At I.B.M., a departure ignites management shifts

Article Abstract:

IBM computer services executive Dennie M. Welsh said he would take a leave of absence from the company for medical reasons, creating a chain reaction of executive job changes. The management reshuffling will place younger executives into more high-profile positions. PC division leader and rising star Samuel J. Palmisano, 46, will replace the 55-year-old Welsh. David M. Thomas, 48, will supervise IBM's ultracompetitive PC business. Thomas formerly managed the company's new sales force of industry specialists, which has replaced IBM's traditional arrangement of geographical territories. Palmisano and Thomas, both of whom will report directly to Chmn Louis V. Gerstner Jr., also are potential executive successors to Gerstner. Welsh has built IBM's computer services from virtually scratch into a $16 billion business that represents the company's second-largest and fastest-growing business line. Welsh said he will need rest and extensive drug treatments to cure a rare immune disorder.

Management, Officials and employees, International Business Machines Corp., IBM, Company executive, Computer executives, Company Business Management

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Do computers lift productivity? It's unclear, but business is sold

Article Abstract:

The success of the computer hardware and software industries does not convince some experts that computer technology has improved productivity. Corporate America's confidence in the efficacy of computers is evident in its willingness to invest in new technologies, such as data warehousing and Internet communications. As of the 3rd qtr 1996, America's annual spending rate on IT was $251 billion and is expected to increase to $1.2 trillion in annual revenue by 2000. Some experts believe that while these figures reflect computers' role in capital spending, they do not indicate any improvement in productivity. Other analysts insist that computer technology has made companies more efficient by allowing them to minimize inventory and coordinate system functions such as production, distribution and billing.

Reports, Technology overview, Technology, Industrial productivity, Productivity

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