Name Ali Hasan

Roll No. 18-Arid-363

Submitted to
Mam Aqsa
 Q1
IBM has been championed for its early implementation of equality among its workforce. At
the time, many of these policies seemed radical. To IBM’s credit, the movement toward
equality worked out exceptionally well for them. Have you experienced policy changes that
might seem radical? Have these policies worked out? What policies do you feel are still
lacking in the workforce?

Answer:
A number of indicators would hint that the company is doing an effective job with diversity
management. Here are some examples:
 Diversity among.
 Diversity at all levels.
 Do most employees feel satisfied and perceive fairness
 Do they follow the law?

IBM has formed five diversity networking groups:

i. People with Disability
A networking group for people with a disability. This is a very active group, with strong
connections to the wider community.
ii. Flexibility
A networking group which is very active and is open to anyone interested in part time
work, job sharing and other flexible working options.
iii. Women in Technology
A networking group which aims to support the growth, development, advancement, and
recognition of IBM’s current population of technical women.
iv. Cultural Diversity
A networking group with a focus on multiculturalism.
v. Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual & Transgender (GLBT)
A networking group which supports the GLBT internal community and also participates
in external community partnerships.

I have only experienced one radical policy change. The policy change had to do with how
employees utilized social media and the discussion materials and photos that were posted on
these websites.
A lot of employees questioned the policy as to whether or not the department could dictate what
type of posts or photos were used during their personal time. However, this policy was important
to stress that in the type of work that the department does it is relevant because this content may
be used in court or in another arena to discredit the employee or the department. Once
implemented, the policy did make employees to think twice prior to posting content that could be
related to his/her work.IBM can deal with such issues by devising a code of ethics which shows
employees the types of behaviors desirable. In addition to having written statements, training
employees in a company code of ethics may be useful.
Organizations stress the policies not tolerating discrimination for employees being part of a
protected class without recognizing that the law does not protect transgender individuals from
discrimination. Further, organizations focus so much on customer service this should also be
stressed among the workforce. Employees need to respect each other in the workplace.

Q2
If you or your spouse is currently employed, how difficult would it be to take time off for
having a child?

Answer:
30 years before Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) granted women unpaid leave for the
birth of a child, IBM offered the same benefit to female employees, extending it to one year in
the 1960s and to three years in 1988. IBM ranks in the top 100 on Working Mother magazine’s
“100 Best Companies” list and has been on the list every year since its inception in 1986.
IBM offers “IBM Parental Bonding Leave” to all parents of a newborn or newly adopted child
up to 12 weeks within 12 months of the child's birth or adoption. So, it won’t be difficult to take
a leave from IBM for having a child.
IBM is also beefing up a number of other benefits for parents. It is increasing financial assistance
for parents adopting children to up to $20,000 to cover those costs, from the previous $5,000
benefit, and it is making that benefit available to parents who use a surrogate to have a child.

Q3
Some individuals feel that so much focus is put on making the workplace better for
underrepresented groups that the majority of the workforce becomes neglected. Do you
feel this was the case at IBM? Why or why not? How can a company ensure that no
employee is neglected, regardless of demographic group?

Answer:
I feel that to make a business work you have to make all feel important, appreciated and
reinforcement on everyone’s contribution. If they lack that then I feel the business will tend to
fall with unsatisfied workers. As I have stated prior. So no, I feel for IBM this was not the case.
As much as you want to increase underrepresented groups with making it better for them and
business though, you should must have to include many skilled and strong performers.
Increasing your diversity pool, communicate better with everyone , so that it trickles from the
CEO to the bottom, understanding their background, learning cultural difference, recognize
culture change.

Q4
What types of competitive advantages could IBM have gained from having such a diverse
workforce?

Answer:
IBM has gained following competitive benefits through its workforce:
 Higher creativity in decision making,
 Better customer service,
 Higher job satisfaction and lower employee turnover as a result,
 Higher stock prices,
 Lower litigation expenses,
 Higher company performance.