Ah, there you are! Everyone's here now, so we can get started. Do you have a sharpened pencil? I'll wait.... Good. Now find a comfy spot where you're not likely to be disturbed. Today, we're going to test your knowledge. How much do you really know about the company that puts its initials on your AS/400, and about the man who put the Arrr back in Armonk?
When I tell you to begin, you will have 20 minutes to answer 25 multiple-choice questions. The correct answers are provided at the end of the quiz.
Since you are a member in good standing of the Information Technology revolution, I know you have the utmost integrity and won't be tempted to rise above principle and cheat. Peeking, although it is just a pathetic rationalization and unworthy of you, is nevertheless encouraged. But to deter the cheaters and annoy the peekers, we have printed the answers upside down.
1. How much money (revenue) did IBM make in 1994:
a) 687 million.
b) 1.6 billion.
c) 16 billion.
d) 64 billion.
e) IBM doesn't make money, it makes computers.
2. IBM's 1994 gross profits were:
a) 205 million.
b) 2.5 billion.
c) 25 billion.
d) 32 billion.
e) There's nothing gross about those profits.
3. IBM's 1994 net earnings before taxes were:
a) 5.1 billion.
b) 2.6 billion.
c) 687 million.
d) 205 million.
4. What percent in U.S. Federal income tax did IBM pay?
a) 2 percent.
b) 8 percent.
c) 12 percent.
d) 16 percent.
e) I don't want to know because I already have high blood pressure.
5. Under Chairman Louis Gerstner's regime, IBM stock rose by more than:
a) 10 points.
b) 20 points.
c) 30 points.
d) 40 points.
6. For the second year in a row, IBM was first in the number of U.S. patents issued to a company. The 1994 total was the most ever issued to any company in any year. That total was:
a) 98.
b) 298.
c) 1,298.
d) 12,980.
7. The IBM Global Network is the world's largest data network. It spans:
a) 85 cities in 56 countries.
b) 255 cities in 42 countries.
c) 700 cities in 100 countries.
d) every country except Rwanda, plus modest transmitting stations on Venus and Mars.
8. Within the next five years, IBM expects to have a billion-dollar operation in:
a) China.
b) Eastern Europe.
c) South Africa.
d) India.
e) all of the above.
9. In China, IBM recently installed a POWERparallel SP2 supercomputer, which will allow the Chinese government to:
a) track the movement of dissidents.
b) forecast the weather.
c) expand its nuclear weapons program.
d) modernize its tax collection system.
e) both b and c.
10. The average IBM product lifecycle is now:
a) 6 to 10 months.
b) 9 to 12 months.
c) 12 to 18 months.
d) 16 to 20 months.
11. Through 1997, the AS/400, using the new PowerPC chip, can expect an annual performance boost of:
a) 25 percent.
b) 40 percent.
c) 70 percent.
d) 120 percent.
12. Client/server customers can now find support in:
a) 42 Open Systems centers in 34 countries.
b) the complete client/server CD ROM library (2 volumes).
c) the quarterly IBM Open Systems Forum.
d) Client/Server Anonymous.
13. An example of "human-centered" technology is:
a) speech recognition.
b) pen-based computing.
c) writing recognition.
d) having a computer chip implanted in your rear end.
e) all of the above.
14. How many people were casualties of "human-centered" downsizing last year?
a) 1,700.
b) 3,700.
c) 16,500.
d) 37,000.
15. During that same period, how many new executives were hired?
a) 0.
b) 14.
c) 37.
d) 60.
16. Gerald Czarnecki, the executive charged with pruning the workforce, resigned amidst reports that:
a) he no longer enjoyed laying people off.
b) the last job to disappear would be his own.
c) Boeing needed him more.
d) he wasn't pruning fast enough.
17. Of his attempt to remake IBM, Chairman Gerstner said:
a) "The culture here is so ingrained, it's like trying to turn a bunch of Serbs into Croats."
b) "Adapting to a new culture is difficult, but IBMers have shown themselves to be very resilient."
c) "There are still some very, very senior people in this company who I don't think have bought into the new IBM."
d) "You can take a middle-aged man out of his blue suit, but why would you want to?"
18. Slovenia & Slovakia are:
a) IBM's new ad agency.
b) the double play combination for the Chicago Cubs.
c) the location of two new IBM subsidiaries.
d) code names for two pilot AS/400 products.
19. In 1994, the IBM HelpCenter answered:
a) 3 million calls.
b) 2.2 million calls.
c) 1 million calls.
d) the same annoying question asked 1 million times.
20. At the annual stockholders meeting, a stockholder proposed to eliminate awards and bonuses to board members and employees who have completed their IBM service. He cited the $925,000 bonus given to John Akers at a time when the corporation lost over $10 billion dollars. IBM urged stockholders to vote:
a) For the measure, because "it would save stockholders millions."
b) For the measure, because "the board should not reward management failure."
c) Against the measure, because such disbursements are made "with the best interests of the company and shareholders in mind."
d) Against the measure, because "sometimes we have to bribe people to get them to leave."
21. Chairman Louis Gerstner's base salary in 1994 was :
a) $1 million.
b) $1.5 million.
c) $2 million.
d) $2.5 million.
22. Chairman Gerstner's bonus in 1994 was:
a) $500,000.
b) $1 million.
c) $1.5 million.
d) $2.6 million.
e) Aw, come on. Who ever heard of someone getting a bonus bigger than his salary?
23. Mr. Gerstner's stock options numbered:
a) 225,000 shares valued at $8-22 million.
b) 100,000 shares valued at $5-10 million.
c) 50,000 shares valued at $2-5 million.
d) 25,000 shares valued at $1 million.
24. Beyond salary, bonus, and stock, Gerstner's "other" compensation consisted of:
a) a Virgin Islands vacation house.
b) a $7.7 million IBM-paid transfer of Nabisco benefits.
c) a ThinkPad.
d) a chauffeured limousine.
e) b, c, and d.
25. Lou Gerstner and IBM had a:
a) so-so year.
b) good year.
c) great year.
d) golden-grahams year.
OK, time is up. Put down your pencils, and check your answers. How did you do?
a) 1-3 wrong; ready for an IBM vice presidency.
b) 4-7 wrong; ready for management.
c) 8-11 wrong; ready for the AS/400 assembly line.
d) More than 11 wrong; I got no job and it's breaking my heart, but I got a blue suit and that's a start.
e) I read the instructions carefully, and you never actually said to begin, so I've been goofing off for 20 minutes, which is what I mostly do anyway.
The correct answer is "e."
Victor Rozek has 17 years of experience in the data processing industry, including seven years with IBM in Operations Management and Systems Engineering.
THE ANSWERS: 1) d, 2) c, 3) a, 4) a, 5) d, 6) c, 7) c, 8) e, 9) b, 10) b, 11) c, 12) a, 13) e, 14) d, 15) d, 16) d, 17) c, 18) c, 19) a, 20) c, 21) c, 22) d, 23) a, 24) b, 25) anything but a.
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