everything - most of these "diversity" candidates join because they know they can "work from home"/"hardly work" as there is no accountability for what you do. Merit isn't anywhere in the equation. You'll be hard-pressed to find any skill-set among these hires - they're that incompetent - but hired so senior management can plug these numbers to higher-ups.
Most of the talented(not more than 10% of the workforce) are looking out for opportunities elsewhere and leaving in droves, those who remain have other compulsions - some have businesses/consultancies going on the side and the IBM work culture allows a second income comfortably. Some have family compulsions and need to devote time for personal reasons and hence stick around. The rest 90% won't get jobs outside IBM and are hence like furniture hanging around(and squeezing the lemon dry) until the whole thing collapses around them.
Whenever anything screws up, each department passes the ball on to the next(as none of them have the skill-set or a clue of what is going on) as none of them have an idea of what is needed to fix the problem. So the mess keeps increasing till the client gets tired of the crap and terminates the account. No accountability for anything, so even the managers who messed up just get moved around and ensure the screw up the next account. Why do even clients think of IBM - confounds me. I wouldn't hire IBM in a million years with the quality of people which are around.
Most US IBMers are good, capable people BUT the same problem that afflicts IBM India, abounds there too. Sycophancy and "diversity" hiring is rampant and hence incapable people are there too BUT the numbers aren't as skewed as India - far lower. From my interactions with US employees, career advancement is based on "who you know" rather than "what you know". This is essentially an IBM wide problem. Most IBM Managers are unskilled beyond belief and the salary packages which they are at - they wouldn't be hired by anybody outside and hence they have no choice. They too are like afore-mentioned furniture in the organization.
Sadly, IBM can't be fixed. Most managers are incapable and firing thousands of managers would be the last option(prior to that coming about, those who do the work would get fired/quit) and nobody would be left to do the work. Ask any ex-IBMer whether he/she'd join back - bloody unlikely. So where would people who're capable come from - nowhere. IBM should just shut down and call it a day.
This is by far, the worst organization I've worked at in terms of professionalism, work ethic, integrity(Yep, the thing which is most harped on, is the one thing which is completely absent).
