Cultural Differences and Organizational Issues in the Integration of IBM and Lenovo

Running Head: GLOBAL HUMAN CAPITAL
GLOBAL HUMAN CAPITAL
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Executive summary
The aim of this report is to discuss about the integration that was developed between the leading
US IT giant IBM and the Chinese leading PC manufacturer Lenovo in 2005. The motive of this
integration was an act of maximize the IT market in both ends of Asia and the West. However, a
year back the assimilation of the two companies was facing a number of challenges. Cultural
differences were considered to be the main reason behind this clash. In this context, the purpose
of this report is to figure out the possible cultural underpinning that facilitates the way for
separation. In course of the discussion, the report encompasses a number of possible factors. In
the conclusion, the report comes up with a number of recommendations that will be helpful for
the Lenovo Company in order to re-establish its contacts with IBM.

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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................4
Overview of the organisations.....................................................................................................4
Organisational culture..................................................................................................................4
Organisational Issues.......................................................................................................................5
Language......................................................................................................................................5
Clash of culture............................................................................................................................7
Theory behind the issues.................................................................................................................9
Power distance.............................................................................................................................9
Context.......................................................................................................................................10
Verbal cues................................................................................................................................11
Identification of the issues.............................................................................................................11
Impact of language....................................................................................................................11
Leadership issues in the western regions...................................................................................12
Incursion of added cost..............................................................................................................12
Impact of Ineffective and Problematic Communication............................................................13
Cultural differences...............................................................................................................13
Challenges in communication practices................................................................................14
Recommendation...........................................................................................................................15
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................16

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Reference.......................................................................................................................................18