Influence of Globalization on Organizational Network Structures Essay

Influence of Globalization on Organizational Network Structures - Essay Example Globalization can be identified as the increased â€Å"mobility of goods, sources of labor, technology and capital† on a worldwide prospect. Considering the impact of globalization on the organizational factors, it can be studied that several new possibilities and opportunities are opening as a result of globalization. Newer ways are cropping up with respect to delivery of different functions. There is an increase in the number of options available to a company and hence greater number of decisions to be taken. Moreover such decisions have to be communicated to all divisions and all levels within an organization. This undoubtedly increases the complexity of an organizational network structure as well. However corporate globalization increases the number of opportunities for an organization; but at the same time it sets up more numbers of interdependencies between a variety of organizations. Learning from a World Class Company: IBM (International Business Machines Corporation): The IBM is â€Å"one of the largest providers of information technology and services†. The primary missions of the company include becoming the leader in creating, developing, and manufacturing superior information technologies and transforming those skills and expertise into â€Å"value† for its customers. Computer systems that include â€Å"software, networking systems, storage devices and microelectronics† are designed, developed and manufactured by IBM. The operations of the company are spread across the world providing work opportunities for more than 200,000 people. The headquarters of the company is in Armonk, New York (Tung, 2001, p.40). A brief history of the company: IBM was first initiated in New York in the year 1911. However the company’s history dated back to 1890s when mass immigrants were entering the United States and an efficient system was required to measure the level of population. Initially although the company had been operating only in New York, but within a short duration of time, its operations expanded worldwide. Under the management of Thomas J. Watson the company’s products and services were even more expanded. â€Å"IBM refers to the decades between 1939 and 1963 as the ‘Era of Innovation’†. The product line of the company appreciably enhanced during this period of time. The company moved towards the advancement of computers during the period of the Second World War (Tung, 2001, pp.40-41). Gradually over the years, the company developed several new products that included â€Å"automatic-sequence-controlled calculator†, â€Å"IBM 701† which was the first large computer manufactured with vacuum tube, â€Å"system/360 computer†, and so on. In the year 1969, the company brought in modifications in its product selling and started selling individual components instead of hardware or software devices. IBM had also introduced â€Å"personal computers for small bus inesses, schools and homes†. The company initiated an establishment for network computing and several facilities of such computers. In the year 1993, Louis V. Gerstner joined the company as the CEO and he highlighted the necessity to