IBM

Founded in 1888, the International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) is an American computer technology corporation and one of the leading and largest in the industry. The company strives to lead in the invention, development, and manufacture the industrys most advanced information technologies, that include software, storage systems, computer systems, and microelectronics. The International Business Machines Corporation takes these advance technologies and turns them into value for customers through their professional solutions, services and consulting businesses all over the globe.

International Business Machines Corporation manufactures and sells software, computer hardware, infrastructure services, consulting services, and hosting services in a variety of areas from mainframe computers to nanotechnology. This company has nearly three hundred thirty thousand employees all over the globe and revenues of ninety one billion dollars yearly as of 2005. It is the biggest information technology company in the world and holds more patents than any other company in the industry of technology.

The past years, revenues from services and consulting have been better than those from manufacturing, and notably IBM has also been steadily increasing its workforce in developing countries such as IBM India and cutting back in the US and Europe. The International Business Machines Corporation has consultants and engineers in over one hundred seventy countries, and having eight laboratories for IBM Research all located in the Northern Hemisphere, five of which are outside the US. Employees of IBM have earned five National Medal of Science, five Nobel Prizes, five National Medals of Technology, and four Turing Awards.

IBM is among the top twenty Semiconductor Sales Leaders worldwide. Blue Eyes is the given name of a human recognition venture started by IBM allowing people to interact in a more natural manner with computers. The Blue Eyes technology aims to allow devices to recognize and use natural input such as facial expressions. The scroll mice and other input devices that sense the users pulse, monitor facial expressions, and movements of eyelids, are the initial developments of this project.

IBM Corporations business operation includes hardware such as servers, storage, personal systems, printing systems, and retail solutions; software which connects operating systems, business processes, and applications impeccably; services that includes comprehensive IT services integrating with business insight to reduce costs, assert competitive advantage, and improve productivity; financing companies selling or acquiring IT related products and services; research on innovative technologies that produce leading-edge solutions; technology in developing, marketing, and delivering leading chip technologies and services.

The IBM Corporation also puts tremendous efforts to promote workforce diversity and equal opportunity. IBM became the first ever major company in the world to not use genetic information in its employment decisions on October 10, 2005, a few months after IBM announced its support of the National Geographic Genographic Project.


































TJ Madigan

Wal-Mart Takes on Wall Street

Whether people like or hate Wal-mart, the large retail chain store, there is one thing they do agree on. Wal-mart has cornered the market on merchandising products that average middle class American families can afford. Widely criticized for putting "mom and pop places" out of business and not paying their employees fair wages, the company has undergone a lot of scrutiny over the last few years, and now they are gearing up to be under the watchful eye of America once more.

Wal-Mart is ready to take on Wall Street, as company executives try to enter the store into the banking business! An attempt in 1999 to purchase an Oklahoma Savings and Loan was met with a negative result by Congress. People are afraid that if Wal-mart enters into the world of banking, smaller banks won't be able to compete with the amenities they offer. Opponents of the plan include Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, who ironically once sat on Wal-Mart's board, but feels it wouldn't be prudent to remind people of those ties with an election year closing in on her ...

Those who support the idea point out that Wal-mart would do for the average American's banking needs what it does for their retail needs. It would make banking available for the little people that big banks tend to overlook. Right now, most banks force lower income families (i.e. those that can't afford to carry big balances in their checking accounts) to pay higher than normal fees.

Wal-mart isn't trying to become a full-fledged bank. They gave up on that idea the last time they were rejected in their attempts. They simply want to apply for a charter that will help them reduce their credit card fees. At present the company offers a check cashing service that costs patrons $3 to have a check cashed. While this may seem a bit expensive, it is much cheaper than the percentage fees that most check cashing businesses charge.

Started in Rogers, Arkansas in 1962, by Sam Walton, Wal-Mart is the largest retailer in the world. Wal-Mart is the largest private employer in the United States, Mexico and Canada. It also has given back to shareholders over 180,000% in total returns since it went public in 1972. There should be no wonder that several Walton heirs feature on Forbes' list of billionaires; they include Christy Walton, Jim Walton, S. Robson Walton, Alice Walton, and Helen Walton who all hover around a net worth of $16 billion.

Ref: Salim Jordan