IBM, A Diverse Workplace

With 400,000 employees worldwide, IBM is a cornerstone of international business and rated the world's second most valuable brand (after Coca-Cola) by Forbes Magazine. It's sometimes hard to believe that a company known today for its role in developing computers and computer technology got its start in 1896 when it formed as the Tabulating Machine Company.

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Early products were machine driven tabulating devices and cash registers. In 1917 the company's Canadian and South American subsidiary took the name International Business Machines, and the entire company adopted that name in 1924. Sometime in the 1960's, the company acquired the nickname ''Big Blue'' based either on the large blue framed mainframe computers the company used and marketed or on their large blue IBM logo, depending on who is telling the story. Customers that were loyal IBM clients were referred to as being ''true blue'', which has since entered the lexicon to refer to anyone that is loyal and sincere. A company as large and pervasive as IBM is sure to have scores of pop culture references and IBM is no exception, but it's most famous pop culture appearance is in disguise. In the classic Kubrick film 2001: A Space Odyssey, the evil computer HAL 2000 derives its name from subtracting one letter from IBM.

By the same token, it would be difficult for a company of this size to escape controversy and scandal. In 2001 a book was published alleging that IBM was complicit in the Holocaust by leasing equipment to the Third Reich that was used to collect and track data about Polish Jews. IBM has released thousands of documents covering the era and asserts that it had no control over its German subsidiaries after they were taken over by the fascist government.




As an employer IBM has a long record of good employee relations with few large scale layoffs, however there have been some in the last 5 years due to the economic downturn. IBM has been a leader in workplace diversity for its entire existence. In 1899 the company hired its first black employee along with three women, and in 1914 IBM hired its first employee with a permanent disability. In the 1950's, the company publicized a letter from then CEO Thomas Watson, Jr., directing that the best person for the job be hired regardless of race, ethnicity, gender or national origin. Today IBM continues to be a leader in diversity issues by providing full health care coverage to same sex partners and has earned a 100% rating on gay issues every year since 2003 from The Human Rights Campaign.

There are very few career paths that are not available with Big Blue, outside of professional athletics - and even that may not be a safe bet. IBM employs cooks and carpenters, electricians and engineers, health care analysts and human resource specialists, along with hundreds of other job categories. Currently on Hound there are a whopping 6,950 job openings for IBM. Because Hound never charges employers to list job openings, we can bring you every opening a company has. Compare that to job sites that charge a stiff fee to companies for each job listing like Monster.com, where there are currently an anemic 68 listings from IBM, and it's easy to see why Hound is the first choice for dedicated job seekers.



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